1/9 – 1885-87 Bechuanaland

British Bechuanaland was a short-lived British Crown colony in southern Africa that existed from 1885 to 1895. It was located just south of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern-day Botswana) and is now part of South Africa.

British Bechuanaland issued its own postage stamps between 1885 and 1895, including:

• Overprints on Cape of Good Hope stamps reading “British Bechuanaland”

• Later issues inscribed directly with “British Bechuanaland”

These stamps are notable for being overprints on already existing stamps, their limited issue period (just 10 years), and serving a transitional administrative region.

British Bechuanaland stamps are popular among collectors of British colonial issues and southern African postal history due to their brief period of use and connection to a now-defunct political entity.