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BELGIAN CONGO

Return To Catalogue - Belgian Congo 1886-1893 - Ruanda-Urundi

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: .

For previous issues of Belgian Congo (1886-1893), click here.

1894 Various designs

Inscription 'ETAT INDEPENDANT DU CONGO'

  5 c blue and black (harbor)
  5 c brown and black (harbor)
  5 c green and black (harbor)
  10 c brown and black (Stanley falls)
  10 c green and black (Stanley falls)
  10 c red and black (Stanley falls)
  15 c yellow and black (palm trees)
  25 c yellow and black (Inkissi falls)
  25 c blue and black (Inkissi falls)
  40 c green and black (canoes)
  50 c green and black (bridge)
  50 c olive and black (bridge)
  1 F violet and black (elephant hunting)
  1 F red and black (elephant hunting)
  3 F 50 c red and black (village)
  5 F red and black (native people)
  10 F green and black (steamship)

Most of these stamps are perforated 14 (exceptions are indicated below).

Value of the stamps
vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon		*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare
Value	Unused	Used	Remarks
5 c blue and black	*	*
5 c brown and black	*	*
5 c green and black	*	c	1900
10 c brown and black	*	*
10 c green and black	c	c	Exists with inverted center: RRR
10 c red and black	*	c	1900
15 c	*	c
25 c yellow and black	*	*
25 c blue and black	*	*
40 c	*	*
50 c green and black	c	c
50 c olive and black	*	c
1 F violet and black	***	**	Two shades of violet were issued
1 F red and black	R	*
3 F 50 c	R	R	Also exists with perforation 12 x 14: RR
5 F	***	***
10 F	***	**	Exists with perforation 14 (**), 12 (**) or 12 x 14 (RR)

Overprinted 'CONGO BELGE' (1908)

  5 c green and black (harbor)
  10 c red and black (Stanley falls)
  15 c yellow and black (palm trees)
  25 c blue and black (Inkissi falls)
  40 c green and black (canoes)
  50 c olive and black (bridge)
  1 F violet and black (elephant hunting)
  1 F red and black (elephant hunting)
  3 F 50 c red and black (village)
  5 F red and black (native people)
  10 F green and black (steamship)

For the specialist: this overprint was done in Brussels (machine overprint or overprinted by hand) or in Congo itself (overprinted by hand only).

Value of the stamps
vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon		*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare
Value	Unused	Used	Remarks
Cheapest overprint
5 c	c	c
10 c	*	*
15 c	*	*
25 c	*	*
40 c	*	*
50 c	*	*
1 F violet and black	R	R
1 F red and black	**	*
3 F 50 c	***	***
5 F	***	***
10 F	***	**

Inscription 'CONGO BELGE' (1909)

  5 c green and black (harbor)
  10 c red and black (Stanley falls)
  15 c yellow and black (palm trees)
  50 c olive and black (bridge)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Inscription 'CONGO BELGE BELGISCH CONGO' (1910)

  5 c green and black (harbor)
  5 c green and black (harbor,
    'cinq' added in top of design
  10 c red and black (Stanley falls)
  10 c red and black (Stanley falls),
    'dix' added in top of design
  15 c yellow and black (palm trees)
  15 c green and black (palm trees)
  25 c blue and black (Inkissi falls)
  25 c blue and black (Inkissi falls),
    'vingt-cinq' added in top of design
  40 c green and black (canoes)
  40 c red and black (canoes)
  50 c olive and black (bridge)
  50 c brown and black (bridge)
  1 F red and black (elephant hunting)
  1 F olive and black (elephant hunting)
  3 F red and black (village)
  5 F red and black (native people)
  5 F orange and black (native people)
  10 F green and black (steamship)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Surcharged (1921-1922)

  5 c on 40 c green and black (red overprint)
  5 c on 50 c brown and black 
  10 c on 5 c green and black (3 types, red overprint)
  10 c on 1 F olive and black (red overprint)
  15 c on 50 c olive and black  (red overprint)
  25 c on 15 c yellow and black (red overprint)
  25 c on 40 c red and black (red overprint, other type with black overprint)
  25 c on 5 F orange and black
  30 c on 10 c red and black (2 types)
  50 c on 25 c blue and black (2 types, red overprint)

Doubly surcharged (1922-1923)
  25 c on 30 c on 10 c red and black (2 types)

With overprint '1921'
 
  1 F red and black
  3 F red and black
  5 F red and black
  10 F green and black (red overprint)

Red Cross issue (1918), with red cross and surcharged

(Sorry, no picture available yet)

  5 c + 10 c green and black (harbor)
  10 c + 15 c red and black (Stanley falls)
  15 c + 20 c  green and black (palm trees)
  25 c + 25 c blue and black (Inkissi falls)
  40 c + 40 c red and black (canoes)
  50 c + 50 c brown and black (bridge)
  1 Fr + 1 Fr olive and black (elephant hunting)
  5 Fr + 5 Fr orange and black (native people)
  10 Fr + 10 Fr green and black (steamship)

Imperforate red cross stamps are remainders. These issue overprinted 'A.O.' was used in Ruanda-Urundi.

Value of the stamps
vc = very common c = common * = not so common ** = uncommon		*** = very uncommon R = rare RR = very rare RRR = extremely rare
Value	Unused	Used	Remarks
5 c + 10 c	c	c
10 c + 15 c	c	c
15 c + 20 c	c	c
25 c + 25 c	c	c
40 c + 40 c	*	*
50 c + 50 c	*	*
1 F + 1 F	**	**
5 F + 5 F	***	***
10 F + 10 F	R	R

I have seen postal stationery in this design:
'Etat Independant du Congo Carte Postale', 15 c orange (palm tree, no black center)
'Congo Belge Belgisch Congo Carte Postale Postkaart ', 10 c red (palm tree, no black center)
Other values might exist.

Forgeries:

The unsurcharged stamps:
1) Chemically changed 5 c green and black into 5 c blue and black are known to exist (however, the shade will never be the same as a genuine 5 c blue and black). The 10 c red and black also exists with chemically changed colour (into 10 c brown and black).
2) Stamps with cut off perforation exist pretending to be an imperforate stamp
3) Forged 10 c blue and black and 10 F green and black with inversed centre exist, by shaving two halfs of normal stamps and than pasting them back together again.
4) Be careful with removed pen-cancels (pretending to be unused stamps)
5) Bogus overprints '15' or '30' (intended to be used on postcards only) on 5 c green and black or 10 c red and black.

Source: http://users.skynet.be/chst/falsification.htm

(What is this? bogus overprint '15 c' in red on 50 c olive and black)

Forgeries of the 'CONGO BELGE' overprint also exist.

Taxe 'overprints'

The stamps with 'overprint' 'TAXES' are actually cancels, example:

Bogus issue

The following stamps of Belgium with overprints '4 ----- C. CONGO 4 ------ C.', 'Congo 2 c 2 c' and 'Congo 3 c 3 c' are probably bogus issues:

I know of some bogus(?) labels issued in 1884 with inscription 'ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE SERVICE POSTAL DU CONGO Inland' or 'ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE SERVICE POSTAL DU HAUT CONGO Inland.' in a large rectangle (information obtained thanks to Baudoin Collard). I have never seen these labels personally.

Airmail

1920 Various designs

(Sorry, no picture available yet)

  50 c red and black
  1 F violet and black
  2 F blue and black
  5 F green and black

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Websites

A nice site on the forgeries of this country can be found on : http://users.skynet.be/chst/falsification.htm (in french).

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer

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