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Batum

British Occupation Issues of 1919

Location of Batum

In 1878 Turkey ceded the Armenian port of Batum to Russia. It was linked to
the Transcaucasian Railway and in 1903 became an oil pipeline terminal. In April 1918
Batum was occupied by Turkish forces. Between December of 1918 and and the 6 July
1920 it was under British occupation. It passed to the control of the Georgian Republic,
the Transcaucasian Federation and eventually the Soviet Union. It is now part of Georgia.

Definitive of 1919
This is the first definitive issue used under British occupation.
Russian definitives with a variety of overprints were also used.


''British Occupation Overprints
The definitive of 1919 was overprinted ''British Occupation'' when, as a result of a strike
by city council workers, the postal service was placed under the control of the British Army.


Counterfeits of the Batum issues are common and the authenticity of the stamps pictured here is doubtful. An excellent analysis of this issue can be seen at Big Blue:
http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.ca/2012/11/batum-and-aloe-tree-forgeries.html



Bibliography

"Batum." Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 1997.

"A fruitless search." Gibbons Stamp Monthly. Feb. 2004: 88.


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