Stamps of Georgia 1919 - 1923

I just sent a collector of St George some of the first stamps of Independent Georgia.

I have never understood why they are not more popular. They are nicely designed and printed. There are shade, paper, perforation and gum varieties. There are colour trials and unissued values available at quite modest prices (under 50 euro). Postally used, they are not that hard to find, though a good cover is going to cost over 100 euro - but a good cover from Armenia at this time is going to cost over 1000.

Importantly, there are no recorded reprints or forgeries of the basic stamp. So they can be safely collected even by a novice.

I think one thing which deters collectors is the later stamps of the 1919 - 1923 period which include an array of unattractive rubber handstamp overprints in numerous types and colours. Though these have never been much forged, they are tedious to classify - unless you like that sort of thing. The work of classification has been done by specialists (Ashford, Ceresa) so the collector has a ready - made guide.

Those who dislike messy overprints could stick with the first St George (and Queen Tamara) issues. They provide enough variety to comfortably fill an album or make an exhibit