An early (November 1878) example of mail from an entrepreneur in Larnaca addressed to Vienna. The stamp is a British one cancelled with the 942 numeral postmark of Larnaca. It seems that the sender had been a well established Company there since the Ottoman period judging from the neat personal envelope.

. . . during working hours or you will have to pay additional fee if you insist to send your mail so late! This is a very interesting cover, early enough and with the Post Office marking to justify the reason for the additional postage fee paid by the sender for this destination. The normal fee would be two and a half piastres only as this is shown in the next example of a letter to Egypt.

A neat example of a letter posted from Limassol to Khartoum in Sudan (then under AngloEgyptian control) in May 1879 when still British stamps were used to pay the cost of mail from Cyprus.
The 2.5 pence stamp paying the rate for that route was cancelled with the 975 numeral cancellation mark of Limassol while another round and more informative postmark was applied on the envelope to designate the exact place and date of mail.

British stamp used in Cyprus. It is recognized as such from its canceling postmark being the numeral 942 which during the period was allocated to the Larnaca post office in Cyprus.

"A"
The First stamp of Cyprus. Better described as the first British stamp allocated for use in Cyprus.

143 sheets each consisting of 480 stamps in 24 columns marked from A to X and 20 rows marked from A to T were overprinted with CYPRUS .
The lettering in the four corners of each stamp shows its unique position in the sheet.
Three plate prints exist of these stamps - numbers 12 15 and 19 , the latter being the rarest as it is believed that only two sheets had been overprinted.
When these stamps were withdrawn from circulation , the remainders being 28 sheets plus 133 stamps were sold to Stanley Gibbons in London who had since then been an established stamp dealer for collectors.

One sheet from plate 12, that is 480 stamps valued 240 pence or one pound had been additionally overprinted with the SPECIMEN (sample) inscription.

Next in the list of six British stamps marked for use in Cyprus

"B"

The number 2 stamp for Cyprus was supplied by the British post in 1412 sheets of 240 stamps each (12 columns and 20 rows alphabetically marked as with number one) of thirteen different plate prints.. So their total value had been 1412 pounds - each pound was divided in 240 pence.
The substantial amount of 563 sheets plus 172 stamps were still unsold by the end of their lifespan on 30th June 1881
It has been recorded that Stanley Gibbons of London bought the remainders which included the only one sheet of each plate 193 and 196 that had been overprinted with CYPRUS and in the end did not find their way to mail.

A rare stamp of the number 2 family of stamps: Plate 174 is regarded as the fourth rarest plate of the one penny stamp.
The rarest of all is plate 184 because only one sheet from this plate was overprinted with the CYPRUS inscription and that was available in the post office to the public for use.
Contrary to this, the only one sheet that was overprinted from each of plates 193 and 196 were never made available to the public through the post office, but have been amongst the unused stock which in the end were sold to stamp dealers. As a result all the 240 stamps from each of those two sheets have survived as mint stamps - a big difference from the maximum twenty pieces estimated to have survived (mostly used) of the plate 184 sheet.

The Watermark

"C"

The third stamp for Cyprus was supplied in sheets consisting of two panes of 96 stamps each in 8 rows of 12, so a whole sheet had 196 stamps.
The total number of stamps overprinted had been 319584 which make 3329 panes in 1664 sheets and one pane.
Two plate numbers 14 and 15 are known to have been overprinted with CYPRUS, however, Wilfrid Castle in his most important work, Cyprus: Its Postal History and Postage Stamps, mentions of one single stamp that has been reported as seen used from plate number 9 - this would suggest that one or two sheets of plate 9 would have been overprinted.
The quantity of 228969 stamps (about 2385 panes) remained unsold after the lapse of the15 months of their lifespan and found their way to Stanley Gibbons of London who bought them.

"D"


61 sheets consisting of 4 panes of 60 stamps each valued one pound, i.e. each sheet had 240 stamps worth of four pounds.
One plate number 16. About 45 sheets (10972 stamps) were sold to Stanley Gibbons as remainders, so the number of stamps sold through the post offices was only 3668.

"E"

The fifth British stamp overprinted for use in Cyprus.
14 sheets of 240 stamps were supplied each configured in 12 panes (say mini sheets) each pane consisting of 20 stamps in 5 rows of four. These panes were arranged in the main sheet in 4 rows of 3 . Based on the pictured block of four imagine that horizontally there are 4 stamps instead of the two shown and then the vertical border and that vertically there were five stamps instead of the two shown here and then a horizontal border on top of them thus making a pane of 20 stamps. Beyond both the top and the right borders there were more panes up to the number of 4 panes horizontally and three vertically.
Out of the 3360 stamps (the 14 sheets supplied initially) the 1015 remained unsold and Stanley Gibbons of London bought them.

"F"

The top value - the sixth stamp from the British stocks overprinted for use in Cyprus.
Each sheet constituted of 240 stamps arranged in two panes of 120 situated vertically i.e. two blocks of 120 stamps divided in the middle by a horizontal border.
The 120 stamps in each pane were arranged in 10 rows of 12.
In total 12 sheets of this value were overprinted making the quantity of 2880 stamps out of which 1658 were sold through the post offices in Cyprus while the remainders (1222) were sold to Stanley Gibbons as had been the case with the other five stamps.

A very rare block of nine of the top value Cyprus overprint.
This stamp paying an expensive rate had been mostly used in parcel mail and especially on parcels containing the famous Lefkara laces which were sent by mail usually to the UK and France. In fact the parcel was a strengthened envelope in various sizes which could be bought through the post office in which case its cost included the registration fee; additional fees were paid through the application of stamps according to its weight and destination and other circumstances if any i.e. if the sender requested insured mail or a receipt of delivery or even if he was paying an extra fee to compensate for sending it during late hours.
The pictured block was mailed from Larnaca (proved by the postmark 942 which was used in Larnaca ). Moreover we can assume that it had been applied on an envelope with a soft content - that could have been lace from Lefkara, a village in the Larnaca region - as the application of the handstamp on a soft surface always produces a faint marking because the handstamp cannot get in immediate simultaneous and total contact with the whole surface to be marked. Such undefined or faint markings usually appear on this stamp.

"G"

The One Penny "B" British stamp with the "CYPRUS" overprint undergoes a second treat at the Government of Cyprus printing office this time.

The First Type of the additional "HALF-PENNY" inscription applied to the one penny CYPRUS overprint was executed in Nicosia in February 1881 by local experienced printers at the Government Printing Office. This was decided because the number 1 Half Penny stamp was in much demand so the necessity of creating more half pennies out of the existing idle stocks was obvious and imminent in order any disruption in the services provided due to shortage of stamps be avoided. The overprint was applied to stamp sheets from all plates except the 184 193 196 which as we know existed in one copy each.
The overprint was 18mm in length and 2.5 in height. The printing method was lithography and its execution included much work which was done by hand, thus resulting in some varieties in the lettering as well as the position of the overprint.

"H"

The Second Type of the additional "HALF-PENNY" inscription applied to the one penny CYPRUS overprint has been recorded on plates 201 216 and 218 (The latter at least once). It was applied in April 1881. The lettering extends from 16mm to 16.5mm in length and 2.5mm in height though some examples have been recorded with a 17mm length considered to be an intermediate type executed chronologically between the first and the second; this is quite rare and it might have been applied in a couple of sheets only before the stone made master lithograph with the inscription was damaged , thus necessitating a third interpretation which is the one now recognized as the second type. Many varieties of the 2nd type do exist due to the nature of the overprint.

Quite rare in its usage of stamps. We know that this half penny overprint appeared in the Post Office in April 1881, so this could well be a First Day Cover. The stamps were cancelled by the 942 numeral obliterator and the descriptive postmark of Larnaca. Such covers appear very rarely in public auctions and when they do keen collectors are ready to pay huge amounts to buy them.

All numeral postmarks with their strong impressions intended to cancel (to kill) the stamp. The number was indicative of the town from where the mail was sent. The 942 killer was in use at the Larnaca post office and as shown here it cancels the number 8 stamp with the 16.5mm HALF PENNY overprint.

"I"

It is the third interpretation of the additional HALF-PENNY inscription on the one penny Cyprus overprint.
Compared to the others the lettering is shorter in both dimensions being 13mm in length and 2mm in height. It was applied on plates 205 215 217 218 and possibly on plate 201 though a single used copy that has appeared up to date is thought not to be genuine . This stamp similar to its siblings "suffers" from the presence of variations in the HALF-PENNY inscription which can be found double or treble or even quadruple. However treble and quadruple overprints do not appear in used condition thus allowing the assumption that such stamps when were originally found or made were sold for philatelic purposes.

A variation on the "I" stamp: The double HALF-PENNY overprint on plate 215.

Another variety of the HALF-PENNY (13mm) double overprint on the red penny stamp.

"J"

The 10th "J" stamp of the provisional issue overprinted for use in Cyprus.
30 paras inscription on the ONE PENNY stamp - applied to plates 201 216 217 and 220.
A note on the monetary system of Cyprus: The penny introduced to the island by the British was equal to 30 paras, the paras being carried forward from the Ottoman period. 40 paras made one piastre which had been the Cyprus money that lasted till 1955.
Thus 30 paras did not mean a change in the value of the stamp. It only helped for a better realization of the values by the public, having in mind the rates applicable to mail : The internal postage rate for the basic weight of half ounce which was initially fixed to one penny was to be reduced to half piastre i.e. to 20 paras which equalled 0.75d (two thirds of a penny). Still the realization of this is not as easy today. Nevertheless , the scheduled first issue of stamps to be introduced specifically for Cyprus would incorporate the paras and piastres coinage system.

30paras-variety double inverted overprint

A fine example of a letter posted to Firenze in Italy from Larnaca in September 1880.
The stamps paying the fee of 2.5 pence were cancelled with the "numeral obliterator" (as this kind of postmark is known) of Larnaca i.e. the 942. This kind of numeral postmark had been a characteristic way to KILL (to cancel) a stamp throughout the British Empire during that period. Different numbers were applicable for different towns. Usually when such numerals or killers were used , another type of postmark was additionally applied on the envelope more informative as regards the place and date of the origin of mail.

A letter sent from Limassol to Nicosia on 11th May 1881. A fine example of the 975 numeral cancellation of Limassol.

Revenue stamps are not in the scope of this study. However, a collector studying this period cannot ignore these fine specimens.