The History of Cyprus Stamps and a little bit more...

Stamps in Cyprus are issued by the postal services department.

The postal history of Cyprus is very closely related to the island's political past. Postal services existed during the Venetian and Ottoman periods of occupation and the first printed postage stamps appeared after the start of the British occupation in 1878. It's said that Cyprus' postal history is probably the most interesting of all Commonwealth countries!

The first postage stamps issued were identical to stamps issued in Britain - but overprinted with CYPRUS. Later issues included local themes, with the current reigning British monarch depicted in the upper corners.

The postal services department have issued stamps in several series per year since 1960. The illegally occupied areas in the North of Cyprus issue their own stamps and are separate to the Republic of Cyprus (South Cyprus). More recently the total stamps produced per issue range between 50,000 - 80,000 for each stamp.

All mail dispatched out of Cyprus must carry the Refugee Fund stamp (current value €0,02cents) in order to be posted officially. The very first Refugee Fund stamp was issued in October 1974 (originally a 1971 commemorative issue overprinted 5m to 10m Refugee Fund). New issues have been released on a fairly regular basis and since 10th January 1977 all have been of the same design depicting a person squatting in front of a stretch of coiled barbed wire. Only the colour has changed in all this time, most recently to a greyish purple colour.

Please look out for our own unofficial or private first day covers - they are very unique and collectable. Since the postal services started to produce official covers, the private covers are very quickly becoming a thing of the past. So, if you are looking for individual cachets or a hand produced & personally designed fdc - look no further...

For the latest issues of all stamps, visit our pages regularly and keep a close eye on our "News" page from the top or bottom menus and also our "Latest Issues" information, located at the right hand side of all our web pages.

Cyprus Stamps - is a member of the Cyprus Philatelic Society.

Getting married in Cyprus and need stamps for your Wedding invitations from your Cypriot relatives? Simply purchase your stamps from us to ensure you receive those all important replies to your RSVP's! 

Or - place your invitation order with Indigo-Orchid for your wedding and ask them to pre-order your Cyprus stamps to guarantee a response. Indigo-Orchid provide unique, modern personalised Wedding stationery (invitations, place cards, save the date cards etc) with fresh, vibrant and contemporary designs.