On 1st April 1880 the General Post Office in London handed over the management of the Cyprus Postal Services to the British Authorities in Cyprus, which released 6 stamps overprinted CYPRUS. These stamps which are considered the first Cypriot stamps retained their denominations of 1/2d, 1d, 2 1/2d, 4d, 6d, and 1 shilling and were kept in use for 15 months until 30th June 1881.
Out of the 750000 stamps (of all denominations) issued, only half were used and the rest were sold to Stanley Gibbons for £800, i.e. a quarter of their face value. The present issue is released to celebrate the centenary of these first Cypriot stamps which at that time were cancelled with special oval obliterators which were very common in Cyprus at that time and had a distinctive number for every post office. A second round of stamps bearing the name of the office and the date was put on the envelopes. The distinctive number of the obliterators were: Larnaca 942, Nicosia 969, Kyrenia 974, Limassol 975, Paphos 981, Famagusta 982, Polemidhia Camp D47, Nicosia H.Q. Camp D48 and Platres 098.
This first day cover bears a mini sheet of the Centenary Issue in 1980.
Thank you Merja for this wonderful FDC.
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