What happened to Guyana stamps?

Starting in May 1981, Guyana almost ceased issuing new stamps altogether and simply overprinted the apparently vast stocks of older issues again and again, with new face values, new purposes or both. While it is tempting to think of this as aimed at collectors only, the truth was a little more complicated than that.

When did Guyana start philatelic eccentricity?

But it was before that, during the first half of the 1980s, that Guyana first gained a reputation for philatelic eccentricity. Starting in May 1981, Guyana almost ceased issuing new stamps altogether and simply overprinted the apparently vast stocks of older issues again and again, with new face values, new purposes or both.

How many Guyana overprints are there?

A sample of the author’s self-made catalog of Guyana overprints. To illustrate the scale of the problem, the 60-cent stamp (Scott 144) is a good introduction. It exists with four different overprints, including the “Revenue Only” overprint (Figure 1).

Why was Guyana declared a cooperative republic?

Guyana was declared to be a “Cooperative Republic” and various more or less eccentric economic policies were pursued, including nationalization of several large industries. Sadly, the oil crises of the 1970s had their effect on Guyana’s economy as well.