'OCCUPATION AZIRBAYEDJAN'...

These overprinted stamps were never authorized for postal use. The most likely of several stories about these overprints seems to be that when the 9-year-old Russian peacekeeping mission in Persia's northernmost province of Azerbaijan collapsed along with the Russian monarchy in late 1917, some military officers had these produced, allegedly for the use of the Russian troops and their dependents fleeing Persia. 20 different types of this overprint are recognized between the originals and all of the forgeries, and there may be even more.

6 images — 3 years ago