Victoria Officials

Victorian Official Overprints

Stamps overprinted with "OFFICIAL" were introduced in the early 1880s, with the purpose of assisting governmental accountants in tracking the postal spending of various state departments - hence the overprinted "OFFICIAL" was accompanied by "INLAND REVENUE", "OFFICE OF WORKS", "ARMY", "GOVERNMENT PARCELS" or "BOARD OF EDUCATION" accordingly. Clearly this is not an exhaustive list of government departments, as many other government departments used Perfins instead of overprints.

Product Grading

Please refer to the following grading acronyms in relation to this category.

• UM = Unmounted mint.
• FMM = Fine Mounted Mint.
• AMM = Average Mounted Mint, will have some defect.
• VFU = Very Fine Used, with a very light postmark.
• FU = Fine Used, with moderate postmark.
• GU = Good Used, with heavier postmark.
• AU = Average Used, slight defect such as pulled perfs, snagged corner or slight thin.
• SF = Stamp with faults, such as trimmed perfs, thinned, small tear.