Cyprus Queen Victoria Overprinted Stamp

Cyprus · 1880 · Half Penny

This is the first postage stamp issued for Cyprus under British administration. It features a portrait of Queen Victoria, plate 208, from a contemporary Great Britain stamp, overprinted with the word 'CYPRUS' in black capital letters. The stamp's original denomination was one penny, but this specific issue is the halfpenny value.

Issued in 1880, this stamp marks the beginning of the British postal system in Cyprus, two years after the island's administration was transferred from the Ottoman Empire to the British Empire in 1878.