Page updated 14th March 2021	IRAQI KURDISTAN 1993 - 1999 Click here to see postal issues 2000 - onwards Click here to see Kurdish revenues Click here to see FDC's and covers These pages are constantly being updated These Iraqi Kurdistan pages will show as much information as possible about the issues and illustrations will remain on the pages for reference purposes even when the sets or individual items are not offered for sale. Feel free to use the scans and information for lawful purposes. More information will be added as it becomes available

IRAQI KURDISTAN POSTAGE STAMPS 1993 - 1999

All stamps listed below are unmounted/non-hinged mint unless shown to be otherwise

The stamps shown below first appeared in 1993 when the overprinted 1977 Iraq issue of The Dome of The Rock [SG1291 - ScottRA23 - Mi912] was issued. Another set of stamps showing the Kurdistan National Assembly Building was issued simultaneously. The datestamps on FDC's for both issues show 4th June 1993. The margins of the sheets of 'Kurdish Assembly Building' set has, in English and in bold print, THE FIRST EVER KURDISH POSTAGE STAMP [picture] and each stamp value shows the date in English - 1993 at the top and 1992 at the bottom! Later issues showed 1993 at both top and bottom.[Strictly speaking the first Kurdish postage stamps were the 'Sheikh Mahmoud' issues of 1923] In the early months of the year 2000 the perforating machine in Erbil broke down and imperforate sets were offered for sale for a while, then stamps with terribly rough perforations appeared. Early information indicated that only the first two issues were actually officially valid for postage, but subsequent announcements in Kurdish newspapers and on Kurdish official websites gave details of later issues officially sanctioned by the Kurdish authorities.

	4th June 1993 1993 The very first stamp to appear in Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq Dome of the Rock issue.SG1291 ‘Dome of The Rock’ with a vertical, usually quite faint, 'One Dinar' overprint. There are 2 types of overprint - see illustration. £12.00 the pair	4th June 1993 1993 National Assembly of Kurdistan Building’. Stamps with Arabic and English script and inscribed ‘National Assembly of Kurdistan 4/6/1992 on the bottom but with the date 1993 on the top. Both stamps are printed on shiny paper with peelable yellow backing. Rough perfs. 10.5 X 10.5 and printing faults. Sold out

	4th June 1993	Unissued "Missing" 1 ID value discovered? Over 20 years ago a member of a trade delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan was presented with a folder of the new postage stamps recently printed in Erbil. The stamps were as a minor reward for certain services rendered to a member of the Kurdish parliament. This folder has remained untended and neglected until a few weeks ago when the owner contacted me to enquire about the stamps and whether they had any value and I was very surprised and excited to see a 1 ID value, thus completing a set of 1,2, and 3 ID values. The Blue 2 ID and Green 3 ID. I have a grey 1ID on ungummed paper. Information obtained from Erbil now confirms that the original set was to be of three values, the 1 ID mauve, 2ID blue, and 3ID green but a decision was made to not issue the 1 ID because of the unsuitable colour. Obviously some 1 ID sheets were printed but this is the first time I have received evidence of this.
	4th June 1993 1993 National Assembly of Kurdistan Building A single marginal 2 ID value. Peelable backing paper sold	4th June 1993 1993 National Assembly of Kurdistan Building Ungummed stamps on white paper. A rare 1 ID [Iraqi Dinar] value has been added to the series and the year 1993 is shown at the top and bottom of this stamp. The date at the bottom of the blue 2 ID stamp has been corrected to 1993, but the green 3 ID still shows 1993 at the top and 1992 at the botton. The value of the 2 ID now shows "2 ID" and not "ID 2" as on the shiny stamps. The 1 ID value is a rare item and was not issued in shiny self-adhesive form. sold out

	4th June 1993 1993 National Assembly of Kurdistan Building Ungummed stamp on white paper. A single 3 ID value. £7.00	4th June 1993 Overprint on SG1891 [15th Oct. 1989] Iraq Tourism issue showing Erbil a and Kurdish girls in colourful Kurdish dresses. Overprints are applied either horizontally [left stamp] or vertically and are usually are very faint. sold out
	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] the Kurdish leader. Set of 3 identical stamps with different values. Rough perfs.throughout the sheet. All values were printed within one sheet, but with very few 5 ID values. A scarce set sold out	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] set of 3. The 1 ID and 5 ID values as a vertical se-tenant pair This set as shown - sold
	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] set of 3. The 1 ID and 5 ID values as a vertical se-tenant pair This set as shown - (set 3) sold	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] row from bottom of page. with central gutter 2 ID on left, and 3 x 1 ID stamps on right. As shown - £20.00
	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] marginal block of 6 4 X 1 ID stamps and 2 X 2 ID stamps Vertical perf. error £25.00	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] marginal block of 4 4 X 1 ID stamps £15.00
	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] corner block of 4 4 X 1 ID stamps - darker blue £15.00	14th March 1997 Serok Barzani [1903 - 1979] single 1 ID stamp sold
	11 September 1997 Hawler [Erbil], declared the Capital of Kurdistan. The yellow 5 ID was described as being very rare by my supplier, and this could be true, as sets from another source did not include the yellow 5 ID value. The black 5 ID is printed on gummed paper but the other 3 values seem to have gum brushed onto them . Perf. 10.5 Sold out	11 September 1997 Hawler [Erbil], declared the Capital of Kurdistan. The black 5 ID is printed on gummed paper but the other 2 values seem to have gum brushed onto them . Perf. 10.5 £12.00
	21 March 1999 Nawrooz - Spring Festival. One mulicoloured stamp, value 2 ID. NB. Stamps have rough perfs., as in block 1 shown below £6.50	Notes on the Spring Festival (Nawrooz) issue There appears to have been at least two printings of this issue as shown below. The block on the left has very rough perforations and the stamps are printed on gummed paper. The block on the right has clean perforations and the gum appears to have been has been applied by hand, as on earlier issues Perhaps this block is from the centre of the sheet with both vertical and horizontal central gutters.
	21 March 1999 Spring Festival.(Blk.1) Block of four as shown above. Sold	21 March 1999 Spring Festival. (Blk.2) Block of four as shown above. Sold
	April 1998 Muqdad Beder Khan Anniversary. Again, rough perfs around 11 X 11 & brushed gum sold out	April 1998 Kurdish Nature set of four values sold
	April 1998 Tree - single 5 ID stamp from 'Nature' set. £4.50	April 1998 Fish - single 3 ID stamp from 'Nature' set. As with so many other sheets, the perforation width was set incorrectly thus reducing the width of this stamp. sold out
	April 1998 Kurdish Settlements/Cities Through the Ages	April 1998 Kurdish Settlements/Cities Through the Ages 2 ID single value £4.00
	April 1998 Kurdish Settlements/Cities Through the Ages 3 ID single value £4.00	April 1998 Kurdish Settlements/Cities Through the Ages Shanidar Cave in the Rowanduz Mountains 5 ID single value £4.00
	December 1998 Kurdish Historic Sites	April 1998 Historic Sites 1 ID value single stamp £4.00
	April 1998 Historic Sites 3 ID value single stamp £4.00	April 1998 Historic Sites 5 ID value single stamp £7.50
	21st April 1999 Second Computer & Communications Conference. This stamp was printed in the same sheet as the 5 ID value of the Kurdish Tourism set £5.00	21 April 1999 "Second Computer & Communications Conference" se-tenant with the 3 ID value of the Kurdish Tourism set £15.00
	1999 Kurdish National Costumes Set #1 £7.50	1999 Kurdish National Costumes Set #2 £7.50

1999 Tourism - Kurdish scenes These pictorial stamps appeared during 1999 and have been lumped into one 'set'

	1999 Kurdish Scenes 1 ID Mountain Resort Sold out	1999 Kurdish Scenes 2 ID Refugees fleeing Sold out
	1999 Kurdish Scenes 2 ID Smoking building sold out	1999 Kurdish Scenes 3 ID Sherwana Castle, Kalar £3.50
	1999 Kurdish Scenes set 3 ID Monument (printed with Computers & Communications stamp) £3.50	1999 Kurdish Scenes 5 ID Erbil £3.50
	1999 Kurdish Scenes set 5 ID Lakeside Resort £3.50	15 November 1999 KURDSAT - Kurdish TV Satellite set of 4 £15.00
	1999	Set of 21 Flowers + two buildings Large sets of stamps began to appear in 1999, starting with a set of 21 Flowers + 2 Buildings. These were printed se-tenant within sheets of different values [1ID, 2ID, 3ID, 5ID]. Most peculiarly, 2 of the 3ID se-tenant pairs were of a flower and a building! . A few flowers were also issued imperforate - flowers M, N, and S . These were probably printed after the perforation machine had broken down - see elsewhere on pages. All the stamps had the date '1999' in English printed on them, and the 5 ID values had the word 'POSTAGE' printed as 'POTAGE'. These are being sold as errors on auction sites but all 5 ID stamps had the word mis-spelt. Flowers shown below are offered as single stamps - unfortunately no complete set is available. Some sheets had perforations punched one or two perfs.narrower than others so some stamps have narrow margins [See 1 ID values, Flower 'B' and Flower 'E' below] Images of flowers will not enlarge on desktop computers Several 'Flowers' items are available from proof runs - see "Proofs & Errors" section when page is added.

	1999 Government Building 3 ID (printed with Flowers set) Sold out	1999 Sherwana Castle 3 ID (printed with Flowers set) Sold out
	1 ID Flower unavailable	1 ID Flower A unavailable
	1 ID Flower B Sold out	1 ID Flower C unavailable
	1 ID Flower D £2.25	1 ID Flower E unavailable
	2 ID Flower F £2.25	2 ID Flower G £2.25
	2 ID Flower H £2.25	2 ID Flower I £2.25
	2 ID Flower J £2.25	2 ID Flower K £2.25
	3 ID Flower L £2.25	3 ID Flower M £2.25
	3 ID Flower N £2.25	3 ID Flower O £2.25
	5 ID Flower P £2.25	5 ID Flower R £2.25
	5 ID Flower S £2.25	5 ID Flower T £2.25
	5 ID Flower U Sold out	1999 Two examples of se-tenant printing (Enlarge with mouse pointer)
	1999 Shaikh Mahmood Barzani [1881 - 1956] Leader of 1919 Kurdish Revolt A single 5 ID stamp with 'POSTAGE' printed as 'POTAGE', as on 5 ID values of the Flowers.

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