Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers 2.5 sq miles and shares a land border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.
The first stamps specifically marked Gibraltar were stamps of Bermuda overprinted Gibraltar and issued in January 1886, before this date British stamps used in Gibraltar may be identified by the use of cancels containing the numeral A26 or the letter G in oval bars. From November 1886 Gibraltar had its own stamps including the word Gibraltar in the design with seven values from 1/2d to 1 shilling. From 1889 these stamps were overprinted in centimos until British currency began to be used again in 1898. |
