The first stamps specifically marked Gibraltar were stamps of Bermuda overprinted as such and issued in January 1886. Before that British and Spanish stamps were used according to the type of mail and other arrangements were in place before the invention of postage stamps. 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.
The post in Gibraltar is currently run by the Royal Gibraltar Post Office which in 2005 was granted the title of “Royal” by Her Majesty the Queen. Gibraltar is now the only commonwealth or British Territory outside the United Kingdom that bears this distinction, Canada and other nations having dropped the name some time ago. The Gibraltar Post Office is now known as the Royal Gibraltar Post Office and all stamps are issued by the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau.
1840
QUEEN VICTORIA
The Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp.
Stamps & Postal History of Great Britain
1850
QUEEN ISABELLA
In 2018, a Spanish stamp mailed from Gibraltar in 1850 sold for €5,000.
1851
Red stamps with a new portrait of Queen Isabella II.
Stamps & Postal History of Spain
1886
QUEEN VICTORIA
Bermuda overprint
1886-87
Gibraltar Stamp
1889
Overprint Pesetas
1898
Sterling Re-issue
1903
KING EDWARD VII
When Queen Victoria died January 1901, new stamps were issued in 1902 for the new king.
1904-08
1906-12
1912
KING GEORGE V
The first stamps were not ready for issue until June 1911, over a year after his accession.
1918
War Tax stamp
1921-27
1931
Rock Views
1935
Jubilee Stamps
1937
KING GEORGE VI
King George VI became King after the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII, in December 1936. However the first definitive stamps bearing his portrait did not appear until 10th May 1937, just before the Coronation.
1938
Gibraltar Views
1946
Victory Stamp
1949
Jubilee Stamps
1949
75th Anniversary of the Universal Postal Union
1950
1953
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The first stamp of Gibraltar for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II was the 1/2d Coronation commemorative omnibus stamp issued on 2nd June 1953.
1954
Royal Visit
1956
To Pay Labels
1965
International Telecommunications Union stamp. Formed in Paris, 1865, at the International Telegraph Convention, ITU is one of the oldest intergovernmental organisations in the world.
1966
Inauguration of World Health Organisation new headquarters stamp
1968
1970
Europa Point
1971
Military Uniforms Series III
1972
Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip Silver Wedding Anniversary
1973
125th anniversary of Gibraltar Skull
1974
Centenary of Universal Postal Union
1975
50th Anniversary of Girl Guides
1976
Bicentenary of the American Revolution
1977
Part of the Definitive Fauna & Flora stamp set
1978
Gibraltar from space
1979
Centenary of the death of Rowland Hill
1980
150th anniversary of the Royal Gibraltar Police
1981
Europa Folklore – The Pillars of Hercules
1982
International Direct Dialling
1983
18th century Kings Bastion
1984
Sports
1985
1986
Queen Elizabeth II 60th birthday
1987
Europa Architecture – Ocean Heights
1988
From the Birds collection
1989
Europa Children’s Toys
1990
125th Anniversary of Gibraltar Fire Service
1991
Europa – Space. Stamp features the Columbus Development Programme with the Free Flying Laboratory docked to the Spaceplane Hermes for in-orbit servicing and payload exchange.
1992
40th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession
1993
Prince Edward Gate
