Private editions:
This section shows those stamps, which have been overprinted with - in most cases - the knowledge and permission of the issuing Post Office (Congo or Katanga).  It is believed that the stamps were sold at their full face value and that the proceeds were given to charity. It is not certain whether they had any postal validity, as there is no proof if these stamps were used on commercial covers.

The legal status is still unclear because it is not know who authorized the overprinting.

Postal validity: is uncertain because I have not seen any examples used on commercial covers. It does appear that these overprints may have been produced by private individuals or organizations with or without the authority of the Post Office concerned. (Congo Post Office in the case of the Belgian Congo stamps and Katanga Post Office in the case of the Katangese stamps).

Perhaps they were arranged by a member of the UN Occupying Forces in its attempts to impose its will on Katanga and its way of thinking on the world at large.

I would like to know:

a) Where the overprinting was done.

b) From where they were sold - whether it was through a stamp dealer or directly from the producer of the overprints.  I have seen no evidence to suggest that any of these stamps were sold over post office counters in either Katanga or Congo.

Overprint: 21-9-1961 Armistice O.N.U.C. Katanga Ndola

Note: An Armistice day is not known on 21-9-1961

The United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC - the acronym comes from the French translation Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo) was established in 1960 to provide military assistance, to maintain order and protect Congolese unity, and to provide emergency and operational technical assistance. Headquarters of ONUC was located in the secessionist Katanga Province during the Civil War, which lasted from 1960 to 1965.

Ndola is situated in Zambia: Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary-General of the United Nations, died in a plane crash while on its way to Ndola, Zambia, on September 17, 1961.

Overprint: 13-10-1961 Armistice O.N.U.C. Katanga E’ville (E’ville = Elisabethville)

Note: An Armistice Day is not known on 13-10-1961

Overprint: 13-21-9-1961 Victoire de l’Armee Katangaise

Note: the first confrontations between ONU troops and the Katangese army in the cities Elisabethville, Jadotville and Kamina, are registered circa 13-9-1961 and the first battle for Elisabethville was at 5-12-1961. On 24-11-1961 the Resolution 169 of the ONU, no more violence of the troops, is approved.

General remark for the three above shown series: all dates of the overprint are not in correspondence with the official dates, this is very odd. The only date that corresponded to something: In the morning of 13 September the Congolese Government requested a cease-fire, but attacks on United Nations troops continued.

I have seen these series for the first time in 2003, if any one has seen them at an earlier date, I would very much like to know.

These series could be a forgery; it is not the first time that a relatively cheap series was used to overprint and to make it a rare and expensive series or stamp.

Note: any additional information is more than welcome, please e-mail to

Guy.vanrijn@chello.be