Somali Coast

The Somali Coast, or Côte Française des Somalis, is in Africa near where the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden meet.

1894-1933
 File:Somali Coast large quad paper 15c.jpg|1894 15c value. Stamps are widely spaced so margins can be even larger than this. File:Somali Coast bicolor small.jpg|1902 2c value. File:Somali pict A.jpg|1909 1c value. File:Somali Coast 10c girl.jpg|1915 10c value. 
 * In 1894, various Obock stamps where surcharged or overprinted with DJIBOUTI.
 * In 1894-1902, imperfs on quadrille paper like Obock's were released, inscribed PROTECTORAT DE LA CÔTE DES SOMÂLIS and DJIBOUTI.
 * In 1899 and 1902, various surcharges on were created in various fonts/styles.
 * In 1902, smaller two-color engraved designs were issued, now inscribed CÔTE FRANCAISE DES SOMALIS.
 * In 1903, the same designs were used with the centers printed in black. Both of the above issues are known in different colors, center inverted, imperf, etc. These errors probably are forgeries that went out the printer's back door.
 * In 1909, a new typographed pictorial definitive series was issued.
 * In 1915-33, another new pictorial definitive series was released.
 * Several surcharges followed plus the various French colonial omnibus issues.

1938-67
 File:Somali Coast tribesmen.jpg|1938 25c warriors definitive. File:Somali Coast Vichy green.jpg|1943 1.50+3.50fr Vichy airmail semipostal (never used). File:Somali Coast france Libre.jpg|1943 80c "France Libre". File:Somali Coast photgr 3fr.jpg|1947 3fr definitive. File:Somali Coast 100fr air.jpg|1947 100fr airmail. File:Somali Coast flamingo.jpg|1960 10fr flamingo. 
 * In 1938-40, engraved definitives were issued.
 * In 1941, the range of Vichy issues for the Somali Coast were issued in France but were never used in the colony.
 * In 1943, various earlier definitives were overprinted FRANCE LIBRE or France Libre in various fonts/styles.
 * Also in 1943, the France Libre omnibus set was issued with a design of a locomotive. Other colonial omnibus sets would follow.
 * In 1947, new photogravure definitives were issued, including airmails.
 * Various multicolor sets, generally engraved, were issued up to 1967.
 * In 1967, the Somali Coast became the Territory of the Afars and Issas.

Postage due
 File:Somali Coast first due.jpg|1915 5c value. File:Somali Coast engr due.jpg|1938 engraved 60c value. File:Somali Coast 10c France Libre due engr.jpg|1943 10c engraved due with FRANCE LIBRE. File:Somali Coast 30c due.jpg|1947 30c due. 
 * In 1915, typographed dues were issued on chalky paper.
 * In 1927, 2fr and 3fr surcharges were released on 1fr stamps in new colors.
 * In 1938, old designs appeared again but engraved. There is an added imprint "INST DE GRAV" in the white space at the bottom of the design.
 * In 1943, both the 1915 dues were overprinted FRANCE LIBRE; the 1938 dues were overprinted France Libre.
 * In 1944, the Vichy government in France issued 5 values of the 1938 due designs without "RF". These were never issued in the colony.
 * In 1947, horizontal format dues were released with an abbreviated inscription.

[[Category:S]]