Eastern Rumelia

Eastern Rumelia was once an autonomous part of the Ottoman Empire. It was what is now southern Bulgaria today.
 * In 1880, Eastern Rumelia overprinted Turkish stamps with a large blue R.O..
 * In 1881, a sideways curved blue ROUMELIE / ORIENTALE overprint was issued.
 * In 1881, a design based on then-current Turkish stamps was released, inscribed ROUMELIE ORIENTALE / ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ ΡΟΜΥΛΙΑ / НОТОУНА РУМЕЛІЯ. These exist perf 13½ and perf 11½. The 5 and 10pa values were issued in new colors in 1884, again in two different perfs.
 * In September 1885, Eastern Rumelia declared independence. A lion was overprinted in two major types plus two framed types. The framed overprints were additionally inscribed ЮОЖНА / БЪЛГАРИЯ.
 * By October, Eastern Rumelia was annexed by Bulgaria and began using Bulgarian stamps.

All stamps have been forged, with forgeries outnumbering genuine by a wide margin. See: Eastern Rumelia notes on forgeries.  File:E Rumelia 5pi B.jpg|1881 5pi framed overprint (unissued). 

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