Stamp Identifier: Upper Volta and Burkina Faso

Upper Volta (Haute-Volta)

The stamps of the French colony Upper Volta in Northwestern Africa show the name in French as “Haute-Volta.” On the first issues of 1920, the name was overprinted on 1914-17 issues of Upper Senegal & Niger. Stamps inscribed “Haute-Volta” were issued in 1928, but the country was divided among French Sudan, Ivory Coast and Niger Territory in 1933. It was recreated in 1947, and the Republic of Upper Volta was proclaimed in 1958.

Burkina Faso

The stamps of Upper Volta as an independent nation were issued regularly depicting a mixture of domestic subjects and international topics. The country’s name changed to Burkina Faso in 1984, and the stamp inscriptions changed that year as well. The stamps of Upper Volta and Burkina Faso are all listed consecutively under the country name Burkina Faso in Vol. 1 of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue.

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