The collecting of fiscal cancellations of North Borneo is now quite popular. Once upon a time, it was possible to purchase these stamps at a fraction of the normal price but no longer. Here are some nice cancellations, some of which have been reconstructed.
Elopura was the name give by its founder, William Pryer for Sandakan. But it soon reverted to its traditional name which was used for the original settlement on Timbang island deep inside Sandakan Bay which was also known as Bandar German or German Town due to the presence of early German traders. The original Elopura cancellation was used for some of the earliest of Sandakan covers in 1884. It had the prefix A or no prefix. This prefix P type was reintroduced as a fiscal cancellation in 1889 and 1890.
Marudu or Marudo or even Malloodoo was an old settlement in the Kudat area dating from the 15th century. Its interesting history has been written elsewhere on this blog. It is worth your while checking it all by using the search box at the top left of this page. Here we can see the original cancellation with Marudo had been modified to the accepted spelling of Marudu by slicing off the top part of the last letter of the fiscal chop.
This is a nice looking cancellation of the Government Of North Borneo Jesselton. This 1912 overprinted $5 is worth quite a bit mint or postally used. These large official fiscal cancels usually have the country's coat of arms.
This is the cancellation in blue of the Government Of North Borneo Judicial Department. There are a few different governmental cancellations like this with the coat of arms in the middle. They are very attractive in contrast to most postal cancellations.
The Residency of Kudat chop was a very interesting fiscal cancellation from Kudat which was also used as a postal cancel before the very first postal cancellers arrived in 1884. I think this was used in 1883 and the Singapore transit cancellation confirms that it was used postally.
This is a very nice cancellation in blue which is seldom seen. It was used at the Registrar's Office at Sandakan.
The Residency of Sillam looks stunning in red. Somehow this small place on the east coast near Lahad Datu has some of the most sought after of cancellations. Its intaglio postal seal in both red and blue is also very beautiful. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the research site for growing tobacco and other cash crops. In recent times, efforts are focused on restoring coastal ecosystems from the damage that occurred as a result of logging and oil palm cultivation in the area. The aim is to restore and increase biodiversity.
