Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa bordered by Libya to the North, Sudan to the East, Central African Republic to the South, Cameroon and Nigeria to the Southwest, and Niger to the West.
The country is termed “Dead Heat of Africa” because of its largely desert climate and distance from the sea. The country covers a land area of around 500,000 square miles with a population of over 10 million people making it a sparsely populated country at around 21 per square mile – the population has almost doubled in the last ten years. Human presence dates back to 7000 BC with the first empire springing up around 1000 BC. France conquered the territory in 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. Chad gained Independence in 1960. The climate is tropical - one-third of the country is part of the Sahara desert while the rest of the country have a rainy season that stretches from May to October. Chad is one of the poorest countries of the world. It has a per-capita GDP (ppp) of around $1500. Sustenance farming was the mainstay until oil production began in 2003 – Chad is estimated to have around 1.5 billion barrels of oil. The country is in dire need of proper infrastructure – as of 2004, it only had about 340 miles of paved roads. The country endured a civil war that lasted from 1965 to 1987 when the Libyan’s who got involved in the war retreated and Hissene Habre, the French supported president started a dictatorship. Chad currently has a multiparty system but the opposition parties boycotted the 2006 election. Ethnic problems continue to be a growing issue.
The first stamps of Chad are ‘TCHAD’ overprints on Types of Middle Congo from the period 1907 to 1917 released in 1922.
The set (Scott #1 to #18) catalogs for around $65 MNH or Used. The designs show Leopard, Bakalois Woman, and Coconut Grove. A reissue of this issue from 1922 in different colors overprinted “Afrique Equattoriale Francaise” were the only stamps used in Chad during the period from 1924 to 1933. The set (Scott #19 to #50) catalogs for around $80 MNH or Used. A surcharged variety was also issued during the period from 1924 to 1927. Those stamps (Scott #51 to #59) catalog for around $30 MNH or Used.
Below are other relevant stamp issues of Chad over the years:
Last Updated: 07/2011.
The country is termed “Dead Heat of Africa” because of its largely desert climate and distance from the sea. The country covers a land area of around 500,000 square miles with a population of over 10 million people making it a sparsely populated country at around 21 per square mile – the population has almost doubled in the last ten years. Human presence dates back to 7000 BC with the first empire springing up around 1000 BC. France conquered the territory in 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. Chad gained Independence in 1960. The climate is tropical - one-third of the country is part of the Sahara desert while the rest of the country have a rainy season that stretches from May to October. Chad is one of the poorest countries of the world. It has a per-capita GDP (ppp) of around $1500. Sustenance farming was the mainstay until oil production began in 2003 – Chad is estimated to have around 1.5 billion barrels of oil. The country is in dire need of proper infrastructure – as of 2004, it only had about 340 miles of paved roads. The country endured a civil war that lasted from 1965 to 1987 when the Libyan’s who got involved in the war retreated and Hissene Habre, the French supported president started a dictatorship. Chad currently has a multiparty system but the opposition parties boycotted the 2006 election. Ethnic problems continue to be a growing issue.The first stamps of Chad are ‘TCHAD’ overprints on Types of Middle Congo from the period 1907 to 1917 released in 1922.
The set (Scott #1 to #18) catalogs for around $65 MNH or Used. The designs show Leopard, Bakalois Woman, and Coconut Grove. A reissue of this issue from 1922 in different colors overprinted “Afrique Equattoriale Francaise” were the only stamps used in Chad during the period from 1924 to 1933. The set (Scott #19 to #50) catalogs for around $80 MNH or Used. A surcharged variety was also issued during the period from 1924 to 1927. Those stamps (Scott #51 to #59) catalog for around $30 MNH or Used.Below are other relevant stamp issues of Chad over the years:
- The first original issues of Chad were released in 1959 to mark the first anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic. The set (Scott #64 & #65) catalogs for around a dollar MNH and a few cents for Used. The designs show symbols of “Birth of the Republic” and “Solidarity of the Community”.
- A set of thirteen stamps released between 1961 and 1962 to mark the first anniversary of Independence. The set (Scott #70 to #82) catalogs for around $8 MNH and $3 for Used. The designs show Biltine and Dorcas Gazelle, Logone and Elephant, Batha and Lion, Salamat and Buffalo, Ouaddai and Kudu, Bessada and Giant Eland, Tibesti Mountains and Mouflon, Rocherg and Antelope, Kanem and Cheetah, Borkou and Oryx, and Gorge of Archet and Addax. The design is unique in that it shows the landscape as the main image and an outline of the animal using white lines over it.
- A set of five stamps (Scott #90 to #94) released on December 2, 1963 in the Excavation theme. The set catalogs for around $5 MNH and $2 for Used. The designs show Excavated Sao Art: Clay Weight, Ancestral Mask, Ancestral Clay Statuette, Bronze Gazelle, and Bronze Pectoral.
- A set of four stamps (Scott #139 to #142) released on May 23 1963 in the Butterflies theme. The set catalogs for around $25 MNH and $2 for Used. This was followed by as sister set of four stamps (Scott #159 to #162) released on October 1, 1968 in the Moths theme. That set also has similar catalog value. The designs show Tiger Moth, Owlet, Gynanisa Maja (Saturnid), and Epiphora Bauhiniae (Saturnid).
A set of six stamps (Scott #473 to #479) released on March 15 1984 in the transportation theme. The set catalogs for around $17 MNH and $4 Used. The design shows Locomotive Lady from 1879, Sailboat on Lake Chad, Graf Zeppelin, Renault Desert Transport, Bloch 120 Monoplane, and Air Africa DC-8.- A set of four stamps released on October 9, 1989 in the Traditional Hair Styles theme.
The set is very valuable at around $150. A few other sets issued during the period till 1993 are also very highly valued. Those include a set of five stamps (Scott #633a-e) released on September 1, 1992 in the ‘Fight Against Insect Pests’ theme; A set of four stamps released on April 15, 1993 in the ‘Palace of the People’ theme; A set of four stamps released on December 27 1993 (Scott #634 to #638) in the Tourism theme.
Last Updated: 07/2011.
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