The city of Batum in the country of Georgia is the capital of an autonomous republic called Adjara. Batum (also spelled Batumi) was occupied briefly by the British after World War I; the Brits both issued new stamps and overprinted existing stamps for Batum.
Stamp activity began in 1919, when the British did three different things postally for Batum:
1. Britain printed stamps especially for Batum, inscribed in Russian with БАТУМСКАЯ ПОЧТА and the value in kopecks and roubles.
2. Britain used Russian stamps dating from 1909 to 1917, overprinted in Russian with ‘БАТУМ. ОБ.’ and a surcharge.
3. Britain used its own Batum stamps (#1 above) with the English overprint ‘BRITISH OCCUPATION’.
Other Batum stamps from 1920 would feature a variety of overprints in both English and Russian on the same stamp.
See also: Ivory Coast rare stamps (Côte d’Ivoire) for philatelists
In 1994, there were several unofficial cinderella local Batum stamps with a variety of subjects. These are inscribed with the name of the city in three languages: English, Russian (Батуми), and Georgian (ბათუმი). These have not been used postally but are collected by many.
