Rhodesia

Rhodesia was a self-governing British colony in southern Africa that unilaterally declared independence from the UK in 1965 under an apartheid white minority government led by Ian Smith. Internationally unrecognized, it faced sanctions and a guerrilla war. After negotiations and conflict, Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe in 1980 under majority rule. Rhodesia produced a distinctive range of postage stamps between 1965 and 1979, reflecting its contested political status and strong philatelic identity. Due to international sanctions, Rhodesia couldn't get their stamps printed by traditional high-end printers in London (like De La Rue). They had to rely on Mardon Printers in Salisbury, who did a remarkably good job under the circumstances. Stamps were designed by local artists—notably Rose Martin (a legendary wildlife illustrator) and Jeff Huntley—and were produced using four-color lithography.
Rhodesia used the Rhodesian Pound = 20 Shillings = 240 Pence system until 1970 when it switched to the decimal system of Rhodesian Dollars and Cents

1966 - Rhodesia 2 Penny - Citrus

First issued on 9 Feb 1966 2 PennyHarrison & Sons Ltd; Designed by Victor WhiteleySG RH 375This stamp was issued shortly after Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965. Because the UK did not recognize Rhodesia's independence, the British Post Office declared Rhodesian stamps issued after UDI—like this one—invalid. If you sent a letter from Rhodesia to London using this stamp, the British authorities would often slap a "Postage Due" sticker on it. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the top right is based on a 1954 painting by Pietro Annigoni. It’s considered one of the most "regal" depictions of the Queen, though it’s somewhat ironic that her image remained on the stamps of a colony that was, at the time, in open defiance of the British Crown. The black ink cancel is a Slogan Postmark. Based on the letters "VENT" and "FIRE," it is almost certainly part of the common Rhodesian postal warning: "PREVENT BUSH FIRES". These slogans were used to raise awareness during the dry seasons when wildfires (vlei fires) were a massive threat to the very citrus estates shown on the stamp.

1970 - Rhodesia 2 Cents - Industry

Date of Issue: 17 Feb 19702 CentsDecimal Currency Definitives (1970-73) - IndustryMardon Printers Ltd, Designed by Rose MartinSG RH 440
This stamp is the 2c Industry value from the Rhodesia 1970 Second Definitive Issue, released on February 17, 1970. It was part of a major series intended to showcase the nation's economic strengths during a period of international isolation.
The design depicts the pouring of molten metal, which was chosen to represent Rhodesia's significant iron ore reserves. At the time of its release, the government used this stamp to signal that its industry was "poised to take its place among the giants of Africa".

1970 - Rhodesia 2 1/2 Cents - Tourism

Date of Issue: 17 Feb 197021/2 CentsDecimal Currency Definitives (1970-73) - TourismMardon Printers Ltd, Designed by Rose MartinSG RH 441
The stamp depicts the Conical Tower in the Great Zimbabwe ruins built between 1100 and 1450 AD, and one of Africa's most famous archaelogical sites. Zimbabwe - which means 'stone house' in the Shona language, was the origin for the new name of Rhodesia after 1980. In the face of international isolation over its apartheid policies, this stamp tried to link the nation of Rhodesia to its archaeological heritage - even if the heritage depicted belonged to the very people the government of Rhodesia chose to exclude from their nation.
This stamp was issued to promote tourism to Rhodesia, and combines archaeology, tourism marketing, and political identity into a very simple but powerful design.

1974 - Rhodesia 2 1/2 Cents - Eland

Date of Issue: 14 Jul 1974 21/2 Cents1974 Definitive Natural HeritageMardon Printers Ltd, Designed by Jeff HuntlySG RH 490
This stamp is part of the 1974 Third Definitive Series - a major set that focused on the country's rich natural heritage. This depicts the Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx), the largest of all antelopes.
This series followed Rhodesia’s shift to decimal currency ($1\text{ Dollar} 100\text{ Cents}$), which happened in 1970. Before that, they used the old British system of pounds, shillings, and pence.
A lesser-known detail about this stamp is that the denomination itself made it unusually important in everyday postal use. Rather than paying a full rate on its own, the 2½c value was frequently used as a “make-up stamp” to combine with other denominations when postal rates changed or when unusual weights required odd totals.Because of this constant practical use, printers produced very large quantities, and careful collectors have found minor plate varieties and shade differences that only appear in certain printings—something that went largely unnoticed by ordinary mail users at the time.

1974 - Rhodesia 4 Cents - Reedbuck

Date of Issue: 14 Jul 1974 4 Cents1974 Definitive Natural HeritageMardon Printers Ltd, Designed by Jeff HuntlySG RH 492
This stamp is part of the 1974 Third Definitive Series - a major set that focused on the country's rich natural heritage. This shows the Common Reedbuck (Redunca arundinum).The 4-cent value was commonly used for local printed matter and low-weight domestic mail, meaning the reedbuck quietly became one of the most frequently circulated wildlife images in Rhodesia, appearing on thousands of ordinary letters even though it was never one of the country’s more famous animals like lions or elephants.In other words, the reedbuck — a shy antelope rarely seen even in the wild — ended up being one of the animals most widely seen by Rhodesians through their mail.

1978 - Rhodesia 5 Cents - Citrine

Date of Issue: 16 Aug 19785 CentsMardon Printers Ltd, Designed by N. PedersonSG RH 558This is a 5c Citrine from the 4th Definitive Series of Rhodesia, issued on August 16, 1978 and was one of the very last stamp series issued by Rhodesia before it became Zimbabwe in 1980. Because these stamps were issued so close to the end of the Rhodesian era, the exact same designs were re-released in 1980 under the new name Zimbabwe.The stamp displays the gemstone in two states: its rough, natural form (at the top) and its faceted, cut form (at the bottom). Citrine is a variety of quartz that gets its yellow-to-amber color from traces of iron. In the wild, natural citrine is actually quite rare—most "citrine" sold in shops today is actually heat-treated amethyst.

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