In 1944 Thailand issued a set of six stamps to be used in the three northern states of British Malaya it had occupied under the protection of the Japanese. We could say re-occupied as until the turn of the previous century this region had been under the control of Thailand, then called Siam. In both Scott and SG the stamps are listed under Malaya, but in Thai catalogues they are obviously listed under Thailand.

The stamps are not cheap to buy and are denominated in cents rather than the Thai baht and satang. There isn’t a great difference between mint and used prices although a used example with a clear Malayan town postmark would be prized. The values are 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 15 cents with unusually the 1 cent stamp being the most valuable. If the prices were based on the numbers printed then it would be the 3 cent example with only 88,000 printed which should demand the highest price. I do not know the full story, but possibly it is connected to whatever happened to the stock after Japan’s surrender.

Anyway two weeks ago all I had from the set in my Thai collection was a nicely used 8 cent. I then saw in the Stamporama approvals a mint 8 cent and 15 cent which I bought. Thank you Jim. Within a week I was offered the stamps below through the Thai Philatelic Society of the UK and I couldn’t resist. (There is also a rare 1943 set of 5 Thai occupation stamps issued in the Malayan state of Kelantan with Arabic script, but they are a $2,000 plus set to buy.) Below is part of my new glut of the 1944 Thai occupation stamps.