1890 Rhodesia

This two shillings stamp from Rhodesia was issued in 1890 as part of the first definitive series produced by the British South Africa Company. The design features the coat of arms of the Company at the center, supported by two lions and topped with a crowned lion, symbolizing the authority granted to the Company to administer and develop the territory. The arms are surrounded by ornate scrollwork and framing, with "British South Africa Company" arched across the top and "Justice, Freedom, Commerce" inscribed on the banner below the shield. The denomination "Two Shillings" appears at the bottom in red.

Rhodesia's postal history is inseparable from the British South Africa Company, the commercial enterprise chartered by Cecil Rhodes to colonize and govern the territory. The Company issued these stamps to establish postal authority and control mail service across the vast region that would become Northern and Southern Rhodesia. The 1890 series marked the beginning of Rhodesian philatelic history, issued at a moment when the Company was consolidating its control over the territory through infrastructure, including the postal system. These stamps represented not merely postal need but also commercial and political assertion of European authority over the region.

The two shillings denomination was one of the higher values in the inaugural series, designed to cover substantial postal rates for heavier correspondence and parcels within the territory and to British colonies and the United Kingdom. The quality of the engraving and the elaborate coat of arms design reflected the Company's ambitions to present itself as a legitimate governing authority. The 1890 definitive series would remain in use for several years before being replaced, but these stamps stand as the foundation of Rhodesian postal identity, documenting the moment when European commercial interests established themselves through the infrastructure of mail service.