Postal orders of the Orange Free State were introduced on 1 January 1898. They came in a range of denominations from 1 Shilling to 1 Pond. The Orange Free State's postal orders were known in Afrikaans as Post Noot (or Postal Note). The Orange Free State postal notes are inscribed in Afrikaans, even though the Orange Free State's name is given in the Dutch spelling - 'ORANJE VRIJ STAAT', which also appears in the watermark.
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Issued postal orders do not come with counterfoils, as the counterfoils were kept by the post office for recording purposes. Any postal orders that still have a counterfoil attached are remainders from books, which were souvenired during the Second Boer War. These are of interest to collectors of the Postal Orders.
Orange Free State Currency Issues
The Orange Free State and the South African Republic were the first countries in the world to declare postal orders to be legal tender as an emergency currency. At this time, it is currently difficult to distinguish between the currency issues and the normal postal notes.
Denomination Chart
Catalogue number.Denomination. Commissie Loon. Colour.
PS681. 1 Shilling. 1 Penny. Green.
PS682. 2 Shillings and Sixpence. 1 Penny.
PS683. 5 Shillings.
PS684. 7 Shillings and Sixpence.
PS685. 10 Shillings.
PS686. 12 Shillings and Sixpence.
PS687. 15 Shillings.
PS688. 17 Shillings and Sixpence.
PS689. 1 Pond. 3 Pence. Olive-Green.