Post office · Madras Presidency
Cochin
- Handstamps
- 6
- Recorded
- 1817–1859
- Rare
- 2
Cochin Town is within the Native State of Cochin, but became an English settlement in 1634, when the East India Company entered into a treaty, which gave them free access to Portuguese ports. In 1663 it was captured by the Dutch. On the conquest of the Dutch by France in 1795, the E.I.C. was ordered to take possession of all the Dutch colonies. The Dutch Governor refused to surrender Cochin, so it was besieged by Major Petrie on 20 Oct 1795 and captured. The settlement was taken under English protection, but the Dutch were allowed to retain their laws and administration. The town was finally ceded to the Company under the Paris Convention of 1814. It is situated 9°58' N and 76°14' E on the Malabar Coast.
Cochin has 6 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1817–1859 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Cochin handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Frequently asked — Cochin postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Cochin?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Cochin are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Cochin post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Cochin was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 6 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1817 and 1859.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Cochin?
- 6 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Cochin in this census, of which 2 are graded rare or better. Each mark carries its Hammond Giles catalogue figure number, colour, date range, evidence-based rarity grade, and links to every surviving cover recorded with it.
- What is Cochin called today?
- Cochin is the colonial-era name of present-day Kochi, India. The office also appears in postal history literature and auction catalogues as Cochin Port. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Cochin postmark or cover?
- Compare your cover against the reference impressions on this page — each figure shows the mark's design, ink colour and recorded date range. If your Cochin cover bears a mark that matches a figure, open that figure's page to see every recorded example with provenance. If it matches none, it may be unrecorded: submit photographs through the form on this page and the editors will review it for inclusion in the census.
Also searched as: Cochin, Kochi, Cochin Port, Cochin HG 1, Cochin handstruck stamps, Cochin pre stamp covers, Cochin postal history.
How to cite
“Cochin, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/cochin (accessed 10 August 2026).
Updated: 10 Aug 2026
An unrecorded mark from Cochin?
If you hold a cover or strike from Cochin that does not match any figure above, submit it below. Approved additions appear here as new entries in the census — every submission is reviewed first.
Same presidency
Other post offices in the Madras Presidency
Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other Madras Presidency post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.