What is the Sheemooga HG 3 handstamp?

Sheemooga HG 3 is a early Indian handstruck postal marking of Sheemooga (modern Shivamogga) in the Madras Presidency, British India, recorded in use around 1855. The "HG 3" designation is its figure number in the Hammond Giles catalogue of the handstruck postage stamps of India. Known strikes are in red.

How rare is Sheemooga HG 3?

Sheemooga HG 3 has 1 example recorded in this census. Rarity here is evidence-based: it is derived from the number of surviving covers actually recorded, not estimated. A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance.

What does a Sheemooga pre stamp cover with HG 3 look like?

A pre stamp (pre philatelic) cover from Sheemooga is a folded letter or envelope carried before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, with postage shown entirely by hand-struck marks like HG 3. A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance. Each census record on this page links to full cover images, dates and auction provenance.

How do I identify or submit a Sheemooga HG 3 cover?

Compare your cover against the reference impression and recorded examples on this page — check the mark's shape, colour and date range (1855). If your cover is not already recorded, you can submit front and back photographs through the census form on this page; every submission is editor-reviewed before publication.

Madras Presidency · Pre-1854 Handstamp

Sheemooga HG 3

Handstamp

Colour & date: Red1855
Rarity: 1 example recorded
Figure: 3
Submitted by: Gowtham BJ

← HG 2 All Sheemooga

Census

Census records

1 cover recorded

1 pre-1854 cover bearing the Sheemooga HG 3 handstamp is recorded below — each entry links to images, provenance and auction details.

COV-548

7 May 1855

CACHETS: 1855 (May 7) Entire to Madras with 1854 1/2a blue, close to fine margins, tied by type 1 dotted lozenge (9×7 dots), reverse with unrecorded “SHEEMOGA / POST PAID” box hs and GPO ds, missing backflap, rare 1855 (May 5) Entire letter written from The Baha Booden Hills, Mysore, to Dr Balfour at the Museum in Madras, endorsed "stamped ½ anna", posted two days later at Sheemooga bearing 1854 ½a (die II, four margins) tied by a rhomboid of dots, backstamped boxed "SHEEMOOGA / POST PAID" with manuscript date below. The writer, Dr H.R Oswald, has sent a specimen of Load Stone from the Booden Hills to the museum in Madras; Dr Edward Balfour has annotated the letter "Silicious Iron Ore from Mysore Hills, highly magnetic, the ore and quartz in alternate seems". Hammond Giles shows a similar "Post Not Paid" handstamp for Sheemooga (recorded 1836); this Post Paid handstamp previously unrecorded, but probably also originally used in the prestamp period. Photo on Page 90

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About this mark

The Sheemooga HG 3 handstamp

Sheemooga was the headquarters of Sheemooga District, Mysore on the Tunga River, situated 13°56' N and 75°35' E. Taken by Haidar Ali in 1763, besieged by the Marathas in 1798 when Tipu Sultan's army had to retire from Sheemooga, and was plundered and burnt.

Sheemooga HG 3 is a early Indian handstruck postal marking of the post office at Sheemooga — the present-day Shivamogga — in the Madras Presidency, British India, recorded in use around 1855. Known strikes are in red. Its "HG 3" designation is the figure number assigned in the Hammond Giles catalogue of the handstruck postage stamps of India.

A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance. On the strength of that count the mark is graded "1 example recorded" — the grade moves automatically as new covers are recorded. Collectors searching for sheemooga pre stamp covers, sheemooga postal history or "Sheemooga HG3" material can compare HG 3 across every office or browse the rest of the Sheemooga marks.

Frequently asked

What is the Sheemooga HG 3 handstamp?: Sheemooga HG 3 is a early Indian handstruck postal marking of Sheemooga (modern Shivamogga) in the Madras Presidency, British India, recorded in use around 1855. The "HG 3" designation is its figure number in the Hammond Giles catalogue of the handstruck postage stamps of India. Known strikes are in red.
How rare is Sheemooga HG 3?: Sheemooga HG 3 has 1 example recorded in this census. Rarity here is evidence-based: it is derived from the number of surviving covers actually recorded, not estimated. A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance.
What does a Sheemooga pre stamp cover with HG 3 look like?: A pre stamp (pre philatelic) cover from Sheemooga is a folded letter or envelope carried before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, with postage shown entirely by hand-struck marks like HG 3. A single surviving cover bearing this mark is recorded in the census, with images and provenance. Each census record on this page links to full cover images, dates and auction provenance.
How do I identify or submit a Sheemooga HG 3 cover?: Compare your cover against the reference impression and recorded examples on this page — check the mark's shape, colour and date range (1855). If your cover is not already recorded, you can submit front and back photographs through the census form on this page; every submission is editor-reviewed before publication.

Same office

Other recorded marks at Sheemooga

2 marks

2 other pre-1854 postal markings of Sheemooga are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.

View all Sheemooga marks and postal history →

Suggest a correction

Spotted a wrong date, colour or rarity? Propose a change — every suggestion is reviewed before it is applied.

Also searched as: Sheemooga HG 3, Sheemooga HG3, Sheemooga Giles 3, Shivamogga postal history, Sheemooga handstamp, Sheemooga pre stamp cover.

How to cite

“Sheemooga HG 3 — handstamp,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/sheemooga/hg-3 (accessed 10 August 2026).

Updated: 10 Aug 2026