Post office · Madras Presidency
SircePostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Sirce postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 2 Sirce handstamps recorded between 1841 and 1860, Madras Presidency, with 3 Sirce covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 2
- Recorded
- 1841–1860
- Rare
- 1
Sirce (Sirs i) is in North Kanara District, Bombay Presidency, situated 14°37' N and 74°50' E, 320 miles south-east of Bombay, 2500 feet above sea level. Col. Wellesley in 1800 sent a battalion to Sirce to drive out banditti.
Sirce has 2 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1841–1860 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Sirce handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Sirce— postal history & markings
Sirce — Sirsi, in the North Kanara country — leaves two hard-to-find handstamps: HG 1 of 1841 is very scarce and HG 2 of 1858 scarce. The office's small record is weighted toward scarcity, both of its marks difficult to obtain. For the collector, that makes Sirce a genuine target — a compact upland office whose pair of strikes reward the search.
Frequently asked — Sirce postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Sirce?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Sirce are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Sirce post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Sirce was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 2 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1841 and 1860.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Sirce?
- 2 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Sirce in this census, of which 1 is 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 Sirce called today?
- Sirce is the colonial-era name of present-day Sirsi, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Sirce 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 Sirce 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.
For background on the material itself, see the guides to the handstruck stamps of India, the pre covers of India and the pre stamp covers of India, which explain how marks like those recorded at Sirce were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Sirce, Sirsi, Sirce HG 1, Sirce handstruck stamps, Sirce pre stamp covers, Sirce postal history.
How to cite
“Sirce, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/sirce (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Sirce?
If you hold a cover or strike from Sirce 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.