Post office · Madras Presidency
TuticorinPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Tuticorin postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 5 Tuticorin handstamps recorded between 1799 and 1858, Madras Presidency, with 6 Tuticorin covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 5
- Recorded
- 1799–1858
- Rare
- 2
Thoothukudi is a port industrial city in Tamil Nadu, lying on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.
Tuticorin has 5 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1799–1858 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Tuticorin handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Tuticorin— postal history & markings
Tuticorin's five handstamps reach back to 1799 and are unusual for how they were used. HG 1 and HG 2, both rare, were struck together as a pair, as were the scarce HG 3 and HG 4 — two stamps combining to make a single marking. The office worked mostly in black, with a red mark late in the run. A Coromandel port on the Bay of Bengal, its post is small but distinctive: those combination strikes of 1799, a rate built from separate pieces, are exactly the kind of early practice a collector of the deep south seeks out.
Frequently asked — Tuticorin postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Tuticorin?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Tuticorin are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Tuticorin post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Tuticorin was a post office of the Madras Presidency, British India, and this census records 5 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1799 and 1858.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Tuticorin?
- 5 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Tuticorin 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 Tuticorin called today?
- Tuticorin is the colonial-era name of present-day Thoothukudi, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Tuticorin 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 Tuticorin 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 Tuticorin were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Tuticorin, Thoothukudi, Tuticorin HG 1, Tuticorin handstruck stamps, Tuticorin pre stamp covers, Tuticorin postal history.
How to cite
“Tuticorin, Madras Presidency — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/madras/tuticorin (accessed 25 September 2026).
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Tuticorin?
If you hold a cover or strike from Tuticorin 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.