Post office · Punjab
KotegurhPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Kotegurh postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 1 Kotegurh handstamp recorded in 1852, Punjab, with 1 Kotegurh cover traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 1
- Recorded
- 1852
Kotgarh (the Kotegurh of early records) is a hill town in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, overlooking the Sutlej valley and long celebrated for the apple orchards later introduced there. It lay on the old Hindustan–Tibet road above the river. Its pre stamp postal markings document the early mail of the interior Simla hills.
Kotegurh has 1 pre-1854 hand-struck postal marking from 1852 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Kotegurh handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
| Mark | Type | Colour | Dates | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG 1 | Handstamp | Red | 1852 | Scarce |
Kotegurh— postal history & markings
Kotegurh — Kotgarh, a hill town of the Simla district overlooking the Sutlej — leaves a single scarce red handstamp, HG 1 of 1852. The record is minimal — one mark, and a scarce one — a genuine target from a small hill office of the north-western mountains.
Frequently asked — Kotegurh postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Kotegurh?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Kotegurh are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Kotegurh post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Kotegurh was a post office of the Punjab, British India, and this census records 1 distinct postal marking used there, dated around 1852.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Kotegurh?
- 1 hand-struck postal marking is recorded for Kotegurh in this census. 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 Kotegurh called today?
- Kotegurh is the colonial-era name of present-day Kotgarh, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Kotegurh 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 Kotegurh 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 Kotegurh were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Kotegurh, Kotgarh, Kotegurh HG 1, Kotegurh handstruck stamps, Kotegurh pre stamp covers, Kotegurh postal history.
How to cite
“Kotegurh, Punjab — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/punjab/kotegurh (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Kotegurh?
If you hold a cover or strike from Kotegurh 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 Punjab
Explore the pre-1854 postal history of other Punjab post offices — each page lists its recorded handstruck markings, dates and surviving covers.