Post office · Punjab
MooltanPostal Covers & Pre-1854 Postal History
Mooltan postal covers and handstruck postal markings of pre-1854 British India, recorded in an open census: 5 Mooltan handstamps recorded between 1849 and 1854, Punjab, with 4 Mooltan covers traced to them.
- Handstamps
- 5
- Recorded
- 1849–1854
- Rare
- 2
Mooltan, headquarters of the same named District, in the Punjab, is situated 300 12'N and 71°31' £, 576 miles from Karachi, and 1429 from Calcutta. It was stormed by Ranjit Singh in 1818, and in 1821 biwan Sawan Mal became its Governor. It was not affected in the 1st Sikh War, but the murder of two British officers, by Mulraj, the Governor's son, led to the 2nd Sikh War, and it was captured in 1849..
Mooltan has 5 pre-1854 hand-struck postal markings dated 1849–1854 recorded in this census. Each figure links to its covers, rarity and provenance.
Brown border = community submission, verified by editors
Mooltan handstamp summary
All recorded markings at a glance — click any row for full details and covers.
Mooltan— postal history & markings
Mooltan's five handstamps belong to the years just after the Punjab passed to British control, 1849 to 1854 — the office could hardly be earlier, for the city had been stormed only at the close of the Sikh wars. HG 1Add of 1851 is known from two examples, and HG 4 of 1849 is rare and unrecorded by Giles — a genuine census addition. The rest are common. For the collector, that unlisted HG 4 is the prize: a mark absent from the standard catalogue, recovered here from surviving material, from one of the great fortress cities of the south-western Punjab in the first years after its siege.
Frequently asked — Mooltan postal history
- What are the pre stamp covers of Mooltan?
- Pre stamp (pre philatelic) covers of Mooltan are folded letters and envelopes that passed through the Mooltan post office before India's first adhesive stamp of 1854, so postage was shown entirely by hand-struck postal markings and manuscript rates. Mooltan was a post office of the Punjab, British India, and this census records 5 distinct postal markings used there, dated between 1849 and 1854.
- How many handstamps are recorded for Mooltan?
- 5 hand-struck postal markings are recorded for Mooltan 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 Mooltan called today?
- Mooltan is the colonial-era name of present-day Multan, India. Covers and postmarks are catalogued here under the historical name used on the marks themselves.
- How do I identify a Mooltan 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 Mooltan 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 Mooltan were struck, catalogued and graded for rarity.
Also searched as: Mooltan, Multan, Mooltan HG 1, Mooltan handstruck stamps, Mooltan pre stamp covers, Mooltan postal history.
How to cite
“Mooltan, Punjab — pre-1854 handstruck stamps & covers,” Hand Struck Stamps, https://handstruckstampsindia.com/punjab/mooltan (accessed 24 September 2026).
Updated: 24 Sept 2026
An unrecorded mark from Mooltan?
If you hold a cover or strike from Mooltan 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.