Railway Congress Stamp Appraisal

1933 Egyptian 5 Milliemes International Railway Congress Stamp

This is a philatelic specimen from Egypt, specifically the 5 milliemes denomination issued in 1933 to commemorate the XII International Railway Congress held in Cairo. The stamp features a bi-color design with a brown frame and a grey-black central vignette depicting an early steam locomotive, specifically Robert Stephenson's 1852 'No. 1' engine. The stamp is printed on paper and measures approximately 40mm x 24mm. The perfoations appear intact, though it is currently housed in a black protective mounting sleeve within a printed collection album. The top of the stamp bears the text 'EGYPTE' and the Arabic equivalent, while the bottom contains 'CONGRES INTERNATIONAL DES CHEMINS DE FER - 1933' in both French and Arabic. The denominations '5 MILLS' and the Arabic numeral '5' are situated in the upper corners. The condition of the stamp appears to be 'hingeless' or 'mounted' within an album, suggesting it is likely in Mint Never Hinged (MNH) or Mint Lightly Hinged (MLH) state, as no cancellation marks are visible. The colors are well-preserved with no significant fading. This issue is part of a four-stamp set (also including 13m, 15m, and 20m values) which is highly collected by both Egyptian postal history enthusiasts and topical train collectors. The high-quality intaglio printing reflects the craftsmanship of the Survey of Egypt printing works during the King Fuad I era.