This stamp came out of the bag/bucket I picked up for $5.  I thought it was Syrian, over printed with… something.  I assumed it was French for something like airmail or “rush” or whatever (I don’t speak French, not even a little teeny bit).  Turns out, this is a stamp from The Alawites State (French, Alaouites), a region on the western side of Syria that, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I fell into French rule.

The blog Stamps of Distinction has a great post up on Alaouites’ stamps.  The post covers the time frame and varieties of stamps issued in the Alawites State:

France never printed stamps for Alaouites; all of the stamps in use during the period were overprinted stamps of France or Syria… Beginning in March 1925, Syrian stamps were overprinted and used for postage. There are a total of 25 regular issue stamps from 1925 through 1928. Combined with the 24 French overprinted stamps, there were a total of 49 regular stamps issued for Alaouites.