In May 1919, by order of the Tallinn Main Postal Directorate, all remaining stocks of Russian Empire stamps from the 17th, 19th, 20th, and 21st issues were overprinted. The manual overprint “Eesti Post” was applied diagonally in a single line using a rubber handstamp in violet or black ink in the following quantities: perforated — 1 kopek — 7 copies (according to other sources, 8 copies); imperforate — 1 kopek — 1,826 copies.
After all stamps had been overprinted, the handstamp was destroyed. These stamps remained in circulation until October 1, 1919. Forgeries intended to deceive collectors are known. Some researchers consider this issue speculative. A note on the speculative nature of the issue (up to 1930) was also included in the “Michel” catalogue. At present, this series is described in the catalogue as a local Tallinn issue.