Elobey, Annobon and Corisco - Bud's Big Blue

December 28, 2017, 7:00 am

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The Ages of Alfonso XIII

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Located in the Atlantic bay of Equatorial Guinea’s Mitémélé River, these obscure Spanish colonial islands had their own stamps for only seven years (1903-10). The likeness of King Alfonso XIII appears on all 60 stamps listed in Scott’s catalog.

Since Alfonso XIII was King from birth, Spain and the colonies record his maturation in philatelic detail -- infant, tousled child, youth, and maturity. He departed Spain in 1931 voluntarily after the Republic gained control and eventually renounced his throne. EA&C has only the second and fourth of the above -- child and the “of full age” youth; BB has spaces only for the latter.

Census: seven in BB spaces, one tip-in. Three have been added on a new supplement page since the scans were made.

Jim's Observations
Obscure, but alive in Big Blue! Adding some additional stamps should not be a financial burden.

Now, finding them, well, that could be another story. ;-)

Elobey, Annobon and Corisco Blog Post and Checklist

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Comments appreciated!

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Epirus - Bud's Big Blue

December 29, 2017, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Barbados - A Closer Look - Part 2

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Epirus Local Chimarra Stamp

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Danger!

That, of course, is what the skull and crossbones mean. Originally the printers of these scarce stamps wanted to threaten enemies of Epirus, a war-torn and short-lived Balkan country.

Now the warning applies to anyone who is thinking of collecting local Chimarra stamps, of which eBay usually has several on offer. Don’t buy them! Or buy fakes (about $5 or so for all four). Don’t be a victim collector. BB doesn’t provide space for them anyway.

The same might be said, sadly, of most Epirus cancels, errors, and some of the overprints.

Census: 20 in BB spaces, 22 on supplement page.

Jim's Observations
What a convoluted history- see blog post. Naturally the provisional government stamps show fighting ( Infantryman), and a call to nationalism ( Epirus flag). The flag design borrows the white cross on blue image of Greece with the double headed eagle overlaying.

Epirus Blog Post and Checklist

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Supplements
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Comments appreciated!

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Barbados - A Closer Look - Part 2

December 31, 2017, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Eritrea - Bud's Big Blue

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1950 Scott 218 3c slate & brown

"Public Buildings"

Into the Deep Blue
Happy New Year!

This is the second of two posts examining the stamps of Barbados, and, through the stamp portal, the history of Barbados.

The preceding post is here.

The original post with checklist is here.

This post takes a good look at the "Seal of the Colony" stamp issues (56 stamps) of 1916-18, 1921-24 (Wmk 4 & 3), 1925-35, and 1938-47.

And we will review the George VI 1950 pictorial set.

A closer look at the stamps and issues
4 Farthings = 1 Penny
12 Pence = 1 Shilling
20 Shillings = 1 Pound
100 Cents = 1 Dollar (1950)

1916 Scott 133 4p red/yellow; A15 design

"Seal of the Colony"; Wmk 3

Between 1916-1947, there were a series of definitive issues featuring the "Seal of the Colony".

The 1916-18 Wmk 3 engraved issue has thirteen stamps, and is in a larger format (30 mm tall).

CV is <$1-$10+ for eleven stamps.

Seal of the Colony

One will note the monarch, now male and representing George V, is sitting in a seahorse drawn car.

The Latin phrase, which initially appeared on the 1663 original seal, and is derived from a line in Virgil's first Eclogue, and translated here "and the British ruling throughout the whole world".

Wow, the very definition of imperialism. ;-)

1920 Scott 146 4p gray green & black

"Victory"; Wmk 3

The "Seal of the Colony" motif was interrupted by a 1920 twelve stamp engraved set celebrating victory in WW I.

If one wants to pay careful attention to watermarks for this issue, the "Multiple Crown And C A" (Wmk 3) can be found inverted and/or reversed. They have a much higher CV.

CV is <$1-$5 for nine stamps.

"Winged Victory"

Eleven of the twelve stamps show "Winged Victory" from the Louvre. The 1sh yellow green & black has a different image, the "Victory from Victoria Memorial, London" (not pictured).

1921 Scott 155 2p gray; A18 design

"Seal of the Colony"; Wmk 4

Back to the "Seal of the Colony" issues.

Between 1921-24, a nine stamp set was produced on Wmk 4 "Multiple Crown and Script C A" paper.

This set does without the Latin inscription, and is in a small format (21.5 mm tall).

CV is <$1-$4+ for six stamps.

1921 Scott 162 3p violet/yellow; A18 Design

"Seal of the Colony": Wmk 3

Also, there were three additional stamps in the 1921-24 issue that were on Wmk 3 paper.

CV is $2+-$7.

Two of the denominations are unique for the Wmk 3 issue (3p violet/yellow; 4p red/yellow).

But the Wmk 3 1sh black/green is too similar to the Wmk 4 1sh black/emerald to confidently differentiate. Watermark the 1sh specimens for positive identification.

1932 Scott 168 1 1/2p orange; A19 Design

"Seal of the Colony"; wmk 4

Perf 13 1/2 X 12 1/2

Between 1925-1935, a fifteen stamp set was produced in medium format ( 26 mm). The Latin inscription is back, but the scroll pattern on the frame surrounding the vignette is different than preceding issues.

Some of the stamps issued in 1932 are Perf 13 1/2 X 12 1/2 (as the example above), but generally the Perf is 14.

CV is <$1-$8 for thirteen stamps.

1927 Scott 180 1p carmine lake

"Charles I and George V"

The first permanent settlers arrived in 1627 on Barbados. To recognize the Tercentenary, a single engraved stamp with Charles I and George V portraits was released. There appears to be pineapples illustrated between the vignettes?

1938 Scott 197b 3p brown; A21 Design

"Seal of the Colony"; Wmk 4

Perf 14

Between the years 1938-47, another large 16 stamp set was released in medium format.

Note the "Postage & Revenue" upper tablet found for the preceding issue has been dropped for this issue.

Five stamps with minor Scott numbers were issued between 1938-43 with Perf 14.

Closeup of the 1938-47 Issue: a clean shaven George VI!

There is another difference, not necessarily apparent unless one pays close attention.

The 1938-47 issue shows a clean shaven George VI, naturally, rather than the bearded George V of the 1925-35 issue. !!

1938 Scott 201 2sh6p brown violet; A21 Design

"Seal of the Colony"; Wmk 4
Perf 13 1/2 X 13

Most of the 1938-47 issue stamps are found with Perf 13 1/2 X 13.

CV ranges from <$1 to $6+ for the 16 stamp denomination set.

1939 Scott 202 1/2p deep green

"Charles I, George VI, Assembly Chamber and Mace"

For the 300th anniversary of the General Assembly, a five stamp engraved set was released in 1939.

CV is <$1-$2+.

1947 Scott 209 1p on 2p bright rose red

In 1947, the 1943 issue 2p bright rose red stamp was surcharged as shown (CV $2+). Broken and short letters can be found on some stamps. These command a much higher CV.

1950 Scott 216 1c slate "Dover Fort"

One of the highlights of British Colonies is the George VI pictorial sets produced for many of them. Part of the reason the WW collector looks forward to the pictorial set is the contrast they exhibit vis-a-vis the relative monotony of the monarch stamps.

The Barbados George VI engraved set was released in 1950 with the new currency: 100 Cents = 1 West Indian, later Barbados Dollar.

The set consisted of 12 stamps with 12 scenes/pictorials. CV is <$1-$10+ for 11 stamps.

The scene above, "Dover Fort" is actually hard to find on an internet search.

Signal stations across Barbados

Note "Dover Fort"

The purpose of the signal stations across Barbados, erected around 1818, was to warn the plantation owners of approaching ships, sugar cane fires, and slave rebellions.The communication was by signal fires and semaphore.

Dover Fort was in St. Peter's Parish on the coast. It apparently was an old small British military fort that protected the settlement of Speightstown from the "overlooking cliff to the east".

I was unable to verify if "Dover Fort" as such, still exists.

1950 Scott 217 2c emerald

"Sugar Cane Breeding"

Sugar Cane was a big part of Barbados history. Initially, the sugar cane was used for feeding livestock, as fuel, and for the production of rum. But, by 1644, the larger plantations were exporting sugar.

Barbados Plantation

Sugar Cane had to be harvested by hand, and slaves were an essential part to the enterprise.

This continued until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

Barbados Sugar Cane

In the 1800s, there were ten sugar factories in Barbados, but declined to two by the 1900s.

1950 Scott 219 4c carmine

"Admiral Nelson Statue"

In Bridgetown, Barbados, the statue of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson was erected in 1813.

Lord Nelson Statue, Barbados

Why a statue of Lord Nelson in Barbados?

If Nelson had not gained victory off Cape Trafalgar on the southern coast of Spain in 1805 during the Napoleon Wars, assuring British naval supremacy for the Britain to Barbados trade route, Barbados would have become a French colony, in the minds of the "Bajans" (Barbadians).

To show appreciation, funds were raised, beginning in 1806, and the land on which the statue was erected in 1813 was named Trafalgar Square. Wreaths were laid at the statue on the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (October 21st) for many years.

1950 Scott 220 6c blue "Casting Net"

Barbados is known as the "land of the flying fish" (See "Out of the Blue" header stamp). There are some 500 fish species in Barbados waters. Most of what is caught is White Marlin, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, and Barracuda.

As depicted by this stamp, fishing from the shore is done by casting from the beaches and catching fish (Bonefish) in the surf.

1950 Scott 221 8c chocolate & blue

"Inter Colonial Schooner"

Sloops and Schooners were used between Caribbean islands, including, unfortunately, transporting slaves in earlier times locally.

1950 Scott 223 24c gray & red

"Old Main Guard Garrison"

The Garrison in Bridgetown was the headquarters for the British West India Regiment in Barbados.

Clock tower on the main guardhouse

Garrison Savannah built 1803

The stamp has an image of the clock tower on the main guardhouse.

One can see the white Coade stone, with the carving of the George III Coat of Arms.

1950 Scott 225 60c brown carmine & blue green

"Careenage"

The Careenage is in the center of Bridgetown, and is an area where traditionally ships were careened onto a side to be repaired or painted. The busy area was often filled with docked ships, unloading merchandise for the nearby warehouses.

Careenage, Bridgetown, circa 1952

Here is a pic of the Careenage at about the time the stamp was issued.

1950 Scott 226 $1.20 olive & carmine "Map"

Besides a map of Barbados, the stamp depicts a "wireless mast".

Wireless Mast

This is a communication tower radio mast with aerial antenna.

But why on a Barbados stamp?

Barbados became a major telecommunications hub in 1944 with transmitting and receiving stations for high-frequency (HF) signals propagating through the ionosphere.

1952 Scott 231 4c rose pink & blue

"Stamp of 1852"

Finally, Barbados celebrated their 100 year stamp history with a four stamp set in 1952.

Each of the four 1952 issue denomination stamps had an example of the 1852 "Britannia" in deep green (1/2p), dark blue (1p), slate blue (2p), and brown red (4p), respectively.

So closes, in a very pleasing ending, our journey through the classic era Barbados issues.

1950 Scott 222 12c olive & aquamarine

"Flying Fish"

Out of the Blue
Wow! I've developed a new appreciation for the classic era stamps of Barbados, and the interesting history that the stamps reveal.

Note: Pics of the Careenage, main guardhouse clock tower, Lord Nelson, sugar cane field, and Barbados Plantation slave drawing, and signal station map: All appear to be in the public domain.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Eritrea - Bud's Big Blue

January 6, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: How did my collection grow this past 2017 year?

≪ Previous: Barbados - A Closer Look - Part 2

Eritrea's best stamp (Bud's choice)

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Eritrea’s spaces are hard to fill, as are those for Italian colonies in general. Previous generations of collectors avoided them. Feeder albums ordinarily yield only common issues and partial sets. Of course, the gaps can be quickly filled via the internet, but prices are unusually high and fixed. Sellers tend to label these stamps as “Key” values which, being translated, means “Look out, you’re about to be gouged.”

On the positive side, demand for these stamps is fairly low. Not many collectors, apart from BB’s crowd, compete for Eritrea or Tripolitania. So here are two strategy recommendations:

1) At the outset, shop for a nearly complete Eritrea collection with many full sets.

2) for the remaining gaps, play a waiting game; eventually someone will list the desired stamp at auction and no one but you will notice.

I did this many times as my BB was nearing completion and, over a year and a half span, all gaps were filled. I paid less than 30 percent of CV, on average, for the last 100 stamps. Using the notification services provided by internet auctions helps greatly. Bon chance.

Study of Eritrea’s stamps can be enriched by frequent references to Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Histories of these African nations overlap, sometimes tragically as in the era of Mussolini’s madness. He thought exploiting them would make Italy great again. It didn’t.

Census: 181 in BB spaces (6 more if parcel posts are counted as two), 6 tip-ins, 33 on supplement pages.

Jim's Observations
Expensive! I cringed after seeing the prices for a stamp issue in BB; and then the next issue I cringed again. It never stopped! The supply/demand is clearly tilting to the demand side here- or is it? *

Perhaps that is why there are not a lot of Eritrea stamps in most BB albums I've seen. It's not as if one is paying for great engraved unique stamps of Eritrea prior to 1930: No, every one is an overprinted Italian stamp (albeit a different color), excepting two overprinted Somalian issues.

Does all of this mean I find Eritrea not worth collecting? Not at all. In fact, I like overprinted stamps, as they are generally more interesting than the plain variety. My wallet is the one that has problems.

And Eritrea does have some very nice stamps: the 1922/1924 Somalian overprinted issues, the 1930 "Lancer et al" issue, the 1934 "Camel et al" issue, the 1934 "Grant's gazelle" issue ( very large stamps!), and the 1934 Air Post issue ( Again, very large stamps).

* But as Bud points out, although the CV cost is "high", the true demand isn't. So, play the waiting game.

Eritrea Blog Post and Checklist

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Supplements
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Comments appreciated!

↧

How did my collection grow this past 2017 year?

January 9, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Estonia - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Eritrea - Bud's Big Blue

Chile 1862 Scott 13 20c green "Columbus"

London print, Wmk g

Into the Deep Blue
Every year at this time I like to see where I have been, and where I am going with my collection.

To recall, the "classical era" limit of my WW collection is 1840-1940, with an extension for British Commonwealth through 1952. The ultimate collection, 100% filled, would have 83,458 (Scott major number) stamps. Needless to say, that, is an unattainable goal, but the fun is the journey along the way!

"Deep Blue" in Vario F & G Binders, and the occasional Palo Binder

The stamps are kept in "Deep Blue", the name for my 6,500 Steiner album pages, presently in 1 Palo, 20 Vario G, and 36 Vario F binders. I added 1 Palo, 10 Vario G, and 17 Vario F binders this past year, while replacing 22 Avery binders.

But additionally, I keep track of (and actively collect as a realistic goal) all the stamps that will fit into Big Blue, the Scott International Part I 1840-1940 album - some 34,903 spaces. My "virtual" Big Blue collection, housed within Deep Blue, is based on the checklist I have developed for the stamp spaces in BB.

Well, how did I do in 2017?

To recall, the 2015 year started with 39,632 major Scott number stamps, and ended with 42,734 - a 3,102 stamp increase.

With the 2016 year, I added 4,133 stamps to Deep Blue, for a total of 46,867 stamps.

This past 2017 year, I added 1,672 stamps to Deep Blue, for a year end total of 48,539 stamps.

My Deep Blue currently has 58% of the spaces filled with stamps.

What about the virtual Big Blue?

My virtual Big Blue collection increased in 2015 from 26,087 to 28,134 stamps, a 2,047 stamp increase.

And for the 2016 year, the virtual Big Blue ended with 29,657 stamps, a 1,523 stamp increase.

This 2017 year, I added 596 stamps to the virtual Big Blue, for a total of 30,253 stamps.

Hurrah, I have crossed the 30,000 BB milestone!

In total, Big Blue is 86.7 % full.

I will make a comment about adding fewer stamps overall this past year for the classical era in the "Out of the Blue" section.

Now, back to the task at hand - how did my WW collection specificaly grow by country count during the 2017 year for the 1940-1940 (-1952 British Commonwealth), understanding the growth was from feeder albums, rather than want lists?

First, a review of the 2015 and 2016 years,,,

Countries/ Stamps added 2015
1) Italy/ 265
2) Yugoslavia/ 132
3) Belgium/ 120
4) United States/ 113
5) Austria/ 94
6) Gabon/ 88
6) Surinam/ 88
8) China/ 82
9) Colombia States/ 78
9) Luxembourg/ 78

Countries/ Stamps added 2016
1) Turkey/249
2) Uruguay/181
3) Angola/166
3) Portuguese Guinea/166
5) Portuguese India/149
6) St. Thomas and Prince/148
7) New Zealand/147
8) Azores/146
9) Italy/119
10) Mozambique/114
11) Macao/107

And here is the list of the top countries added for 2017 from feeder country albums.

Countries/ Stamps added 2017

1) Philippines/ 147

2) France/ 93

3) Chile/ 82

4) Persia/ 73

5) Egypt/ 71

6) Brazil/ 56

7) Sudan/ 56

8) Iceland/ 51

9) Albania/ 48

10)Spanish Morocco/ 41

11)Poland/ 33

For an overview of all the countries in Big Blue/ Deep Blue, see the ......

Status of my Deep Blue & Big Blue Collections post. (Updated monthly.)

Let's take a closer look...

Philippines 1899 Scott 218 15c olive green "Clay"

Issued under U.S. Administration - On Scott 1898 Scott 284 Wmk 191

1) Philippines/ 147
I obtained a country collection of the Philippines. and from that, added 147 stamps to Deep Blue. I also added 21 stamps to the virtual Big Blue, which completed the Philippines spaces.

Philippines 1938 Scott 436a 8c violet "Pearl Fishing"

"commonwealt" - missing "h" - Position 31 in sheet

Stamps of 1935 Overprint "b" in Black

Enclosed in the Philippines country collection was a sheet of 1938 Scott 436 8c violet "Pearl Fishing" stamps. But position 31 of the sheet reveals the missing "h" overprint error (Scott 436a), a CV $90 stamp. !

1896 Scott 19 1a on 10c black/lavender Type II

"Peace and Commerce", Blue Overprint

France Offices in Zanzibar

2) France/ 93
A Scott Specialty album of France yielded 93 stamps for Deep Blue, and 25 stamps for the virtual Big Blue, all from the French "Offices" section (mostly from China). The rest of the album awaits pillaging in 2018. !!

Chile 1855 Scott 8 5c brown red "Columbus"

Engraved, London print, Blued paper, Wmk c

3) Chile/ 82
I've said before that those that don't join a local stamp club are missing out on serendipitous possibilities that arise, especially for WW collectors.

I obtained a very nice Chile collection at single digit CV rates from a fellow club member, who is a part time local dealer. I harvested 82 stamps for Deep Blue, and 18 stamps completed the virtual BB Chile spaces.

Persia (Iran) 1876 Scott 28 2s green & black

Lithographed, "Nasser-eddin Shah Qajar"

4) Persia/ 73
Back when I was in my twenties, I had one of my periodic flares of interest in WW stamp collecting, and bought from a dealer in Duluth, Minnesota, a Persia,collection. That served as the basis of my Deep Blue/Big Blue holdings for Persia when I rekindled my interest big time in 2011.

That was until this year, when a second Persia (Iran) collection was obtained, yielding 73 stamps for both Deep Blue, and the virtual Big Blue.

Egypt 1866 Scott 3 20pa blue

Surcharged in Black, Turkish Suzerainty

5) Egypt/ 71
One of my favorite countries to collect is Egypt. I obtained an Egypt (and also Sudan) collection in a fine Palo album this year, yielding 71 stamps for Deep Blue. The album also produced 13 stamps for the virtual Big Blue, within one of completing all the spaces for Egypt.

Brazil 1866 Scott 44 30r black, Perf 13 1/2
With Cert

6) Brazil/ 56
A Brazil/Bolivia Minkus country album has awaited attention for several years, and I finally got around to it.

I found 56 more stamps for Deep Blue. For the virtual Big Blue, 2 stamps were added, leaving only 2 spaces not filled out of 274.

Brazil 1843 Scott 3 90r black (clipped)

Grayish paper, Fine Impressions, Engraved, Imperforate

Issues of the Empire

I do have a question for readers.

I have two Brazil stamps- the 90r black (shown above) and the Scott 2 60r black - that are significantly clipped on the upper right corner. Obviously that decreases the CV (for the 90r, $1,300), if they are genuine, to probably less an 5%. But why were they clipped? Remainders?

Sudan 1897 Scott 8 10p violet "Sphinx"

Wmk 119, Perf 14

Egyptian Stamps of 1884-93 Overprinted in Black

7) Sudan/ 56
The Palo album for Egypt also housed Sudan stamps.

I harvested 56 stamps for Deep Blue, and 15 stamps for the virtual Big Blue, completing all the spaces.

Sudan 1931 Scott C12 4 1/2p gray & brown

"Statue of Gen. C.G. Gordon"

Engraved, Perf 14

The Palo album I have follows exactly the layout of Deep Blue (Steiner), except on a much larger page. In March of this 2018 year, I will do a comparison review of Steiner/Palo for those with an interest in this topic.

Iceland 1873 Scott 4 16s yellow "Numerals'

Typographed, Perf 14 X 13 1/2, Wmk 112

8) Iceland/ 51
The most significant purchase for the year was a quite fine Iceland collection.

This added 51 stamps to Deep Blue, and 2 stamps to the virtual Big Blue, filling all the Iceland spaces.

A note about the 16 Skillings yellow shown here: Whether this is a genuine cancel (CV $3000) vs a false/favor cancel (CV $575) makes a lot of difference.

Albania 1920 Scott 121 10q rose
"Prince zu Wied"; Black Overprint

9) Albania/ 48
Albania is one of those countries that I find it difficult to find stamps for, or perhaps it may just be that I have other priorities, and Albania is an afterthought.

Nevertheless, I found a good (but not great) Albania collection, that yielded 48 stamps for Deep Blue, and 2 stamps for the virtual Big Blue. A reality check shows I have 70 spaces filled in Big Blue, but there are still 43 empty spaces. If one would like to appreciate full pages for Albania, take a look at Bud's astounding Big Blue album.

Spanish Morocco 1909 Scott 17 15c violet "Alfonso"

On Spain Stamps of 1909-10

Overprinted in Carmine

10)Spanish Morocco/ 41
Although the majority of stamps added this past 2017 year was through feeder collections/albums, an exception was Spanish Morocco.

We had a local stamp show/bourse in town, and I went to one of those "floor to ceiling" dealers with a want list. ( A "floor to ceiling" dealer brings a huge stamp stock stacked in drawers literally from floor to ceiling with WW offerings for all countries.)

I found 41 stamps for Deep Blue, and since I was working from a "Big Blue' want list, also 41 stamps for the virtual BB.

I now have, for the virtual BB, 95 spaces filled, and 39 spaces to go. !!

Poland 1918 Scott 38 45hal on 80h deep blue

Austrian Military Stamps of 1917 Surcharged in Black

Bars instead of Stars over Original Value

11)Poland/ 33

Poland is a favorite country of mine, perhaps because I admire the historical spirit of the Polish people in the face of Nazi Germany oppression and communist rule. So when an opportunity came up to buy a Minkus Poland country album, I did so.

I found 33 stamps for Deep Blue, and added 3 stamps to virtual big Blue. I now have 344 spaces filled, but still lack 11 spaces in BB.

Egypt 1932 Scott 167 100m on 1 Pound "King Faud"

ultramarine & dark violet, Perf 14

On 1924 Scott 103 Surcharged with Bars

Out of the Blue
Last year, for the 2016 year summary, I said this...

"I fully expect not to do as well this coming year with my classical era collection. I think another 4000 stamp increase is unrealistic. The "low hanging fruit" from feeder collections will not be as available, because I am no longer significantly weak in any major regional category, except perhaps for the Spanish colonies.

But part of the reason I expect not to do as "well" this year is my goal for 2017 is a bit different.

I have, left over, from pillaging the 1840-1940 era, many feeder albums/collections that have a significant amount of stamps from 1940-1967. They are perfectly wonderful specimens of " Les Semi-Modernes" era, as the Yvert catalogue like to put it, and I would like to place them into my new thick paper Minkus Global Supreme pages I've acquired from Amos Advantage/Scott this past year."

Well,, that is exactly what happened, so not surprising in the least. !!

With the virtual BB ~ 87% complete, and Deep Blue ~ 58% complete, the ability to add new stamps at the same quantity as before is not realistic.

And, I added very few stamps from want lists this past 2017 year. (This is the most effective technique when a collection is already fairly full.)

Rather, my purchases were additional country feeder albums. Although clearly, I added stamps to the "Deep Blue" album, an additional focus was expanding the WW collection coverage for the 1941-1969 years. For more, see my blog post - Beyond the Classic Blues - An Introduction.

This expansion of my collection up to 1969 WW is still ongoing. The results are pleasing to me. I am enjoying the stamps and the history they reflect.

But the 1941-69 collection is still very much a work in progress (Some countries, a lot of stamps, many others, essentially nothing). I haven't even bothered to "count" the 1941-1969 stamps - it is too premature. ;-)

But I am having great fun with the 1941-1969 stamp era, and much of my current time is involved with transferring these stamps from feeder albums to "Big Red" (Minkus Global Supreme Albums).

As far as the 1840-1940 (-1952 British Commonwealth) classical era, I am only short 1,400+ stamps from crossing the 50,000 stamp threshold. And the Big Blue virtual collection is over the 30,000 count this year!

This coming year I expect the same trends: more 1941-69 stamps from feeder collections, and some additions to the 1840-1940 collection though want lists and perhaps through collection purchases.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Estonia - Bud's Big Blue

January 15, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Azerbaijan & Forgeries: A closer look

≪ Previous: How did my collection grow this past 2017 year?

Estonia Phantoms

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

If you’re building a collection by pillaging feeder albums, as I have, occasionally you’ll encounter phantoms. The previous owners, not knowing what else to do, stuck them in BB’s blank spots or laid them between pages. Some phantoms, the mischievous frauds, mean only to bilk unsuspecting collectors. Some want to cheat on postal rates. But the subversive sort aim to wreak political havoc.

What intentions did the five shown above have? When they first appeared in 1918-19, many thought they were genuine. Scott lists but then quickly withdraws them and, in a monthly journal, labels them “bogus” with the warning, “Collectors will be well advised to have nothing to do with them.”

Conjectures about their origins, nevertheless, proliferated. Did a German speculator create them for personal gain? Did bolshevists print them to legitimate their attempts to gain control? Was someone trying to subvert the newly founded Estonian postal authority? Why is “Virumaa,” an ancient region of Estonia, inscribed?

Who knows?

I like such mysterious phantoms and happily include them on supplement pages. Phantoms ought to be considered a part of postal histories and, further, regarded as suitable for “representative collections.”

Census: 114 in BB spaces, two tip-ins, 39 on supplement pages (counting five on the airmail supplement page and five phantoms). Eight have been added to the supplement pages since the scans were made.

Jim's Observations
* The 1928-35 "Arms" issue and others of that era have an interesting colored network design embedded on the paper, no doubt to prevent re-use or counterfeiting. I believe the 14 stamp "Arms" issue has at least nine different web colors. Nice!

* The Estonian stamps found in BB are reasonably priced. The most expensive stamp space is for a triangular 1923 Air Post C3 (15m on 5m multi, a C1 surcharged in red) at $16; while the next most expensive is a 1939 Coat of Arms Semi-postal B44 (50s + 50s brown lake) at $14.

* During the years 1936-1940, Estonia issued a Semi-postal four stamp "Coat of Arms" each year consisting of the armorial bearings of various districts. All of the issues (except 1936) are in BB. They usually are in the $3-$8 price range. They are highly attractive stamps.

Estonia Blog Post and Checklist

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Page 3

Supplements
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Comments appreciated!

↧

Azerbaijan & Forgeries: A closer look

January 18, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Ethiopia - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Estonia - Bud's Big Blue

1919 Scott 1 10k multicolored

"Standard Bearer", white paper

Into the Deep Blue
Azerbaijan stamps have a definite attraction for WW collectors.

But the attraction is more like a "Moth to a flame" attraction, because collectors often get burned.

One word: Forgeries!

The issues only lasted from 1919 to 1924. The National Republic of Azerbaijan was quickly overtaken by the Soviet forces in 1921, the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was formed by 1922, and the territory was then soon absorbed into the Transcaucasian SSR (with Armenia and Georgia).

The original post and Big Blue checklist is here.

A closer look at the stamps and issues
100 Kopecks = 1 Ruble

Soviet 1921 Reissue (on grayish or brownish paper) of Azerbaijan 1919 Issue

The October, 1919 ten stamp issue by the National Republic of Azerbaijan was crudely lithographically printed, but in multicolors. They featured four designs.

CV ranges from <$1-$4+. (These CVs are for the 1921 re-issue.)

1919 Scott 8 10r "Baku"

First printing October 1919 - thinner white paper

National Republic of Azerbaijan

The first printing by the National Republic of Azerbaijan in October, 1919 was on thinner white paper.

The later printing in April 1921 (re-issue) by the Soviets is on grayish or brownish paper. In my experience, the Soviet re-issue far outnumbers the first printing in collections by a factor of at least 10:1.

1919 Azerbaijan Issue - on thin white paper

Scott values the white paper first printing @ 5X the CV for the Soviet reissue printing. One has to look for them. As one can see, I have seven of the ten stamps of the first printing 1919 issue. With the 2018 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue, Scott now splits the issue, and gives major numbers to both the 1919 thin white paper variety (Scott 1-10), and the 1921 Soviet re-issue grayish or brownish paper variety (Scott 1A-10A).

The Soviet re-issue, other than paper, is identical to the first issue - it was apparently printed from the same plates in Baku as the first printing- EXCEPT there is a difference between the side ornament orientation for the 5r and 10r "Baku" design stamps.

Note on this 10r first printing above, the side ornament columns are oriented in the same direction.

Scott 8A 10r "Baku"

Reissued by Soviet Government April, 1921

On thicker brownish paper

Now, here is an example of the same 10r "Baku" stamp, but a Soviet re-issue.

Note the grayish or brownish paper, a characteristic of the Soviet re-issue.

But, remember, for the 5r and 10r "baku" stamps, the Soviet re-issue also have a different orientation for the side columns. The left ornament column is inverted.

1919 Scott 2A 20k multicolored (actually 1921 Soviet re-issue)

Genuine: "Standard Bearer"

Now begins the story of forgeries.

The forgeries for the 1919 (and 1921 Soviet re-issue) stamps showed up shortly after the Soviet re-issue, and are on a tan to an off-white paper. I find the supposed differences in paper color for forgeries to not be all that helpful. One has to look for the specific forgery markers.

For this post, I relied heavily on the forgery discussion for Azerbaijan in Varro Tyler's "Focus on Forgeries", c2000. One can assume, that if forgeries are discussed, then the source is Tyler.

The lowest denominations, the 10k and 20k stamp issue, have the same design: the "Standard Bearer".

Curiously, Tyler only names the 20k as one that has a forgery. The 10k is not specifically cited. All the rest of the "1919 issue" denominations have forgeries, according to Tyler.

However, Bee See of the Stamp Community Forum shows a 10k forgery, so it is out there. Good work Bee See!

1919 Scott 2A 20k multicolored Close-up

Genuine: Star and Crescent

So, how does one tell a genuine/forgery for the 20k?

The points of the star inside the crescent moon are clear and sharp for the genuine, while blunt or absent in the forgery.

1919 Scott 2A 20k multicolored Close-up

Genuine: The base of the "A"& "Z" and "D"& "J"

do NOT touch each other

For the forgery in the 20k, the base of the AZ and the DJ touch at the bottom!

Now, let's look at a 20k forgery...

"1919 Scott 2 20k multicolored"

Forgery: "Standard Bearer"

Note this forgery example is on an off-white paper.

"1919 Scott 2 20k multicolored" Close-up

Forgery: Star and Crescent

The points of the star inside the crescent moon are blunt or absent.

"1919 Scott 2 20k multicolored" Close-up

Forgery

For the forgery in the 20k, the base of the AZ and the DJ touch at the bottom.

1919 Scott 4 60k "Farmer at Sunset"
Genuine

The three middle 1919 (and 1921 re-issue) denominations - 40k, 60k, 1r - show a "Farmer at Sunset"

1919 Scott 4 60k Close-up

Genuine

The genuine has star points that are sharp, and sometimes (not here - but will show with next example) there is a black dot in the middle of the star. The forgery has rather blunt star points, and the forgery never shows a black dot in the middle of the star.

The genuine has a sun ray (dash) that is near the nose of the farmer, while, in the forgery, the dash next to the nose is absent, or there is just a dot. Also, the forgery tends to have sun rays that are thicker and shorter.

Dot in the middle of the sun on a 40k Genuine

About 50% of my "Farmer at Sunset" genuine stamps show a dot in the middle of the sun. According to Tyler, that is a sure sign of authenticity.

Now, let's look at the "Farmer at Sunset" forgery....

"1919 Scott 4 40k"

Forgery: "Farmer at Sunset"

This forgery is on off-white to tan paper.

Note the thick short sun rays.

"1919 Scott 4 40k" close-up

Forgery: "Farmer at Sunset"

The forgery shows blunted star points. And there is no center black dot in the sun (Although genuines don't necessarily have a center black dot either).

More importantly, there is no dash in front of the nose of the farmer. There is only a very tiny black dot.

1919 Scott 7A 5r "Baku"

Soviet reprint; Genuine

The "Baku" design is found for the 2r, 5r, & 10r denominations, and forgeries are found for them too.

This is a genuine 5r "Baku", but a Soviet reprint, as the left side column is inverted.

1919 Scott 7A 5r "Baku" Close-up

Genuine

For the genuine, the star is centered between the horns of the moon.

The black frameline is intact all around the upper right box with the Turkish numeral 5.

"1919 Scott 7 5r Baku"

Forgery

This is a forgery, and note the side columns are oriented the same way, like the 1919 first printing, but unlike the Soviet re-issue.

"1919 Scott 7 5r Baku" Close-up

Forgery

How can one tell this is a forgery?

The star between the crescent moon touches or almost touches the lower horn.

There is a break in the black frameline at the bottom right side of the box with the Turkish 5 (The Turkish 5 looks like an inverted heart).

1919 Scott 10A 50r - Genuine

"Temple of Eternal Fires"

The "Temple of External Fires" design is found for the 25r and 50r denominations.

1919 Scott 10A 50r Close-up

Genuine

The genuine has the five oil derricks with their lines intact (specifically the first one at left, and the second one from right).

The star between the crescent moon has sharp points. There is no break in the line forming the upper point.

"1919 Scott 10 50r" - Forgery
"Temple of Eternal Fires"

This is a forgery. Why?

"1919 Scott 10 50r" - Close-up

Forgery

The first derrick from the left has a line break on the left side. The second derrick from the right has a line break on the left.

The points of the star are blunter, and there is an apparent break in the line for the upper point.

So ends the story on forgeries for the 1919 first Azerbaijan issue ( and 1921 Soviet re-issue).

I should mention that it is not unusual to spot a forgery or two when viewing Azerbaijan sets offered on the 'Bay. That is how I obtained these examples.

1922-23 Surcharges on 1919 issue

In 1922-23, there were surcharges applied with handstamped metal dies to several issues, including eight stamps from the 1919 issue (actually the 1921 Soviet reissue).

CV is <$1-$4+.

1922-23 Surcharges on 1919 Issue "Baku"

Scott 62 300,000r on 2r red, bister, & black

The problem is all of these metal die surcharge issues can be found with surcharge overprint forgeries.

This particular stamp has a CV of $1+. Without specialized knowledge about the characteristics of the surcharged forgeries, I have no way of telling if this specimen - modest CV and all- is genuine or not.

1922 Issue (Some sources say 1921 Issue)

At the beginning of the Soviet Socialist Republic era, a 1922 15 stamp lithographic issue with nine designs was released. This stamp issue with the early "Soviet" designs is quite intriguing, and the five of the values are bi-colored.

CV is <$1 for all values.

Tyler states that, shortly after release, all values were forged in Vienna. There are small differences in design.

BTW, Scott has a note that Azerbaijan forgeries for this set tend to sell for more than the genuines!

1922 Scott 22 150r blue "Blacksmiths"

Genuine

Tyler only shows one example of the genuine'forgery difference for the 1922 issue: the 150r blue "Blacksmiths".

1922 Scott 22 150r blue Close-up

Genuine

In the upper right panel, the second Arabic letter from the right resembles a backward "C". the genuine has a small dot on top ( as this one does). The forgery does not have the dot.

On the forehead, there is a matrix of dots (or short wavy lines) seen with the genuine. The forgery has a small forelock extending from under his hat to over his eyebrow.

This would be an interesting issue to do a study on more genuines/forgeries, but alas I do not have the material.

Check out stampforgeries.com for their 1922 (or 1921?) Azerbaijan genuine/forgery comparisons.

1923 Bogus Issue

Now this is interesting.

In 1923, a six stamp issue was found in the stamp trade purporting to be from Azerbaijan.

This issue was actually bogus, and from a firm in Udine, Italy.

Scott does not even mention the bogus issue in the their catalogue, although, interestingly, Steiner has spaces for it.

Well, then the story becomes more bizarre.

Forgeries of the bogus issue were prepared, according to Tyler, possibly in Belgium. They can be found perforated (11, 11 1/2) or imperforate. Likewise, the original bogus issue is perforate (11) or imperforate.

1923 Bogus Issue 500r "Portrait of Old Man"

"Genuine" Bogus

Tyler shows one example of the genuine/forgery: the 500r.

1923 "Genuine" Bogus 500r Close-up

The genuine 500r has two colon like dots to the left of the 500 vertical frameline, and no dot touches the frameline.

The dot to the right of RUB does not touch a frameline either.

1923 Bogus Issue 500r
"Forgery" Bogus

The forgery is somewhat cruder than the original bogus issue.

1923 "Forgery" Bogus 500r Close-up

A dot to the lower left of the 500 vertical frameline (nearly) touches it. And the dot to the right of RUB touches a frameline.

I do know a source for additional information on the 1923 issue bogus/forgery comparisons, but the owner prefers to not have direct links.

Go to the homepage: http://stampworld.ca/Website/ - and with the index, go to Europe, then Azerbaijan and the 1923 Bogus Stamp issue.

1922-23 Surcharges on 1919 Issue "Standard Bearer"
Scott 58 50,000r on 20k multicolored

Out of the Blue

You can see that we have just scratched the surface of what is interesting with the classic stamps of Azerbaijan. There are definitely avenues for further investigation.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Ethiopia - Bud's Big Blue

January 24, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Basutoland - a closer look at the stamps

≪ Previous: Azerbaijan & Forgeries: A closer look

The Lion of Judah, Symbol of Ethiopia, 1897-1974,

and a title of Emperor Haile Selassie

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

The history of Ethiopia’s stamps is full of intrigue and deception, but for patient collectors the rewards are great. Here’s where to start.

· Learn a little Amharic, at least how to count.

· Frequently consult Doig’s Ethiopia Stamp Catalog (http://www.doigsden.com/EthiHome.html) and the Ethiopian Philatelic Society (http://ethiopianphilatelicsociety.weebly.com).

· Read Ethiopian history. Do internet searches on Alfred Ilg, the Swiss confidant of Menelik II and midwife of Ethiopia’s first postal system.

· Combine study Ethiopia’s stamps with those of Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland (Djibouti) and Obock.

· Buy or borrow two books by Roberto Sciaky: Ethiopia, 1867-1936: History, stamps and postal history (Vaccari, 1999, separate addendum 2001), and Ethiopia, 1935-1974: History, stamps and postal history (Vaccari, 2003).

· Tolerate forgeries, especially of anomalies, cancels and overprints.

Have I done all the above? Well, no, but I’ve started -- got the books and scratched the internet a little. More will have to wait until I’ve finished making scans for Jim’s blog.

My scratching so far has to do with the cover on the last supplement page. The address looks to be penned by Alfred Ilg, one of the few people in 1901 authorized to send mail. The postage is correct for letters to Germany via Djibouti. There are appropriate postmarks and backstamps (not shown). It was mailed on May 11, 1901, two months before Ethiopian stamps needed overprints to be valid. The addressee is Julius Seeth, the famous lion trainer who at the time owned the world’s biggest performing pride (24 of them).

So, the lion tamer gets a message from the Lion of Judah.

Sound too good to be true? I think so, too. Add skepticism to the above list.

Census: 78 in BB spaces, 13 twelve tip-ins, 56 on supplement pages. Eighteen added since scans were made.

Jim's Observations
A) Ethiopia is a specialist's delight! Numerous overprints ( with errors), and not too expensive. I wouldn't mind delving deeper into Ethiopia.

B) BB only gives the BB collector the "tip of the iceberg". The major issues are given a space, but as stated in A), there is so much more.

C) Many of the major issues ( 1919 Scott 120-134, 1930 Scott 210-216, 1931 232-241, Air post 1931 C11-C17) in BB have reprints that are much cheaper. If one wants to be aware of them (and not pay too much for a "reprint"), one will need to be aware of the paper, ink and gum for each issue. The specifics are in the Scott catalogue.

D) Amharic script is tough to decipher sometimes, including the denomination. One will need to pay particular attention.

E) Plenty of stamps-mostly surcharge/overprinted- that are inexpensive (<$1-$2+), and did not make it into BB- I found 117!

Ethiopia Blog Post and Checklist

Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination)

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Supplements
Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Comments appreciated!

↧

Basutoland - a closer look at the stamps

January 27, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Falkland Islands - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Ethiopia - Bud's Big Blue

1933 Scott 8 2sh6p dark brown

"George V, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"

Into the Deep Blue
Basutoland only began issuing their own stamps in 1933, although the enclave had been part of Cape Colony since 1871 (with Cape stamps used from 1876), and part of the British Crown since 1883.

1920 map: Basutoland (white with yellow borders) was part of the
Union of South Africa from 1910-1933.

Between 1910-1933, the Union of South Africa (Part I& Part II blog posts) issued stamps for the territory.

In 1966 the enclave became independent as the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The original Basutoland blog post and BB checklist, including a bit more on the history is here.

Also a good review of Basutoland can be had at Stamp World History.

The 2017 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Basutoland, 47 major number descriptions for the years 1933-1952.

Of those, 29 are CV <$1-$1+, or 62%.

A representative collection can be accumulated for not much outlay by the WW collector.

However, there is one category outlier - the 1934 "Official" stamps (Scott 1-3, 6 overprinted).

The CV for these four stamps is $1,000+-$7,000+. !!

The reason? Only 300 of each value were supplied in January, 1934 for use by the Secretariat in Maseru, and they were never sold to the public. Limited usage ( between 24-54 stamps) is known between February 28, 1934 - June 8, 1934. The issue was then withdrawn, and remainders destroyed. Naturally, counterfeits exist.

A closer look at the stamps and issues
12 Pence = 1 Shilling

1933 Scott 2 1p carmine

"George V, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"

The first issue, engraved, for Basutoland proper consisted of ten denominations with a portrait vignette of George V, and a crocodile, river, and mountain scene.

1933 George V and Nile Crocodile Issue in Deep Blue

CV for the ten stamp set ranges from $1+-$200+, with seven stamps @ CV $1+-$4+.

1933 Scott 3 2p red violet

"George V, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"
"Seforong" postmark?

Bur why, one may ask, is there a crocodile in the scene?

Bud, of Bud's Big Blue fame, gives the answer in his Basutoland post....

"If no crocodiles live in Basutoland, why is one on their stamps?

The country is indeed mountainous with steep cliffs rising to high tablelands, rather like an upside down cereal bowl. Mountains made the country defensible militarily; when under attack, the Basotho scaled the cliffs and dumped rocks on their adversaries. Highly effective.

They were never completely conquered, although they lost much of the land surrounding the mountains during the 19^th and early 20^thcenturies. Lesotho is the only country in the world, save Vatican City and San Marino, that is completely surrounded by a single foreign country.

So the mountains make historical sense, but what about the croc?

Basutoland is singularly inhospitable for crocs -- cold rocky streams fed by melting snow, no shallows with sandy banks.

The 19^th century unifying king of the Basotho people, Moshoeshoe (say, moe-SCHWAY-schway), was the son of a sub-chief of the Koena (crocodile) people who came from the North where crocs abound.

The stamps’ croc, then, is totemic -- not scenic but a British way of acknowledging Basotho royalty."

1933 Scott 7 1sh red orange

So the "Nile Crocodile" image on the stamp is totemic, rather than actual. !!

I suspect very few stamp collectors, and only those with a keen awareness of geography and southern African tribal history, would know this.

1935 Scott 11 1p carmine & blue

Silver Jubilee Issue
"Maseru" postmark

On May 4, 1935, the very ubiquitous (for British colonies) four stamp "Silver Jubilee" issue was released for Basutoland.

I rarely show these stamps for my British colonies posts, because common design types, forty-four countries in this case, are really not very interesting for a specific country. Eighteen additional countries celebrated the Jubilee, but with a different design.

But since there are not very many stamps issued for Basutoland in the classical era, I'm making an exception here. ;-)

1937 Scott 16 2p rose violet

Coronation Issue

Likewise, I am showing the May 12, 1937 three stamp "Coronation Issue" for Basutoland, another common design type.

Sometimes the color for a specific denomination is different, depending on the country.

The "Coronation Issue" with this design is found for forty-five countries. There are fifteen additional countries with a different design, but celebrating the same event.

1938 Scott 19 1p rose carmine

"George VI, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"

Not one to throw away a good design, the George VI issue, consisting of eleven stamps, had the same totemic crocodile images for the April 1, 1938 issue.

1938 Scott 22 3p ultramarine

"George VI, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"

The engraved eleven stamp issue has a CV of <$1 to $10 for ten stamps.

1945 Scott 31 3p ultramarine & deep ultramarine, pair

South Africa, Overprinted, "Peace Issue"

The three stamp "Peace Issue" of December 3, 1945, consisted of overprinted South African (Scott 100-102) stamps.

Note the underlying stamps are inscribed alternately in English and Afrikaans.

CV is <$1.

1933 Scott J1a 1p carmine, ordinary paper
(1942 date postmark?)

The 1933-52 postage dues, very functional, consisted of two denominations.

The 1 penny denomination consists of ordinary paper (1933, 1938) and chalky paper (1951).

The 1 penny color varies from carmine (1933) to dark carmine (1938) to dark red (1951).

Deep Blue

1938 George VI and Nile Crocodile Issue in Deep Blue

Deep Blue (Steiner), for Basutoland 1933-1952, has five pages. All the major numbers in the Scott catalogue have a space.

1938 Scott 25 1sh red orange

"George VI, Nile Crocodile and Mountains"

Out of the Blue

The isolated Kingdom of Lesotho (formally Basutoland), with its high elevation (90% of land over 1,800 meters -5,900 feet), singular ethnic group (Basotho), small population ( 2 million), and sobering health problems ( 25% with AIDS), is a singular country indeed.

Note: Thanks to Bud for his description and explanation of the "Nile Crocodile and Mountains" design.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Falkland Islands - Bud's Big Blue

February 2, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Bavaria 1849-1862 & the Mill Wheel Stamp Postmarks

≪ Previous: Basutoland - a closer look at the stamps

King Penguin: One of only a Few

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Falkland Islands census report (estimates).

Commoners (citizens) -- 2,932 on the islands (2012); 0 visible on pre-1941 stamps.

Kings/Queens -- 0 visits to the islands; 87 pictures on pre-1941 stamps.

Sheep -- 488,395 on the islands (2011); 27 on pre-1941 stamps.

Penguins -- 1,100,000+ on the islands; 26 on pre-1941 stamps.

King penguin (above) is endangered.

Black necked swans -- 200 breeding pairs on the islands (2002); 2 on pre-1941 stamps.

Upland geese -- 150,000 pairs on the islands (1997); 1 on pre-1941 stamps.

Sea lions -- 7,047 on the islands (2008) but 380,000 in 1930s; 3 on pre-1941 stamps.

Norwegian rats -- billions (?) on the islands; 0 visible on pre-1941 stamps.

Conclusion: Commoners and rats are under represented on classic era Falkland Islands stamps.

Album census: 37 in BB spaces, 10 tip-ins.

Jim's Observations
Really, quite interesting issues, although the color varieties of the Victorians are challenging indeed. The 1933 Falkland islands twelve stamp pictorials probably rank as one of the all time great British colonial stamp issues. Unfortunately, besides the first two ( the 1/2p & 1p), the next six are generally in the $20-$50 category, and then goes up from there.

Falkland Islands and Checklist Blog Post

Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination)

Page 2

Comments appreciated!

↧

Bavaria 1849-1862 & the Mill Wheel Stamp Postmarks

February 5, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Far Eastern Republic - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Falkland Islands - Bud's Big Blue

1849 Scott 2 3kr blue "Numeral"

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (217)

Probable First Distribution - Munich

Into the Deep Blue
This blog post will look at the imperforate square shaped typographic issued Bavaria stamps from 1849 to 1862.

We will also examine the interesting Mill Wheel cancellations (Mühlradstempel) found on many of these stamps during this era.

Original Blog Post and Big Blue Checklist

The 2017 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Baden 1849-1862, fourteen major number descriptions. Of those, some are fairly inexpensive for the classical era.

1849 Scott 2 3kr blue ($3+)
1850 Scott 4 1kr pink ($20+)
1850 Scott 5 6kr brown ($6+)
1850 Scott 6 9kr yellow green ($10+)
1862 Scott 9 1kr yellow ($20)
1862 Scott 10 3kr rose ($4)
1862 Scott 11 6kr blue ($10+)
1862 Scott 12 9kr bister ($10+)

Clearly, the WW collector should be able to collect and study these stamps without too much financial strain.

First Bavarian Postage Stamp November 1, 1849

(Not mine- scan from internet)

In contrast, the 1849 Scott 1 1kr black catalogs for $1,000 for November 1, 1849 plate 1 (rough impression, framelines around figure "1" broken or incomplete), and $2,600 for May, 1850 plate 2 (fine impression, framelines around "1" complete). I will say no more about the 1kr black here.

A closer look at the 1849-1862 "Numeral" stamps
60 Kreutzer = 1 Gulden
100 Pfennig = 1 Mark (1874)

1849 Scott 2b 3kr deep blue "Numeral"

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (547)

First Distribution (Dorfen) or Second Distribution (Vohenstrauss)

On November 1, 1849, three typographic stamps were issued by Bavaria: the now uber CV expensive 1kr black, a 6kr brown (CV $200+), and the 3kr blue (CV $3+), as shown above. Actually, the above stamp is a minor number shade - "deep blue".

Note the center circle surrounding the number is interrupted (broken) by the two side panels for the 3kr blue and the 6kr brown for this issue.

Note the dividing lines (always the same color as the stamp, here blue) between the stamps, a general feature of all the numeral issues, save the 1kr black. A full margin is considered 1mm.

There is also a closed Mill Wheel postmark with "547" in the middle - which identifies the towns- two possibilities in this case. We will have more to say about the Mill Wheel postmarks shortly.

Reverse of Numeral Stamp: Note vertical embedded Red Silk Thread

The Numeral stamps, save again the 1kr black, have a vertical thread embedded in the paper, which was an anticounterfeiting device.

Now, what about the Mill Wheel cancels?

"Closed" Mill Wheel Cancel

Sometimes called Type I

Note solid spokes radiating from circle

The so called "closed" mill wheel cancels were introduced on August 1, 1850. Each town was assigned alphabetically a number between 1 (Abensberg) to 402 (Zwiesel). New towns were added later-, reaching to 603. These newly added towns were not alphabetical, except if the towns were added in batches, then within a batch they were alphabetical.

This "First Distribution" (all closed mill wheel cancels) were used between August 1, 1850 and November 20, 1856, and then withdrawn.

Between November 20, 1856 and November 30, 1856, only town cancels were used. (These are sought after by specialists.)

On December 1, 1856 the "Second Distribution" consisted of numbers 1 (Abbach) to 606 (Zwiesel). The numbers were assigned to towns alphabetically, but the towns did not receive the same number as the first distribution. Later numbers assigned after 606 for new towns were not alphabetical.

The "Second Distribution" also had many"closed" mill wheel cancels. But some towns received rather a new replacement cancel, usually if the original "closed" mill wheel cancel was highly worn. The new replacement cancel consisted of an "open" mill wheel cancel. These "open" mill wheel cancels were also used for newly established post offices, with the numbers eventually reaching 920.

"Open" Mill Wheel Cancel

Sometimes called Type II

Note there are no solid spokes radiating out from inner circle

The outer portion of the cancel is more "open"

The visual difference between "closed" and "open" mill wheel cancels will become easily apparent - if it is not already-when we examine more stamps further in this blog posting.

For the "open" mill wheel cancels, which were part of the "Second Distribution", the numbers range from 2 to 920 (there are many gaps between 2-605, where closed mill wheel cancels were being used).

One identification problem for the collector is, if a same number was used in both the First Distribution and the Second Distribution, then there might be two possibilities. For instance, "1" could be either Abensberg or Abbach.

However, if the stamp was issued after December 1, 1856, then it must be from the Second Distribution town.

And if the number is the same, but one cancel is 'closed", while the other cancel is "open", that solves the identification problem. The "closed" cancel would be from the First Distribution town, while the "open" cancel would be from the Second Distribution town.

Michel, in its Specialized German catalog, lumps the numbers into five groups of increasing CV, if one is interested in valuing the specific worth of a number.

Well, where can the collector find a table with the town numbers?

The http://www.briefmarken-universum.de/ site by Holger Reichert is excellent.

The numbers 1-606 are listed in two columns: one for the First Distribution town, and one for the Second Distribution town. If the Second Distribution town has an "open" Mill Wheel cancel, then it is listed with an "x".

The numbers 607-920 are all "open" Mill Wheel cancels.

Bavaria Mill Wheel Town Numbers 1-300

Bavaria Mill Wheel Town Numbers 301-606

Bavaria Mill Wheel Town Numbers 607-920

The Mill Wheel cancels were withdrawn March 9, 1869. After that, only town cancels were used.

1849 Scott 2 3kr blue "Numeral"

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (134)

First Distribution - Hochstadt (Hoechstadt)

Here is a closed Mill Wheel cancel on a 3kr blue.

The 3kr was printed using five plates (1-1849-50 (rare), 2-1850-54, 3-1854-58, 4-1856-62, 5-1858-62).

Colors can be dark blue, Prussian blue, gray blue, and green blue.

Hoechstadt, Bavaria on the river Aisch

The "134" is from Hoechstadt (First Distribution) , and not from Frankenthal (Second Distribution), which used an open Mill Wheel cancel.

"Blue carp", "baked carp", and "pepper carp" are some of the regional specialty carp dishes around Hoechstadt.

1849 Scott 2 3kr blue "Numeral"

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (217)

First Distribution (Munich) or Second Distribution (Holzkirchen)

This 3kr blue could be from Munich or Holzkirchen.

Old Rathaus, Holzkirchen

If the "217" stamp had remained on an envelope, other postmark markings might very well have given good clues to which town origin.

1849 Scott 2 3kr blue "Numeral" (Stamp presented upside down)

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark (336?)

Second Distribution (Neuburg a.D.)

The 336 (probable) cancel is an open Mill Wheel variety, hence "Second Distribution", and hence Neuburg an der Donau.

Neuberg an der Donau

On the Danube river, the Neuburg Castle is spectacular. And a special treat awaits in old town: the "Birdland Jazz Club, Neuburg", one of the best Jazz venues in all of Germany..

1850 Scott 4 1kr pink

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark (22)

Second Distribution (Aschaffenburg)

The 1kr pink is part of a five stamp set released between July, 1850 to 1858. The set is characterized, in part, by the complete circle around the numeral (compare to the 3kr blue shown earlier).

Actually, the 1849 3kr blue "broken circle" stamp (plate 2-5) continued to be issued, up to 1863

Note the open Mill Wheel cancel with "22". This is from Ashaffenburg.

Johannisburg Castle

Located on the river Main, the Johannisburg Castle in Ashaffenburg was heavily damaged in WW II, but then completely restored.

1850 Scott 5 6kr brown

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark (325)

Second Presentation (Munich)

The 1850 6kr brown, with the complete circle, has an open Mill Wheel cancel "325".

The 1850 "complete circle" 6kr brown (CV $6+) was printed from a new plate, and replaced the "broken circle" 1849 6kr brown (CV $240).

Bavarian National Museum, Munich

"325" is for Munich, and for circa 1860, the city was already well over 100,000 population.

1850 Scott 6 9kr yellow green

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (217)

First Distribution (Munich) or Second Distribution (Holzkirchen)

Here is another "217" closed Mill wheel cancel, this time on a 1850 9kr yellow green. Considering the large population difference, probably from Munich.

1850 Scott 6 9kr yellow green

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark (356)

This 9kr yellow green is from Nuernberg, the only possibility. (Recall that the open Mill Wheel cancels were only used during the Second Distribution.)

Hangman Bridge, Nuremberg, Bavaria

Nuernberg, or Nuremberg is Bavaria's second largest city.

1850 Scott 6 9kr yellow green

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (281?)

First Distribution (Regensburg) or Second Distribution (Lechfeld)

The possibilities are double here.

1862 Scott 9 1kr yellow

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Nurnberg Cancel

Of course, not all Numeral stamps have the mill wheel cancels, although they tend to predominate, especially in the earlier years.

The 1kr yellow was part of an October, 1862 six stamp issue that had new colors for the denominations.

Also, save for the 3kr rose, all had a complete circle around the numeral.

1862 Scott 10a 3kr carmine (Stamp turned on side)

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Closed Mill Wheel Postmark (604)

Second Distribution (Zusmarshausen)

The 1862 3kr stamp was the exception: it had a broken circle around the numeral.

The color of the 3kr stamp here appears to be carmine, which is a minor number shade.

Note that the mill wheel cancellation is "closed". If there were two possibilities for the "604" number, here it would have to be from the Second Distribution, as the stamp itself was not produced until 1862, and First Distribution numbers were only used until 1856. But that is a moot point for "604" anyway, as that number was only used for the Second Distribution.

Gasthof Adler in Zusmarshausen

Zumarshausen is a small district (pop 6,000 today) in the Augsburg, Bavaria region.

1862 Scott 10a 3kr carmine (Shade)

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark

Here is another carmine shade for the 3kr. Note the open Mill Wheel cancel, but the number is not readable. The carmine shade is valued somewhat higher than the major number rose color ($6 vs $4).

1862 Scott 10 3kr rose

Broken Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

OpenMill Wheel Postmark (356?)

Second Distribution (Nuernberg)

Here is the rose color proper for the 1862 3kr. As the 3kr rose was issued in 1862, only Second Distribution numbers were being used then. Again a bit of a moot point for this stamp, as the cancel is clearly an open Mill Wheel, which was only used during the Second Distribution.

The "356" number is Nuernberg (Nuremberg).

1862 Scott 11 6kr blue

Open Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Munich Postmark

A non Mill Wheel cancel for Munich on this 1862 6kr blue.

Fournier Forgeries cancels for Bavaria

I should say something about forgeries. The 1849 1kr black, with a high CV, had many forgeries. In general, though, the other Bavarian stamps were not forged as much as some of the other German States.

Francois Fournier of Geneva (1846-1917) was responsible for a forgeries of these issues, and here is an example of the cancels used on them.

1862 Scott 12 9kr bister

Open Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

This 1862 9kr bister has an open Mill Wheel cancel, but the number is not legible.

The CV for this stamp is $10+. If on cover- CV $50+. It is rather remarkable the relatively low CV for these classic stamps.

1862 Scott 13 12kr yellow green

Open Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark (325)

Second Distribution (Munich)

The 1862 12kr yellow green has an open Mill Wheel cancel - "325" - which is Munich. Certainly, going after lesser known and rarer town numbers would be an interesting activity for the collector.

The "Numeral" stamps were used until the introduction of the "Coat of Arms" issue in January 1, 1867.

1867 Scott 17 6kr ultramarine "Coat of Arms"-Embossed-Imperforate-

With silk Thread-Closed wheel Postmark (331)-Second Distribution (Naila)

The Mill Wheel cancels can also be found on the imperforate 1867-68 "Coat of Arms" issue, although not frequently.

The Mill Wheel cancels ceased on March 10, 1869.

Naila, Bavaria

Naila, on the Seibitz river, was a town of some 4,000 circa 1860, and is located 18 km from the city of Hof, Bavaria.

Deep Blue

1862 Issue in Deep Blue

Bavaria in Deep Blue (Steiner) has 24 pages (recall that Bavaria had stamp issues up to 1920). For the imperforate "Numerals", there is one page. All of the major Scott numbers have a space.

1850 Scott 5 6kr brown

Complete Circle-With Silk Thread-Dividing Line between Stamps

Open Mill Wheel Postmark

Out of the Blue

I've learned a lot more about the 1849-1862 Numeral issues, and the accompanying closed and open Mill Wheel cancels. A bonus was learning a bit about the Bavarian towns too. Isn't it fun? !!

Note: The 1849 1kr black stamp image is from the internet, and appears to be in the public domain.

The image of the Fournier Forgeries cancels appear to be in the public domain.

The pics of various German towns appear to be in the public domain.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Far Eastern Republic - Bud's Big Blue

February 11, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: British Bechuanaland

≪ Previous: Bavaria 1849-1862 & the Mill Wheel Stamp Postmarks

Aleksandr Kolchak (1874-1920) anti-Bolshevik fighter

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

When stamps of the Far Eastern Republic (FER) speak, they tell tales of the Russian Revolution’s searing flames, of White Russia’s leaders being executed, of refugees running for their lives. They complain about being postal service in a hapless buffer state between Red Russia and the forces of Japan. They recount initial hopes that all Russians might get along, and how those hopes collapsed into bloody war. They chatter about why there were so many different stamp issues in so short a time. Some say they’re Bolsheviks, others claim a Cossack connection.Some whisper about their mysterious origins, secrets they’ve hidden to confound philatelists.

If you hear your FER stamps speaking, pay attention. Then call a psychiatrist.

Using the key word “Chita” will turn up fugitive FER stamps in internet auctionland. As might be expected, forgeries burgeon. Combine historical study of FER stamps with those of Japan in China.

Census: eight in BB spaces, 14 on supplement page. Six have been added since the scans were made.

Jim's Observations
The Far Eastern Republic was basically set up as a buffer state between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (which largely controlled the Far Eastern Republic), and the territories occupied by Japan during the Russian Civil War. The Republic existed from April 1920 to November, 1922. When the Civil War ended and the Japanese left Vladivostock, Soviet Russia then absorbed the territory.

Far Eastern Republic Blog Post and BB Checklist

Page 1 (click and enlarge for examination.)

Supplements
Page 1

Comments appreciated!

↧

British Bechuanaland

February 14, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Fernando Po - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Far Eastern Republic - Bud's Big Blue

1887 Scott 10 1/2p vermilion "Victoria"

Black Overprint on Great Britain Scott 111

Quick History
Although Bechuanaland Protectorate is in the Big Blue album, British Bechuanaland, the sister territory, never was, so here is a brief history.

British Bechuanaland existed between September 1, 1885 and November 16, 1895 as a Crown Colony, when it was absorbed by Cape of Good Hope Colony. The Capital was Vryburg. It had a population of approximately 84,000.

1885 Map - Bechuanaland Protectorate & Stellaland

Prior to creation of British Bechuanaland Crown Colony

In 1882, two secessionist Boer States, Stellaland and Goshen (Capitals Vryburg & Mafekeng respectively) were established. This upset the British public, and a force of 4,000 British regular & irregular troops, led by Sir Charles Warren, first occupied Vryburg, then Mafeking, by April 8, 1885. The Boer Republic of the United States of Stellaland (then including Goshen) collapsed without bloodshed.

By the way, the stamps of Stellaland ( 1884-85- six major Scott number stamps) are somewhat to very expensive CV wise ($20+-$4000), and I don't have any at the moment.

British Bechuanaland 1887

(Incorporates Stellaland)

Stellaland was absorbed into the new Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland, which had the Molopo River as the northern and western boundary.

Meanwhile the Bechuanaland Protectorate ,"at the request of the native chiefs", was set up by the British on March 31, 1885, and administered the lands north of the Molopo River, with Vryburg (until 1895), then Mafeking as the administrative headquarters. Both headquarters for Bechuanaland Protectorate were actually located in British Bechuanaland.

Of interest, the stamps of British Bechuanaland were also used in the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1890 until 1897. This is because the Bechuanaland Protectorate and British Bechuanaland came under one postal administration in June, 1890. Consequently, one should look for postmarks from the Bechuanaland Protectorate area on British Bechuanaland stamps of that era.

For additional perspective on British Bechuanaland/ Bechuanaland Protectorate, see Stamp World History.

Into the Deep Blue

Stamps were introduced for British Bechuanaland on December 3, 1885. The 1885-87 eight stamp output consisted of overprinted 1871-85 Cape of Good Hope issues (CV $10+-$190).

Correspondingly, Bechuanaland Protectorate stamps were first issued/used on August 9, 1888. I will have more to say about the stamps of the Bechuanaland Protectorate with the next post.

The 2011 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue has, for British Bechuanaland 1885-1897, 42 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 3 (or 7%) are CV $1+. Raising the CV bar to $10+, yields 23 stamps, or 55%. If the WW collector will spend more, a decent collection of British Bechuanaland can be obtained.

A closer look at the stamps and issues

12 Pence = 1 Shilling

20 Shillings = 1 Pound

1887 Scott 10 1/2p vermilion "Victoria"

Black Overprint on Great Britain Scott 111

Note the barred oval numeral cancel No. 638? This was in use from the opening of the Mafeking Post Office in 1885 until absorption by Cape Colony in 1895.

The 1/2p Great Britain vermilion, from the 1887 Queen Victory Jubilee Issue, was overprinted as shown and released as a single stamp on January 19,1888. (Scott's "1887" attribution appears to be inaccurate.) CV is $1+.

I should mention that this overprinted 1/2p vermilion for British Bechuanaland was further overprinted "Protectorate", and introduced as the first stamps in 1888-90 for Bechuanaland Protectorate.

Prior, as mentioned earlier, there were eight stamps from 1885-87 released with overprints on the stamps of Cape of Good Hope ("Hope" seated). CV is $10+ for three stamps. I don't have any at the moment.

1887 Scott 16 1sh green "Victoria"

Also, on January 19, 1888 (not "1887" as Scott states), a twelve stamp issue was released using three designs. The second design for the five middle denominations is shown here. CV is $2+-$10 for six stamps.

If these designs look to you like they should be fiscal or revenue stamps, you are correct.

These stamps were produced by overprinting "Unappropriated Die" designs originally intended for use as Great Britain fiscal stamps.

Remember I said that British Bechuanaland stamps can be found used in the Bechuanaland Protectorate between 1890-1897?

Well, the (MA)CLOUTSIE post office, which is the postmark on this stamp, was actually located in north-east Bechuanaland Protectorate, and was active from December, 1892-1893.

There is a great PDF file about the Macloutsie post office and the postmaster available at the www.bechuanalandphilately.com site. (This link downloads the PDF file.)

1895 Scott 39 2p bister

On Cape of Good Hope Scott 44

Overprinted in Black, Reading Down

In December, 1893 to 1895, a two stamp overprinted issue - "Reading Down"- was released using the Cape of Good Hope Scott 43-44 1p rose & 2p bister stamps. CV is $3 for each.

Of note, the same stamps were earlier released in November, 1891 with the overprint "Reading Up". (CV $3+-$10+).

1891 Scott 33 1p lilac

Stamps of Great Britain, Overprinted in Black

Between December 1, 1891 and 1894, a five stamp issue was published using the stamps of Great Britain overprinted in black. The overprint is as shown.

1891 Scott 34 2p green & carmine

Stamps of Great Britain, Overprinted in Black

CV for the five stamp issue ranges from <$1 to $10+.

Of note, Cape Colony took over the responsibility for providing postal service on April 1, 1893.

On November 16, 1895, British Bechuanaland was formally absorbed into Cape Colony. They ceased, then, to have their own stamps. But the stamps of British Bechuanaland continued to be in use in the Bechuanaland Protectorate until 1897.

At the same time, the Bechuanaland Protectorate was serviced postally by Cape Colony, then South Africa, until 1963.

Deep Blue

Deep Blue (Steiner), for British Bechuanaland 1885-1897, has three pages, and all the major Scott numbers have a space.

1922 Map showing Bechuanaland Protectorate

& British Bechuanaland Area that has been annexed by

Cape Colony, and then Union of South Africa

Out of the Blue

Wow, this area is quite interesting from both a postal and historical perspective!

The next post will look at the stamp issues of the Bechuanaland Protectorate.

For those interested in more, I suggest checking out The Bechuanalands and Botswana Society website- www.bechuanalandphilately.com .

Note: Maps appear to be in the public domain.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Fernando Po - Bud's Big Blue

February 20, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Bechuanaland Protectorate - A closer look at the stamps

≪ Previous: British Bechuanaland

Fernão de Pó

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Fernando Poo’s (FP) stamps generally have low CVs, as Jim observes elsewhere in this blog, but they’re hard to find. So, unless you’re desperate to fill BB’s spaces, don’t pay the high prices that some dealers ask. Wait for lower prices or an online auction that attracts little attention. It may take a while.

Mother Spain didn’t listen well to FP’s need for particular stamps, hence the 5 centimos overprints on many other denominations (see supplement). I’ve arranged the supplement stamps in Scott Catalog order, but haven’t studied them closely.

Which is correct -- Po or Poo? If you go with the stamps’ inscription, it’s Poo. If you favor the name of the first Portuguese navigator to visit the island, as BB does, it’s Po. If your FP collection has a forgery in it, it’s a shampoo. (Sorry).

Census: 23 in BB spaces, four tip-ins, 69 on supplement pages.

Jim's Observations
Fernando Po ( now Bioko) is an island located 20 miles of the west coast of Africa by Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea. The island was found by the Portuguese navigator Fernao do Po in 1472. The island is about 45 miles long by 20 miles across. The Capital then was Santa Isabel, and the population was 20,000 in 1930. Of interest, the island was inhabited by the Bubi ethnic group, which speak a Bantu dialect.

Fernando Po stamps definitely appear inexpensive, with 42% of all stamp issues <$1. BTW, all the inexpensive stamps, except for the 1929 issue, are of the "King Alfonso XIII" design types. But are they common in collections? No! Unless one specifically collects Spanish Colonies, which is unusual for a general WW classic collection, one will find not many of these "cheap" stamps around.

Fernando Po Blog Post and BB Checklist

Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination.)

Supplements
Page 1

Page 2

Comments appreciated!

↧

Bechuanaland Protectorate - A closer look at the stamps

February 23, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Fiji - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Fernando Po - Bud's Big Blue

1897 Scott 72 3p violet/yellow

Stamps of GB 1881-87, Overprinted in Black

Into the Deep Blue

Bechuanaland Protectorate (white, with pink outline)

and British Bechuanaland (pink) - 1887

The lands north of the Molopo River were proclaimed a British Protectorate on September 30, 1885, "at the request of the native Tswana chiefs". The sister lands south of the Molopo River became a crown colony, British Beuchuanaland. Both were administered out of British Beuchuanaland : Vryburg (to 1895), then Mafeking. In fact, one postal administration serviced both the Colony and the Protectorate after June, 1890. And, after 1890, stamps of British Bechuanaland were also used in the Protectorate until 1897.

The two sister territories eventually had much different fates, however. British Bechuanaland was absorbed into Cape Colony (1895), and then into South Africa. Bechuanaland Protectorate became independent Botswana in 1966.

The original Bechuanaland Protectorate blog post with BB checklist is here.

The 2017 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Bechuanaland Protectorate 1888-1949 (& two 1958 postage due stamps ), 103 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 30, or 29%, are CV <$1-$1+. The figure is misleading, however, as the earlier Protectorate stamps tend to be somewhat expensive to very expensive ($10+-$1000+).

BTW, the close historical linkage between British Bechuanaland and the Protectorate is evident in the Scott catalogue, as the Protectorate stamps begin with Scott number 51, while the Colony stamps have numbers 1-42. Clearly, at one time, the Scott catalogue had the two entities listed together.

Sketch Map of South Africa 1896

Showing Railways, Telegraphs, and Boundaries

The rudimentary Bechuanaland Protectorate postal system began in 1888, and used runners to go between villages - namely a 500 mile route from Mafeking to Bulawayo across the Protectorate. Stamps of British Bechuanaland (1887 Scott 10 1/2p vermilion) were overprinted "Protectorate" in black, and used between 1888-1890. These are rather expensive (CV $10+-$200+), and I don't have any.

The runner post was replaced a year later by a mule drawn cart service between the rail head at Vryburg and Shoshong (Palapye) in the Protectorate.

A closer look at the stamps and issues
12 Pence = 1 Shilling
20 Shillings = 1 Pound

1897 Scott 69 1/2p vermilion

Stamps of GB 1881-87, Overprinted in Black

In 1897, six 1881-87 stamps of Great Britain were overprinted as shown for use in the Protectorate.

The sixteen stamps issued prior between 1888-1890 are rather expensive to very expensive ($thousands), and probably divide the specialist from the WW collector. Since I'm a WW collector, I feel content beginning with the 1897 issue. ;-)

1897 Scott 71 2p green & catmine

Stamps of GB 1881-87, Overprinted in Black

CV for the six stamp issue ranges from <$1 to $10+ for four stamps.

One of the more interesting things to do with old colony or protectorate stamps is to identify the postmark. Alas, in this case, I haven't been able to do it.

1902 Scott 75 1/2p blue green

On GB Scott 125

On February 25, 1902, a single stamp- the 1/2p blue green- was issued. CV is $1+ for unused.

1905 Scott 77 1p carmine "Edward VII"

Stamps of GB, 1902, Overprinted in Black

Between 1904-12, a a four stamp issue of "Edward VII" Great Britain was overprinted for the Protectorate. CV is <$1-$10+ for three stamps.

Lobatsi (now Lobatse) north of Mafeking

The postmark above is from Lobatsi (now Lobatse), north of Mafeking.

1912 Scott 82 1p scarlet "George V"

GB Scott 154 Overprinted

In 1912, the "George V" GB Scott 154 was overprinted for the Protectorate.

This is a clear February 2, 1915 date usage, although the town is not clear

1915 Scott 84 1p scarlet "George V"

Between 1913-24, nine GB stamps of 1912-13 were overprinted as shown. CV is <$1-$10 for eight stamps.

Pitsani is on the north bank of the Molopo river. One of the subsidized schools for Europeans was located there. Postal services were open 1898-99, and then after 3-1-1920.

BTW, circa 1920, the population of the Protectorate was 125,350, of which 1,692 are Europeans.

1924 Scott 86b 2p orange

It is tough figuring out the postmark, but I believe this is Pilane (Station), which was established May, 1928. It was a Postal agency under Mafeking, used to be called Mochudi Station

1926 Scott 102 4p slate green

Between 1925-27, seven stamps of 1924 GB were overprinted as shown. CV is $1+-$10+ for six stamps.

1932 Scott 107 2p red brown

George V, Cattle and Baobab Tree

In 1932 a twelve stamp set was released, all with this design, showing George V, cattle drinking, and a Baobab tree.

Baobab trees can be found anywhere in present day Botswana, north of the Tropic of Capricorn (north of 23 degrees south equatorial latitude), about the upper two-thirds of the country.

This stamp has a Lobatsi postmark.

1932 Scott 108 3p ultramarine

CV for the twelve stamp set is <$1-$3+ for seven stamps. The five higher denominations have a CV of $20+-$300.

1938 Scott 125 1p rose carmine

George VI, Cattle and Baobab Tree

The same Cattle-Baobab Tree design was used for the 1938 eleven stamp set, except George VI visage was inserted.

The postmark is probably Palapye (Palapye Station, Palachwe (earlier cancellations exist, but had a post office from March, 1937).

Palapye to Francistown

This map shows the north-south route from Mahalapye to Palapye to Francistown.

1938 Scott 126 1 1/2p light blue

And here is a Francistown postmark.

1938 Scott 130 6p rose violet

Ramotsa (Ramoutsa) postmark. Ramotsa is a village south west of Gaberones, now Botswana's capital. The Lobatsi map presented earlier also shows the location of Ramotsa (Ramoutsa).

1938 Scott 133 2sh6p black & carmine

CV for the eleven stamp set is <$1-$20+. Note the design resembles somewhat the "Nile Crocodile - Mountains" stamps of Basutoland.

1926 Scott J2 1/2p emerald

PD stamps of GB Overprinted

In 1926, a two stamp issue for postage due purposes was released. These are overprinted on GB postage due stamps. CV is $10+.

1932 Scott J4 1/2p olive green

In 1932, a three stamp postage due issue was released. Note one can see Wmk 4 ("Multiple Crown and Script C A ") watermark on the white oval background.

1958 Scott J5a 1p carmine

Chalky Paper

Of interest, in 1958, the 1p carmine and the 2p violet of this 1932 design was released on chalk surfaced paper. They are given bolded minor numbers in Scott. CV is $1+.

Deep Blue

1938 Issue in Deep Blue

Deep Blue (Steiner) has ten pages for the 1888-1949 stamps of Bechuanaland Protectorate. All of the major Scott numbers have a space.

1906 Scott 76 1/2p gray green "Edward VII"

Stamps of GB, 1902, Overprinted in Black

Out of the Blue

This area of colonial Africa (British Bechuanaland, Bechuanaland Protectorate) is surprisingly rewarding for WW collectors.

Note: Maps appear to be in the public domain.

Links
British Bechuanaland
Bechuanaland Protectorate - Bud's Big Blue

Comments appreciated!

↧

Fiji - Bud's Big Blue

February 28, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Upstairs, Downstairs: Palo & Steiner Stamp Album Pages

≪ Previous: Bechuanaland Protectorate - A closer look at the stamps

1870-71 Fiji Times 1p black/pink

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Because Great Britain was slow in issuing stamps for Fiji, a newspaper stepped forward to fill the void (see above). The operation was quickly shut, but the stamps command high prices if they’re genuine.

The blue one penny with the left corner void (top row page 1) is a known variety. Several early Fijian stamps have rosy asking prices on internet auctions, but they sell poorly. For optimistic dealers Fiji has become Fantasy Island.

Census: 52 in BB spaces, nine tip-ins.

Jim's Observations

The earlier issues are expensive. But more notably, except for two stamps, they do not show a portrait of Queen Victoria. Rather, they have a "Crown and C.R. (Cakobau Rex)" or a "Crown and V.R. (Victoria Rex)" design, or a "V.R." overprint.

There is a nice "Fijian Canoe" design found on four stamps between 1893-96.

After 1903 with the King Edward VII issue, Fijian stamps follow the more traditional British Colony patterns.

Fiji Blog Post and BB Checklist

Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination)

Page 2

Note: Fiji Times header stamp from an Internet source appears to be public domain.

Comments appreciated!

↧

Upstairs, Downstairs: Palo & Steiner Stamp Album Pages

March 3, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Finland - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Fiji - Bud's Big Blue

Palo Egypt 1874 - 1879 Page

"Sphinx and Pyramid"

Into the Deep Blue
As WW collectors, considering the expense of housing large collections, we mostly live "downstairs" - with our Steiner pages, our stockbooks, our Big Blues and our Minkus albums.

But how do the "upstairs" folks,- the specialists, the one or two country collectors live?

They may be able to indulge in new Scott Specialty albums , or the Lighthouse album system from Germany.

And if one is interested in album coverage for any country in the world (literally, any country/stamp listed in the Scott catalogue), there is Palo, an American company headquartered in Illinois.

Steiner (red binder) & Palo (black binder)
Egypt 1927-37 "King Fuad"

Well, as WW collectors, we should stand up and take notice when albums are offered for any and all countries in the world!

Why hasn't that happened, for the most part, with Palo?

One reason - for the WW collector that would like a nicer album for specific countries, there are often used Scott Specialty albums available, which can be had -essentially free-for the underlying CV % cost of the stamps in them.

And the reality is the premium grade Palo is an "upstairs" album: It is rather expensive (You can check the specifics for various countries at their website).

Palo (black binder) & Steiner (red binder)
Egypt 1879-93, 1888-1906
"Sphinx and Pyramid"

And Palo itself knows that, and doesn't see itself as targeting the WW collector.

From their FAQ page...

I'm looking for a worldwide album. Do you have one?

No. Worldwide albums are hard to find because it is extremely difficult to collect worldwide nowadays. A worldwide collector would need to spend over $80,000 per year just to keep up with new stamps. Most collectors specialize and concentrate on individual areas or countries.

Comment:
Many WW collectors do set a date collecting limit for that reason, or have other methods (collecting used stamps, stamp exchanges etc) which actually limits the cost to a much more reasonable figure.
But it is true: if you are a WW collector, and bought a lot of their premium Palo pages, it will cost you a pretty penny. !!

Palo (black binder) & Steiner (red binder)
Note the larger size of Palo

Well. Palo might not be a solution to house all stamps and all countries, but they might be an intriguing possibility for a favorite subset of countries!

A Palo Egypt Album surrounded by Vario F & Vario G binders
that are housing Steiner pages (Deep Blue 1840-1940).

As luck would have it, I picked up an Egypt Palo album with a very nice collection inside at our local Stamp Club Show bourse.

I thought it might be instructive to compare the "Upstairs" Palo with the "Downstairs" Steiner.

Are the quality differences enough to justify a Palo album purchase for some (favorite) countries?

My, How Big you are!

As one can tell, the size of Palo is much larger than the usual 11" X 8.5" pages that I have for Steiner. In fact, I will need to find a new place for the Palo, as is clear.

Comparison of Palo and Steiner page and layout
Egypt 1923-24 "King Fuad"

Some critics of Steiner say they cannot get past the "schoolboy" size pages and binders they are usually used for them.

Clearly, the Palo offers a much more spacious appearance.

Palo & Steiner
Egypt Official Stamps 1924 & 1926-35

Palo is on 100 lb paper, 10 3/4" X 12 1/4" size.

In contrast, my Steiner pages are 8.5" X 11" on 70 lb paper.

Pictures do not do it justice, as the Palo presents MUCH larger than the Steiner pages.

Steiner & Palo
Egypt Postage Due 1921, 1922, 1927-56

If you have been paying attention to the side by side presentation of Steiner & Palo, you may have noticed something.

The "bones" - the skeletal structure - of the stamp space layout is the same. (Note: I added several stamps to the second row to this Steiner page as variants, but the basic layout is the same as the Palo.)

That is no coincidence that the layout is the same.

Steiner has licensed their pages and layout to Palo for their use.

(I do not know if today all the Palo pages are derived, in part, from Steiner page layout. They might (and probably) have other sources now.)

Steiner & Palo
Egypt Official 1893 - 1915

Here you see - on the left- a Steiner Page, which is surrounded by the blank Palo page underneath.

Note the five ring binder system. This is unique to Palo, which means you probably will be using their binders. Note, there is an option to have real leather for the binder.

However, a standard (American) 3-ring system does fit (3) holes of the Palo, so, if one could find a large enough 3-ring binder, that would work to house the pages.

Scott Specialty Album
France 1849-1870

Clearly, a rival for anyone contemplating buying Palo - which follows the present day Scott catalogue in presentation, as does the Steiner, - are the Scott Specialty albums for various countries.

The Scott Country Specialty album does have the Scott number listed in the stamp space. The Palo does not.

The Scott Specialty albums are much better known and "accepted": They are generally considered the "gold standard", albeit a bit tarnished as we will see in the next several paragraphs.

However, most Scott Specialty album layouts are based on older Scott catalogues. They neither follow exactly the present day catalogue in presentation, nor are their color descriptions for the stamps always the same as today's catalogue either.

Palo (and Steiner) actually out-Scotts Scott in terms of ease of use with the present day Scott catalogue.

The other (significant) problem with Scott Specialty pages for the WW collector?

Not enough WW coverage!

Premium Palo and Steiner, on the other hand, have coverage of all the stamps and countries in the present day Scott catalogue. (The "economy" Palo option, unfortunately, offers a much shorter list of country pages available.)

Palo Egypt 1939-50 Page (left),
& Scott France 1936-38 Semi-Postal Specialty page (right)

One will note that the Palo page is larger (10 3/4" X 12 1/2", 100 lb paper) than the Scott Specialty page (10" X 11.5", 80 lb paper).

Palo
Egypt Postage Due 1921-1956

The premium Palo pages have the option of being ordered with stamp mounts or stamp mount strips already in place. The pages with stamp mounts cost about 3X the cost of the pages without stamp mounts. Palo states that "doing it yourself" with placing stamp mounts might save about 20% over the cost of already in place mounts. But, considering the time, and "neatness" factor, it might make sense to order mounts already placed in the album. After all, this is a "premium" album. !!

Steiner
Egypt Postage Due 1921-1956

And here is the identical Steiner page for Egypt Postage Due 1921-1956.

One will note that the fonts are different between the Palo and Steiner, but the worded information is the same.

Palo
Egypt 1866 "Turkish Suzerainty", 1867 "Sphinx and Pyramid"

If one was astute, one may have noticed that my Palo pages do not have stamp illustrations in the stamp spaces. That is because I have an earlier Egypt Palo version (C 2004, 2008).

Today, all Palo premium pages have colored illustrations in the stamp spaces as the default.

This is a bit controversial among collectors - how does one tell if you have the stamp, or merely the illustration of the stamp? ;-)

The Lindner T-Blank system pages, for instance, only offer black & white illustrations for the stamp spaces precisely for this reason.

However, there is an option to order the Palo premium page illustrations in black & white (by presumption, for the same price as those with colored illustrations).

I would be interested in hearing from any premium Palo album owners with stamp space colored illustrations to hear how they view it.

Palo-Barbados 1852-1861
Colored Illustrations

Here is a scan pic from the internet, showing the present day Palo premium pages with the colored stamp illustrations within the spaces.

Steiner- Barbados 1852-1861

Descriptions in the stamp spaces

And here is the comparable Steiner page for 1852-61 Barbados with the denominations and color descriptions within the spaces.

Palo- Ceylon
Scan pic from Internet

Of interest, I noticed that a seller of Ceylon stamps housed in a Palo album felt the necessity to mask the empty colored stamp illustration spaces in order to show the real stamps for sale on the Palo page. !!

Palo
Egypt 1937-44, 1937

One of the things I like about Palo as they do offer natural country groupings together for a discount. So, for instance, if one is collecting British West Africa, or Portuguese Colonies, one can order them as a set.

Steiner
Egypt 1937-44, 1937

So here is the identical Steiner page which one can do for oneself.

But, as said, one does need to work to get the Steiner page presentable, rather than order an already put together solution.

One has to admit that, for a 'downstairs" product, the Steiner does a fine comparable job at the core - providing spaces for the stamps- when measured against the "upstairs" premium Palo.

Palo page (Regular edition - spaces past 1940)
Egypt Special Delivery 1926-52

At first glance it appears that the Palo here and the Steiner below are not related. But Palo uses the regular or general edition Steiner pages, without date cutoff, while my Steiner pages are from the classic edition with a ~1940 cutoff for displaying spaces.

Steiner page (Classic edition - spaces to ~1940)
Egypt Special Delivery 1926-1929

Steiner is sometimes accused of not putting many stamps on a page. Well, that may be true. But it is done in the interest of keeping categories (here Special Delivery) separated on their own page as Scott does in their catalogue. (This drives collectors from across the pond crazy. ;-)

Palo & Steiner
Egypt Air Post 1928 & 1929
Border comparison

A picture is worth a thousand words: note the expansive borders in the Palo, yet the meat and bones of the page reflect the Steiner heritage.

Note the stamp spaces themselves are separated by the same distance in both the Palo and Steiner.

In other words, the stamp spaces take up the same area.

But the border has been widened to offer a more spacious presentation.

A lot of space on the left with Palo pages
Egypt Air Post stamps 1933-38; 1941-43
"Airplane over Gaza Pyramids"

It;s a shame to not show the entire group of stamps here, but my flatbed scanner is not wide enough for the Palo page. I took this scan to emphasize the left side of a Palo page, which is not shown with the other scans.

Palo page close-up
Egypt 1947-48

The Palo album I have continues with stamp coverage until 1953 for Egypt. Palo sells their pages in year groupings. Presently, they sell Egypt 1866-1971 (119 pgs) for $124; $367 for mounts in place.

Palo does state at their website that a customer can special order any number of pages (or year cutoff) they wish.

Palo page
Egypt 1953 Occupation stamps for use in Palestine
(1948 stamps printed with three bars obliterating portrait)

An area I had not paid attention to in the past are the occupation stamps for Palestine. This album comes with full coverage of the era. I will need to get beyond my general self imposed limit of 1840-1940, and enjoy these stamps and the history that they signify.

Palo page

Sudan 1902-21 "Camel Post"

This Palo "Egypt" album also contained pages for Sudan. Considering that Sudan's 1897 stamp output began with overprinted Egyptian stamps of 1884-93, it makes sense to include Sudan with Egypt. And the fact that they are neighbors, and were under the mutual hegemony of Britain binds them together more.

Note the leisurely use of wide borders and paper in the Palo, giving a feeling of spaciousness.

Palo page

Sudan Air Post

1931, 1931-35 "Statue of General C.G.Gordon"

I trimmed the scan of this Palo page to just outside the borders to frame the page.

Lovely and luxurious.

Palo & Steiner page

Egypt Official Stamps: 1924 & 1926-35

Out of the Blue

Well, I certainly enjoyed spending time "upstairs" with the Palo album.

And the fact that they use the Steiner stamp space format, which follows the present day Scott catalogue, is actually, in my mind, an asset too.

For a Steiner user, switching to a Palo album would not be hard at all.

And, especially for those countries in which one would like to house in "elegant presentation mode", it might be tempting to use Palo.

So, in this case, I have both Steiner and a Palo pages - which one will I use for the primary Egypt collection?

Hey, it is kind of fun living "upstairs" at times. !!

Note: All the pages shown in my Palo have stamps in the spaces, not illustrations. Although it is a bit difficult to tell, especially with the pics, there are no "colored stamp illustrations" in my earlier edition Palo.

I do show two Palo pages with colored illustrations harvested from the internet (Palo-Barbados-1852,61; Palo-Ceylon). These scan pics appear to be in the public domain.

Comments appreciated!

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Finland - Bud's Big Blue

March 9, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Bavaria "Coat of Arms" Issues 1867 -1911

≪ Previous: Upstairs, Downstairs: Palo & Steiner Stamp Album Pages

Finland "Protest" Stamps

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

The Tsar’s 1900 russification plan abolished the use of Finland’s 19^th century stamps, but protests flourished. Finland’s senate voiced disapproval, but that didn’t change matters. A “mourning” stamp (see above) was privately created for placing on mail along with the Russian-mandated stamps. It came in two varieties; the “1” on the back has either a concave or a straight head serif (also above). Profits from sales surged and went to support education. A forgery, slightly different from the original, appeared. Then, Imperial Russia banned the use of such propaganda. If one of these pops up in your feeder album, you’ll notice it.

Scans often show problems that went undetected beforehand. Two Russian interlopers have displaced two Finnish stamps (see lines for 1891-92 below). These, too, have been banned and replaced, even though they resemble the Russian-approved Finnish stamps, because they lack the circled dot motif.

Census: 160 in BB spaces, 13 tip-ins, 19 on supplement page.

Discovery of the Russian interlopers led me to overhaul the Finland pages since the scans were made. Changes include: shifting all 20^thcentury definitive issues for which BB does not provide space to the supplement pages; placing Scott #110 (as Jim suggests) in the blank space on page two, end of line five, instead of what’s shown on the scan; and adding Finland’s only classical era airmail stamp, a 1930 zeppelin overprint on Scott #178. Changes and additions resulted in 68 being currently on supplement pages.

Jim's Observations

The Finnish "Imperial Arms of Russia" era is a Finnish-Russian identification minefield for collectors. I found even carefully put together collections of Finland with Russian interlopers on the album page, so clearly these designs can be an identification problem for the general classic WW collector.

Scott states: Finnish stamps have "dot in circle" devices or are inscribed "Markka", "Markkaa", "Pen", or "Pennia". A good thing to heed. !!

Finland Blog Post 1856-1917

Finland Blog Post 1917-1940 & Checklist

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Supplements
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Bavaria "Coat of Arms" Issues 1867 -1911

March 12, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Fiume - Bud's Big Blue

≪ Previous: Finland - Bud's Big Blue

1867 Scott 16 3kr rose "Coat of arms"

Embossed; Imperforate; With Silk Thread

Into the Deep Blue
Continuing our investigation into the early issues of Bavaria,, this blog post will look at the embossed "Coat of Arms" issues of 1867-1911.

The preceding Bavaria posts are here...

Bavaria Blog Post and Checklist
Bavaria 1849-1862 & the Mill Wheel Stamp Postmarks

The 2017 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue for the 1867-1911 "Coat of Arms" era, has 62 major number descriptions, and 16 significant minor number descriptions (Total 78 descriptions). Of those, 23 are CV <$1-$1+, or 29%. Raising the bar to CV $10+ yields a total of 58, or 74%. Clearly, interested collectors can accumulate a nice representative collection if they wish, provided they spend a bit.

There are also in the Scott catalog many minor number shade stamps that are listed.

An overview of the "Coat of Arms" issues looks like this..

Kreuzer Denominations
1867-68 Imperforate with Silk Thread (Eight descriptions)

The rest of the issues have no Silk Thread
1870-72 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 92 (Eight descriptions)
1870-72 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 93 (Eight minor number descriptions)
1874-75 (Mark values-two descriptions): Imperf + Perf 11 1/2, Wmk 92
1875 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 94 (Five descriptions)

Pfenning/Mark Denominations
1876-78 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 94 (Ten descriptions)
1881-1911 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 95v (Ten descriptions)
1888-1900 Perf 14 1/2; Wmk 95h; White paper (Ten descriptions)
1888-1899 perf 14 1/2; Wmk 95h; Toned paper (Twelve descriptions- four major, eight minor)
1911 Perf 14 1/2; Wmk 95v; (One description)
1911 Perf 11 1/2; Wmk 95h; (Four descriptions - all Mark values)

A bit of advice: I think this blog post will make a little more sense if one follows along by looking at the Scott catalogue at the same time.

Clearly, paying attention to Kreuzer/Pfenning denomination differences, Imperforate/ Perf 11 1/2/ Perf 14 1/2 differences, Watermark differences ( Wmk 92, Wmk 93, Wmk 94, Wmk 95v, Wmk 95h), and paper differences (white/toned) is necessary for the WW collector to properly identify these stamps.

But, in reality, it is not so difficult, at least at the level of the Scott catalogue. (For serious collectors, a Michel should be used also.)

One just needs to identify the denomination - simple!..either Kreuzer or Pfenning values.

And identify the perforation- either 11 1/2 or 14 1/2, or imperforate.

And then identify the watermark, which is usually fairly obvious.

And for some issues, splitting the paper into "white" or "toned" will give a major or minor number.

So let's begin.....

A closer look at the stamps and issues
60 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden
100 Pfennig = 1 Mark (1874)

Coat of Arms; Embossed

Used on Bavarian Stamps 1867-1911

All the Bavarian "Coat of arms" issues have this embossed design.

Embossed Shield Close-up

Coat of Arms Kingdom of Bavaria 1835-1918

I was unable to find an exact reproduction of the stamp design, but here is one rendition of the 1835-1918 Kingdom of Bavaria "Coat of Arms".

1867 Scott 15 1kr yellow green "Coat of arms"

Embossed; Imperforate; With Silk Thread

The first embossed issue of 1867-68 consisted of eight denominations. CV is $2+-$10+ for four stamps. The highest CV is for the 18kr red @ $140.

This is the only issue that is imperforated. There is a vertical silk red thread embedded in the paper on the reverse side, as we will see soon.

1867 Scott 15 6kr ultramarine "Coat of arms"

Embossed; Imperforate; With Silk Thread

With Type 1 "Mill Wheel" cancel

"Mill Wheel" cancels can be found on these stamps (both Type 1 & Type 2). For much more on the "Mill Wheels", see my preceding blog post.

According to Michel, the volume distributed for each denomination for this issue is...
1kr yellow green -20,800,000 CV $12 (These are 2017 Scott catalogue values.)
3kr rose -70,600,000 CV $2+
6kr ultramarine -3,400,000 CV $19
6kr bister -2,400,000 CV $50
7kr ultramarine -2,900,000 CV $16
9kr bister -1,300,000 CV $35
12kr lilac -663,000 CV $95
18kr red -261,000 CV $140

Comparison
USA 1847 Scott 1 5c brown "Franklin" - 3,700,000 CV $375

1867-68 "Coat of Arms" Issue; Imperforate

Has Vertical Red Silk Thread Embedded

The back of the imperforate stamp should have a fairly obvious vertical red silk thread embedded. This is a good identification feature to verify that one has a legitimate 1867-68 imperforated issue.

12kr lilac "Coat of Arms"

Very stiff and thick cardboard

Probable Postcard Cut Square?

I have several stamps, a 6kr bister, and a 12kr lilac that are on very thick "postcard" like paper with printing on the reverse. Scott says nothing about them. I assume they are postcard cutouts? Readers?

1870 Scott 26 7kr ultramarine, Perf 11 1/2

Without Silk Thread

Wmk 92 "Longer Diamond"

Between July, 1870- January, 1873, an eight stamp perforated (11 1/2) issue with a "Longer Diamond" (Wmk 92) watermark was released. In Scott, the Wmk 92 stamps are given major numbers. CV is $1+-$6+ for five stamps. The highest CV is for the 12kr lilac @ $1,200 unused!

Note that these stamps do not have a silk thread embedded, and, in fact, none of the remaining "Coat of Arms" issues do.

This issue contrasts with the same time period issue of eight stamps that have a "Shorter Diamond" (Wmk 93), as we will see next.

1870 Scott 23a 1k green, Perf 11 1/2

Without Silk Thread

Wmk 93 "Shorter Diamond"

Along with Wmk 92, there was also Wmk 93 paper used between July, 1870 - January, 1873. Scott considers that the eight stamps with Wmk 93 as minor numbers, but actually they are "major" ("X" subset vs "Y" subset in Michel) in reality.

The Wmk 93 stamps command a higher to a much higher CV price in the catalogues. But, the Wmk 93 1kr green and the 3kr rose stamps are only CV $2+-$9+, so the collector should check those denominations especially, as the collector could have the more elusive wmk 93 stamp.

Lets look at the 92 & 93 watermarks...

Left: Wmk 92 "Longer, Diamond" 17 mm wide

Right: Wmk 93 "Shorter Diamond" 14-15 mm wide

The "Longer Diamond" ( rhombus) watermark (Wmk 92) is 17mm wide. In contrast, the "Shorter Diamond" (Wmk 93) is 14-15mm wide. I will say right now that it can be a bit confusing - I certainly have been fooled. Careful examination of these two watermarks may be necessary. Generally, Wmk 92 stamps are much less CV wise then Wmk 93 stamps. Also, in Scott, Wmk 93 stamps are minor numbers.

1875 Scott 32 1m violet; Perf 11 1/2

Wmk 92

Between 1867-1973, the only stamps issued were denominated in Kreuzers. However, in 1874, a 1 Mark violet imperforate stamp was released. Then in 1875, a 1 Mark violet perforated (11 1/2) stamp was likewise released. Both of these stamps are on Wmk 92 paper.

Actually, the "Marks" are "Goldmarks" (German Mark), which were valued @ 35 Kreuzer = German Imperial Goldmark.

1875 Scott 34 3kr rose; Perf 11 1/2

Wmk 94

In 1875, a five stamp issue was released of the "Coat of Arms" design on watermark 94 "Horizontal Wavy Lines Wide Apart" paper. This would prove to be the last of the "Kreuzer' denomination stamps.

CV is <$1-$30 for the five stamps. Since this issue was short lived, unused is much less CV wise than used. Fake cancellations exist.

Left: Wmk 94 "Horizontal Wavy Lines Wide Apart"

Right: Wmk 95v "Vertical Wavy Lines Close Together"

Here is a Wmk 94 "Horizontal Wavy Lines Wide Apart" example. Also shown is a Wmk 95v "Vertical Wavy Lines Close Together" that we will encounter on later "Coat of Arms"issues..These watermarks are usually fairly easy to determine.

1876 Scott 44 50pf scarlet; Perf 11 1/2

Wmk 94

The 1976-78 issue was the first to be denominated in Pfennig (100 Pfennig = 1 Mark).

The ten stamp issue is on Wmk 94 "Horizontal Wavy Lines Wide Apart" paper.

CV is $1+-$10+ for seven stamps.

1881 Scott 52 25pf yellow brown; Perf 11 1/2

Wmk 95v

Perforated 11 1/2, a ten stamp (ten major descriptive Scott numbers) issue using Wmk 95v "Vertical Wavy Lines Close Together" paper was released between 1881-1901. If one includes minor number changes in paper (toned, white, translucent), the issue continued to 1911.

CV is <$1-$20+ for all ten major numbers. Some of the minor numbers (change to white paper or translucent paper) are rather CV expensive ($80-$175). See Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue for the details, if interested.

1900 Scott 67 30pf olive green; Perf 14 1/2

Wmk 95h

Another watermark was introduced for the Scott major number fourteen stamp 1888-1900 issue. This is the Wmk 95h "Horizontal Wavy Lines Close Together".

This issue has perforations 14 1/2.

CV is <$1-$9+ for the fourteen stamps listed as "major numbers". There are also a number of denominations listed with minor number color shades.

There are paper differences: "white paper" vs "toned paper" for a number of denominations. More about that soon.

Wmk 95h: "Horizontal Wavy Lines Close Together"

Here is a good look at Wmk 95h. The watermark is rather easy to determine.

1900 Scott 68 40pf yellow; Perf 14 1/2

Wmk 95h

On White Paper

Remember, I said there also were "White paper" vs "Toned paper" differences for the 1888-1900 issue?

Scott has major descriptive numbers for ten denominations listed under "white paper". It then lists, under "toned paper" ( between 1888-1899), four major numbers and eight minor numbers.

1888 Scott 69 50pf deep brown; Perf 14 1/2

Wmk 95h

On Toned Paper

As one may suspect, the white paper vs toned paper 1888-1900 "Coat of Arms" issue is rather complex in the Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue (no doubt influenced by the obsessive Michel listings).

Finally- not illustrated here specifically, but I will mention for completeness sake: There were five "Coat of Arms" stamps issued in 1911 (5pf on Wmk 95v paper- Perf 14 1/2; Four mark values on Wmk 95h paper-Perf 11 1/2). These can be differentiated from the preceding issued denomination/ same color stamps by a change in watermark.

1920 Scott 237 20pf on 3pf brown

Surcharged in Dark Blue

In 1920, a 20pf on 2pf brown stamp was issued. The surcharge is in dark blue. CV is <$1.

1876 Postage Due Scott J4 3pf gray

Type of 1876 Regular Issue; Wmk 94

Overprinted in Red

"Vom Empfanger zahlbar"

Postage Due stamps, based on the"pfennig" issue types of 1876, were issued in 1876 (Wmk 94), 1883 (Wmk 95v), 1895-1903 (Wmk 95h), and 1888 (Wmk 95h, Rose-toned paper).

The overprint said "To be paid by recipient".

1908 Official Scott O3 10pf carmine

Regular Issue of 1888-1900

Overprinted Red or Green

Official stamps were issued in 1908. The five overprinted stamps had an "E" for "Eisenbahn", for use of railway officials. CV is <$1-$4+.

Deep Blue

Part of 1888-1900 Issue in Deep Blue

Deep Blue (Steiner) has four pages for the "Coat of arms" Bavarian issues of 1867-1911.

There are some missing spaces that the collector might want to add by perhaps including a quadrilled page or two.

The 1870-72 eight stamp major number Wmk 92 issue has spaces. The 1870-72 eight stamp minor number Wmk 93 spaces are not provided.

For the 1888-1900 Perf 14 1/2 Wmk 95h issue, all the major numbers are given a space. This includes ten stamps on white paper and four stamps on toned paper. But the eight other stamps on toned paper that have minor numbers are not given a space.

1900 Scott 54 1m rose lilac; Perf 11 1/2

Wmk 95v

Out of the Blue

I think the presentation here makes the "Coat of Arms" issues appear more complicated than they are when confronted by these stamps.

As said, if one checks perforations (Imperf, Perf 11 1/2, Perf 14 1/2), denominations (Kreuzer vs Pfennig), watermarks (Wmk 92, Wmk 93, Wmk 94, Wmk 95v. Wmk 95h), and paper (white, toned, translucent), it is not too difficult, at least at the level of the Scott catalogue. !!!

Note: Bavarian Coat of Arms pic appears to be in the public domain.

Links
Bavaria - Bud's Big Blue

Comments appreciated!

↧

Fiume - Bud's Big Blue

March 18, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Belgian Congo Stamps Part I - A closer look

≪ Previous: Bavaria "Coat of Arms" Issues 1867 -1911

"A Frightful little gnome"

"A tragic gargoyle"

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Fiume generated a pile of stamps -- a typical result in new countries besot with social turmoil. Moreover, because stamps were hastily issued over the few years of Fiume’s existence, fakes and forgeries abound, especially for overprinted Hungarian stamps. Collectors relying on feeder albums commonly find problems. The problems crop up again in BBs Hungary section.

Irregular troops led Gabriele D'Annunzio, a poet and inspirer of revolts, took over Fiume in 1919. He hoped to annex it to Italy, thereby making Italy great again, but it didn’t happen as he wished.

Historians say, however, that Mussolini picked up his ideas, and Hitler did, too. D'Annunzio’s nihilism, his poetic glorification of passionate beauty, and his pursuit of immediate sensual pleasure at any cost, especially if someone else pays for it, typifies Nazi aesthetics. Doting women gushed over the little man (see quotes above). Others thought him a jerk. Compare his picture to Scott #s 86 through 99 (page 2 and supplement).

I’ve not finished checking the scans for forgeries, but the few stamps I’ve looked at carefully seem to be OK. A great help in detecting Fiume forgeries can be found online:

http://stampforgeries.com/forged-stamps-of-fiume/#top.

Jim's Observations
The allied troop occupation of Fiume (November,1918), the takeover by the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio and his legionnaires (1919), and the creation of The Free State of Fiume (1920-24), gave philatelists a stamp issuing entity that, during six years, issued 262 stamps! Fiume, on the Adriatic Sea, consisted mostly of the city of Fiume. The city became known as Rijeka after WWII, and today is in Croatia.

Fiume Blog Post and Checklist

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