Classical Stamps

Today I start hijacking another section.
Classical stamps according to my own,of course
non-binding definition (not even for me),are all
stamps issued till 1875.Later issues are included,
if they show the design of stamps issued before
1875.
Of course,due to the lack of funds,I have of no of
the shown countries the "classical" stamps
complete.But perhaps others can show more.
My first country,is not a proper country at all:
Bergedorf
Bergedorf,today a suburb of Hamburg,was a
condominium of Lübeck and Hamburg.No more
than 3000 people lived there in 1861,when
stamps were issued.Five stamps became valid
on Nov.1st,1861.Of the 1/2 Schilling a reissue
was put on sale in 1867,what differs in the tone
of blue and a slightly smaller design.
The stamps of Bergedorf were valid till Dec.31st,
1868,when they were supersed by stamps of the
Nordeutscher Postbezirk (North-German Conferderation).
I can show three values:Mi.1a,3 and 4

The central design shows half of each the coats of arms
of Lübeck (to the left) and Hamurg (right).
The stamps are mint quite affordable,especially if without
gum.In used condition Bergedorf-stamps are quite
expensive,on letters rarities.That is why stamps with
faked cancellations are common.Expertizing is an
absolute must !
But also in mint many reprints and forgeries exist,
but are not to difficult to detect.

 

Hello Werner, Nice stamps. I believe your "country" is new to me, I do not think that I have seen it before. When I return to the UK next year I will look through my collection to verify my statement.

Regards, James.

 

Don,probably bigger than you might think.
1/2 S.prussian blue 160 000
1/2 S. blue 40 000
1 S. 90 000
1 1/2 S. 100 000
3 S. 80 000
4 S. 80 000
The 1/2 S.blue was issued in 1867 and could be
used only till the end of 1867.
However as with small modern states today,like
Liechtenstein or Vatican,most stamps were
bought by collectors and only few saw postal
service.

 

A more familiar country:Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

First issue,Jan.12th,1863
20 Para left, 2 Piasters right.The red band at the
bottom: postage stamp.

Januar 1st,1863
Postage Due 1 Piaster
Blue band: postage due

 

I posted this set before in another thread.
But as it is a true classic,here it is again:
Ionian Islands,British Protectorate,issued
June 15th,1859.Valid till 1864,when the
Islands were united with Greece.

 

Today I want to start showing the stamps of
a very special... It is difficult to describe,
because it is no country: Thurn & Taxis.
Thurn and Taxis is the name of a princely
family,what organized the first Europe-wide
mail service in 1490 by the order of the
future Emperor Maximilian I (The Last Knight).
They were subsequently appointed General
Postmaster of the Holy Roman Empire of
German Nations.
In 1852,when Thurn & Taxis issued their first
stamps series,they took care of the postal
services of about twenty german states.
For northern Germany stamps were valued
in Silbergroschen (1 Thaler = 30 Silbergr.),
for southern Germany in Kreuzer (1 Florin =
60 Kreuzer).1 Sgr.was equivalent to 3 Kreuzer.
Here the first series of 1852 (missing is the
1/3 Sgr.):

On the 9 Kr. you can see,what makes collecting
Thurn & Taxis a challenge: stamps with margins
all around are uncommon,because the distance
between the stamps is very small.Full margin
copies,like the 9 Kr. often show parts of the
neighbouring stamps.In this case on three sides.
Catalogue values are for stamps what are
touched on at least one side.Stamps cut into
are cheaper,full margin copies cost several times
the cat.value,depending on the cut.

In 1853 the 1 Sgr. and the 3 Kr. were reissued
in slightly different colours:

 

Thurn & Taxis 2nd series 1859/61,single colour
stamps:

There are no known forgeries of T.&T. The
designs are too complicated.But cancellation-
forgeries are plentiful of all stamps,what are
cheap in mint condition.
Here a larger scan of the 30 Kr.stamp,what show
the details better:

 

Thurn & Taxis 3rd series 1862/63,new colours
(missing are 6 and 9 Kr.)
As series 4 and 5 are basically the same stamps,
you will see the missing two stamps there.

 

Thurn & Taxis 4th series,1865 rouletted colourless

The following scan demonstrates how close
the stamps are to each other:

So the same is true for this series as well as for
the three proceeding ones:four margin well
centered stamps are rare.

 

Hello all, here are some "Winged Mercury" newspaper stamps from Austria 1908. I have a large number of the Cobolt Blue 2 Heller values, three different paper types, four perfs, and colour variations, one 6H used and one each 10 & 20 MH





Regards, James

 

Hello all, I have a fair number of the Thurn & Taxis stamps, they were posted on another forum some years ago, at present I cannot post here because I cannot find the original scan, it may be on my old desktop WD-HDD back in the UK. My brother may be able to connect it to the system so that I can get access from here. Possibly I will be able to post at a later date.

Regards, James.

 

An interesting issue.Three different papers,
chalky paper 1908,dull/thin/translucent
paper 1909 and thicker/smooth paper 1910.
Exist perf.12,5 as presentation stamp.
Privately rouletted or perforated stamps value
about three times more,if on a wrapper.Loose
ones value the same as normal stamps.
Newspaper stamps were printed in very big
quantities.The most common,the 2 Heller,
will be nearer in the range of billions,than
millions.But no official printing numbers
exist.
Validity till the end of 1916.

 

Thurn & Taxis,5th series,1866,rouletted in
coloured lines:

For comparison the 3 Kreuzer values from
series 3,4 and 5:

 

What else to say about Thurn & Taxis ?
T & T is a real classic.
Of the 54 stamps issued 18 were sold as reminders
when on June 30th,1867 T & T stamps became
invalid.Prussia had bought the T & T postal
services and prussian stamps were used from
then on till the end of the year,when these were
superseded by the stamps of the "Norddeutscher
Postbezirk (North German Confederation).
Those 18 reminders are very affordable in mint
condition.Where else,worldwide,can you find
stamps from the 1860´s costing less than € 5.-
in mint,n.h. (!) condition ?
As said before,there are no known forgeries
of T & T stamps.However all remainders are
quite expensive in used condition.So many
cancel-forgeries are around.
But there are other forgeries as well.But they
so obvious,that only bloody beginners,like
myself,can fall to them !

I bought this stamp on an auction,described as
mint,ideally centered with even margins all
around.An indeed it is.But it is not the 1/4 Sgr.
of the 3rd (imperforated) series,but a trimmed
one of the 5th.
The 5th series rouletting was applied in one
move with the printing.Because of that the
printing pressure had to be higher and most
stamps show a relief on the back.

But this relief can be ironed out.So my advice is:
collect the 3rd series in stamps not so well
centered,preferably with parts of a neighbouring
stamp.You cannot go wrong then.

To close,here some modern stamps from (West-)
Germany,in connection with Thurn & Taxis:

1952: 100 Anniv.of Thurn & Taxis stamps

1965: 125th Anniv.of postage stamps (Penny Black)

1967: 450th death-anniv. of Franz von Taxis,
the founder of the first modern postal system.

 

Of a number of countries I have one or two
stamps only.All stamps prove,that old stamps
must not necessarily be expensive !

1876 & 1875

Costa Rica 1863

Ecuador 1865 and 1872

New Brunswick 1860
1862 (?) more likely slightly altered (cheap)
reprints of the 1869 issue.

 

Hello all, I have one New Brunswick stamp, I believe in xf condition except a slight mark in the gum and a very light penciled number 7 on the back.

1860 Issue:


Regards, James.

 

It is Scott no.7,S.G.no.10 or 11 or 12
(depending on the colour),Michel no.5,
issued in 1863