I came across 2 Colombia Barranquilla stamps that are unlisted and appear to be some sort of local label or local charity / tax stamp of some kind. Both are denominated 1/2c and share a common center design with different inscriptions. Issue #1 : Barranquilla Defense Board This first stamp is inscribed “Junta de Defensa de […]
USA Scott 703 – Shifting Heads
More color shifts coming to you from USA Scott #703. These are very common varieties and for the most part, the challenge is to find copies of this stamp where the black section is perfectly centered. Interestingly this stamp is Scott 703 and was issued right after Scott 702 – The shifting Red Cross […]
Withdrawn Bangladesh 1995 Shaheed Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain Stamp
Every once in a while you get a lucky find in a batch of stamps. The stamp below was issued in October of 1995 but was withdrawn from use shortly (or possibly immediately) thereafter. And Michel values it at 50 Euro. I currently don’t have answers (See End of Article for Updates to these questions) […]
2 More Colombian Retardo Overprints
In this previous post, I showed my first example of of the bogus 1921 Retardo Overprints that appeared on Colombian stamps due to the efforts of an enterprising postal clerk. I have since added 2 more examples to my collection. The first is a Retardo 1921 Overprint on Scott #363. This is overprint Type III […]
USA 1931 – Shifting Red Crosses
Recently I posted on this group of stamps from Czechoslovakia with shifting red crosses. I also have a few examples of a similar shifting red cross from the USA. This 1931 issue (Scott #702) has quite a drastic shift in the red printed red-cross As you can see, the cross moves left right […]
Czechoslovakia Currency Reform of 1953 Stamps and Rates
On June 1st, 1953, Czechoslovakia declared a surprise drastic currency reform that devalued the current Koruna by a factor of 50:1. Known as the “Third Koruna”, this was the the 2nd reform in less than a decade, (the first being in 1945 when the 2nd Koruna was established at par value with the Bohemian/Moravian […]
Bohemia and Moravia – Varieties of the 1939 4K Iron Works Stamp (Michel 34, Scott 36)
Although the Scott Catalog does not list any varieties for this issue, according to the Deutschland Specialized Catalog for Bohemia and Moravia, this stamp comes in 3 varieties (Michel #34) 34a – schwarzlichgraublau (blackish gray blue) 34b – schwarzlichgrauturkis (blackish gray turquoise) 34c – schwarzblau (black blue) Now these colors seem close, but here is another […]
Bohemia and Moravia 1943 Shifting Red Cross Semi-Postal
The shifting red cross on this stamp reminds me of another set of “shifting red crosses” that exist on an early USA stamp (See this post for the USA Examples). These are on the 1943 Semi-Postal 1.2k + 8.8k (Scott #B21) issued to aid the German Red Cross. The cross is supposed to be just […]
Czechoslovak Legion Post in Siberia – Holding off the Red Army
This is an example of why I love these little pieces of paper. This stamp was in my pile of Czechoslovakia stamps, and although I think it may be a forgery, it still led me to the pretty kick-ass story of the Czechoslovak Legion. This was a force of (eventually) over 60,000 troops, mainly Czech’s […]
Czechoslovakia 1919 Double Transfer Printers Waste of the Hradcany, Newspaper and Postage Due Issues
In 1919, and in cahoots with a Czechoslovakian postal official, a local philatelic club procured, cut, and distributed approximately 2 Million stamps never intended to hit the streets. The story, according to this article from the January 1956 issue of “The Czechoslovak Specialist” (page 14), is an interesting look at how these stamps came to […]
Czechoslovakia – 1066 – Color Shifts of #1414 – Trade Fair Brno Stamp
For stamps printed in multiple colors (2 in this case), one of the things I always am on the lookout for is color shifts. These color shifts are usually pretty easy to spot, and, are usually pretty common if you have enough duplicates to look through. This is example is 1966, Scott #1414 issued to […]
Czechoslovakia 1965/1966 – Views of Towns – Flaws and Varieties
The Czechoslovakia “Views Of Towns” definitive series of 1965 is an extremely common series of stamps and most Czech collections probably contain the complete set. These are all common minimum value stamps. I found a few color varieties and, by chance, some design flaws in the 3K value of the set. The series contains a total […]
My Belgian Congo TAXES overprints – With Inverted Variety
Adding to this previous post covering all of the Belgian Congo TAXES overprint stamps. Below are a few examples from my collection. Below is an inverted overprint example of TX65 – The values of the inverts are roughly the same as the right side up versions.
Belgian Congo Stamps with TAXES overprint (congostamps.com)
This post originally appeared on the now defunct website: congostamps.com. I had saved a copy for my own reference and am now posting here. For my own examples of these stamps, see this post .. Including an Inverted Overprint The surcharge stamps appeared in 1923. Before, as of 1906, the surcharge was added using […]
Japanese Special Service Post Burma – Bogus Covers
Burma was occupied by Japan during WWII between 1942 and 1945. During this time stamps were issued for use in Burma. First a series of overprints on existing Burmese stamps, later stamps of Japan hand-stamped with new values and finally a few sets of issues specifically printed for use in Burma. The majority of these […]
Chad – 1961 – Color Shifts and Varieties of Scott #70 – Biltine / Gazelle
One of the things I enjoy most in my collection is keeping “varieties” of stamps as I find them when sorting through the piles as I mount them. “Varieties” to me are most often non-cataloged things but yet still noticible differences in the same copies of a single stamp. I post about them here, for […]
Benin – Illegal Issues of 2000 – 2003
Benin is one of those countries that suffers from countless illegal bogus issues floating around, created with their country name, but have no connection at all to the postal service of Benin. This has been discussed at length online, and here are a few posts dealing with the subject on stampboards( Stamp from Republique Du Benin? […]
Komitetit Te Qindreses Stamps on Churchill & FDR First Day Covers (USA)
The Komitetit Te Qindreses stamps were issued well before the death of Winston Churchill (and probably shortly after the death of FDR). Churchill would die on January 24th 1965, and the US Issued a commemorative stamp in his honor on May 13th 1965. The First Day Covers for this Churchill Issue (US Scott #1264) […]
Komitetit Te Qindreses – Design Varieties and Flaws
I put together a page of a few different printing varieties. Mainly color shifts and extra dots of colors. Below are the closeups of each of the stamps.
Komitetit Te Qindreses – More Perforation Freaks
Here are a few more perforation freak examples I have acquired. The 3 blocks of 18A are nearly identical to those I posted in this post. This does make it seem that these were purposefully created since the dimensions are nearly the same. The #11A horizontal pair, imperf between is new. All […]
Komitetit Te Qindreses – Imperf Blocks and Large Margin Examples
Some additional items for my Albania Komitetit Te Qindreses. One large imperf block of 4, plus a few examples with extra large margins. Note the following imperf single of 13C with a small extra dot between the leftmost branches.
Komitetit Te Qindreses – More Dealer Promo Cards – Mystic, Zenith, and National Stamp
A few more items of interest to my Albania Komitetit Te Qindreses collection. Here are 2 dealer cards. The first from Zenith Stamp company, in a different font than the 2 previous dealer cards I have from them. The Second is from “National Stamp Sales” out of New York Below is an […]
Bulgaria: 1919 Rough Misperf – Tsar Boris III
Bulgaria issued a series of stamps in 1919 featuring their new Tsar: Boris III. Boris took the throne after his father Ferdinand I abdicated after WWI. (Bulgaria had aligned with the Central Powers during WWI) One of my copies of the 15s stamp has quite a misperf, and the perfs are extremely rough. One […]
Bulgaria: 1879 – 1896 Coat of Arms – Perforation and Color Varities
Bulgaria stamps from 1879 through 1896 all feature a similar coat of arms design, of which, there are a number of different design varieties. My own collection starts with a few issues from 1882. The design used through 1887 were 2 color designs, whereas the issues from 1889 were single color. Here is a […]
College Post Office forgets to change the year on their Hand Cancel
I received this cover in the mail, postmarked out of Richmond, IA (College Post Office at Earlham College). I received it today (February 2nd, 2015), but, I noticed that the postmark said it was cancelled on January 28th, 2014! – The Neopost label shows the correct year (it was printed), but, the hand cancelling device […]
Bhutan: Busy Package Cover with 3D Stamps and More
I recently acquired this Bhutan cover, which caught my eye first because of the large group of 14 3D stamps. The cover in general is interesting as it contains a total of 28 stamps of 8 different designs. The cover was mailed in 1991, but the stamps span years from 1968 through 1991. The […]
Albania 1914: Scott #49 Skanderbeg, Postmarked 1 day before release, Overprint Study
Recently, while going through my collection of 1914 surcharge overprints on the Albania Skanderbeg issue, I came across an oddity that I found interesting. The stamp below, appears to have been postmarked 1 day PRIOR to their release. According to both the Scott and Michel Catalogs, these overprints were first applied and released to the […]
Albania: 1913-1914 – Skanderbeg Issue, Overprint Varieties, Shifts and Flaws
The newly independent country of Albania, printed it’s first stamps featuring a design other than the double-headed eagle, in December of 1913. This series of stamps featured George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the national hero of Albania, and were issued in 6 denominations: 2q, 5q, 10q, 25q, 50q, and 1fr. This also marks the first time that stamps appeared […]
Burundi – 1964 Dancers – New York Worlds Fair
In 1964 Burundi issued a series of 7 stamps featuring native dancers and drummers. The selvage’s of this series of stamps was inscribed: “Exposition Mondiale De New York” – New York’s World Fair. The stamps exist in a number of listed varieties: a. 50c – 20fr, Gold Background – Perf 14 (Scott #88-94) b. […]
Angola – The Bogus / Illegal Issues of 1999 – Early 2000’s
In 1999, Angola stamps began appearing on the market that were totally bogus / illegal issues. These issues continued through at least 2003 and were all printed and sold by companies outside of Angola. Scott makes mention of these issues in the 1999 section of the catalog stating: “These Flora and Fauna stamps, formerly Nos. […]