 #281 |
This should be a CLN issue from Belluno, but I have never heard of any issue from that place. Even
italian catalogues don't mention it, yet they are pretty generous in listing these more or less bogus areas.
Can anybody help?
Posted by Stefano Adinolfi on 25 May 99 |
ANSWERS:
#281 - For once I can answer myself. According to Filanci (Cronaca Filatelica n°152)
these are nothing more than labels issued to raise funds for the local CLN. | |
 #282 |
What is this? The paper is watermarked, though I can't tell which watermark is it. The perforation
matches that of british stamps.
Posted by Stefano Adinolfi on 25 May 99 |
ANSWERS:
In Britain, one can buy saving stamps at post offices and
(stuck on special cards) hand them in later as payment for
a TV or car licence. However, this particular one looks
different from the designs I have seen. Maybe it is just a
test specimen?
This is not a Post Office Savings Stamp of Great Britain or any other country. Labels like this were used by commercial
firms sending out offers of goods. As a "preferred" customer, you could use a saving stamp to get so much reduction on the
sale. Some people were even silly enough to believe it!
| |
 #283 |
I haven't been able to identify the overprint of this stamp. What was its purpose? When was it applied and where?
Posted by Stefano Adinolfi on 31 May 99 |
ANSWERS:
#283 - This would be Scott Palestine #8 without
the ovpt. Scott says the following after #14:
"Nos. 4-11 with overprint "O.P.D.A." (Ottoman
Public Debt Administration) or "H.J.Z." (Hejaz-
Jemen Railway) are revenue stamps; they exist
postally used."
Stanley Gibbons' Commonwealth catalogue mentions
Palestinian and British 1d stamps overprinted O.P.D.A.
(Ottoman Public Debt Authority) or H.J.Z. (Hejaz
Railway) or DEVAIR with or without new value surcharge.
It says these are fiscals but: "They are known used as
postage stamps ... and were passed by the postal
authorities, although they were not definitely authorised for
postal use".
The Palestine O.P.D.A. Devair overprint is a revenue. "Devair" was a
Customs Duty. The stamp is in Barefoots British Commonwealth Revenues
nr. 1 for that overprint. It's from 1918 and has a stated cat. value
of GBP. 10,--
This stamp is listed in the revenue section of the Bale Palestine
Mandate catalogue as number 199. It has a catalogue value of $8, with
200% premium for postal usage. From the scan, the perforations may be
the "rough" variety, which has a value of $7. The catalogue has the
comment "stamps on covers are very rare". | |
 #284 |
This Rumanian stamp is part of a larger set I have. I think it is a tax
stamp, but it is not listed in my catalog. Maybe it is a revenue after all?
Posted by Casper Boks on 2 Jun 99 |
ANSWERS:
The overprint means "The Service of the Prisoners of War / Postage
Free". These stamps were issued in May 1946 and were distributed by
the Romanian Red Cross to POWs interned in Romania. They are listed
in Michel under Portofreiheitsmarken as III-IX. | |
 #285 |
This Turkestan stamp resembles some of the earlier issues made for parts of
the former USSR earlier this century. I haven't seen it anywhere listed
though. Can anyone help?
Posted by Casper Boks on 2 Jun 99 |
ANSWERS:
#285 is the second in a set of six Russian
Turkestan fantasies of 1921, listed in Chapier.
In Les Timbres de Fantaisie, Georges Chapier writes:
He describes the stamps as imperforate and lists 1, 2, 5, 25 and 50 kop
values with designs showing a beared man (yellow), a native on a camel
in the mountains (green), a native on a camel (violet), a city (blue)
and a herd of sheep (brown) respectively. | |
 #286 | |
|
What is this? We believe it to be between 1900-1919. Is it a commercial Christmas seal stamp.
Where would we begin looking. Thanks for your help.
Posted by Teresa Crevier on 4 Jun 99 | |
ANSWERS:
This item looks very much like the cover from a booklet of "Santa Claus Post"
seals. I have a booklet with a similar cover but with a different design. It
has the same dark red tape at the left. The seals are listed in the Hixon catalog.
| |
 #287 |
Any ideas what this is and where it's from?
Posted by Alan Brignull on 14 Jun 99 |
ANSWERS:
I think it's from Bahrain.
Bahrain. It is in Michel, but not in Yvert. This copy looks "blue-er" though than
the ones I have.
Yes, your stamp is an obligatory War Tax stamp from Bahrain. The inscription at the bottom reads "5 fils" in stylized Arabic, the "5" superimposed in the "fils". It was first issued in 1974 (or late 1973) perf.14½ (actually 14¼) and reissued c.1988 perf.14½ x 13½ (actually 14¼ x 13¾). The 1988 perf. has the higher catalogue value, but both are common.
| |
 #288 |
The problem is not the stamps but the cancellation or OP. This is the
first time I've seen an OP on a pair. I'd like to know what the OP
represents. Was this a special cancel? These stamps are mint with
original gum.
Posted by Deb Pearce on 02 Jul 99 |
ANSWERS:
It is surely a private overprint. It is not listed in any Italian
catalogue. The overprint shown depicts a hat of an Italian Military Corp: the Sharpshooters. So
probably it is a private souvenir issued during a meeting of veterans. I have other
values of the same set with the same overprint. | |
 #289 |
This stamp is mint with original gum. Again I know the stamp but have
been unable to find info on the overprint. Looks like the overprint is FM. Is this
a military overprint?
Posted by Deb Pearce on 02 Jul 99 |
ANSWERS:
This stamp is listed in the Michel german catalogue in the chapter for the german local issues of 1945-48. It was issued in 1945 in the town of Fredersdorf bei Berlin. I don't know what FM means.
Such stamps were issued in Fredersdorf (near Berlin /Germany) in 1945
after the end of WWII. Your stamp is Michel No.18, a local issue.
Your overprinted Adolf is listed in the Michel Deutschland Catalogue as No.18 of the
Fredersdorf (bei Berlin) Lokalausgaben, in use in July 1945. Street fighting at that
time disrupted normal postal deliveries and many towns organized local postal delivery
using various issues (both quite often the Hitler head set) with various handstamped
obliterations.
"F.M" are the initials of the Fredersdof postmaster Franz Massino.
Some also claim that this stands for "Fredersdorf/Mark". (The stamp shown is a forgery). | |
 #290 |
This stamp is no mystery without the overprint (a common 1938 Barcelona issue) but my Yvert catalogue
doesn't list this kind of overprint on stamps from Ayuntamiento de Barcelona. Does any other
catalogue mention it?
Posted by Stefano Adinolfi on 05 Jul 99 |
ANSWERS:
Michel 20I or 20II, Edifil 21 or 22. First number is for stamp with
control number on the back; otherwise second number. | |
| A very useful reference book: |
|
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