Saturday, January 26, 2019

Mourning stamps with black perforation

Someone asked me the other day what these stamps with black edges were


The first time I saw one one these stamps I thought someone used a black marker to color the perforation. The truth is quite different. The black edges signify that these are mourning stamps.  These stamps were issued after a monarch or head of state passed away. You don't see these mourning stamps that often but there are some sets that were issued by Germany, Yugoslavia, Poland, Greece and Belgium that I have decided to show here

Germany: von Hindenburg 

Germany: von Hindenburg  Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, known generally as Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934), was a Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) and statesman who commanded the German military during the second half of World War I before later being elected President of the Weimar Republic in 1925. He played a key role in the Nazi "Seizure of Power" in January 1933 when, under pressure, he appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor of a "Government of National Concentration", even though the Nazis were a minority in cabinet and the Reichstag.

Hindenburg remained in office until his death at the age of 86 from lung cancer at his home in Neudeck, East Prussia, on 2 August 1934. On August 1, Hitler had got word that Hindenburg was on his deathbed. He then had the cabinet pass the "Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Reich," which stipulated that upon Hindenburg's death, the offices of president and chancellor would be merged under the title of Leader and chancellor (Führer und Reichskanzler)


Belgium: Astrid of Sweden

Belgium: Astrid of Sweden Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Astrid of Sweden (17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was Queen of the Belgians as the first wife of King Leopold III. By birth she was a princess of Sweden's royal House of Bernadotte. She was queen for less than two years, dying in a car accident at age 29


Greece: Constantine I and George  II

Greece: Constantine I Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Constantine I of Greece. Constantine I (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, Konstantínos I; 2 August [Old Style date. 21 July] 1868 – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and from 1920 to 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army during the unsuccessful Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and led the Greek forces during the successful Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, in which Greece expanded to include Thessaloniki, doubling in area and population. He succeeded to the throne of Greece on 18 March 1913, following his father's assassination.

He spent the last four months of his life in exile in Italy and died at 1:30 AM on January 11, 1923 at Palermo, Sicily of heart failure

Greece: George II  Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations


George II (19 July 1890 (New Style date) – 1 April 1947) reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.

He died of arteriosclerosis on 1 April 1947, after he was discovered unconscious in his room at the Royal Palace in Athens. When the news was announced some thought it to be an April Fool's Day joke.



Poland: Józef Klemens Piłsudski

Poland: Józef Klemens Piłsudski Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Józef Klemens Piłsudski, (5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (1918–22) and First Marshal of Poland (from 1920). He was considered the de facto leader (1926–35) of the Second Polish Republic as the Minister of Military Affairs. From World War I he had great power in Polish politics and was a distinguished figure on the international scene. He is viewed as a father of the Second Polish Republic re-established in 1918, 123 years after the 1795 Partitions of Poland by Austria, Prussia and Russia.

By 1935, unbeknownst to the public, Piłsudski had for several years been in declining health. On 12 May 1935, he died of liver cancer at Warsaw's Belweder Palace



Yugoslavia: Alexander Karađorđević

Yugoslavia:Alexander Karađorđević Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Yugoslavia:Alexander Karađorđević Mourning stamps with black edges/perforations

Alexander I (16 December 1888 [Old Style Calendar = 4 December] – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier served as a prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later became King of Yugoslavia from 1921 to 1934 (prior to 1929 the state was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). He was assassinated in Marseille, France, by Bulgarian terrorist Vlado Chernozemski during a state visit.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The revenge of Yugoslavia on Bosnian stamps of 1906

I acquired a set of stamps from Bosnia Hercegovina which have a bunch of holes in them. The page where these stamps were placed had a little note


Here is what is said on this note


This is the famous pictorial set of Bosnia Herzegovina issued in 1906 when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was in Sarajevo, its capital, where the shot was fired by Gavrilo Princip which killed the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in 1914.  This shot is what started World War I and ended with the partition of the once proud Austro-Hungarian Empire.



The new country was formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia. It was commonly referred to at the time as the "Versailles state". Later, the government renamed the country leading to the first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929.

Bosnia Herzegovina became part of that new country in 1918 to which it was always tied racially. With freedom came revenge. So strong and fierce was their hatred for everything Austrian that the Bosnian destroyed and demolished everything left by their former rulers.

Nor have these stamps escapes the national wrath. These stamps were defaced by having holes punched through them and then were ordered to be sold as a symbol to remind the world how Yugoslavia has taken her revenge on the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Here is the set of stamps which have holes through them




Below you can see a bigger version of the 5 Kronen stamp with Franz Joseph







In 1918 these stamps were overprinted with Država SHS Bosna i Hergegovina (Country SHS, Bosnia and Hercegovina) as well as with Kraljestvo Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca (Kingdom of Serb, Croats and Slovenes)

Friday, January 04, 2019

The first 101 stamps issued in the Netherlands

These are the first 101 stamps issued in the Netherlands. These stamps were issued between 1852 and 1913. To determine the first 101 stamps, I used the NVPH (Nederlandsche Vereeniging van Postzegelhandelaren) catalog. I also list the Scott catalog numbers after the NVPH numbers, this way you can quickly look up these stamps if you have either of those two catalogs.

1852 King William III




NVPH 1-3
Scott 1-3

William III (Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk, anglicised: William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 1890. He was also the Duke of Limburg from 1849 until the abolition of the duchy in 1866.
William was the son of King William II and Anna Pavlovna of Russia. On the abdication of his grandfather William I in 1840, he became the Prince of Orange. On the death of his father in 1849, he succeeded as King of the Netherlands.

1864 King William III




NVPH 4-6
Scott 4-6


1867 - 1868 King William III






NVPH 7-12
Scott 7-12


1869 - 1871 Coat Of Arms




NVPH 13-18
Scott 17-22


1872 - 1888 King William III







NVPH 19-29
Scott 23-33


1976 - 1894 Numerals





NVPH 30-33
Scott 34-37


1891 - 1894 Princess Wilhelmina







NVPH 34-48
Scott  40-54


1898 Queen Wilhelmina Coronation





NVPH 49
Scott 83 type I
This stamp was issued for Queen Wilhelmina's coronation. The number 1 is thicker and wider in this stamp than the stamp issued in 1899.

Wilhelmina (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial power.


1899 - 1913 Numerals



NVPH 50-55
Scott 55-60


1899 - 1921 Queen Wilhelmina











NVPH 56-76
Scott 61-82


1899-1905 Queen Wilhelmina





NVPH 77-80
Scott 83-86


1924 Queen Wilhelmina tête-bêche





NVPH 69b, 69c
Scott 66a

In philately, tête-bêche is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but be linked "head-to-tail".


1922 Queen Wilhelmina




NVPH 81
Scott 110
This is a redrawn version of the 1899 edition, the lines behind the Queen's head are wider apart.


1923 Queen Wilhelmina




NVPH 82-83
Scott 111-112
Because of a strike at the printer, these were issued imperforated


1906 Tuberculosis



 

NVPH 84-86
Scott B1-B3
The design is symbolical of the four chief means for combating tuberculosis: light, water, air and food


1907 De Ruyter




NVPH 87-89
Scott 87-89
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter and fleet. De Ruyter (24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. He is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history, most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably being the Raid on the Medway


1913 Centenary of Dutch independence






NVPH 90-101
Scott 90-101
Depicted on these stamps are: William I, William II, William III and Wilhelmina

After the liberation of the Netherlands from France by Prussian and Russian troops in 1813, a provisional government took over the country. It was headed by a triumvirate of three Dutch noblemen, Frans Adam van der Duyn van Maasdam, Leopold of Limburg Stirum and Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp. This Driemanschap formally took control over the liberated country on 20 November, and declared the Principality of the United Netherlands a day thereafter


The 10 Gulden stamp has a plate error, the 2nd E is broken, here it is a little bigger