Stamps and Scans..

New Entries

In this post I will show some stamps from Hungary and South Africa... Let us start immediately without no more delays..

This is not a particularly rich post in beautiful and 'dazzling' stamps... I will show 3 definitive series, and most of the stamps we will see are [photo] printed, a fact that is determinant in their  final 'unappealing' qualities ... the South African series , in the other side, is very beautiful and with a nice printing , but we also have to know that there is a time gap of 30 years between them...I also have a nice and beautiful Hungarian Sport series to present... any of today's series is complete, but i think I have sufficient stamps from each one of them to proceed with the classification...

Before starting to talk  about this definitive series, I need to remember that all these stamps have the same small size and the differences in some of the pictures are due to the bonding process of the individual stamp images... 
This series , know as "Budapest Buildings" , is divided in 3 sub series, issued respectively in 1951,1952 and 1953.. As I said in the beginning of the post, the series is [Photo] Printed, and this fact brought me some unexpected difficulties.. 2 or 3 weeks ago, I bought a new Scanner and I am still in the process of learning some of the capabilities of the machine.. I already discovered that ]Recess] printed stamps could be scanned in higher resolutions, and the increase in the image quality is sometimes impressive... now I' learning that ]Photo] printed stamps should only be scanned in lower resolutions... so I programmed the Scan with 4 different operations (settings) , according to the stamps I am scanning... if  I am working with [Recess] printed stamps the resolution used is 600ppp (or higher if i am scanning only parts of the stamp..) ; in [Typo] stamps I use 500ppp and in [litho] printed stamps , 400ppp... but in the case of [Photo] printed stamps, the resolution should be 300ppp... I have to apologize because some of the [Photo] stamps I show today were scanned with 400ppp , and the result was not good with some loss of image definition... this first series to be presented, was the last one to be classified , so it was scanned with 300ppp... let us now return to the technical data of the stamps... the series is Watermarked but the wmk is not visible in normal conditions and with no special instruments...the paper is of medium thickness and the Artists involved in the production of the stamp are unknown to me...it has perf 15 in all the 3 sub series...
[1st Group] 1951 "Budapest Buildings" (6) [Photo] Sc(962,...,967)
[2nd Group] 1952 "Budapest Buildings (2nd series)" (8) [Photo] Sc(1004,...,1009)
[3rd Group] 1953 "Budapest Buildings (3rd Series)] (12) [Photo] Sc(1048,1050,1051,1053,1055,1056,1056A,1056B,1056C)

  

This is a 1955 series about Winter sports and activities...the designs are very beautiful and are part of the work of two Artists : F. Gall and J. Vertell...
1955 "AIR MAIL : Winter sport Activities" (8) [Des (F. Gall)(J. Vertell)][Photo] Sc(C158,...,C162)

some stamps from a very famous Definitive series from 1963/1964... the main purpose is to represent transports and communications..the stamps are divided into two categories where the perforations are different.. the lower f values (here represented) are perf 11 and the higher ft values are 11.5x12 or 12x11.5 ... some of ft values are already in the collection ( in fact , some of the first stamps I have classified are from this series...).... these stamps were scanned with 400ppp , so you can find some problems with the definition, because the stamps are poorly printed... 
1963/1964 "Transports and communications" (22) [Des (S. Legrady)(F. Bokros)][Photo] Sc(1507,...,1514)

SOUTH AFRICA

----------------

This is the 5th Definitive Series from South Africa, issued in 1988... The Art work is from Hein Botha, who has designed many more stamps for South Africa and neighboring Countries...The series is about Succulent Plants and was issued between 1988 and 1993... The stamps have Perf 14x14.5 and are [Litho] printed, but there are also some coil stamps who are [Photo] printed and Perf 14 HOR... I think that to correctly value these stamps, it is better to have a South African Catalog, because there is much more information in these catalogs than in the Sc,Mitchel SG or Yvert World catalogs...
1988/1993 "5th Definitive Series / Succulents" (19) [Des (Hein Botha)][Litho] Sc(735,737,738,739,740,741,742,743,745,746,748,751)

well, next weekend there are more stamps to show.. 

SeeYou

UFO?

New Entries

Today I will focus on some series from very different origins and Time Frames. Let us start with stamps from Yugoslavia..

During the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovens , some series from King's Peter and Alexander are part of the main 'dish' ...from 1921 to 1927 we have 3 [Recess] printed series and one [Typo] printed series.. the 1921 series show us two designs from King Peter and his son Prince Alexander.. From 1922 to 1927 , there are 3 other series of King Alexander...I have here to present some stamps of the 1921, 1924 and 1926/27 series...

  
Here , Alexander is shown yet as a young Prince in the last years of his father's reign...together with this design , another one presenting the king was issued..It is curious to see that with time and when we have more than one stamp of each value , we tend to study the stamps and try to find weak spots on the stamp, or points where possible errors, variables and other philatelic mistakes could occur.. in this stamp I was expecting to see differences in the Uniform of the Prince, but I found nothing.. 
The only stamp that is new to the collection is the 2p and finishes the Prince Alexander design (the others are spares and the 1d of the 1923 series) while one stamp of King Peter is still missing..
Yugoslavia 1921 "King Peter and Prince Alexander" (14) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(6,7,7,2)
Yugoslavia 1923 "King Alexander" (5) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(22)

some spare stamps for this series...

1924 "King Alexander I" (10) [Recess (De La Rue)] Sc(31)

This is the [Typo] series I was talking about.. As I mentioned in other post, my scans of [Photo][Litho] and [Typo] stamps are taken with an inferior resolution (300ppp), while in the [Recess] stamps I use in this post [600ppp)...in each stamp of these mono-colored stamps, there are several shades of the defined color , so we must know where to find our 'Catalog' color....in this case I think the color is the one of the Frames background...i present here 9 of the 12 stamps from this series ...
Other important thing to highlight after seeing these stamps from these 3 series is that a well centered stamp must have some kind of increase in it's value...We must also see that in the 1921 series the label immediately below the Oval Center is 'Kraljevstvo' while in the other series the label is 'Kraljevina'...
Yugoslavia 1926/1927 "King Alexander" (12) [Des/Engr (D. Wagner)][Typo] Sc(41,...,47,49,50)

 Now I will start with a series from Finland.. this is a rather difficult series to classify, mainly because of the time frames involved.. the series was first issued in 1930 and the last stamp was from 1952.. in 1954 this 'Lion' Series was replaced by other one...I decided to show the stamps by Year of issue... at the beginning of the classification and after a first look to the design I was expecting to find some troubles with the stars (I call them stars, but they could also be flowers or whatever you want to call them...) and with the sword (I was expecting that in some of the stamps the space between the end of the sword and the star would be nonexistent...).. but once again I was wrong ... all the action was in other place..! (We will  talk latter..).. let us start the Chronological display of the stamps...

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1930)" (12) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)][Typo] Sc(158,159,162,163,165,166,169,171,175)

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1932)" (5) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)][Typo] Sc(164,168,170,172,174)

[Left] Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1936)" (2) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)][Typo] Sc(173,176)
[Right] Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1940)" (3) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(170A,170B,174B)

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1942)" (5) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(166B,173B,174A,176A,176C)

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1945)" (8) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(173C,175B,175C,176B,176D,176E,176G,176I)

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1946)" (2) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(?,?)

Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1947)" (6) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(257,258,260,261,262)



Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1948)" (5) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(270,273)

[Right] Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1950)" (6) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(294,296)
[Left] Finland "Lion , Stars and Swords (1952)" (3) [Des (S. Hammarsten Jansson)] [Typo] Sc(304)

Well, in these series and after some math , there are 57 stamps.. I only present here 44 of them...let us see now where all the action is... if we look to the design it seems always identical, but there is one place where great variations exists...immediately below the top right star there is the lions tail... I will show some of the differences in the design ...this doesn't mean a thing , because they are only 'printing' problems I think , but as You will see , there are differences...these differences are random, occur in different year issues, and they don't appear in every stamps of the same value... 

Now I will going to initiate the presentation of some stamps from a South African series from 1982 ...it is also a Definitive series (know as the 4th..) spread through some years...it has the particularity of join three of the main printing modes in just one series ([Recess], [Litho] and [Photo])...it show us some great buildings from South Africa and Commonwealth .. the Designs are work of A.H. Barret and they are really good... The series has also two main stamp formats , one for the values until 20c and other (larger) for the high values...The [Recess] and [Litho] printing modes occur in both , high and low values , and some values are even repeated with a different printing .. the [Photo] mode only appears in the 4 coil stamps issued in this series...

South Africa 1982/1987 "4th Definitive Series" (37) [Des (A.H. Barret)][Recess][Litho] Sc(564,569,594,572,573,574,578,579,580,581,582,584,586,598,599)

The reason why a Sc code 594 appear above in the middle of the 560's and 570's is connected with the way Sc catalog organized the stamps.. In my opinion it is the right way , because it separates the [Litho] stamps from the [Recess] stamps...As you can see in the stamps above , the 3rd stamp is engraved so it  appear with a higher code...

Is it a Man? Is it a Plane ? is it a UFO? No , it is a 'Philatelic Mistake'(something that is where it should not be...)I appreciate that someone with real knowledge of South African stamps, could tell me something about this.... it doesn't appear cataloged as a variety or other Strange thing in my 1996 South African Catalog...I only have this stamp, so I cannot conclude anything.. it is probably nothing of important as usual...

Seeyou

The Ship

New Entries

My recent attempt to highlight the designers names and biography's , allowing them to have the notoriety they deserve when we speak of postage stamps , transformed all the time schedules for the posts... preparation is delayed with much more time spent in research...however , there are times when the research in the Internet is not sufficient. ; today's post is representative of this problem.. I could not find almost anything about the designer's of today's stamps ... 

when I have some money to spend , I will start "digging" and buying books and catalogs about these thematic. I think this is a part of our hobby, that has been neglected for too long.. different countries have their own data about their stamp designers ( when it is available..) , but there isn't a centralized place with all these information  about the different countries.. 

Cuba

the stamp represents Queen Isabella II of Spain.. ; there were 3 different emissions with  this design, in 1855, 1856 and 1857..they differ in the paper used .. I managed to classify this stamp only because it is the only blue stamp on white paper.. the other one present in this 3 emissions is "Greenish blue" on blue paper ( the 1st stamp of Cuba..)..so , there is yet no possibility for me of distinguish some papers by touch or by another more "advanced" knowledge, that only appears with the pass of years.. 

from a series (3) 1857 "Queen Isabella II of Spain"  

Perf: N/A

Sc(12)

[Typo]

[Left] Coat of Arms of Spain

from a series (4) 1875 "Spain's Coat of Arms"

Perf: 14

Sc(65)

[Typo]

[Right]

 from a series (6) 1878 "King Alfonso XII of Spain"

Perf: 14

Sc(79c)

[Typo]

In my opinion , King Alfonso XIII of Spain was poorly represented in Cuba's Philately (fortunately , for the Cuban's...) ... these are two of the "less accomplished" Alfonso XIII stamps , if we compare them with the type "Medallón" or Vaquer" series from Spain..  

[Left] similar in design to the "Pelón" series of "King Alfonso XIII" (Spain) , the stamp belongs to a series (24) "King Alfonso XIII (1890/1897)"

Perf: 14 x 13.5

Sc(144)

[Typo]

[Right] from a series (20) 1898 "King Alfonso XIII".

Perf: 13.5

Sc(163)

[Typo]

South Africa

I will start with some stamps from a period where successive repetitions of the same designs , sometimes differing only in small or very small details, difficult the classification of the stamps..

First aspect we have to consider is that South African stamps of this period can have labels either in English or Afrikaans; sometimes the stamps were issued in pairs , one for each language.. catalogs always deal with these stamps differently : as pairs, single English or single Afrikaans stamps ( with different catalog values for each one of these possibilities..).

1st) this stamp represents a 'Springbok" , that is a gazelle very common on South Africa.. the importance of this animal is highlighted by the fact of it's presence in several of the watermarks of South Africa.

After a first analysis of the perforation (15 x 14) , we could exclude the first emission of the stamp (1926/1928)(14.5 x 14 [Typo][Engr]).. so it is a redrawn [Photo] for sure ; now we have to distinguish between the (1930/1945 and 1933/1954) emissions [ same Wmk, perf, labels] .. the 1933/1954 stamp has 28 horizontal lines in the center background and a smooth white horizontal line inside each of the superior and inferior green bars.. these are indeed , small details..!(each of these aspects is clearly visible in a single image of the stamp.. I do not upload this image , because I would be repeating it and to avoid possible confusion to the viewer...) 

from a series (23) 1933/1954 "Various Designs"

Perf: 15 x 14

Sc(46a) [issued in 1937]

[Photo]

   2nd) it is a 'Rose Carmine & Grey Black' stamp from the same series..the stamp represents the 'Drommedaris' , Jan Van Riebeeck's leader ship from the fleet that arrive to Cape in 1652 , with the purpose of establish a station for the East India Dutch Company.

Perf: 15 x 14

Sc(49a) [issued in 1940]

[Photo]

3rd) from the same series, we have a pair , with both languages, 'Carmine & Black"

Perf: 15 x 14

Sc(50) [issued in 1951]

[Photo]

4th)5th) the last two stamps represent a Gold mine.. mine's are one of the
great resource's from South Africa , not only from Gold but from other minerals and metals with high economic value.

the two stamps differ in it's size..

Perf: 15 x 14

Sc(51b,52b)[issued , respectively, in 1936 and 1941]

[Photo]

the search for the designer of this series has taken me a great amount of time... and in the end , I've got no results ; even now I spent the last hour or so , in a last attempt to find a name.. many pages about this series, and nothing...(but it was useful in many other ways...).. perhaps , the artist belongs to the Postal service , or the name is in front of everybody who have a South Africa Catalog...! well, I give up..
This is a famous series, known to every fan of the "Wildlife" topic..it is one of the classics...this five stamps are all from the original 1954 series..in 1959 a new Watermark was used and the currency is the same... in 1961 , the new Wmk was used again and also some of these designs (together with some designs from 1960 series..), but a new currency was used...
The first 4 stamps of this (14)  series have Perf: 15 x 14 and the others 14 ; the 3d stamp is damaged and waiting for substitution.
Perf: 1)2) 15 x 14 3)4)5) 14
Sc(201,203,204,205,208)
[Photo][Wmk]

 

[Left] Complete series 1964 "75th Anniv of South African Rugby Board."

Perf: 14 x 15

Sc(301)

[Photo][Wmk]

[Right] stamps from two series: the first 2 stamps are from a series (3) 1966 "Verwoerd Commemoration." (Hendrick Verwoerd was Prime-Minister of South Africa , from 1958 to 1966 , when he was assassinated... He is currently seen has the mind behind the Apartheid System...) 

Perf: 14 x 15

Sc(314,315)

[Photo][Wmk]

the remaining stamp is from a series (3) 1992 "Environmental Conservation"
Perf: 14.5 x 14
Sc(816)
[Des] Johan Van Niekerk
[Litho]

To finish this long post, more wildlife stamps have joined us..

1)2)from a series (19) "Endangered Fauna (1993/1995)", with Scientific labels in Latin..
Perf: 14.5 x 14
Sc(853,857)
[Litho]
3) it is a 45c stamp, but with no currency label.. it is a stamp projected for standard mail.
it is from a series (19) "Endangered Fauna (1996/1998)" , with the same designs , but with Scientific labels in English

Perf: 14.5 x 14
Sc(867f)
[Litho]

[Des] Denis Murphy : (b 1935/ d 2012) Wildlife painter ,received numerous Honors and Awards for his Art work and for his work in Philately.. Designed stamps for several countries in the South of the African continent.

The last stamp is from a series of (40) "Endangered Fauna (1998/2000)" ; the stamp itself has no currency label (Standard mail 1.30r) and no frames.. 
Perf: 14.5 x Horiz. 14 One Side
Sc(1039)
[Litho]

SeeYou