STAMP COLUMN

Southland Times, Issue 25359, 10 August 1935, Page 11

STAMP COLUMN

OLD AND NEW ISSUES (By Hinge.) Canada and Newfoundland can supply in stamps the whole of the Royal Family. Canada has issued portrait stamps of the King and the Queen, of the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Princess Elizabeth. Newfoundland has used portraits of Princess Mary, the Duchess of York, Prince Henry, Prince George and Prince John. A correspondent has written for information about the steps taken to check stamps printed by governments, especially when an issue extends over a long period. I can touch only a part of the prosess, the portion that interests the collector. Stamps are printed in sheets, and these sheets are usually divided into “panes”—the numbers varying according to the size of tire stamps. Issues of the size of New Zealand’s Id. might be printed in sheets of 240. Each sheet bears on the marginal plain strip an identifying letter or number and other marks. In the case of the Hong Kong issues a letter and serial number was employed. The first requisition was made in 1912 and the letter A was used with the serial number of the sheet. By 1928 the alphabet had been covered and a start was made again with A, but in order to distinguish between the first and second use of the alphabet, a cut was made in the circle surrounding the letter at one corner. In 1933 a new head plate came into use and as this can be distinguished by its number “2”, the cut in the circle does not appear after the series E. Then each sheet is numbered and its place in any requisition of the government can be fixed. The public, of course, does not see any of these markings as a rule, but records are kept by the authorities. Danzig has been appearing in the newspapers recently and some references to its stamps may be of interest. The Free City of Danzig was separated from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles and it is guaranteed by the League of Nations. The area is 760 square miles with a population of 400,000. No less ' than 97 per cent, of the population is German, the official language is German; but Danzig has its own currency and at present its minimum postal rates are: 35 pfennig, registration 40 pf extra, air mail rate, 55pf. extra. In 1921 Danzig had its definitive issue. The centre of a rather crude design was a sailing ship known as a “Kogge,” a reminder of the days when Danzig merchantmen played an important part in overseas trade. At the foot of the stamp appears the date, November 15, 1920, of the League’s approval of the Danzig Constitution. In less than a year the “arms” design had appeared, a bicoloured design with two crosses under a crown, the insignia of the Ancient Teutonic Order of Knights. In the higher values lion supporters for the Arms device were included. Charity stamps appeared in 1921, showing St. George fighting the tubercular dragon. In this year, too, Danzig issued its first Air Post stamps, an aeroplane appearing over St. Mary’s Cathedral. In the years 1922-23 the German mark was going through its sensational collapse, and Danzig suffered, too. The pfennig disappeared as a stamp term, new printings and surcharging Hjajntaining the pursuit of the tumbling mark. In November, 1923 a new currency was adopted. lOOpf. to the gulden'. The Arms type was re-issued in a new form, and the Air Mail stamps were rc-dcsigned, Danzig’s principal buildings being the main theme of an attractive series. In July 1929 an International Philatelic Exhibition was held in Danzig and three stamps were issued, showing the famous Neptune statue and fountain, standing near the Artushof, a wonderful 15th century building which is one of the show places of the city. In November 1920 the tenth anniversary of Danzig Constitution was celebrated, and eleven oi the current values were given a special overprint to mark the occasion. All the Danzig stamps are well produced and they make an attractive collection, while the series covering the financial collapse years provide a lesson, as do the German stamps of the same period.