wrapped. From all this it would seem that, though it may have been intended to restrict the stamps to money-orders, they and "1,000,000 rbs." Can any of our readers tell us anything about this stamp ? were also used to pay ordinary postage. GER As, however, the overprint does not alter the face value of the stamps or their place of use, it would seem to be merely a control mark, which it is not necessary to list in the catalogue. DANZIG: We wrote a paragraph for the November Journal commenting on the appearance of the first stamp with the face value of a million. Before the compositor had time to set up the paragraph, the appearance of much higher values, in both Danzig and Germany, destroyed the point of our remarks and they had to be transferred to the waste paper basket. At this writing, the highest stamps we have seen from Danzig have values of 25 and 50 million marks. But things move rapidly over there and, long before this is in print, stamps may be issued of such excessive denominations as to make those we have mentioned appear like childish efforts. We hope our readers will not complain because our reports of new European stamps may not be up to the moment. Despite American hustle the compositors on our journals cannot match the speed of European stamp printers. The other day we saw a small letter from Danzig with 125,000,000 marks postage. It seems quite a lot until you stop to figure what it is really worth. ERMANY: The stamp mills continue to grind, but not slowly. Our chronicle gives evidence of their activities. The stamps of the new design, with posthorns in the spandrels, are evidently printed by two operations; first, the impression of the background, which is alike for all denominations, and secondly, the value. The latter is apparently type-set. We have seen stamps of various denominations, from 1 to 100 millions, in this design. Even the highest value is worth only a negligible fraction of a cent at the current rate of exchange. Stamps to correctly represent the established rates of international postage should have their values expressed in billions of marks. Possibly such will be issued before this journal reaches our readers. We have recently seen small registered letters, possibly double weight, with postage of 28 and 33 millions, a large cover with 130 millions, and small stamp journals with 6 millions. But these figures really signify nothing. Collectors are amusing themselves by looking for varieties in the surcharges. They find small differences in the width of the bars at the bottom of the stamps. On some sheets of the 100,000m on 100m violet, one horizontal row has the tops of the numerals cut off so that they are flat. The position of this row is not constant. We have seen it as the fifth and as the ninth row. On some sheets the variety does not appear at all. The Philatelic Magazine states that the State Printing Works have been unable to keep up with the demand for stamps and some of the surcharging has been entrusted to the private firm of R. Boll. This firm printed the 400,000 surcharge on the four bistre brown stamps of 15, 25, 30 and 40 marks and also applied to them the serrate roulette. This rouletting is found on some of the 2 million on 5,000 marks rose and probably was executed by the Boll firm also. Last month we mentioned some labels that had been allowed to substitute for stamps or marks of postage paid. We have since seen another set of five, coming from Brunswick and having values of 5000 marks to 150,000 marks. They brought a letter to New York. J APAN: We are indebted to Messrs. Yuasa & Co. for the first news of a proposed temporary issue of earthquake stamps. They write: "We take the liberty of informing you that our Japanese Government Printing Bureau, where our stamps had solely been printed before the earthquake disaster, was entirely destroyed by the earthquake and the fire which followed. Consequently the Bureau has no printing machines at all, and is unable to print any stamps or paper money until it is rebuilt or repaired, which will take several months at least. Therefore it is said that the Japanese Government has taken the urgent step of having a temporary new issue printed by a private printing establishment at Osaka, as practically no printers are left in the district of Tokyo and Yokohama, all having been burned out. It is said that the temporary issue will be of 1⁄2, 11⁄2 and 3 sen values, in a new design, without gum and imperforate. Of course, the issue will be limited, but the quantities are not known at present." POLAND: In this number we chron icle a 3000 marks stamps with portrait of Stanislaus Konarski. The stamp is intended for the new inland letter rate, established October 1st. The foreign rate is 5000 marks since that date. Konarski was responsible for the introduction into Poland of instruction on modern lines. The stamp honors his memory and also commemorates the creation by the Polish parliament of the Commission of Public Instruction. Poland was the first country in Europe to have a Minister of Education. ment, under the leadership of Mustapha Kemal Pasha, was in control of Asia Minor, except a small area near Constantinople. Each government issued its own postage stamps and this made it necessary to catalogue them under two headings. On November 1st, 1922, the National Assembly declared the office of Sultan had ceased to exist, and on the 17th of that month the Sultan fled from Constantinople. Now that the Turkish Republic has been proclaimed and all Turkish territory united under that title, we shall revert to the old name Turkey in the catalogue. A "peace" issue is reported to be in preparation and will probably head the new list. Τι USCANY: We quote from L'Echo de la Timbrologie: "Il Corriere Filatelico reproduces a variety which has not previously been announced; it is a 4 crazie of the second issue (water-marked wavy lines interlaced) having the value inverted. We know that these stamps were printed from clichés formed of two pieces, one constituting the stamp itself, the other being only a small block which bore the indication of the value. It was this small block which was reversed in the copy in question, a copy which constitutes a rarity of the first order. The stamp was found abroad, went to Italy, but has gone definitely to a foreign collection; a departure which inspires in our confrere a proper chagrin." |