» Early Austrian / Austro-Hungarian Coat of Arms postage stamps

Early Austrian / Austro-Hungarian Coat of Arms postage stamps

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Austria began issuing of postage stamps on 1 June 1850 with a series of imperforate typographed stamps featuring the coat of arms (double-headed eagle). These stamps were valid throughout the Austrian Empire and Austro-German postal union.

Initially this set was printed on a rough hand-made paper, but after 1854 a smooth machine-made paper was taken into use instead.

Austria 1850 postage stamp, Michel #4Y, catalogue value 5€

Austria 1850 6 Kreuzer postage stamp, Michel #4Y, catalogue value 5€

New Coat of Arms design was issued in 1863:

Austria 1863 5 Kreuzer Coat of arms postage stamp. Michel #32, catalogue value 0.50€

This design was replaced in 1883. This design became the first Austrian stamp set to contain inscription of country name.

Austria 1883 5 Kreuzer Coat of Arms postage stamp. Michel #46D, catalogue value10.00€

Be sure to check out other parts of this Austrian stamp series:

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Tanner Artesz wrote:

I have been searching for information on how to determine the Types and papers used for the 1850-1854 Austrian issues and found your blog as a result. I know one of the deciding factors is the thick line or two thin lines around the coat of arms. I’m not sure which lines I’m supposed to be looking at. I’ve posted my copies of 1-5 on my blog and would appreciate any help you can offer.

I’ve looked through all your Austrian posts and found them quite informative. I will be visiting many of your other posts as well.

Thanks, Tanner

The blog is here:
http://chaotic-elf.blogspot.com/2010/01/stamp-stuff.html

Keijo wrote:

Hi Tanner,

I’m not an expert with these, but here’s what I know…

What the catalogs refer is the border around the design/arms. Looking at “thickness” is not going to help you at all as it can (and will )vary from stamp to stamp. You need to find out if the line is single thick line or two thin lines – and this can be very tricky as two close lines can easily appear/merge as one… The best resource / source of examples I can come up are specific dealer websites like this: http://www.briefmarkeneck.at/default.php?p=191&sec=5813&l=de&upline=4891 (zoom the images/browser screen to see the differences in frameborders).

Hope this helps.
-keijo-

Hi Keijo,

Thanks! That site is going to provide me with hours of entertainment. Do you know which frame border I’m supposed to be looking at? Is it the one around the shield, or the one around the entire upper portion of the stamp (the complete coat of arms)?

I looked over the stamp exchange thing and will go through my worldwide stuff to see if anything is suitable to send to you. Great site you have here. I hope it continues to thrive.

Tanner

I’m glad you liked the link I gave… It’s the frame around the complete coat of arms You are interested in. Left lower edge of frame is what Michel-catalog uses as “visual reference” for different types, but IMHO any location with clear frame will do fine.

best,
-keijo-