When I wrote shortly about these stamps last week, I had no idea what kind of thrilling research adventure I’d be taken into. I thought I had picked a somewhat simple series to play with for upcoming weekend (as well as for blog topic), but boy I was wrong. I did have a superb weekend when digging up resources and researching stamps from the series. This post contains updated bits and pieces, as well as more detailed information about the series. And then there are plenty of scans from my collection.
In my opinion one of the hardest (but also the most interesting) challenges of stamp collecting are long definitive sets that span into all possible directions. The most notorious ones, like UK Machin stamps and Norwegian posthorns feature hundreds of major types scattered all across the stamp catalog timeline, and the varieties easily double or triple the number of items to collect. These are a huge challenge to keep track for anyone.
Here’s something not so ordinary I found while soaking Hungarian kiloware during the Easter. It is a used 1972 souvenir sheet issued to commemorate Football European Championships in Belgium.
As some know, I’m somewhat enthusiast stamp exchanger. Without a doubt I’m having at least one active trade going on constantly; most of the time I’m involved in at least 2-3 trades. Yes, it takes both time and resources, but in return my collection grows at the rate 2-3,000 new items per year due to this contribution; and in exchange I naturally give away the same amount of unnecessary duplicates…This time I’ve decided to show some of the stamps I receive from other traders.
And to finalize this week’s “freakshow”, here’s a 1973 Hungarian 3 forint definitive postage stamp with dark green color omitted. The most noticeable difference is when looking at the trees on the hills, but it does affect other areas too.
Moving on with EFO’s, next on the line I have a 1946 Hungarian definitive stamp (”Industrial worker”) with somewhat dramatic color change. It’s possible that one of the colors has been omitted during print, or this is some sort of chemical changeling.