Medical stamps

In the XIX - early XX centuries in many cities of the Russian Empire , including Moscow and St. Petersburg , there was a so-called hospital fee for the maintenance of hospitals. In Moscow, this fee was levied on nonresident, who came to work, while receiving a residence permit. He went to the maintenance of the Old Catherine City Hospital for laborers ^[1] . Initially, the fee was 70 cents per silver per year per person, then the payment rose to the ruble , and from May 21, 1890 ^[2] - to the ruble and a quarter. After paying the fee, at first the so-called “address ticket” was issued, in 1861 special 70-kopeck stamps of the hospital fee were issued, which were glued next to the registered stamps in passports and metrics ^{[3] [4]} . Subsequently, stamps with a face value of 1 ruble began to appear, and in 1890, after a new increase in the amount of collection, stamps were replaced with receipts.

Hospital stamps were also issued by the Pskov Zemstvo . In 1918, a one-ruble hospital fee stamp was issued in Rybinsk . The collection was carried out during operations with an old-style passport or when the authorities issued any certificates to which the stamp was affixed. She was reddish brown, without teeth ; the emblem of Rybinsk was located inside the oval, along the perimeter of the oval was the inscription "Rybinsk city department" ; at the bottom of the rectangular frame is the text "For 1918." The circulation of the brand and the time of its circulation are unknown ^[5] .

Vyatka County Prescription Stamp

The Zemstvo councils had sufficient freedom in issuing fiscal stamps, although they rarely used it. Some zemstvos issued the so-called prescription stamps . Revenues from the prescription fee went to pay for the work of the reception of veterinarians (Nolinsk) and doctors. Similar stamps were issued, for example, in Vyatka , Kotelnichesky and Nolinsky districts ^[3] .

Some mandatory local hospital, medical, and sanitary fees were also charitable.

In Argentina, from 1893 to the 1920s, special brands for prostitutes were used in accordance with the law introduced by the municipality of Rosario ( Santa Fe Province ) and Buenos Aires ^[6] . According to the law, all registered prostitutes in these cities had to undergo a monthly medical examination. For this purpose, stamps of a special sanitary collection ( Spanish Sello Servicio Sanitario ) were issued, which were levied on persons engaged in prostitution and subject to a mandatory medical examination. The stamps were pasted into a special prostitute's health book, which she was obliged to show to her clients to prove that she was healthy ^{[7] [8]} . However, the clients themselves were not required to provide any documents confirming that they were not infected with sexually transmitted diseases ^[9] .

The stamps were numbered and cost 1 peso in Rosario and 2 pesos in Buenos Aires. They were extinguished by the doctor with violet stamps with the text “SANA” (or “S” ) if the prostitute was healthy, “ENFERMA” (or “E” ) if infected, and “CON REGLA” (or “R” ) if not examined could be produced due to menstruation ^{[7] [9]} . In the last two cases, the prostitute was temporarily suspended from her work ^[10] . There are handwritten stamps “Reposición” , which meant the appointment of re-examination within a week ^[11] . There are brands of higher denominations, for example, 4 and 4½ pesos, which are likely to pay fines for violations of the regularity of medical examinations or treatment ^{[7] [9]} .

Argentinean stamps for prostitutes are included in the Forben catalog of fiscal stamps ^[12] . Collections of similar brands are also known. In particular, in 1998 at the exhibition of the Philatelic Association of Rochester ( New York ) “ROPEX '98” an out-of-competition exposition of the member of the association Ann Triggle ( Eng. Ann M. Triggle ), called “Servicio Sanitario Stamps of Rosario, Argentina” , was presented (“Rosario Sanitary Stamps, Argentina”) ^[13] .

In the Russian Empire, both voluntary and mandatory fees were used in favor of the Red Cross , which was of a charitable nature. The fee was levied on buyers of train tickets.

In the USSR in the late 1930s, in addition to voluntary, there was also a mandatory fee in favor of the Red Cross. The recipient of the funds was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the preparation of entry and exit documents. Subsequently, fundraising was carried out through the Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR in the form of mass payment of annual membership fees by students of educational institutions and employees and employees of enterprises, organizations and institutions.

• Postage stamp medicine
• Fiscal mark

• Turchinsky Yu. Terra Incognita. Non-postage stamps of mandatory fees // Philately . - 1993. - No. 6. - S. 22-23.