Postage Stamp

General Provisions

Postage stamps have the following characteristic features ^[2] :

• they are glued to mail, letterheads , etc .;
• they indicate the face value that determines the franking power of the sign of the postal payment (or indicated otherwise, for example, exemption from payment);
• they must indicate (in the form of text, sometimes images) the name of the issuing state (postal administration);
• in order to prevent their reuse, they must include cancellation ;
• penalties for falsifying them (see. Fake stamp ), counterfeiting (see. Fake stamp ) or illegal use should be provided for by law ;
• their issuer must be a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) or participate in international postal service through another member of the UPU and submit samples of issued postage stamps to the UPU;
• their issuer must have unlimited postal sovereignty within its territory;
• their issuer must have its own postal institutions and the necessary means of mail transportation, or be in a contractual relationship with the owners of such vehicles .

Private stamps do not have all the attributes of a postage stamp, but only the first four and, with some limitations, the last attribute ^[2] .

All others that do not have the above signs of miniatures (glued signs of payment, vignettes , labels , etc.) are not legally and philatelically stamps ^[2] .

Official Interpretation

The latest edition of the 2004 Universal Postal Convention , the term “postage stamp”, features of postage stamps and the mandatory requirements for them are devoted to a separate article under number 8:

Section 8
Stamps

1. The term "postage stamp" is protected by the current Convention and should be used exclusively in relation to stamps that comply with the terms of this article and the Regulations.
2. Postage stamps:
2.1 are issued only by the body authorized to issue in accordance with the UPU Acts; stamp issuance also includes their issuance.
2.2 are a manifestation of sovereignty and are:
2.2.1 proof of the prepayment of the postage in the amount corresponding to their actual value when they are glued to the mail in accordance with the Acts of the Union;
2.2.2 source of additional income for postal administrations, as objects of philately;
2.3 must be in circulation in the territory of the issuing administration for prepaid postage and philately.
3. As an attribute of sovereignty, postage stamps should contain:
3.1 the name of the state or territory in Latin letters, the subject of which is the issuing postal administration;
3.1.1 optionally the official emblem of the state, the subject of which is the issuing postal administration;
3.1.2 in principle, their face value, indicated in Latin letters or Arabic numerals ;
3.1.3 optionally, the word “Postes” (“Mail”) in Latin or other letters.
4. State emblems, official service inscriptions and logos of government organizations reproduced on postage stamps are protected under the provisions of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property .
5. Topics and subjects of postage stamps:
5.1 should be consistent with the spirit of the Preamble to the UPU Constitution and decisions adopted by the bodies of the Union;
5.2 should have a close relationship with the cultural identity of the country or territory of which the issuing postal administration is a subject, or contribute to the spread of culture or the maintenance of peace;
5.3 in the case of the issuance of commemorative stamps in honor of outstanding personalities or any events that do not relate to the history of the country or territory of which the issuing postal administration is a subject, they must be closely connected with that country or territory;
5.4 should not be political or insulting to any persons or countries;
5.5 should be important for the country or territory of which the issuing postal administration is subject.
6. As a subject of intellectual property rights, postage stamps may contain:
6.1 an indication of the right of the issuing postal administration to use the relevant intellectual property rights, namely:
6.1.1 copyright , with the installation of a sign indicating copyright, and indicating the year of issue;
6.1.2. A mark registered in the territory of a member country of which the issuing postal administration is subject, with a registered trademark symbol affixed after this sign;
6.2 surname of the artist ;
6.3 name of the printing house .
7. Postage stamps, stamps of franking machines and stamps obtained by other printing or stamping methods corresponding to UPU Acts may be affixed only with the permission of the postal administration.

The main elements of a postage stamp are:

The plot-related elements include various labels (text elements) and graphics ( ).

Adhesive layer

The reverse side of the vast majority of brands, since they are intended for gluing to various mailings, is coated with glue.

As glue applied on the reverse side of the brand, gum arabic was used, as well as a dextrin solution; synthetic adhesives are currently being used ( PVA glue ; for more details see Gumming ). The glue must be safe for humans, since most ^[3] people lick the glue layer before gluing. Some modern glue formulations contain saccharin and other taste-enhancing additives to attract customers. So, in the 1960s, the so-called “tasty” brands were released in France, where lemon juice, mint, and vanillin were added to the glue. And even a brand was added with the addition of pepper ^[3] .

Recently, the so-called self - adhesive stamps have become widespread.

Perforation

Cancellation

The cancellation of postage signs was usually done and continues to be done until now by means of a postmark with the date of sending the letter. Subsequently, automatic machines were introduced in the United States that could stamp 5,000 letters per hour (3,000 by manual stamping). In New York, there were also Barry machines, which could be stamped up to 40 000 letters per hour, but on condition that they were all the same size, with stamps on the indicated place.

Since the middle of the 19th century, cancellation of postage stamps on the first day of their release became widespread. At the same time, stamps are glued to a specially issued envelope , and artistically designed special stamps are often used for cancellation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, meteorological instructions were placed on a stamp in the USA, which were reported every morning by the meteorological station to some post offices, so that the person who received the letter found in the stamp the instructions for the upcoming change in weather.

There is a huge variety of types of postage, semi - postage or non-postage stamps . Only a few of them are listed below ^[4] :

1. Official postage stamps are postage stamps issued by the state postal service and used as payment for various postal items. They can be divided into three categories:
   • Stamps available for sale for payment of postal items.
   • Intended for internal needs or the needs of certain establishments (for example, service marks). Usually do not go on sale.
   • For payment of certain taxes (for example, military tax stamps).
2. Semi-official stamps - issued by non-postal institutions or organizations, used to pay additional postage fees.
3. Unofficial stamps are stamps issued by public, private organizations or individuals.
4. Private postal stamps - this category includes private city and hotel postal stamps (for example, private local postal stamps).

In the past, in many countries, in addition to stamps for sending simple letters, there were special stamps ^[5] :

• they used newspaper stamps to send printed works, mainly newspapers;
• for service packages - service marks;
• to recover payment by unfunded or insufficiently paid letters - the so-called surcharge , or port-marks ;
   

  with an overprint of the designation of face value (1933)
• for registered letters - custom stamps;
• for packages ( parcels ) - package ( parcel ) brands, etc.

In addition to postage signs, in some countries there were also telegraph , tax , stamps, but for these purposes postage stamps were also often used. So, in England, the dual purpose of the brand was indicated by the inscription English. "Postage & Revenue" ("Postage and stamp duty ") ^[6] , in Spain and some other Spanish-speaking countries - Spanish. Correos y Telégrafos (Post and Telegraph ), etc.

The cost of a postage stamp can mean one of three ^[7] :

• socially necessary labor expended in the production and sale of brands and embodied in them. In this sense, the value of the brand is primarily of interest to the customer of the brand (post office) and its direct manufacturer (the company that prints the brand). The cost of a postage stamp directly depends on the cost of labor for its production. Since the costs of making a stamp, in turn, depend on the chosen printing method, standard stamps printed in large print runs are usually produced using cheaper methods of letterpress or offset printing ;
• cost (face value) printed on a postage stamp, and reflecting the amount of money for which postal services will be provided upon presentation of this stamp;
• “Collection value” - a certain monetary value that expresses how postage stamps relate to each other as collectibles (exchanges), or the price that the collector sets on it.

The basis of pricing here is the function of the brand as a collectible, and the result is only fictitious value, on which the trade (also auction ) price of the postage stamp depends. The value of the postage stamp in this sense is correlated with its catalog price , which is understood as the assessment of the postage stamp (or other signs of postage) in the catalog of stamps (other signs of postage) ^[8] .

In the past

Methods for making early postage stamps were different:

• Engraving on copper or steel, and then the paint appears to be above the paper.
• The printing method, and then on the reverse side of the brand there are traces of relief.
• A lithographic method in which both sides of the brand are smooth.

To speed up printing, a large number of clichés (10-150) were combined on one sheet. Initially, the marks were separated from the sheet with scissors, but due to the slowness of this method, they resorted to piercing the gaps between the marks - perforation . Until now, teeth are knocked out everywhere on the edges of stamps using a special stamping machine , invented in 1847 by the Irish Henry Archer (1806–1863) and improved by him in 1852, when the British Post Office bought him the right to a car for £ 4,000. .

To make counterfeiting of stamps more difficult, as well as the reuse of stamps that have already been redeemed, various precautions have been taken during printing. So, watermarks were imprinted on paper, long silk threads (so-called Dickinson paper ) or small multi-colored silk threads were embedded in the paper pulp. Then they used the so-called corrugation , that is, using the press on the stamp, they squeezed the badge in such a way that the paper punched through, and when the stamp was extinguished, the paint passed through the cuts of the paper and the stamp could not be removed. In some places on the stamps, badges that were visible only under the microscope were used, as well as those that were found when using chemical ink. Finally, when printing, they used such inks that, when in contact with the liquid, were completely or partially washed off.

Glue for stamps was prepared from a mixture of gummi with dextrin and glucose and was applied to stamps using machines, and glue was used at the rate of about 16 kg on 400 000 marks.

Form

The external shape and configuration of the postage stamp, as well as other signs of postage, may vary.

Despite the abundance of stamps issued all over the world, most of them retained the shape of the first postal miniatures - a horizontal or vertical rectangle. However, other forms are used. Уже первые выпуски некоторых почтовых администраций отличались от первых марок мира.

В настоящее время известны марки следующих форм:

• прямоугольник — горизонтальный или вертикальный с различным соотношением сторон (от приближающихся к квадрату до вытянутых полосок);
• квадрат , стоящий на одной из сторон или на вершине. Квадратными были первые (« Чёрная единица », 1849) и Саксонии (« Саксонская тройка », 1850). Эта форма широко использовалась и в Советском Союзе . Серия марок в честь Всемирной спартакиады (1935 года) имеет форму квадрата, стоящего на вершине. Впервые такие марки появились в 1851 году в Нью-Брансуике ;
• треугольник — обычно используются равносторонние или равнобедренные треугольники, например , так называемые « Капские треугольники », 1853 года, но бывают и неравнобедренные ( Колумбия , 1869). Треугольник может располагаться как стоящий на одной из сторон, так и на вершине ( Австрия , 1916 год; Исландия , 1930);
• ромб — может быть расположен горизонтально или вертикально ( Тувинская Народная Республика );
• трапеция — использовалась для марок Монако 1955 года, Малайзии 1970—1971 годов;
• круг — использовался для марок Бурунди , и других стран. Не следует путать марки круглой формы с марками, имеющими круглый рисунок. В 1971 году в Малайзии была выпущена серия в честь национального банка с рисунком круглой формы, окружённым круговой перфорацией. Однако эти марки нельзя считать круглыми, так как они отделялись от листа в виде квадрата с перфорированными краями;
• овал — марки такой формы могут использоваться самостоятельно и при перфорации почтовых блоков;
• свободная форма — некоторые страны выпускают марки так называемой свободной формы. Форма марок может повторять контур карты страны ( Сьерра-Леоне , 1964), кокосового ореха ( Тонга ), банана (Тонга), очертаний Гибралтарской скалы ( Гибралтар ) и т. д.

Встречаются также пятиугольные , шестиугольные (гексагональные) и восьмиугольные (октагональные) марки.

Материал

Большинство выпущенных почтовых марок напечатаны на чистой, обычно белой ( мелованной ) бумаге. Однако используются и другие материалы. В настоящее время известны марки на ^{[3] [9]} :

• чистой бумаге (мелованной, плотной, обычной, папиросной) — во всех странах;
• оборотной стороне недопечатанных рублей Рижского Совета — Латвия (1919—1920);
• оборотной стороне топографических карт — Латвия (1918—1920);
• оборотной стороне неразрезанных листов керенок , различных этикеток товаров и даже на линованной тетрадной бумаге — во время Гражданской войны ;
• обёрточной бумаге — во время Гражданской войны ;
• папирусе — Египет ;
• шёлке — Бутан (1969; серия марок и блок), Монголия (1982, шесть блоков), Польша (1958; блок к 400-летию польской почты);
• дедероне , капроне (химический материал) — ГДР (1963; блок «Химия для мира и социализма»);
• алюминии — Венгрия (1955; марка к 20-летию алюминиевой промышленности страны, двухслойная с бумагой), СССР (две марки «Слава КПСС! XXII съезд КПСС », 1961; две марки « космос »; марка « XXVI съезд КПСС » и т. д.);
• золоте с бумажной подкладкой — Тонга , Сьерра-Леоне , Дагомея , Чад , Нигер , Гаити ^[10] , Мали , Мавритания и др.;
• чистом золоте — Габон (1966; марки весом по 0,6 г золота памяти Альберта Швейцера );
• серебре — Тонга (с 1963) и др.;
• стали ;
• меди ;
• дереве — Швейцария (2004; серия памятных марок, сделанных из древесины);
• вышивке — Швейцария (2000; первая в мире почтовая марка с вышивкой; вследствие того, что, как и при обычной вышивке, среди марок всего тиража существуют незначительные различия, имеется основание для поиска разновидностей ;
• маленьких виниловых грампластинках , на которых записаны песни, — Бутан , Катар ;
• флуоресцентной (светящейся в темноте) бумаге (ФРГ, 1962);
• стереоскопические (пластик, два типа: объёмные при изменении угла наклона и рассматриваемые в специальных очках);
• «переливные» («лентикулярные» с пластиковым покрытием — с двумя и более наложенными изображениями) — Бутан (с 1967);
• фарфоре — Австрия (2014; к предстоящему 300-летию Венской фарфоровой мануфактуры в замке Аугартен) ^[11] и др.

Предыстория появления

Идея о бумажной наклейке как знаке почтовой оплаты предлагалась в разное время, а сама почтовая марка имеет предшественников ^[3] :

• 1653—1654 — Жан-Жак Ренуар де Вилайе , организовавший по разрешению Людовика XIV регулярную ^[12] в Париже , выпустил лентообразные билеты оплаты почтового сбора ( фр. Billet de port payé ) по цене в 1 су (соль) ^[13] , которыми обёртывали почтовые отправления или которые вкладывались в них так, чтобы были видны письмоносцу. На ленточных билетах стоял особый штемпель Ренуара де Вилайе и слова «port payé, le… jour de l'an 1653 (1654)» («оплачено, … дня, года 1653 (1654)»). Неизвестно, была ли на билете обозначена цена — ни одного экземпляра не сохранилось.
• 1660—1663 — при генеральном почтмейстере Генри Бишопе (1605—1691) в Англии появились первые штемпеля о почтовом сборе, включавшие указание суммы, которую следовало получить с получателя письма (например, « ^D / ₉ » — 9 пенсов ^[14] , « ^S / ₁ » — 1 шиллинг ^[15] ). Подобные штемпеля употреблялись в Лондоне , Эдинбурге , Дублине , Индии и английских колониях в Северной Америке .
• 1680 — , лондонский обойщик, организовал первую городскую частную почту, которая перешла в руки его делового партнёра, купца Уильяма Докрея , 1635—1716) ^[16] . Почтовая служба получила название « пенни-почта » ^[17] благодаря тарифу в 1 пенни за доставку письма весом до 1 фунта . В 1683 году Докрей ввёл треугольные штемпеля предварительной оплаты, на которых имелся текст англ. « Paid» («Почтовый сбор в 1 пенни уплачен») и указывалось место отправки (буква в центре треугольника).
• 1819—1837 — в Сардинском королевстве выпускались штемпельные листы почтовой бумаги для писем, называвшиеся итал. Carta postala bolata (штемпельная почтовая бумага), на которых синей краской (в 1820 году — бескрасочным тиснением ) печаталась цена 15, 25 и 50 чентезими оплаты ^[18] и был изображён мальчик верхом на коне, трубящий в почтовый рожок. В зависимости от цены листа форма штемпеля была круглой, овальной или восьмиугольной; сама бумага имела разнообразные водяные знаки для предотвращения подделок.
• 1823 — шведский лейтенант Курри Габриель Треффенберг (1791—1875) ^[19] предложил ввести конверты предварительной оплаты с напечатанной на них маркой, выполненной рельефным бескрасочным тиснением или красочным аллегорическим рисунком, который было бы сложно подделать. Центральный почтамт Стокгольма отклонил это предложение как «нелепое».
• 1834—1839 — Джеймс Чалмерс (1782−1853), шотландский книготорговец и издатель , набросал и изготовил проекты знаков почтовой оплаты.
• 1835—1836 — Лоренц Кошир , 1804—1879), австрийский чиновник , помощник почтового счетовода и словенец по происхождению, предложил предварительно оплачивать почтовый сбор при помощи наклеиваемых марок.

По некоторым сведениям ^[20] , самая первая в мире почтовая марка появилась в Греции в конце 1830-х годов, и сохранились её единичные экземпляры. Однако точная дата выхода греческой марки якобы не установлена, и приоритет Греции в выпуске почтовых марок вызывает сомнение. По другой информации ^{[21] [22]} , первые почтовые марки появились в этой стране после 1828 года, когда, как утверждают исследователи из Греции, здесь провели почтовую реформу , а точнее — в 1831 году ^[23] .

  Первая в мире марка

«Отцом почтовой марки» признан сэр Роуленд Хилл (1795—1879). Первые в истории марки, названные « Чёрный пенни », были выпущены 6 мая 1840 года в Великобритании ^[24] .

Впоследствии Всемирный почтовый союз ввёл правило, предписывающее обязательное указание на марках названия страны-эмитента, выполненное латинскими буквами. Великобритания — как первая в истории страна, использовавшая марки, — была единственным государством, освобождённым от выполнения этого правила.

Первые марки других стран

Вслед за выпуском первых марок в Великобритании в 1840 году почтовые марки стали появляться в свет и в других странах ^[24] :

• 1843 — кантоны Цюрих и Женева в Швейцарии , Бразилия .
• 1845 — кантон Базель .
• 1847 — США ^[25] , Маврикий ^[24] .
• 1849 — Франция ^{[24] [26]} , Бельгия , Бавария .
• 1850 — Испания ^[24] , Австрия , Новый Южный Уэльс и Виктория в Австралии , Саксония , Пруссия и др.
• 1851 — Канада ^[24] , Сардиния , Дания , Баден ^[27] .
• 1852 — Нидерланды , Люксембург ^[24] , Папская Область , почта Турн-и-Таксис .
• 1853 — мыс Доброй Надежды в Африке .
• 1854 — Индия .
• 1855 — Норвегия ^[28] , Швеция ^[24] .
• 1856 - Mexico , Finland ^{[24] [29]} .
• 1857 - Tiflis ^[29] , Russia .
• 1858 - Argentina , Moldova .
• 1860 - Poland ^[29] .
• 1861 - Italy , Greece .
• 1866 - Egypt , Honduras , Serbia ^[30] .
• 1868 - Persia ( Iran ).
• 1871 - Japan , Hungary ^[31] .
• 1872 - Germany (united state).
• 1878 - China .
• 1879 - Bulgaria .
• 1888 - Tunisia ^[32] .
• 1894 - Abyssinia ( Ethiopia ).

• First brands of some countries
•  

  Canton of Zurich ( , 1843)

•  

  Canton of Geneva
  ( Double Geneva , 1843)

•  

  Brazil
  ( The Bull's Eye , 1843)

•  

  Canton of Basel
  (The Basel Dove , 1845)

•  

  USA ( , 1847)

•  

  Mauritius ( Pink Mauritius , 1847)

•  

  France ( , 1849) ^[26]

•  

  Belgium ( , 1849)

•  

  Bavaria
  (The Black Unit , 1849)

•  

  Austria ( , 1850)

•  

  Saxony
  (The Saxon Three , 1850)

•  

  Baden (1851) ^[27]

•  

  Cape of Good Hope
  ( Cape Triangles , 1853)

•  

  Norway (1855) ^[28]

•  

  Sweden (1855) ^[33]

•  

  Finland (1856)

•  

  Tiflis , Russia
  (" Tiflis unique ", 1857)

•  

  Russia (1857)

•  

  Moldova
  ( “Bull Head” , 1858)

•  

  Poland (1860)

•  

  Greece ( , 1861)

•  

  Serbia (1866) ^[30]

•  

  Tunisia (1888) ^[32]

By the beginning of the 20th century, stamps were put into use in 310 countries (including state entities, for example, small Italian and German, which did not exist at that time), and stamp envelopes in 135 countries. The number of different postage signs reached 14 000, and their value ranged from the Neapolitan newspaper brand in ½ of the torpedo (¼ kopek ^[34] ) to the North American newspaper brand in 60 dollars (120 rubles ^[34] ).

At the same time, the question of introducing a uniform universal postage stamp was raised, but this was opposed by the consideration that the World Union also included such states, whose currency was highly and even completely depreciated; such was the position of some South American republics. At the 1897 in Washington , it was decided to introduce uniform colors in all countries for stamps of the same value, as well as to prevent stamps issued on the occasion of anniversaries and similar events. These agreements, however, were not destined to be realized.

Postage stamps of Russia (1857-1917)

  Stamps of the Russian Empire

The predecessors of Russian brands are considered envelopes of the city mail of St. Petersburg , which came into circulation in 1845. They were called “stamp couvers”, had a round stamp indicating the payment of the postage, and are the first signs of postage in Russia. In 1846, the same envelopes were issued for Moscow . In addition, St. Petersburg envelopes were also used in Moscow, Warsaw and Kazan . In 1848, envelopes for nonresident mail appeared.

On December 10 (22), 1857 , the first postage stamp of Russia was issued - toothless, with a face value of 10 kopecks (per 1 lot ), together with stamps with a face value of 20 kopecks (2 lots) and 30 kopecks (3 lots), as well as for city mail . In 1858, the first Russian brands appeared ^[24] with teeth in denominations of 10, 20 and 30 kopecks. In 1864, stamps of 1 and 3 kopeks were issued. Subsequently, stamps with a value of 1 kopek to 7 rubles were issued; in 1884, new samples of postage stamps were introduced.

      Stamps of Finland, Tiflis and Poland

Own official stamps were issued in Finland and Poland, which were part of the Russian Empire , as well as in Tiflis (now Tbilisi ). Moreover, in Finland and Tiflis they appeared earlier than in the rest of Russia - in 1856 and 1857, respectively.

The first signs of postage in Finland were stamped envelopes, used since 1845. The first stamps were issued March 3, 1856 ^[24] . At the same time, the drawing of the mark and the technique of its execution, which was used when printing stamp envelopes, were saved for the first issue. Subsequent stamps of the Grand Duchy of Finland , with rare exceptions, were carried out by printing . In total, from 1856 to 1917, twelve issues of stamps were made. National stamps of Russia were not sold in Finnish postal institutions, however, the correspondence paid by them was freely delivered to the addressees.

The Tiflis stamp, known as Tiflis Unique , was released on June 20, 1857, was in circulation for a short time and is considered a great philatelic rarity.

The first and only stamp of the Kingdom of Poland was issued on January 1, 1860. Her drawing was created in the printing house of G. Haase in Warsaw . He repeats the drawing of all-Russian stamps of that time with some differences: on the chest of the two-headed eagle there is a shield with a single-headed eagle, there are no words “postage stamp”, and in the lower part the text is in Polish - “ZA ŁOT KOP. 10 " (" For a lot of 10 kopecks. "). In addition, colors have been changed. Due to the imperfection of the embossing technology, the shield with the Polish eagle is practically invisible. Stamps were printed by the State stamp factory in several editions and differed in shades of colors and paper grade. The stamps of the Kingdom of Poland were withdrawn from circulation on April 1 (13), 1865 after the liquidation of its autonomy. Subsequently, until independence was declared in November 1918, nationwide brands of Russia were used here.

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  The first stamp of the Grand Duchy of Finland (March 3, 1856, 5 kopecks)

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  The first and only stamp of the Kingdom of Poland (January 1, 1860, 10 kopecks)

  Zemsky stamps

Since 1865, in Russia, along with government mail, a zemstvo post began to be organized, delivering mail correspondence between state post offices and local residents of counties . To pay for these services, the Zemstvos issued special postage signs, known as Zemstvo stamps ^[24] .

  Local stamps

A special group of stamps of local importance are the so-called Venden stamps , issued with the permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia by the Venden district of the Livonia province (now the city of Cesis in Latvia ) from January 1863 to 1903. There are 12 different types of these brands, with about 40 varieties ; their denomination is expressed in kopecks. The inscriptions on the stamps are made in German , but since 1901 the inscription in Russian “Venden County Post” has been used. The post office was closed on April 23, 1903.

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  Two-crap zemstvo stamp of Valdai County

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  Two-canteen local Venden mark (1875)

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  The same (1901)

Soviet stamps

  RSFSR Postage Stamps

In the first post-revolutionary years, stamps of the Russian Empire of the thirteenth, seventeenth and subsequent issues, as well as postal-charitable stamps of 1914-1915 were used for the needs of postal circulation. As they were spent, stamps were stamped with old clichés. From 1918 to 1923, repeated issues of the seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-second issues were made.

By the beginning of 1918, an acute shortage of postage stamps began to be felt in the RSFSR. To eliminate this, the People’s Commissariat put into circulation as postage, at par value, savings stamps that were withdrawn from use in 1915. They immediately began to be used to pay for all types of correspondence, except international. In addition, in the face of an acute shortage of postage signs, some postal institutions on their own initiative used stamps as postage stamps . From January 1, 1919 to August 15, 1921, simple correspondence on the territory of the RSFSR was sent for free. After the cancellation of this tariff, the People’s Commissariat, due to the lack of postage stamps of the required denominations, again put into circulation savings and control stamps of all merits, setting them a price of 250 rubles, regardless of par value. These stamps were officially retired on September 15, 1922.

The first RSFSR stamps “Hand with a sword cutting a chain” were put into circulation on October 25 (November 7), 1918, on the first anniversary of the October Revolution . The mail circulation of these stamps was short-lived. April 8, 1922 they were withdrawn from circulation. On August 10, 1921, the first standard issue of the RSFSR was released, on the stamps of which the new name of the state was first indicated.

Since August 1923, only stamps of the USSR were used throughout the RSFSR.

  USSR Postage Stamps

The first USSR stamps with the inscription " USSR Post" came into circulation in August 1923. It was a series of commemorative stamps in honor of the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Exhibition . Stamps were sold only in large cities. In October 1923, the production of stamps of the 1st standard series of the USSR , the so-called " Gold Standard ", began. Denominations on the stamps were given in gold terms: "... cop. gold "or" ... rub. in gold. " The last stamp with the inscription "Mail of the USSR" was published in April 1992. It was the 12th standardized toothless brand .

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  Stamp from the first issue with the inscription " USSR Post " (1923, artist G. Pashkov )

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  " V.I. Lenin " (artist V.P. Vasiliev ) - the best Soviet stamp of 1964

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  The last USSR brand of the 12th standard edition (1992, artist Yu. Ryakhovsky )

In almost all countries, a significant part of stamps is issued with the original purpose of selling them to collectors, which allows the state to receive significant revenues not directly related to postal services. Such states and territories as Liechtenstein , Trinidad and Tobago , Jersey and many others, consider means of payment for postal items (stamps, envelopes, postcards) as one of the tools in the formation of the revenue side of the budget.

Almost the entire history of postage stamps was accompanied by the history of their fakes - falsifications . Already in the 1840s, both full falsifications and partial falsifications appeared, using real stamps as a basis, but with a fake overprint, changed color or perforation, etc. In addition, so-called fantastic issues appeared - publications, not having analogues in the official postal system. Distinguish falsification of stamps to the detriment of mail and to the detriment of collectors (with the development of philately, the second type of fakes in scale and level became comparable to the first).

Wherever the brand is stored, it is exposed to the environment: air , temperature , humidity , dryness, pollution ( dust , tobacco smoke); light, both daylight and artificial; water, its temperature and the substances contained in it ( chlorine , salts ). Hot water affects the paint and for washing the marks its optimum temperature is + 35 ... + 50 ° C. The oxygen contained in the air chemically combines with the elements that make up the paint of the brand, oxidation occurs - the color of the brand changes. In humid air, hygroscopic glue absorbs water, the brand adheres to the klyasser . Excessively dry air can cause cracks in the adhesive layer and paper. High air temperatures accelerate yellowing of paper. When smoking , substances that cause a color change are released. Direct sunlight and flash when photographing accelerate the fading of the brand.

Stamps with fluorescent substances (in paper, paint or coating) turn yellow from water containing alkali or copper . Embossed stamps do not tolerate moisture and pressure. Gold paint or foil blackens under the influence of oxidation, fingerprints appear on it. The premises where the stamps are stored should be kept at a constant temperature and cleanliness, and distilled or chilled boiled water should be used to launder the stamps.