Standard brand

Standard stamps are common stamps and are used on a variety of types of mail correspondence ^[3] . They are printed in very large print runs, and their often remains unchanged for decades ^{[2] [3]} .

This term began to be widely used after the First World War to distinguish standard brands of new countries from pharmacies that were in use in many places. Prior to this, such brands were simply called “ordinary” or “simple” or simply not defined as such, but the issue of commemorative stamps and “ special issues” that began in the 1890s complicated the situation when issuing countries began to issue large volumes of stamps, which actually had no circulation.

According to the decision of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), starting in 1883, standard stamps of the member countries of this organization should be printed with the same ink for the same type of mail , for example, green stamps should be used for postal packets , red stamps for postcards , for internal letters - blue. By the beginning of the 20th century, almost all UPU members had introduced the established color stamps. This requirement was subsequently withdrawn.

Standard marks of Ukraine 1993-1996 were issued due to hyperinflation without a face value ; the letter meant the postal rate

The scale of denominations varies by epoch and country, but the main thing is the coverage: the denominations should be enough to cover all possible postage fees using as few stamps as possible. As a rule, the smallest denomination will be the smallest monetary unit or the smallest fractional postal rate. For example, the 1954-1965 American series ( Sc # 1030-1059) ^{[4] [5] [≡]} included ½ cents stamps, as some tariffs were expressed in fractions of a cent per ounce . The highest denomination of the series is usually a rather high figure, usually 50-100 times the tariff for sending a simple letter; typical denominations - one pound sterling , five dollars , etc. Usually they are not so often seen, because they are more common for parcels.

Intermediate denominations are usually selected so that it is convenient to give change, for example, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 in the case of decimal currency . It is common to include all values ​​from 1 to 10, values ​​that are multiples of 5 (from 10 to 50), and values ​​that are multiples of 10 (from 50 to 100). Additional “strange” denominations may reflect special common tariffs, and in the case of a series over a period of time, a number of such unusual denominations may appear.

Standard stamps are a kind of “workhorse” of the country, and therefore they tend to be small in size and designs reflecting national culture and history . The standard stamps of poorer countries often have a very simple look and cheap printing, in contrast to the large and colorful commemorative stamps, which bring almost net profit if they are purchased by foreign collectors and will never be used to pay postage fees.

Since postal agencies know that philatelists want to get all the stamps of the standard series, and the full series can be quite expensive, there is always the temptation to make more money by releasing new sets of standard stamps, as well as including very high denominations in the kit. Philatelic organizations recommended that postal agencies issue new standard issues no more than once every five years. Most postal agencies around the world follow this rule. The exception may be the death of the monarch , dictating the need to issue a new series of standard stamps for the new ruler.

Since standard series are produced over a period of time and are reprinted to satisfy mail demand, they often have more varieties compared to a single print run. Changing the printing method and experimenting with phosphor paints is a common source of varieties of modern postage stamps, although differences in watermarks and serrations are also not uncommon, especially with older stamps. Many philatelists have made the study of these differences part of their passion and seek to collect all the varieties of each brand. Some varieties are especially rare and may be more valuable compared to other copies of the same brand, which look the same for the uninitiated.

Special stamps , such as Christmas stamps annually issued by different countries, are sometimes referred to as standard stamps because they are not commemorative stamps. As a rule, they have a limited range of denominations related specifically to those mailings that are characteristic of the event about which they are issued .

Official issues of standard Russian stamps first appeared in 1857, in the era of the Russian Empire . The first standard stamps of the RSFSR were issued in December 1922 - January 1923 ^[1] .

In October 1923, the first standard stamps of the USSR (from the Gold Standard series) came into circulation. Until 1967, twelve standard issues were published, each of which had its own drawings. Their formats, as is generally accepted for standard brands, are mostly small, and the sizes are almost the same. The exception was the larger brands of the second standard issue of the USSR ( CFA [ ITC “Marka” ] No. 340-354) . Large-nominal stamps are also found of somewhat larger sizes compared to other brands among other standard issues (for example, No. 384, 385, 1425, 3464–3467) ^[1] . Standard emissions of the USSR were carried out until 1992. Standard stamps of modern Russia have been published since February 1992.

Listed below are some noteworthy standard series and issues from various countries:

•   Australia
  • Series (1913-1945) ^{[7] [≡]}
  • Series "King George V " (1913-1932) ^{[7] [≡]}
•   Argentina
  • Issue " Patriots and Natural Resources " ( Eng. Patriots and Natural Resources , 1935-1951) ^[8]
•   United Kingdom
  • Series (1952-1967) ^{[6] [≡]}
  • Series (available since 1967) ^{[6] [≡]}
•   Germany
  • Series " Germany " (1899-1922)
  • Series (1986-2003)
  • Series " Flowers " (since 2005)
•   Greece
  • The series ( and , 1861–1896) ^{[9] [≡]}
•  
  • Issue "Curl" ( Scroll Issue , 1928-1929) ^{[10] [≡]}
  • Issue " Arch and Maple Leaf Issue " ( Arch and Maple Leaf Issue , 1930-1931) ^[10]
  • “Military Issue” ( War Issue , 1942) ^[≡]
  • Issue (2003-2006) ^[11]
•   Mexico
  • The issue of “Mexico Exports ” ( Spanish: México Exporta , 1975-1993) ^[12]
•   New Zealand
  • "Landscape Series" ( Eng. New Zealand Scenic Series , 1996-2007)
•   Norway
  • Series “The post horn” (1872-2005) ^[≡]
•   Portugal
  • The Reaper Series (1912-1931) ^[≡]
•   USA
  • Series (1869) ^[13]
  • ^[14]
  • Series (1908-1922) ^{[15] [≡]}
  • Presidential Issue , 1938 ( Sc # 803-834) ^[≡]
  • Series "Freedom", 1954-1965 ( Sc # 1030-1059) ^{[4] [5] [≡]}
  • A series of , 1965-1981 ( Sc # 1284-1305) ^{[5] [≡]}
  • Series , 1975-1981 ( Sc # 1581-1619) ^[5]
  • The Series , 1980-1999 ( Sc # 1844-1869, 2168-2197, 2933-2943) ^[16]
  • Series , 1981-1995 ( Sc # 1897-1908, 2123-2228, 2252-2266, 2451-2468) ^[16]
  • Series (since 2000)
•   France
  • Series (since 1849) ^[17]
  • Series (since 1892) ^[18]

• Корнюхин А. Стандартные выпуски // Филателия СССР. — 1969. — № 6.
• Читатель спрашивает — отвечаем // Филателия СССР. — 1981. — № 9. — С. 32.

• 2.5.4.3. Стандартные выпуски (неопр.) . Библиотека ИЦ: Марки Большой России: Советские марки: СССР . Информационный Центр «Россия и Мир». Дата обращения 19 декабря 2016. Архивировано 19 декабря 2016 года.
• Буклер Л. В. Стандарт. Откуда он взялся и что это такое (неопр.) . Статьи . Красноярск: Филателия в Красноярске; postmarka.info; Краслинк.инфо (25 мая 2008). Дата обращения 3 ноября 2010. Архивировано 7 сентября 2008 года.
• Заметки о стандартных марках различных стран мира на сайте «Stamplover»