Czechoslovakia Currency Reform of 1953 Stamps and Rates

On June 1st, 1953, Czechoslovakia declared a surprise drastic currency reform that devalued the current Koruna by a factor of 50:1.   Known as the “Third Koruna”, this was the the 2nd reform in less than a decade, (the first being in 1945 when the 2nd Koruna was established at par value with the Bohemian/Moravian […]

Bohemia and Moravia – Varieties of the 1939 4K Iron Works Stamp (Michel 34, Scott 36)

  Although the Scott Catalog does not list any varieties for this issue, according to the Deutschland Specialized Catalog for Bohemia and Moravia, this stamp comes in 3 varieties (Michel #34) 34a – schwarzlichgraublau (blackish gray blue) 34b – schwarzlichgrauturkis (blackish gray turquoise) 34c – schwarzblau (black blue) Now these colors seem close, but here is another […]

Bohemia and Moravia 1943 Shifting Red Cross Semi-Postal

The shifting red cross on this stamp reminds me of another set of “shifting red crosses” that exist on an early USA stamp (See this post for the USA Examples). These are on the 1943 Semi-Postal 1.2k + 8.8k (Scott #B21) issued to aid the German Red Cross. The cross is supposed to be just […]

Czechoslovak Legion Post in Siberia – Holding off the Red Army

This is an example of why I love these little pieces of paper. This stamp was in my pile of Czechoslovakia stamps, and although I think it may be a forgery, it still led me to the pretty kick-ass story of the Czechoslovak Legion. This was a force of (eventually) over 60,000 troops, mainly Czech’s […]

Czechoslovakia 1919 Double Transfer Printers Waste of the Hradcany, Newspaper and Postage Due Issues

In 1919, and in cahoots with a Czechoslovakian postal official, a local philatelic club procured, cut, and distributed approximately 2 Million stamps never intended to hit the streets.   The story, according to this article from the January 1956 issue of “The Czechoslovak Specialist” (page 14), is an interesting look at how these stamps came to […]

Czechoslovakia – 1066 – Color Shifts of #1414 – Trade Fair Brno Stamp

For stamps printed in multiple colors (2 in this case), one of the things I always am on the lookout for is color shifts.  These color shifts are usually pretty easy to spot, and, are usually pretty common if you have enough duplicates to look through. This is example is 1966, Scott #1414 issued to […]

Czechoslovakia 1965/1966 – Views of Towns – Flaws and Varieties

The Czechoslovakia “Views Of Towns” definitive series of 1965 is an extremely common series of stamps and most Czech collections probably contain the complete set. These are all common minimum value stamps. I found a few color varieties and, by chance, some design flaws in the 3K value of the set. The series contains a total […]