Belgian banknotes King Albert I (part 4)

Let us have a closer look on the King Albert I issues of 1921 - to 1948.

There are 4 types of this banknote :


type 1 (Krause n° 94)   
     -  issued from 1.6.1921 to 10.4.1926
     -  date on top of the note
     -  nothing written in the white circle
     -  2 signature varieties

type 2 (Krause n° 98)   
     -  issued from 14.4.1926 to 27.1.1940
     -  date on top of the note
     -  "Trésorerie" AND "Thesaurie" in the white circle
     -  3 signature varieties

type 3 (Krause n° 111)   
     -  issued from 27.1.1940 to 13.6.1947
     -  date on top of the note
     -  "Trésorerie" on one side  and "Thesaurie"on the other side, in the white circle
     -  4 signature varieties

type 1 (Krause n° 116)  
     -  issued on 1.9.1948
     -  date in left corner on the note
     -  "Trésorerie" on one side  and "Thesaurie"on the other side, in the white circle
     -  4 signature varieties

Type 3 in detail :

20 francs - krause 111 c

We can see the date of issue, on top, in the middle.
There are many printing dates.

Printing dates

Type 3 has dates between 27.1.1940 and 13.6.1947
There are also 4 different signatures.

signature details

Watermark area :

type 1 has no text in this area,
type 2 has the french word : 'trésorerie' at the top, and the dutch word 'thesaurie' at the bottom
type 3 has the french word at the bottom on the front side, the dutch word on the back side
type 4 is similar to type 3

watermark area for type 3

Details :

coat of arms - Brussels

coat of arms - Brussels

In the left corner, we find the coat of arms of the city of Brussels.

The main image shows the market square of Brussels:

Belgian banknotes King Albert I (part 3)

Between 1921 and 1927 a 100 belgian franks note was in circulation.
It's similar to the ones shown before (see part 1 and part 2) but the value is only in belgian franks (not in "belgas" as shown earlier).

100 franks (Krause 95) front

nice art deco design

At the back we see the same design as I showed before, but in fact, this note was issued before the one I showed earlier.

100 franks (Krause 95) back

Mark some of the details at the bottom of the note.
This note refers to the city of Liège. (dutch : Luik, german : Luttich).

The abbey of Liège can be found on the left corner at the bottom.

The right image was used years later, on a stamp.
This stamp is subject for another article, but that will be for another time.

see: http://rainbowstampsandcoins.blogspot.com/2011/04/belgian-banknotes-king-albert-i.html

Brazil : 01d Early issues - Dom Pedro II

In 1878, a two coloured stamp was issued.
Again a younger version of the emperor, since the beard appear more colourful then the previous emission.

There was only one stamp of this type in circulation, but the catalogue mentions 2 version, one on normal paper and one on very thin paper.
This last one was found much later, when the stamp was already redrawn from postal use.
Therefore, the 'thin' stamps are only found mint (some even without gum).

300 reis (scott 0078)

I'm skipping some stamps now, but I'll come back on them on my next posting.
First I'm showing the 1883 and 1884 issue, which was the last set of stamps depicting the emperor.

In 1883 two very similar stamps of 100 reis were printed (one in March, one in April).
Scott even mention 3 types of the stamp.
The difference is in the background behind the head of emperor Dom Pedro II.

scott 0090, type I and type II

Type I shows a background of horizontal lines

detail scott 0090 T I

Type II shows a background of diagonal crossed lines

detail scott 0090 T II

Type III shows a plain filled background (no pic)

The local brazilian catalogue doesn't mention this third variation, but in later reprints, in black, a third version indeed is mentionned. Maybe the plate that was used, wasn't very clean at the time of printing, so that the colour filled more or less the full background.
In the black reprint, this 'dirty'plate will be more responsible for the 'filled' background of this third stamp.

Finally, in 1884,  the last stamp depicting the emperor was emitted.
Again it's a 100 reis stamp, in the same, dull pink colour.
Now the emperor is shown a bit older again.

scott 0091

Next time, the stamps of 1881-88.

Theme : 1st issues : 03 Estonia

Who said that the first stamp of a country is hard to find and always expensive?
Not for Estonia.

Estonia was part of the Russian Empire until the end of the first World War.
It was independent until the start of the second World War, and was occupied by Germany and later on the Sovjet Union, until it regained independency in 1991.

Since the first stamp was printed in 1919, it's not really a difficult stamp to find, and above that, it's not an expensive stamp at all.

The stamp is unperforated and is part of a set of 4.
The second stamp also was emitted with perforation.

Estonia 001 MNH

Estonia 001 cancelled

Thai coins : 01 e - 10 baht commemorative coins

Another set of beautiful thai commemorative 10 baht coins:

Y # 383

The state highway department celebrated its 90th anniversary on April 1, 2002.
The coin shows the current king, Bhimipol (Rama IX), and king Vajiravudh (Rama VI) who was ruling at the time of the inauguration.

department logo

Y 383 front

Y 383 back

Y # 384

Another 90th anniversary that was celebrated in 2002 (BE 2545, is that of the Vajira Hospital in Bangkok;
The name refers to king Rama VI. He is depicted, together with the current king, on the front of the coin.
At the back we see the Hospital logo.

Y 384 front

Y 384 back

Vajira Hospital in Bangkok

Y # 385

Boy scouting is a popular subject to collectors. Both in stamps and coins, the items always have something 'extra'.
On this 2003 coin, one of the most famous boy scouts is depicted.
We see King Rama XI in scout uniform on this 10 baht coin, on the occasion of 20th World Scouting Jamboree. At the back is the Jamboree logo.

Jamboree Emblem

Y 385 back

Y 385 front

Y # 387

last coin for this episode, is for the King's birthday.
King Bhumibol (Rama XI) celebrated his 75th birthday in 2002.

Y 387 front

Y 387 back

HRH King Bhumibol, Rama IX of Thailand

Brazil : 01c Early issues - Dom Pedro II

The series of stamps that were issued in 1876 (first percé series), were re-engraved in 1877.
The image of Dom Pedro II was altered, and we see a more mature picture of the emperor.
Only the 20 reis stamp has the same image as the previous series.

This set is called the 'white beard' set, as the emperor is depicted with a white beard.
There are 10 stamps in this set and altough they were printed without watermark, some stamps might have a vertical line as watermark, since they were printed by the American Bank Note Co.

One can find the stamps without perforation, but again beware of forgeries of perforations that might have been cut away!

10 reis

Scott : BR 0068

20 reis (I found 2 colour variations)

Scott : BR 0069

Scott : BR 0069

50 reis

Scott : BR 0070

Mark the detail in the left margin : .... Company. New York

80 and 100 reis

Scott : BR 0071

Scott : BR 0072

200 reis

Scott : BR 0073

300 reis

Scott : BR 0075

Not shown are the 260 (brown), 700 (red-brown) and 1000 reis (violet-grey); the 3 most expensive stamps in this set.

The 200 and 500 reis can be found on letters, cut into 2, to reach the postal fees.
Same, but very rare is one third of a 300 reis on a letter, again to pay for the 100 reis rate.
Only on letters can be seen if it's a realy postally used item.


Pairs, strips of 3 and blocks of 4 reach higher prices.

Brazil : 01b Early issues - Dom Pedro II

It could have been a good champagne, and maybe it also is, but as far as I know, is Dom Pedro II the last emperor of Brazil.

I showed the first set of stamps depicting the emperor already. In this second part, the stamps of 1866 are repeated, but slightly modified.
In 1876, the first set was re-issued, but without perforation.
Or at least a very particular type of perforation which is called rouletting.

Rouletting done by cutting partially through the paper but not punching any of it out. To explain how it's done simply imagine a pizza cutter. The cutter actually scores the crust, making it easier to separate each piece. Different forms of rouletting exist. Most have French names. Examples include; "perce en lignes," meaning cut in lines; "percé en arc" and "percé en scie," meaning pierced in an arc or saw tooth; and "percé serpentin," or cut in tiny, wavy (snake-like) lines.

In general the french word is used. (If you don't speak french, at least you can use some french vocabulary while collecting). Percé en ligne [pair-say ya:n lean ya].

The 1876 issue had 7 different stamps, but one of them (the 100rs) came in two variations.

First the regular ones :
Issued ware : 10, 20, 50, 80, 100, 200 and 500 reis

These are exactly the same designs as the 1866 series (even the same plates were used)...
Except the 1876 set is more rare...
Forgeries can be found. The teeth of the 1866 stamp were sometimes cut off to make them look like the percé -version of 1876. As there haven't been unperforated (cut) stamps of this set, it's easy to find the modified versions.

top of BR 66 (scott)

top of BR 59 (scott) - teeth cut off

top of BR 59 (scott) with 'added' teeth

Don't be misled by the design at the bottom of this stamp. It's not an imperforated stamp, but a perforated one, slightly decentered. The top of the stamp below shows at the bottom of t his stamp. Teeth were cut off, to make it look like a rouletted one, or as an attempt to make it look like an imperforated stamp.

outline of BR 59 (scott) - teeth cut off

a real BR 59 (scott) and the cut version on top

Variations of the 100 reis

Unlike the 1866 version, this time, there are only 2 types.
The first type (incomplete frame) is appreciated 15 times more then the type 2 (complete frame).