Banknotes : Security marks 1b

After my previous post, I realised there's so much to say about the Assignats .... that I 'm offering you all a second post on this item.
I know you won't mind.

Let 's look at the specific marks on this note, and the security features that were used.

1. "crée le 10 Brumaire de l'an 2ième"... created the 10th of the 'fog month' of the second year...

• The second year refers to the second year after after the monarchy was abolished and the counting started on September 22, 1792.
  The 2nd year was between : Sep 22, 1793 - Sep 21, 1794
• "Brumaire" (fog month)
  The old Gregorian calendar, (that was catholic) was abolished and the revolutionary calendar had many changes.
  At a certain moment, months had 3 weeks of 10 days; days had 10 hours of 100 minutes and each minute had 100 seconds.
  More interesting for us, is that the names of the month were invented by a poet: Fabre d'Églantine. (Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine)
  
• Autumn months ended in '-aire' : 
• Vendémiaire : Wine month (Sept 22 - Oct 21)
• Brumaire : Fog month (Oct 22 - Nov 21)
• Frimaire : Cold month (Nov 22 - Dec 20)
• Winter months ended in '-ôse / ose' :
• Nivôse : Snow(y) month (Dec 21 - Jan 19)
• Pluviôse : Rain(y) month (Jan 20 - Feb 18)
• Ventôse: Wind(y) month (Feb 19 - Mar 20)
• Spring months ended in '-al' : 
• Germinal : Germ month (Mar 21 - Apr 19)
• Floréal : Flower month (Apr 20 - May 19)
• Prairial : Meadow month (May 20 - Jun 18)
• Summer months ended in '-idor' :
• Messidor : Harvest month (Jun 19 - Jul 18)
• Thermidor : Heat month (Jul 19 - Aug 17)
• Fructidor : Fruit month (Aug 18 - Sept 16)
• The missing days (Sept 17 - Sept 21) were called the "sansculottiden"
  Refering to the 'sansculottes'  the radical partisans of the lower classes; typically urban laborers.
  There were 5 such days in regular years, 6 in leap years:
• 1. fête du génie — Celebration of Talent
• 2. fête du travail — Celebration of Labour
• 3. fête des actions — Celebration of Policy
• 4. fête des récompenses — Celebration of Honors
• 5. fête de l’opinion — Celebration of Convictions
• 6. la Sans-culottide / la Sanculottide — (rough meaning:) "Day of the Revolutionary" 

Fabre d'Églantine

2.  Droits De L'Homme - Human rights - "Egalité - Fraternité - Liberté"

3. "La loi punit de mort le contrefacteur" = the law punishes the counterfeiter with the death penalty

(see my previous post : 200 counterfeiters were  beheaded by Guillotine in Paris alone!).

4. A signature... there are more then 100 different people who signed the Assignats. Very difficult to find out if an Assignat was counterfeited or not.

5. A dry stamp

6. Serial number

Around 1800 when Napoleon came to power as First Consul, the assignats became worthless, the amount issued far exceded the underlying value.

Napoleon became Emperor in 1802, but after he was defeated at Waterloo, the Kingdom was restored and King Louis XVIII took power in 1815.

To be continued

Banknotes : Security marks 1a

Modern banknotes are a true 'Fundgrübe' (treasury) for those who want to discover all new printing techniques, and a real playground for those who develop those new techniques. 

But first things first.
As techniques are improving, it means the first banknotes didn't have security features or they appeared not to be 'secure' enough.



In this first part, I'll start with very old banknotes. Not the oldest ones, as banknotes are described since the 14th century. Still we're going back to the 18th century. Some very old, but relatively 'cheap' banknotes are the french Assignats.


Assignats were issued by the new government of France, the 'Assemblé Nationale', after the French Revolution of 1789. They bare signatures of  hundreds of different people.

Louis XVI in 1786 - His Most Christian Majesty The King

These Assignats were based on the confiscated belongings (domaines nationaux) of the church, the noblemen, King Louis XVI and his family, and everybody else who ended up under the guillotine for whatever reason.

Monday, 21 January 1793, Louis (citoyen Louis Capet) was beheaded by guillotine

The early assignats still used the old monetary system , 
12 deniers = 1 Sol
20 Sols = 1 Livre
120 Sols = 6 Livres = 1 Ecu
The later assignats were issued in the new French Franc (100 Centimes)

5 livres (£) - 1973 (l'an 2)

I will talk about this note more in detail in my next post.
First, as the title said, I need to say something about the security marks.
Well there aren't many :-) 

The assignats were made of common bookpape, the only 'security marks' are a watermark and one or two drystamps.

1. There is a certain watermark visible as can be seen on this picture I found on eBay (thus this is not a banknote I have!)

eBay-picture of Assignat with clear watermarks

2. The second security mark that can be found is a drystamp

Example of a drystamp - depicting Justice

The Assignats however were counterfeited in huge amounts, and alone in Paris 200 counterfeiters ended up under the Guillotine, nowadays counterfeited assignats are very rare and worth more then the original ones.

more to follow !

Theme : Zodiac signs 10c

All stamps, shown in the two blocks in my previous posts, were also issued as single stamps.
There are thus, two variations of each stamp.

There's a small difference in colour between the two issues, but for some of the stamps, it's very difficult to see.

The best way to see the difference, is when the border of the stamp is still attached.

Romania, zodiac signs set 1 - single stamps

Romania, zodiac signs set 2 - single stamps

The single stamps don't have the gold print above or beneath the stamps.
In stead of that, you'll see "ZODIAC (I) or (II)

Theme : Zodiac signs 10b

In my previous post, I showed the first sheet of Romania, with 6 zodiac sign stamps.
If there's a 'first' sheet, there has to be a second one of course.

Complete sheet Zodiac signs II (2011)

In this second sheet, we'll find the following (remaining) zodiac signs : Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn(us), Aquarirus and Pisces.

Detail - Sagittarius

Again, half of the hemisphere is depicted on the sheet, and we'll see the zodiac signs that were on the stamps of the first sheet.

If we put both sheets on top of eachother, we can complete the whole image :

Complete hemisphere, by putting both sheets above eachother.

Theme : Zodiac signs 10a

In 2011 Romanian postal services issued stamps on the Zodiac theme.
A sheet with 6 square stamps, depicting 6 zodiac signs : Aries, Thaurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo and Virgo.

First sheet with zodiac signs : Romania 2011

Al stamps on the sheet are preceeded by their symbol  :

At the bottom we see a part of the hemisphere with the other 6 symbols.
There are two zodiac signs that I want to put under your atttention.
First of all my own : Gemini :

Gemini symbol

And secondly : Virgo, because it is symbolised by an angels (or at least a figure with wings).

As you all can guess there's also another sheet, that I will post in my next article.

Odd stamps : 07 d Stamps (sheets) with special cuts

The number of odd shaped stampsheets was rather limited, until a couple of years ago.
Nowadays each country needs it's 'special one' in order to be up-to-date, or at least not to do less then other countries.
This 'odd stamp' thing is becoming expensive, as special cuts often means 'special price' as well.
However, seeing the beauty of the sheets, it's worth buying them over and over again.

Today, a Russian 'odd shaped sheet' ...

On 1 July, 2011 Russia issued a Souvenir Sheet which depicts the badge of the Order of St. Andrew on the Order's chain, star and ribbon of the Order.

It is the highest state awards of the Russian Federation. The decoration is conferred outstanding statesmen and public figures, as well as other citizens of the Russian Federation for the exceptional services, promoting prosperity, grandeur and glory of Russia.

The shape of the sheetlet is like the necklace 

The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a single class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.

Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order. Until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. During the monarchy, recipients of the Order of St. Andrew also automatically received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the White Eagle, the Order of St. Anne first class, and the Order St. Stanislaus first class. Moreover, recipients of lower ranks were automatically promoted to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral.

The order was officially re-instated as the highest Russian civilian and military award by Presidential Decree 757 on June 1, 1998

Mikhail Gorbachev received the award as he was the last general secratary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The old style badge of the Order of St. Andrew on the Order's chain, star and ribbon of the Order:

the Order's chain - early design

The redesigned badge of the Order of St. Andrew on the Order's chain, star and ribbon of the Order:

the Order's chain - new design

Saint Andrew's cross and double eagle

to be continued ...

Odd stamps : 08 Stamps with special cuts - 06 b

Iran might not be the most popular country to collect stamps from, but I'm going to change that.
From the old Persia to modern Iran, a very interesting historic journey through stamp collecting can be made.
I 'll come back on the old persian stamps later on, but for my topic on 'odd stamps' we go to modern Iran.

Recently two commemorative sheets of Iran came under my attention.
Having my blog in mind, I bought them and today is the moment to share them with you all.
Of course the stamps are a bit special, and they are a fine acquisition to my collection.

First sheet was issued in October 2010 and is dedicated to the World Post Day.
In the middle of the sheet, a hexagonal stamp can be foundwith the logo of the UPU (Universal Postal Union).
Iran (at that time still Persia) joined UPU on September 1, 1877.
On each of the 7 stamps in the sheet, a postally related item is depicted.
Not only (snail) mail is present, also modern ways of telecommunication, such as e-mail, online shopping, ...
7 nicely designed hexagonal stamps united in one sheet.

World Post Day sheet 2010 - detail - UPU

World Post Day sheet 2010

The second sheet looks very similar, and was issued around March 2011.

On the sheet we see at the top : "The Global Celebration of Nowruz"

"Nowruz or Noruz" means "new day". It's a traditional feast that is celebrated on March 21 in Iran, Turkey, Azerbeidjan and Afghanistan. March 21 when the sun reaches it's highest point on the equator, is the start of spring. In Iran it can be seen as the beginning of the new year. People make nice food, give gifts... houses are decorated and friends and family are invited.

No(w)ruz however is not a typical islamic holiday, it's a public holiday in Uzbekistan, Tadzjikistan, Kirgizia, Kazachstan and even Pakistan and India.
Originally being a Zoroastrian festival, and the holiest of them all, Nowruz is believed to have been invented by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of origin. Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox. Nowruz is also a holy day for Sufis, Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, Babis and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith


During these days, the number 7 is a most significant number.
7 is also a holy number for catholics, jews and other religions, but when No(w)ruz is celebrated it appears in many aspects of the festivities.

In the days before 'new year' the tradition demands to jump over 7 fires.
It's a symbol of courage, and renewing.
I remember a boy scout, we had to jump over a fire to start a new year as well.
To leave the old group/year behind and to jump over a barricade into the unkown 'new'.
The firejumping is also know in western culture, and is celebrated around june 24 (midsummer), and the birthdate of John the Baptist.

Back now to the '7' stamps.


When people are celebrating the persian new year, houses are decorated with 7 types of beans or grains to symbolise new life.In most houses you can find the seven S's. (Haft Sin/Haft Seen)
These are 7 object whose name starts with an S in Farsi (Irani language).



    sebzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbol of rebirth
    semenu – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbol of abundance
    sinjed – the sweet fruits of the Oleaster Olive tree – symbol of love

   
    sir – garlic – symbol of healing

    sib – apples – symbol of beauty and health

    sumak – sumakbessen – symbol of the (colour of the) sunrise

    sirke – vinegar – symbol of age and patience


Further on, coins are put on the table, as a symbol of prosperity and wealth;

a basket with painted eggs, as a symbol of fertility

an orange (the earth) in a bowl of water (the heavens)

a goldfish, symbol of life

sometimes a mirror, reflecting the holy light and multiplying it
burning candles, one per child for their happiness.

And finally, in the middle of the sheet, a hyacinth and the Holy Qu'ran

To be continued ...