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The Origin of the 45 Heller Value of the 1906 Pictorial Issue that is Perforated 11 1/2.
There is a variety of the 45 Heller value of the 1906 Pictorial Issue that is perforated 11.5.
This is the only stamp of the 1906 issue that is so perforated. Only one value!
(there is also a reported 5Kr stamp of the same
issue with perf. 11.5, but it is generally believed to be a forgery).
How did
such a variety come into being? See the fascinating story below.
This information was researched by Karl Boos and
translated into English by Victor T. J. M. Coenen.
The Banjaluka perforation 11 ½ of 1910
Since this
perforation was discovered, several philatelists, particularly in Austria and
Yugoslavia, have conducted investigations and Passer, Fleck and Schlesinger
have written articles. In 1981 Mr. Schlesinger wrote in the WIPA-brochure of
the WIPA ’81 that although how this variety was created was not yet clear; it's
genuineness had been proven, as it had been used on a few parcel cards and that
it would be therefore be proper for the ANK and Michel to include it in their
catalogues. This article from Mr. Schlesinger became my starting point for
further investigation after having encountered a postcard dated 1897 that put
me on the trail of the Trappisten monastery Mariastern in Banjaluka, founded in
1867 with permission of the sultan.
With an
enormous amount of work and massive help from monasteries in France, a number
of monastery buildings were erected in Banjaluka, including a church. Even
though the Trappisten monks lived according to very strict rules (they were not
allowed to speak) they had been able to build their own respectable farming
economy and were 100% self-supporting. Their farm produced milk, butter and
cheese, which they sold in the market. A few years after founding they also
started their own brewery and clothing manufacturing facility. Prior to 1900,
they also became specialists in printing and bookbinding.
As I
acquired several photocopies of parcel cards with the 45 heller stamps in 11 ½
perforation, I could see to my astonishment that the handwriting on the parcel
cards were all written by the same person and was also identical to the
handwriting on my own postcard from 1897. For me that was proof that the parcel
cards came from the same monastery mailing location.
In 1982 an
article published by the Deutsche Briefmarken Zeitung about this variety stated
that the variety was most likely genuine but that more investigation was still
necessary in order to be 100% sure. There are no other values of the landscape
series in perforation 11 ½ other than the 45 heller and all known cancellations
are within the period of May 20th and August 28th 1910.
Mint copies have never been recorded. Copies also exist that are imperforate
either on one side and also imperforate in the corners. No copies are known
that are imperforate both top and bottom or right and left. It may therefore be
concluded that the sheets were cut with a pair of scissors before perforation.
The perforation was done by an amateur and as a result double perforation
errors are known. The genuineness of this variety can only be proven on parcel
cards.
Even though
a Monk named Father Volkmer was living in this monastery, who was known to be a
philatelist, no copies are known on philatelic covers. This could be proof that
the monks in no way had the intention to deal with philatelic aspects of this
stamp.
Since the
cancellation dates are between the short period of May and August 1910 it can
be assumed that only a very limited amount of sheets were perforated this way:
I estimate no more than 10 to 15 sheets. Perhaps the postmaster of Banjaluka
sold the imperforate 45 heller sheets, as he knew that this value would be used
a lot by the monastery for parcel cards and since he knew that the monastery
had its own perforating machine. The demand for sending parcel cards at that
time was rather sizable; therefore the statement above is most probably true.
To ensure
the fast throughput of parcels from the monastery the postmaster of Banjaluka
agreed to a slightly different handling of the mail than that going through the
post office directly. The parcel cards were written, the address lists were
made and the parcel cards were franked in the despatch department of the
monastery since the monks knew exactly the correct postage procedures and
tariffs. The number of daily parcels with cheese more than doubled the amount
of parcels in the Banjaluka post office but now the post office personnel only
had to perform a controlling function.
It is unlikely that the people from the monastery would have gone to the
post office twice daily to have their parcel cards cancelled by the post office
personnel. A parcel card was discovered, that had not been sent, and that
clearly shows a cancellation on both the parcel card and on the control part of
the parcel card, proving that the parcel cards were cancelled in the monastery
itself. It can therefore be concluded that the postmaster trusted the monks enough
to let them do their own franking and handling.
Thanks to
friends abroad and in Germany, the perforator itself was located as well as a
couple of perforation proofs. Measurement gave an exact line perforation 11 ½.
Comparing this with the existing copies produced a 100% match. Also it is known
that the same perforation machine did other printed matter, where perforation
had been used.
I would
like to thank Mr. Welzenbach, Fischer and Dr. Dietz for their help. We can now
state that the 45 heller stamp from 1906, with perforation 11 ½, has no more
secrets.
Karl Boos
Other notes on the above subject
1) Mint copies have
never been certified and probably do not exist. Used copies have been certified
with postmarks only between May 20th and August 28th, 1910.
The most certain
authentication is when the stamps are on parcel cards.
The parcel card image shown
below is courtesy of Beri Sekelj and is the masterpiece of this variety.
2) The original sheets were
unperforated and were perforated only where necessary for separation.
That leaves the outer stamps
of the sheet partially unperforated on one side, or on one two-sided corner,
and the rest fully perforated.
3) The perforator used for
perforating the sheets is believed to be a perforator that was in use in the
library of the monastery, where the monks repaired their books and bound their
written material for later usage.
The perforator was normally
used for binding books.
However:
Professor Velimir Ercegovic, a renowned Croatian philatelic expert from Zagreb, visited the Trapist monastery during 1970's.
During his stay at the monastery, professor Ercegovic had extensive conversations with monks at the monastery.
He was particularly interested in finding out about the existence of any possible perforating machine.
Not a single monk knew anything about existence of any perforator, not even a 90-year old monk who was a resident at the time.
4) Beri Sekelj has also
provided an explanation as to why this 11.5 perforation appears only on the 45 heller stamp.
“At the time, the monastery
shipped trappist cheese in packages of equal weight of 4800 grams. This is clearly indicated on all parcel
cards. Those packages of cheese
were shipped mainly within the territory of the monarchy and were paid for at
delivery (COD = cash on delivery).
Postage for the weight up to 5 kilograms (5000 grams) was 80 h, plus 12
h for COD, which totals 92 h. In
1910, for example, the most suitable combination for franking of such packages
was with two 45-heller stamps plus one 2-heler stamp, which equals exactly 92
h. I find that exact franking
combination on all parcel cards known to me. Based on that premise, one can easily conclude that
45-heller stamps were used significantly more than other values. It is logical to conclude that the
supply of perforated stamps was thus used up and that imperforated sheets were
used instead. These imperforated
sheets were then privately perforated for reasons of easier manipulation.”
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