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Labels and Stamps without Franking Value
A number of stamps and adhesive labels were produced which had no franking value. They are really only of interest to specialized collectors. The following are some examples.
Official Adhesive Labels. Sometimes the post office has to open undeliverable mail if the sender’s name is not on the cover. In the United Kingdom, such mail is returned to the sender in an official envelope, but in other countries, a postal adhesive label is used to reseal the letter and to show that it has been officially opened. The first stamps for the closing of letters were introduced in 1857 in Wurttemberg. These labels are not usually listed in catalogues as they have no franking value and are, therefore, not ‘real’ stamps.
Return Labels. Mail refused by the addressee was returned to the sender. In some cases, this was marked on the letter by a handstamp; in other cases, a special label was used. The first labels of this nature were introduced by the post of Thurn and Taxis in 1852.
Licensing Stamps. Such stamps were introduced during the Second World War by the Nazi rulers for the concentration camp of Theresienstadt in occupied Czechoslovakia. The prisoners of this camp were issued with a limited number of such stamps and could send them to their relatives and friends. This stamp was the licence to send a parcel (mostly food) to the prisoner, and had to be affixed to the parcel or, in exceptional cases, to the packet card.
From May 1st to October 15th, 1948, in West Germany, only mail which was marked by a licence stamp was carried by airmail. Only a limited number of persons were issued with such stamps and the remaining supplies were later used as airmail labels.
Census Stamps. In the years 1903 and 1905, the German authorities wanted to discontinue the use of stamps by some government offices. To find out the overall sum of this postage, a special type of stamp was issued marked with the text ‘Frei durch Ablosung’ or ‘Frei laut Avers’. The amount of use of these stamps during one year enabled the post to judge the lump sum to be paid by these offices for the carriage of their mail.
Accountancy Stamps. These stamps were used only for the internal accountancy of the official authorities. In 1923 and 1924, such stamps were issued in the Netherlands. Austria issued them in 1948, and they served for the accounting of the internal delivery charges for money orders. Up to the beginning of 1956, they were used for the accounting of pensions paid to employees of the post.
Christmas Seals. In 1904, Denmark was the first to issue special seals at Christmas. From the proceeds of their sale at post office counters, the fight against tuberculosis was to be supported. They were called Jul stamps, because of the inscription ‘Jul’, meaning ‘Christmas’. Similar seals, which are not cancelled on covers, have subsequently been issued by other countries. In the United States, they are called ‘Christmas seals’.
Duty Stamps. In Italy, a special extra franking exists for all mail delivered by private post. This custom reminds one of the Sardinian letter sheets with a handstamp of 1819. For the collecting of this duty, special stamps with the inscription ‘Recapito autorizato’ were issued in 1928.
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