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‘Specimen’ and ‘Cancelled’ Stamps
One of the obligations of countries which are members of the Universal Postal Union is to inform all other members about new stamp issues. For this purpose, samples of new stamps are sent to the other postal administrations, free of charge. Some postal administrations overprinted these sample stamps with the word specimen to make their use for the franking of mail impossible. Texts and markings vary according to the country.
Stamps with the overprint ‘specimen’ were also presented to important personalities and institutions, which is how some of these varieties reached philatelists. Although they are not really postage stamps, since they cannot be used for franking, specialists are very much interested in them.
In France and other countries, it is customary for officials, including the Minister, to receive free of charge, imperforate copies of newly issued stamps. Much criticism has been voiced against this tradition, but in vain. Such imperforate copies are obviously interesting items and high prices are paid for them. Of a similar character are the so-called ministerial miniature sheets. These are newly issued stamps, imperforate, not printed in normal size sheets but in the form of miniature sheets. These ministerial miniature sheets are also presented to ministers and other celebrities. They have no franking value, but specialists are nevertheless on the look-out for them.
It happens that new stamps are issued at a time when large supplies of the valid stamps are still available. In some countries, the very earliest stamps issued are still valid. Elsewhere, old stamps have been declared invalid for postage. There are serious reasons for such steps including a change of regime, incorporation of the country by some other nation or currency reform.
What happens to the remaining stamps? This problem is solved in several ways. In some places, sales of stamps continue at special counters to philatelists until the supply is exhausted. In other countries, the remainders are burned under official supervision or taken to a paper mill. It has happened that, for some reason – for instance during a war – there has been a stamp shortage. In such cases, old supplies of stamps have been brought out and used again, usually with an appropriate overprint.
Another way to make stamps invalid was for the stamps withdrawn from circulation to be overprinted with the word cancelled or with an overprint of black lines, or something similar, across the design which made them useless for postage. Philatelic specialists remain interested in this type of stamp as well.
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