Articles on the 15h
Studies and finds on the 15h and on the other values of the issue. The links lead to the full text.
Cancellations dated outside the Hradčany’s validity period
The postal validity of the Hradčany issue ended on 30 April 1921, yet a used stamp with a later cancellation date turns up now and then — and exceptionally one dated before the stamp was even issued. The page collects such finds: a block of four 15 h from plate VI (fields 48/49/58/59) dated 13. VI. 21, four single stamps with the year “21” (Karlovy Vary, Terezín, Ústí nad Labem, Krompach) and a pair from Karlín dated 22. V. 19. In every case a misset date wheel is the most likely explanation.
A pair of 15h stamps from printing plate VII on one cover — Humpolec, 3 August 1919
A cover bearing two 15 h brick red, imperforate stamps from the rarest — seventh — printing plate, both cancelled HUMPOLEC on 3 August 1919. Plate VII is only a reference collection of 122 copies; the field attributions (9 and 19) rest on manual comparison by the collector. The 30 h franking matches a letter in the next weight bracket.
The earliest commemorative postmark on the Hradčany issue — the Znojmo rally, 24 Aug 1919
A postcard from Znojmo to Štramberk bearing the circular commemorative postmark for the Sokol regional rally in Znojmo, dated 24 August 1919 — according to the records so far, the earliest documented use of a Czechoslovak commemorative postmark on the Hradčany issue. Alongside the franking with an imperforate 15 h (field 73/II), we also cover a second specimen with perforation A (field 57/II) and a look at the postmark itself.
Find: an imperforate 15h from plate VI postally used
A postcard cancelled KOŠICE 2 on 13 July 1920 carries an imperforate 15h — attributed by comparison against the reference library to field 34 of the sixth plate, confirmed by point flaws. Imperforate sheets are common only for plates 1–2; a postally used imperforate stamp from plate 5 or 6 is a rarity.
Cracked printing plate at 11/II
Field 11 of the second plate shows a pronounced crack in the upper-left corner, probably caused by damage during routine plate cleaning. The crack developed in five phases — from a faint deformation to its final state — and is documented imperforate as well as in perforations A, B, C and F. Stamps with this flaw are scarce.
Damaged frame at 60/VI
The Monograph lists field 60 of the sixth plate as carrying a selected plate flaw — a protrusion on the right frame edge. A study of trial prints showed the object evolved during printing: plate maintenance caused damage that deformed the original protrusion. The damaged state is documented in perforations B and C; the two variants occur roughly 1:1.
A white spot at 20/V
On field 20 of the fifth printing plate the outer frame fails to close on part of the stamps: the bottom line stops short of the bottom-right corner and the corner stays open. Measurement on seventeen copies showed a continuous scale from an open corner to a closed one — that is, a white spot that arises and grows during printing, not one-off damage to the plate. It is documented in perforations B and C and on a copy with the 30 DOPLATIT postage-due overprint.
A cover: treasure for a song
Jozef Džubák described an ordinary letter from Smíchov to Pavlice (August 1920, 60 h rate) franked with four 15 h stamps — each from a different printing plate: 67/III, 30/V, 34/IV and 70/VI, in two different perforations (B and C). The exceptional combination probably arose from re-use of uncancelled stamps — a reminder that treasures hide in seemingly ordinary material.
A proof of the 15h and what happened to the plate next
A blue proof on coated paper, stamp field 96 of the first printing plate. The impression is sharp throughout — the plate was not yet worn. A comparison with the production impression of the same field shows that the design was worked on between the two: the spiral changed from open (Is) to closed (IIs), and the fan at the right-hand dove was altered as well. The full account and the details are on the Proofs page.
Articles on other values of the issue
Studies on the 5h, 10h, 100h, 120h, 300h and 500h, and the overview of smears and spots across the issue, are on the main site of the issue — in the Articles section.