15h Hradčany 15h brick red · POFIS 7 · 1919
CZENFRDEES

Postal use of the 15h

The 15 h covered common rates of 1919–1920 (e.g. a 4 × 15 h franking for a letter of the 4th tariff period). Recording cancellations of the scarcer perforations B, C and E maps where these stamps were actually used.

The value was issued on 7 June 1919 — less than a month after the tariff change of 15 May 1919 that opened the 2nd tariff period and raised the domestic postcard rate to exactly 15 h. The new stamp could thus cover the most common item of mail, the postcard, with a single stamp from the outset. It was printed from three original plates (plates 1, 2 and 7 — brick red and its shades), later joined by plates 3–6 for the carmine and vermilion shades; the print run exceeded 112.5 million copies, making it one of the most widely used values of the whole issue. A general overview of the tariffs and postal rates in force while the Hradčany stamps were current can be found on the issue-wide page; this 15h site follows its specific postal use — railway post offices, post-office lists and commemorative postmarks.

Railway post (TPO)

Documented travelling post offices on 15 h stamps of the scarcer perforations:

Note: All usage data below – railway post offices and post-office lists – relate exclusively to stamps from printing plates 1 and 2.

PerforationTrain no.FromTo
E516BrnoZnojmo
E681ProstějovČeská Třebová
E47TurnovPraha
E398OstroměřHradec Králové
ELiberecPardubice
E360SmržovkaJosefův Důl
E384Hroby, RadenínPraha
E394BratislavaVeselí nad Moravou
EŠtítyKrálíky
EČeské BudějovicePlaná nad Lužnicí
EDobříšVrané nad Vltavou
EPrahaBrno
EKašticeDoupov
B352KašticeDoupov
B113BroumovChoceň
EPrahaBudějovice *
E19xJilemniceRokytnice nad Jizerou
C2xxVejprtyChomutov
E622Velké KarloviceHranice

* provisional cancel

Post offices documented on perforation B (11¾, plates 1–2) — 60

Post offices documented on perforation E (11½:10¾, plates 1–2) — 163

Post offices documented on perforation C (13¾, plates 1–2) — 14

Post offices documented on perforation G (11½:13¾, plates 1–2) — 1

Perforation G (7 copies with the field attributed: fields 55, 53, 34, 17, 92 of plate I; 42, 75 of plate II): the Praha 1 cancel is documented on six stamps, with legible dates 18 Feb 1920, 25 Feb 1920, 21 Apr 1920 and Apr 1920 (month only).

Post offices documented on perforation H (13¾:10¾, plates 1–2) — 3

Perforation H (7 copies: the 97+98/I pair, a second pair, field 84/I and two loose copies added in October 2026): three legible cancels — Turnov, 15 March 1920 (a horizontal pair, so far the earliest recorded use of perforation H), Hradec Králové, 27 April 1921 (84/I) and Liberec 1 (no legible date); the 97+98/I pair bears machine wavy-line strikes without a legible office.

Imperforate plates 5 and 6 postally used — 16

Rare records of postally used imperforate stamps from the late plates:

Two further imperforate copies carry cancels with neither a legible office nor a legible date: fields 36/VI and 57/V.

The earliest commemorative postmark — the Znojmo rally, 24 Aug 1919

A postcard sent from Znojmo to Štramberk carries 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. It is franked with an imperforate 15 h (field 73/II); a second copy with perforation A (field 57/II) has also been found.

15h ZP 73/II s razítkem Slet ve Znojmě
The franking with the Sokol regional rally, Znojmo cancel, 24 Aug 1919

Full article →

The last day of validity — 30 April 1921

The postal validity of the Hradčany issue ended on 30 April 1921. Stamps cancelled on that very day are therefore an interesting record of the last moment of their service — and on the 15 h all three main perforations of the later plates meet in it. The collection so far holds four pieces dated 30 IV 1921: field 64/IV in perforation A, fields 99/IV and 46/IV in perforation B, and field 16/V in perforation C (machine cancel). The post office is not legible on the loose stamps. Pieces with cancellations dated after this day are summarised in the separate article below.

Poslední den platnosti — kus 11

field 64/IV, perforation A

Poslední den platnosti — kus 22

field 99/IV, perforation B

Poslední den platnosti — kus 33

field 46/IV, perforation B

Poslední den platnosti — kus 44

field 16/V, perforation C, machine cancel

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.

Full article →

→ Gallery of postal usage examples: envelopes, postcards and postal forms franked with the 15 h

→ Interactive cancellation map: perforations B/C/E (plates 1–2), plates III, IV, VII and the imperforate plates V–VI