Postal use
The Hradčany stamps served as the everyday definitive issue of the newly founded Czechoslovakia in 1918–1921, accompanying the country through a period of rapidly changing postal rates — four tariff periods in all. Studying covers, frankings and cancellations from this period — from ordinary correspondence through railway post offices to the commemorative postmarks of the young republic's first public events — is therefore a rich field of postal history in its own right. This page sets out the general framework: an overview of the tariffs and rates in force while the Hradčany stamps were current. Details of postal use for individual values (such as railway post offices, post-office lists and interesting frankings) can be found on the pages devoted to each value — the 15 h value is the first to be covered in this way.
Types of franking on a cover
Depending on which stamps a cover carries, frankings are usually divided into several basic types. The distinction is useful when describing covers and when looking for more interesting combinations:
- Single franking — one Hradčany stamp of a single value.
- Multiple franking — several Hradčany stamps of the same value.
- Combination franking — two Hradčany stamps of two different values.
- Mixed franking — one or more Hradčany stamps together with a stamp from another issue valid at the same time.
- Colour franking — three or more Hradčany stamps of three or more different values.
- Joint franking — Hradčany stamps together with a stamp from a non-definitive issue (e.g. express or newspaper stamps).
The terminology and the exact boundaries of each type (especially combination, colour and joint franking) vary slightly between authors and reference works; the division given here follows common auction-house and collecting practice. The terms single, multiple and mixed franking correspond to the general philatelic definitions (cf. Cojeco — Frankatura; in English usage: single/multiple/mixed franking).
Tariffs and postal rates
The Hradčany stamps went on sale on 18 December 1918 (individual values were issued gradually up to 1920) and remained in circulation for some time afterwards — in practice covering four tariff periods. A fifth period began only on 1 January 1922, after the issue had already been withdrawn; it is included in the table only for comparison. Rates are in hellers and refer to domestic mail.
| Period | Validity | Postcard | Letter up to 20 g | Extra 20 g | Printed matter (up to 50 g) | Registered | Express |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 28. 10. 1918 – 14. 5. 1919 inherited Austrian rates |
10 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 60 |
| II. | 15. 5. 1919 – 14. 3. 1920 | 15 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 50 | 60 |
| III. | 15. 3. 1920 – 31. 7. 1920 | 20 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 50 | 60 |
| IV. | 1. 8. 1920 – 31. 12. 1921 | 40 | 60 | 20 | 10 | 125 | 60 / 100* |
| V. | from 1. 1. 1922 outside the Hradčany's validity — for comparison only |
50 | 100 | ? | 20 | 200 | 100 |
* Sources disagree on the express fee of the 4th period — 60 h (SCP), or 100 h (RPSL, effective from 15 Oct 1920). That date, however, matches the issue date of the 100 h stamp rather than necessarily a change in the rate, so the exact moment of the increase remains open.
The most common frankings
- Period I — postcard 10 h, letter 20 h, registered letter 45 h (e.g. 3×10 h + 3×5 h on a registered letter of 19 Dec 1918)
- Period II — postcard 15 h, letter 25 h, double postcard 30 h, registered letter 75 h
- Period III — postcard 20 h, letter 30 h, registered letter 80 h
- Period IV — postcard 40 h, letter 60 h, registered letter 185 h (the 185 h Allegory stamp was issued specifically for this franking), printed matter 10 h
Special domestic rates (period II)
A contemporary source (Hospodářský list, 1919) also records rates for other kinds of mail valid in the 2nd tariff period:
- commercial papers — 5 h per 50 g, minimum 25 h
- samples of merchandise — 5 h per 50 g, minimum 15 h
- postal money order up to 50 K — 25 h, plus 5 h for every further 50 K
- insured letter — a surcharge of 20 h per 300 K of declared value
The increase over the previous rates averaged 20–50 %, and reached 100 % for rates left unchanged throughout the war.
Foreign rates
- Period I — letter up to 20 g 25 h, each further 20 g 5 h, registration +25 h (another source gives +50 h — the sources disagree on this point)
- Period II — letter 50 h, each further 20 g 30 h, registration +50 h. To the so-called near-abroad (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Poland, Western Ukraine) domestic rates applied instead, i.e. letter 25 h plus registration +50 h.
- Periods III and IV — the foreign rates could not be reliably established from the sources at hand. RPSL records a reduced rate of 100 h to some neighbouring states for 1920–21, and a rate of 25 h for printed matter sent abroad.
- From 1 Jan 1922 (period V, outside the Hradčany's validity) — letter 250 h, postcard 50 h, registration +250 h.
- The end of the Hradčany's postal validity — none of the sources at hand gives an exact date. The end of 1921 is traditionally cited, but this needs verification against POFIS or the Monograph of Czechoslovak Stamps.
- The amount of the express fee in the 4th period (60 or 100 h) — see the note above the table.
- A local rate — none of the sources used mentions one for Czechoslovakia in 1918–1921; the Austrian practice appears to have been dropped.
- Foreign rates in the 3rd and 4th tariff periods — complete tables have not yet been located.
Sources: SCP – Collecting Czechoslovakia: The Transition Period · RPSL – Czechoslovakia, The Allegory Issues 1920–1926 · Hospodářský list (1919), cited via Bejvávalo.cz · Philaseiten – Tschechoslowakei: Belege bestimmen · Burda Auction 71 – Hradčany covers · CPSGB – Czechout article index · Kunc, Poštovnictví na území německo-rakouských provincií (Czech National Archive) · Infofila – Czechoslovak post 1918–1919 · World Stamps Project. Fuller tables should also be found in Czechout: Feldmann, Changeover dates of postal rates (12/1989); Hutyra, Schedule of postal rates (3/1995); Švejnar, Valuable items … in six tariff periods (9/2005).