Hungarian Stamp Giants
Among the Hungarian stamp issues, the post-war stamps occupy a prominent place, of which the greatest stamp is the imperforated Chain Bridge block, which is (or was) only found in the collections of the largest Hungarian stamp collectors. It is on a par with such stamp legends as the reverse Madonna, which is our rarest and most famous 20th century Hungarian stamp! The other Hungarian stamp legend on display at the auction is the green imperforated proof of the 1947 Stamp Day miniature sheet, which is also special because Hungarian stamp proofs had to be handed in to the Stamp Museum, so only one copy ended up in the hands of collectors. Such stamps were usually gifts of political protocol and over the decades they entered the bloodstream of stamp collecting.
The Chain Bridge III imperforated souvenir sheet from 1949
On 20 November this year, the Lánchíd III block celebrated its 75th anniversary, which perforated issue is one of the most significant pieces in any Hungarian collection, but a true legend in imperforated version. The question often arises in collectors’ discussions as to which is the rarest Hungarian stamp (apart from the misprints), to which more answers are heard, perhaps no justice could be done… It is certain that many collectors unanimously would vote for the imperforated souvenir sheet of Chain Bridge III, and not by chance…
Anyone who has tried to collect imperforated Hungarian stamps will soon see how little the catalogue prices reflect reality, but the real problems arise when it comes to buying early imperforated stamps, where the real problem is not the price but the availability of the stamps. Looking at the available archives, the last time an imperforated Chain Bridge III souvenir sheet was offered at auction in Hungary was 11 years ago, when only one proof with a different yellow colour was found. No record of the auction in Hungary of the imperforated stamp identical to the final stamp image is available.
The imperforated stamps were made by the Hungarian Post for gift giving purposes, how many imperforated souvenir sheets exactly matching the final stamp image were made is unfortunately not known, it could be only one sheet, i.e. 4 (!) pieces…
Imperforated proof of the 1947 stamp day miniature sheet
The stamp of the 1947 Stamp Day, depicting a stagecoach, is a one-picture oil-green proof, made without perforations on large size XI watermarked (Kossuth-embossed) stamp paper. The final stamp was sold in orange at a face value of 30 pfennigs with an entry fee of 50 pfennigs (the surcharge is not shown on the stamp), was part of the Stamp Day celebration issue. The oil-green proof was never issued and is unique in that it dates from the design phase of stamp making, during which the final colour and design was determined by experimentation.The olive green colour variant was discarded at the time of the final issue and therefore survives only as a proof. Also known as a trial design is a bright green, serrated small sheet, which was also part of the design process. Unfortunately, this specimen did not survive intact, as it fell prey to barbarian ‘traders’ and was torn apart, leaving only the four green stamps. The 1947 oil-green imperforated proof is a precious rarity of this period, known as a single copy.
UNIKAT!!!
