Spoilage stamps may be an interesting addition to a specialized collection of Polish post stamps. There are controversies surrounding the origin of some of these stamps; it is unknown how some of them ended up on the market.
However, it is a known fact that, if you were lucky enough, you used to be able to buy them at the post office or get them through a philatelic subscription. The spoilage stamps are all those stamps whose features don’t agree with the accepted pattern. Therefore those of my less experienced colleagues who think that the term ‘spoilage’ depicts those stamps which were not fully printed are mistaken.
When one of those stamps ends up on a parcel it automatically becomes a fully-fledged philatelic item. The years between 1960 and 1970 were the most ‘spoilage-heavy’ period in the history of Polish philately. But even now, even with the modern industry printing techniques, such kinds of stamps are still being printed from time to time.
Here are some of the spoilage stamps commemorating the 20-th anniversary of the nationalization of the Polish industry and the 35-th Poznan International Fair; No. 1529 Mk2 where the brown colour is missing, No. 1528 Mk where the perforation is misplaced, No. 1527 Mk where the grey colour is misplaced (it’s uncatalogued) and No. 1530 Mk2 where the blue colour is missing.
No. 1529 Mk2
No. 1528 Mk
No. 1527 Mk
No. 1530 Mk2
English version: Ewa Siarkiewicz
Uwaga! Ten tekst jest także dostępny w języku polskim. Znajdziesz go w Filatelistyka tradycyjna / Filatelistyka polska
