Trains : Italy
Pictured is the 1956 25L Simplon Tunnel stamp issued by Italy. Numbered "931" by Stanley Gibbons, the stamp has been called "a comedy of errors" by some critical philatelists.
RAILROAD ERROR
When Italy commemorated the 50th anniversary of its Simplon Tunnel with a 25 lire stamp on May 19, 1956, the issue must have caused quite some embarrassment in high places.
The horse-drawn coach to the left of the tunnel exit on the stamp is a copy of the painting "Gotthard Mail" by Rudolf Koller! But, there are some more serious mistakes in the design of this unusual stamp. The old Simplon street for example, is on the wrong side of the right-of-way of the railroad.
Instead of the single track until 1921, the design shows two tracks and two tunnel arches. Pictured riding on the right side the train is clearly misplaced, as trains roll left in Italy. The "coup de grace" is the steam locomotive emerging from the tunnel — traffic has, in fact, been electrified since the tunnel was commissioned!
Stamps such as this one, often make a very interesting additions to a collection, especially when all the relevant information is printed alongside. The Simplon Tunnel Stamp is not highly catalogued either — Stanley Gibbons listed it at 20 pence (mint) and 5 pence (used) in their 1978 "Stamps of the World" catalogue.
Apologies for poor scan
Posted 06/10/2010 09:55 am
