Nederland – Netherlands 1969 – 1981 'Regina' (Queen Juliana)

Machine-vended stamp books

All stamps with values up to 60 cent, except 45 cent, exist both with the right side and with the left side imperforate. The 45 cent stamp only exists with the right side imperforate. These stamps come from machine-vended booklets. The covers of the booklets have a simple design showing the post horn logo of the Dutch Post Telephone and Telegraphs services (PTT) and a pattern made up from the word 'postzegelboekje' (postage stamp booklet). The covers came in a range of colours.


Range of stamp book covers in different colours

25 cent booklet stamps

The first stamps of the 'Regina' design were issued on 29 January 1969. These were the 25C and 1.25 GULDEN stamp. The former prepaid the basic rate for carriage of a standard letter up to 20 grammes to inland and overseas colonies' (Suriname and the Dutch Antilles) addresses by boat, and the other five founding member states of the European Coal and Steel Community, including the territories within. The postal administrations of these six countries first issued annual 'EUROPA' stamps from 1956. The 1.25-guilder rate prepaid the registered letter rate for such a letter. This was made up of the 25 cents letter rate and one guilder registration fee.

The 25C stamp only was issued from machine-vended stamp books. The first stamp book issued contained four 25C stamps. The stamps were attached to the cover by a stub with a text printed in the same colour as the stamps. The stamp pane also had two labels with a cross to prevent forgers from using the paper for forged stamps. The four 25C stamps made up a guilder and allowed for inserting a single guilder-coin into the vending machine. To prevent the books from getting stuck in the machines, the books needed to be of uniform thickness. The stub had the same width as the part of the stamp pane consisting of the two labels and four stamps.

This first machine-vended booklet was edition number 9. Between 29 January 1969 and March 1971, PTT issued eight different stamp books from edition 9. These books differ in the colour of the printing on the stamp book cover and the information printed on the stub. The last of these, edition 9-h was the first stamp book that included this edition number on the stub (see the lower of the two books below).


1969 – 1971, PB9-a and PB9-hF Stamp books containing four 25 cent 'Regina' stamps

In 1969, PTT was introducing automatic letter facing equipment that used optical signals to face the mail before cancelling the stamps. The stamps existed both on ordinary paper and on phosphor-coated paper. All stamp books from edition 9 but PB9-b and PB9-c (top booklet above) exist with either stamps printed on ordinary paper or phosphor-coated paper. The difference between the two stamps was discussed in an earlier post, above.

The 25C stamp was re-issued on 22 January 1973 when it prepaid the carriage of printed matter up to 20 grammes. Stamp book 13-a contained only a single 25C stamp that had the left side imperforate. Stamp books from edition 14 contained seven 25C stamps together with five stamps in the numeral design of Jan van Krimpen. All but one of the 25C stamps had the right side imperforate; the seventh had the left side imperforate. At the time this stamp book came to market the stamps were printed on phosphor-coated paper only. Note that this pane folded in a way that the booklet had uniform thickness. Also, the total value of two guilders allowed for inserting two one-guilder coins in the vending machines.


1973, PB14-a containing seven 25 cent 'Regina' stamps

The stamps from the edition 9 and later editions 13 and 14 stamp books are different and can be identified without the use of a uv-lamp. The original stamps showed too little contrast between the background to the portrait and the frame. The re-issued stamps showed better contrast.


1969 and 1973 issues of the 25C 'Regina' stamps

Note that the colour does not allow for identification of the stamp. The colour of the background to the portrait is a much better match for booklets 9-a and 14-a shown here than for booklets 9-a and 9hF shown above.

The second distinguishing feature can be seen under magnification. Just like the 1.25-guilder stamp, Joh. Enschedé strengthened the outlines of the frame in the original issue. Stamps from PB9 do not show the sawtooth edges of the design that are typical for photogravure printing. Those from PB13 and PB14 do.


1969 and 1973 'Regina' permanent series two types of the 25C outlines

30 – 60 cent booklet stamps

Below is a selection of stamp books containing al variations of 30C to 60C stamps from stamp books. A full listing of the booklets containing these stamps is given at the bottom of this post.

Bravo! Well Done!

Tremendous thread, and the reason I joined the forum. I'm sure I'll be back to revisit in the future.

- Lance

Thanks!

Epilogue

It has been a long-standing tradition for the Dutch postal authority to issue stamps showing the portrait of the monarch and stamps showing a numeral. The latter, primarily, were used for printed matters and as make-up values. As tariffs rose, stamps with numerals replaced those with the portrait of the monarch.

When the 'Regina' design was introduced in 1969, the current numeral stamps were those designed by Jan van Krimpen, first issued in 1946. The highest value issued in that design was 8 cent. In 1976, the design by Wim Crouwel superseded them. By the time, due to inflation the face value was in multiples of 5 cents, rather than singles cents.


Jan van Krimpen and Wim Crouwel numeral stamp designs.

When the first stamp in the 'Regina' design came to market on 29 January 1969, the basic printed matter rate was 12 cents. There was no 'numeral' stamp for rates below that for a standard inland letter and above 8 cents. The basic printed matter rate of 12 cents was covered by the stamp in the old 'En Profil' design. Several values in this design were first issued on phosphor-coated paper in 1971, after the introduction of the 'Regina' design.


Queen Juliana 'En Face' design

In my previous post, some booklets have a mixture of stamps with the Queen's portrait and stamps with numerals. Among the gaps in the numbering of the booklets listed in the table at the bottom of the post are booklets with stamps in the 'En Profil' design. One of the booklets, numbered PB12a, has a combination of the 35C 'Regina' stamp and the 10c stamp from a commemorative set of Dutch landscapes issued in 1962. When supplies of the 10 cent 'En Profil' stamp were exhausted, no new stamps were printed. This stamp no longer covered a postage rate for which PTT, normally, would issue a stamp with the monarch's effigy. Rather than issuing a 10 CENT stamp in the design of Jan van Krimpen, the 10c stamp from the 1962 'Landscapes' commemorative set showing the 'Deltawerken' was used. This stamp remained available as permanent stamp.


31 December 1962, Dutch landscapes commemorative stamps