Stephen Horthy Memorial Stamp (Hungary)

This stamp was issued on October 15, 1942 to commemorate the death of Stephen Horthy, elder son of Hungarian Regent Nicholas Horthy, who died in a plane crash.




Stephen was elected Vice-Regent by the Hungarian Parliament on 19 Feb, 1942, in order to provide a line of succession in case something happened to the Regent. During the summer of 1942, he was sent to the Russian front as a pilot of the Hungarian Air Force. Worried about his safety, the Regency ordered him to return home. Unfortunately, this was not to be. On Aug. 20, 1942 (St. Stephen's Day, Hungary's national holiday---also the name-day of those christened 'Stephen'), the Vice-Regent went for a training flight before returning home (to celebrate his name-day). This was to be his last flight. The Italy-made Carponi aircraft Horthy was flying crashed headlong into the ground, killing him instantly.

The stamp depicted above was printed in press sheets of 150 stamps. These were cut into post office sheets of 100 and 50 each. The 50-stamp sheets contained two plate varieties: one showing seven stars in the sky, and the other nine. All of the other stamps had eight stars. The upper part of the design also shows the legendary Hun warriors of the Milky Way.

Thank you for that description. Beautiful stamp! Do you collect Hungarian stamps? Do you have any others?

Thanks

Yes, I do have quite a few (mostly pre-1945 issues), but this is the one I find most interesting (even though the condition is not so good, with most of the perfs gone).

How do you keep it in your album? Hinged? I have 9 hinged Hungarian stamps in my album. They are labeled with an "f" or an "ft" next to their face value. Do you know what that represents? What is their currency?

Hello Cynthia....

The "f" and "ft" are in reference to the monetary units of Hungary. f = Filler.....ft = Forint......100 Filler = 1 Forint. (1946)

from 2008 Scott Cat.

Very interesting stamp! I really like the legendary Hun warriors above the warplanes.

Nice Stamp

I think Hungary must be one of those countries that have many stamps. The last 2 auctions I won had quite a few.

Once I sort through I'll be able to share.

Dianne

Cynthia, I prefer stock books. In general, hinges should not be used for mint/valuable used stamps.

BTW, another version of this stamp was issued on Aug. 16, 1943, with a 30 f surfax added to aid the Horthy National Aviation Fund.

Also, some copies of the original stamp were retained in imperforate condition. These were meant for the Post Office's archives and the Stamp Museum. However, during the turmoil of World War II these entered the philatelic market. These are believed to be one of the rarest Hungarian stamps in imperforate condition.

That set of St. Stephen stamps Hungary issued in 1938 commemorating the 900th anniversary of his death were some of the most elegant and colorful issues of the time. The still stand out. (Scott 511-524.)