The Stamps Of Turkey / Turkiye: On Steiner Pages.

Seeing the contents page from Dr Birken's postal stationery guide reminded me that I had this early item.

It's an unused formular reply card with 20 paras stamp applied to each half of the card.

Unlike most later reply cards the pair is folded at the side to the right of the stamp rather than at the top or bottom.

The reply half has the same design but without the words "Avec réponse payée".

This is listed in H&G as Formular Card #3 from 1875.

Perhaps a mint card should not have the stamps but I like it this way.

abctoo,
Weighing Fees
Response from O.N.E.P.S.

G'day Rod ! On the ONEPS website there is an Index which covers the past six years, and another Index for the three years before that, etc. The Index is by article author and subject, so your question would come under the subject heading of Fiscal and Revenue Stamps. I've looked through the Index for the past 16 years and added to my recollection, we've never published an article on the weighing fee stamps, tho' we have covered some other types of fiscal stamps. The weighing fee stamps are similar to the usage for all revenue stamps, as the stamps indicate payment for a service, and in this case, the service was getting an official measurement of weight for merchandise. In all the major markets, there were weighing stations with government agents providing weighing service using official weight measurements. Either the item weighed or a paper invoice would receive the stamp along with the official weight. Most of the weighing stamps that survive are tattered or not in good condition, as they would have to be removed from the invoice or the package to be saved. Keep up the good work
Richard

Part 3. Municipal Taxes
Constantinople.
Cleaning Fees (Seen noted as Gutter and Footpath sweeping)
1888
Cart Design. Unwatermarked 67mm x 29mm
37 in set.
Colours my interpretation.



1888 New Design. McD#49 15 piastres Black on Pale Carmine-Red

Hi Nigel,


Au Contraire! (as I read it)
Birken: "Normally sold franked only, Unfranked cards probably came from unsold stocks."

Turkish Inscription reads "open correspondence card of the Imperial Ottoman Post"
125mm x 84mm
(Birken Typo 1975 instead of 1875)
Single or Reply Card design. (Thinner card)

Birken Cat#4, H&G #3 as is Passer and Pulhan.

Nice Item !

PS: I do not understand the phrase "Formular Card"

Formular stationery:

"The term formular (often spelled formula) is an adjective applied to envelopes, cards and aerograms, etc., produced by postal authorities or to their specification, but bearing no imprinted or embossed stamp or other indication of prepayment of postage.

Formular stationery require the addition of an adhesive stamp before posting.[1] Formular items do not technically meet the definition of "postal stationery" (since there is no prepayment of postage), but the strong likeness to it secures them a place in many postal stationery collections."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formular_stationery

So basically, needs a stamp added.

Thanks Jill, something learned again today.

Postage Dues: With better scans things look a lot different. The distorted right side of the Arabian Government stamp in the original scan led me to some wrong conclusions. The circle at its right with the value in Turkish is not distorted nor cut-off by the frame-line. The scan below show it is quite round (center picture) while the same circle on the 22.5x24.5 mm stamp (left picture)is slightly oval horizontally and the 22x25 mm stamp (right picture) is slightly oval vertically.


As to the upper right corner (see scan below), I could try to stretch my imagination and "see" re-engraving marks, but I think at best we are only talking about inking issues. It does appear though from some of the defects in two non-Arabian Government stamps that the die was beginning to wear, while the Arabian Government stamp appears to show the die had not yet worn as much.



Weighing Tax Stamps: Seventeen nations including the Ottoman Empire signed the 1875 Treaty of the Metre creating the International Bureau of Weights & Measures, among other international bodies. The pennyweight and Troy Pond lost official status in the United Kingdom by the Weights & Measures Act of 1878, with only the troy ounce remaining official. In the Middle Ages, a British penny's actual weight was 1/20th of an ounce of Sterling silver and 1/240th of a pound of Sterling silver. That was the basis of their monetary system, 12 d. (pennies) equaled one Shilling. 20 Shilling equaled one pound (240 pennies to the pound). With debasement, the denominations did not match metal content of the coins. A penny, also referred to as "1 d.", was the standard measure for valuing copper, silver and gold. With debasement of the metal content of the penny, accurate weights labeled 1 d., 2 d., 4 d., evolved to determine the actual amount of silver or gold of the coin being weighed. The old balance scales (sometimes called "apothecary" scales) used weighs corresponding to the old penny stamped in denominations of "d." The English made many of these scales. It would appear the "D" values cancelling the used Weighing Tax stamps were for such measurement. Since it seems the set consists of various colored ones, the colors may indicate what was being weighed. In A.H. 1206, (1/12 March 1789) Ottoman Sultan Selim III issued an Irade to use in commercial and financial transactions the Ottoman Financial Calendar which corresponds with the Gregorian Calendar used by the "Romi's" (the Romans). If someone has access to a copy of that Irade, it might explain the weighs and measures being used.

I think I saw a response to the Weighing Stamps saying that most of the used copies are in very poor condition as having been damaged in removing them from a document. Does anyone have an intact document that might show the usage? As to being "local" tax stamps of only one city, Constantinople was the center of the Ottoman Empire.

Thanks very much Rod. That's good to know!

I've tracked down a few more unused Ottoman cards that I had in a separate cover album. I'll post a couple of them here.

Part 3. Municipal Taxes
Constantinople
Bazaar Fees. 1871 Imperf Unwmkd.
44mm x 26.5 mm
Thin, Medium and Thick paper.
McDonald Catalogue # 191 10 paras Black on Yellow.
27 in set.


Part 3
Municipal Taxes. Constantinople.
Weighing Fees 1868
Note: Design No1 (see shape of "2" in 20 paras currency)
Pesage = weighing
Armenian Inscription.
7 in set.
20 paras Black on Green.



Design No 2 (Same year)
7 in set.

Part 3. Municipal Taxes
Constantinople.
Public Wells or Fountains.
1876 Crude Perf 3,4,6. Unwatermarked, Light Yellow Gum.
47mm x 34mm
Name of Well, in Turkish, French, Armenian, and Greek.
Barrel Icon.
14 in set
HUNKIAR
McD#184 1876 40 paras HUNKIAR

McD#195 1876 40 paras HUNKIAR

Part 5, 5AA
Private Issues and Charities.
Turk Hava Kurumu (Turkish Air Association)
1950 25th Anniversary
8 in Set.

Hi Rod,

Thanks for entertaining us with your fascinating municipal revenues and charity stamps!

These excellent scans bring the stamps to life after years of just seeing dull illustrations in the McDonald catalogue.

I particularly like the cleaning fees stamps with the little cart design.

Here's an Ottoman postcard from 1877, H&G #1:

It's interesting to see the position of the stamp before this became standardised in the top right corner.

This also has a printing for a French-style date: "... le ...... 187...".

Here's one more Ottoman postcard, this time from 1901, H&G #10 on pink card:

That 1877 card is a thing of beauty, Nigel. Thanks for posting it.