Revenue Scans : Worldwide

all these new scans..

You have been to an auction...or a new delivery
from Gibbons London ?

Show and tell time

There are some lovely examples but I'm not going to get sucked in.
I only have a few older Italian and French which I'll probably offer to swap.

E.g.

Not really in the same league, as far as sophistication of the printing process goes, but this Duttia revenue





was authorized for postal use for a short while around 1920. Gibbons has never listed it; Scott did once, but doesn't any longer. They would probably be four-figure items correctly used on postal cover (as against low single-figure items used fiscally as here) if they ever came up for sale. Well worth pasting in the hat.

And a couple more from the exotica file:



Barwani State Court and Writing Fee stamps on document. The Indian States for the most part had to raise revenue from a variety of taxes and fees, because there wasn't much scope for Income Tax when 95% of the population were subsistence peasant farmers. One favourite revenue stream was charges for any process through the State courts. Barwani stung you for both Court Fees and for Writing Fees, for writing up your petition or whatever it was had brought you face to face with the judicial system.

And a couple of 1950s revenues from Sikkim - formerly an independent State in the Himalayas, under British protection; these days, part of India:



Fairly high face values, 1 and 5 Rupees, but again, no scope for Income Tax, so the ruler's lifestyle had to be funded in other ways.

Ahem! Tony
you missed an image.

Love the thumbprint on the Barwani!

Don't think I'm missing an image, Rod - though senile dementia having set in, I'm open to correction ...

Stellaland block of four. The overprint is a monogram of the postmaster's initials, JPM (J.P. Minnaar), applied after a stock of revenues was stolen.



I haven't yet searched out the spotting features for forgeries, so don't use this scan as a reliable reference.

I would guess these are pretty regular types but I have no reference so any help appreciated.

French Revenues.
all listed in Forbin.

First two engravers
Eugène Andre Oudine (1810-1887)
Ernest Paulin Tasset (1839-1919)

second two, scan not sufficient to ID engraver.

First example head of Medusa
typical forbin list
Quittances 1880

Many thanks Rod.

Spain - I think.

Not sure what "Dimension" means.

Spain - Sales Tax

Cannot be Spain Smauggie,
try to look for the allegory or the coat of arms.
Spain generally has a quartered shield.

France has the Eagle.

Ergo France Dimension. (forbin catalogue)
I am a little confused here, the image shows the 20c
but 20c is not listed anywhere





Spain 5c blue (worth 3c in 1915 )

The dimension is a French revenue. I think it is from the 1860's. The Witt collection depicts one that is similar, describing it as 1864. I've seen it listed as 1865, too.

I'd like to read a good explanation of usage. One source says that "dimension" refers to the payment due being related to the size of the underlying document.

[edit...note to self...don't go refresh your drink while composing or you'll be desperately behind the times with your information when you finally hit "Post"...rod, Forbin apparently doesn't list the 20c blue or the 20c violet from the same issue. Curious.]

Sorry there Collin

I was caught out with Forbin's reading
right column to left column.

It <is> listed 20c lilac: (under type 9).......1864
(the image of the stamp is out of order
due to how the print on the page landed)