Bosnia And Herzegovina (Austrian Occupation):

This is what I like, in "old" printing!

Balanced design, precise printing!

Year 1904, "old" printing technology, probably non-exist school for printing plant profession, and just balanced design and really good quality.

If we take in account, that it is 1904, mean, 120+ year old, quality of this set is still "good", as we see "rust" start to "eat" paper, simply, and we also know, that at this time, glue are made from animal fat, than no way to keep this set intact.

In Scott catalog, it is listed under Bosnia and Herzegovina, even that it is Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austrian Occupation), under number in Postage Due #J1-J13, with "nice" 12.10 US$ catalog value for full set in used condition, and in Michel catalog, it is under Osterreich issue for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portomarken number 1-13, with 15.00 euro for set in used condition.

I see, that not "a lot" of samples of this set, are available on ebay or other web auctions, probably, it is reason, why Scott value full set, mnh at 105.00 US$ and Michel catalog "just" for 70.00 euro.

My opinion is, that this set, is worth to have in any collection from "classic period" or in specialized collection for this territory!

Shortly, keep an eye on it!

I agree that they're attractive stamps. Have you measured the perforations? According to Stanley Gibbons, there are five different types. I think yours are probably all type A (perf 12½-13), which is good, because none of the other types have genuine postal cancellations.

Your 50 heller has a manuscript cancellation, which is interesting and (to me) difficult to explain.

Thank you for sharing!

This set of B & H is too complicated to collect . You would need a lot of money to make a serious study of all the perforation plus the imperf. set .There are 7 different perforations types .

I fully agree with floortrader, and I would not be surprised if there were more then 7 different perforations. I still have a lot of these stamps to check for perforations, but unfortunately not the time at the moment.

pjr - Value of 20 and 50 have this cancel (manuscript), probably it come from document and not from mail as is, and regarding all kind of perforation, I use one Michel catalog (2007), and there are no mentioned perforation variety. Probably in Specialized one, there are all of mentioned perforation listed. And as mentioned, that this varieties have no genuine cancel applied, mean, that some kind of manipulation are in question. Michel catalog just mentioned, that exist imperforated samples, with nice catalog value for mnh set of 180.00 euro.

floortrader: I hate the idea of any stamps being "too complicated to collect".

Milco: at a simplified level of cataloguing, you have a complete set of beautiful stamps. Thanks again for sharing them.

I need to explain the wording of "too complicated to collect " to new collectors and readers here.

It could mean different things to a person reading my posting .

It can mean trying to find the material, like a lot of the early Spanish Colonies stamp that catalogs under a dollar per stamp .These stamps almost never show up in mixtures , or in most W.W. collections .

It can mean all the better stamps are "locked up " in highly specialised collections and not available in most auctions ,like TIBET , just try to make a decent showing ,it is impossible , I try to buy a collection at auction had a catalog value of $3,000 at auction . I bid it up to $5,000 and did not get it . So I was telling this Michael Rogers at a stamp show . He told me he was also bidding also but at close to double my top bid {late found out he was at $10,000 } . He told me the winning bid was $80,000 to some doctor in California .

Then you get stamps like Nicaragua --Cabo overprints , again cheap stamps but nobody lets them go unless your paying over catalog . So some stamps never make it around to "regular " collectors .

Then try collecting early Brazil watermarks ,you'll be ending buying tons of them cheap but most have poor watermarks or are difficult to read a watermark . again spending years to get my pages correct because the watermarks were not centered correctly .

Talk about complicated try the correct cancellation on German Inflation issues, they say you need a German proper Certification ,because today there is no one who can Cert . one here in the U.S. .


So complicated stamps are out there unless you want to overpay to get the right ones . So I think my wording is correct .

This is my set of the B & H stamps ,what you need to notice is that these stamps all have the same shade of colors except the color of the highest value . When you see other's peoples sets they have a lot of different shades in each stamp across the whole set if scanned on one picture .

I have the large part of my Bosnia & Herzegovina unused stamp collection on my website here:

https://www.rfrajola.com/2k26/BosniaColl.pdf

I have another mostly used collection of nominal value (if anybody cares) here:

https://www.rfrajola.com/2k26/BosniaUsedColl.pdf

Thanks Richard ,nice collection . Clearly a one of a kind, someone spend a life time to put that together ..

RCT - Actually, I exhibited Bosnia as a Junior in 1966 at SIPEX show in Washington, DC. That collection was mounted on quadrille page and lettered in india ink with a Leroy lettering set. All stamps mounted with hinges. Sold it many years ago (like 1976).

This collection of Bosnia was started only a couple years a ago as a trip down memory lane, using Corel Ventura 10 with image of quadrille background, printed text and black squares so the perfs show and with Bolaffi Kanguru mounts.

Here is my page of these …thx for info. I had no idea. I had a bunch of low cost B&H stamps from an international album and found a spot.

Typical for me I am missing some….

I have an album cut to Scott specialty size two post with Yugoslavia and prior Bosnia, Croatia etc. there are a lot of affordable pre1940. My album goes to 1970 with Yugoslavia.

I sat in Tito's chair in Lake Bled last time I was there on vacation :)

I just uploaded a pdf file of my small (19p) collection of the postal history of the Sanjak of the Novi Pazar (Bosnia). For me, a rare touching of the tongs in the 20th Century stuff.

Here:

https://www.rfrajola.com/2k26/SanjakColl.pdf

Richard Frajola:
You know, what I see on Your link, is really one great collection! I, in "Philately" of more than 35 year as part-time stamp dealer, never have this kind of collection "on my table".
Even for my personal "reference collection" of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I still have a "empty" space that can not find around (...as: 1919 Michel #23 a + b, Lightblue + Ultramarine or Michel # 44 B Perforation 11½, in mnh condition).

Now, if it is "too complicated to collect", let's say, yes .... complicated for sure, because person will need time and money to spend, and most of all wish to learn and search.

Milco - Thank you for your kind comments. I love putting together collections when I can start with "cornerstone" items and build around them.