Effets de Commerce - Previously unrecorded 1920 3F 'Square' Surcharge on 1.50F Red Floret Design

Unrecorded 1920s

Effets de Commerce Surcharge

 

When the tax on commercial bills increased from 5% to 10% circa 1920, existing stocks of the 5%-rated Effets de Commerce stamps were surcharged to reflect the new 10% rate.  Apart from Barefoot's listing in Benelux Revenues [2nd ed.], little is known about the surcharges.  They remain a rich area for further study.

 

There are two basic surcharge types: 

• the new value printed directly over the old value, and

• the old value obliterated by a square or rectangle.

Shown below are both surcharge types for the 3F on 1.50F red 5%-rated Effets de Commerce Floret design.

 3F on 1.50F red 

Floret Design

Old value Obliterated with a Square

Unlisted in Barefoot

 3F on 1.50F red 

Floret Design

New value printed over the old value

Barefoot 141

Barefoot claims that this 1.50F stamp was not issued without surcharge.

 

New Belgium-Luxembourg Licence stamp design recorded

New Design Type

 

10 Frs B.

Licenses

'Licenses' below Center Ornament

'Luxemburgsche' at top

I previously reported on four designs of the Joint Belgium-Luxembourg License stamps here.  The design shown above is similar to my Types 1, 2, and 3, but 'Licenses' is below and 'Vergunningen' above the center ornament.  My Types 1, 2, and 3 show 'Licenses' above and 'Vergunningen' below the center ornament.

This design is unlisted in Barefoot's Benelux Revenues [2nd ed.].  Do you have it in your collection?

50c Floret Effets de Commerce stamp surcharged to 1F used on a Commercial Bill in 1928

50c 1912 Floret Issue

Surcharged to 1-Fr

Pair Used in 1928

In the 1920s, when the tax on commercial bills increased from 5% to 10%, the remaining stocks of Effets de Commerce stamps were surcharged to the new 10% rate.  

There are two basic surcharge types:

  

(a) with the new value printed directly over the old value, or as shown here,

(b) with the old value obliterated with a rectangle and the new value printed in the middle of the stamp.

Barefoot in Benelux Revenues [2nd ed.] dates the surcharges to 1920, but we see many of these surcharged stamps used in the late 1920s.

The example shown in this post is of the 1-Franc surcharge on the 50c 1912 Floret issue used on a commercial bill dated 28 February 1928 transferring a payment from a drapery merchant in Verviers, Belgium, via the Credit Anversois Societe Anonyme Luxemburg, to a merchant in Hobscheid.

Invoice for the Draperies!

 Courtesy of Martien Zwitserloot

Postal Use of the € 50 Droit de Chancellerie Revenue

 50€ Chancellerie
postally used domestically
3 May 2007

The sender's use of a € 50 revenue stamp to post this domestic letter is baffling.  In 2007, the domestic letter rate was € 0,50, so the sender paid 100 times the rate!  Perhaps the sender thought that he was using a  € 0,50 stamp.

Thanks to Martien Zwitserloot for this curiosity!

Documentary use of the 1-Fr Troisvierges Coat of Arms Communal Revenue in 1945

 

 1F Multi-color 
Uprated in ms to 5F

Coat of Arms in Frame

16 August 1945

Courtesy of Martien Zweitserloot

Foreigner’s Identity Book with Revenue Stamped Paper

1.25F Timbre Fixe

Scarce 2.50F Surcharge on 1.25F Documentary Revenue used on a 1923 Death Certificate issued at Troisvierges

Barefoot lists seven 1920 surcharged documentary revenues. In my experience, they are all scarce.

In black:

1.00F/50c

2.00F on 1.00F

2.50F on 1.25F

In red:

1.00F/50c

2.00F on 1.00F

2.50F on 1.25F

3.50F on 1.70F

I was especially fortunate to find the 2.50F/1.25F (shown above) used on a death certificate issued on 8 February 1923 at Troisvierges for one Peter Heinen (below).

The document is also interesting because the German text has been translated into French on the reverse side.

 

2.50F surcharge on 1.25F
Documentary

Death Certificate for Peter Heinen

Troisvierges Commune
8 Feb 1923

1920 Effets de Commerce Provisional--1914 50c Green Surcharged to 1 Franc–Pair Used in 1929 on a Bill of Exchange from H. Kemp in Rodange

1-Franc on 1914 50c Green (pair)
Surcharged value at center

Transfer by H. Kemp, Rodange, of 1340.50 Fr
to Peschon Kiees in Hobscheid,
5 Nov 1929,
Banque Arlonaise, Arlon,
75c Belgian fiscal applied,
8 Nov 1929

 
The provisional surcharges reflect the tax increase from 5% to 10% per 100 Fr. The new Effets series that appeared in 1922 also reflects the 10% tax rate.

Combination Municipal and National Revenue Use in 1959

Civil Register Extract

6.40F Luxembourg-Ville Horseman

 (horizontal shading)
used in combination with a
30F Dimension 

10F Surcharge on 1F Petange Hotel de Ville Pictorial–Previously Unreported

 

 

Petange
10 Frs. surcharge
on 1 Fr. Hotel de Ville

4 Sep 1947
Commissariat de Police – Petange
Carte de Légitimation

 

Unsurcharged 
1-Franc Hotel de Ville Pictorial