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Friday, December 9, 2011

How many stamps are there in the 1922 Chiffre d’Affaires issue?


005x 
1 F (4) - Berchem cds, January 5, 1924
004a
004z
50 F
100 F



The arrêté published in L’Memorial on September 19, 1922, proscribes the procedures for implementing the chiffre d’affaires (turnover) tax.  Articles 27-30, below, provide for the design, issuance, and cancellation of the chiffre d’affaires stamps:
Art. 27. Le timbre adhésif destiné à assurer la perception de l'impôt sur le chiffre d'affaires à l'égard des commerçants en gros, du commerce d'objets de luxe et du commerce des eaux-devie ou d'alcools se compose de deux parties qui doivent être séparées avant l'emploi. Il mesure en largeur trente millimètres et, en hauteur trente-six millimètres. Il porte dans les quatres coins une rosette; sur chacun des côtés les mots «Chiffre d'Affaires » pour la partie supérieure au sommet le mot «Luxembourg» et au-dessous, au centre d'uncartouche entouré de feuilles de chêne, le montant du droit ; pour la partie inférieure à la base le mot « Luxembourg» et au-dessus, au centre d'un cartouche entouré de feuilles de chêne le montant du droit.  Dans la partie supérieure le mot «Luxembourg » ainsi que le montant du droit est imprimé en blanc. Le timbre adhésif est imprimé avec fonds de sûreté, en bleu pour les taux de 10 centimes à 9 fr., en orange pour les taux de 10 fr. à 90 fr. et en rouge pour les taux de 100 fr. à 900 fr. Le fonds de sûreté est imprimé en teinte atténuée dans la couleur adoptée pour la vignette.
Art. 28. Provisoirement il est débité des timbres aux taux de 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 centimes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 60, 80, 100, 200, 300 et 500 fr.
Art. 29. Les timbres adhésifs sont débités par l'administration de l'enregistrement et des domaines.
Art. 30. L'annulation du timbre complet comporte le sectionnement de la vignette par le milieu, dans le sens horizontal, de manière à laisser entière chacune des deux parties. L'annulation de chaque moitié isolée est assurée par l'indication, en chiffres arabes très apparents, de la date de l'apposition du timbre ainsi que par la signature de la personne à qui incombe l'annulation, le tout inscrit au moyen d'une encre indélébile.  Toutefois, le redevable peut l'aire usage d'une griffe reproduisant à l'encre grasse son nom ou la raison sociale de sa maison ainsi que la date, en chiffres arabes très apparents, de l'apposition du timbre. La date de l'annulation doit seule être reproduite entièrement sur chacune des deux parties du timbre. Les inscriptions d'annulation ou les emgefaßten preintes de la griffe doivent dépasser le timbre d'un ou de deux côtés. Dans certains cas l'administration peut autoriser l'annulation par un timbre à date.
Article 27 specifies the three colors:  blue for the range 10c to 9F; orange for 10F to 90F; and red for 100F to 900F.

Article 28 specifies 24 denominations: 10c, 20c, 30c, 40c, 50c, 60c, 70c, 80c 90c, 1F, 2F, 3F, 4F, 5F, 10F, 20F, 30F, 50F, 60F, 80F, 100F, 200F, 300F and 500F.

But Article 28 is at variance with the denominations listed in the 2007 second edition of Benelux Revenues (J. Barefoot Ltd.):
  • Barefoot lists 5c and 15c denominations
  • Barefoot does not list a 300 F denomination
The low (blue) denominations are fairly common.  However, I’ve never seen a 5c or 15c chiffre d’affaires stamp, leading me to conclude that the 5c and 15c denominations listed by Barefoot were never issued.
The high (red) denominations are scarce.  My collection only contains the 100F, but Article 28 leads me to conclude that in addition to the 200F and 500F listed by Barefoot, a 300F denomination also exists.  
Barefoot indicates that the stamps were issued in “1926/1928.”  However, cancelled stamps show that the stamps had appeared already in 1922.

I have not yet ascertained how the two parts were used (see the example below).  Aside from the example below, my used chiffre d’affaires stamps have the two parts intact.  Perhaps readers will help extract that information from the arrêté, which is accessible on the Internet at: 
004b
Cancelled Diekirch,
Receiveur des Contributions

The 1923 5-franc ‘Police des Etrangers’ (Foreign Resident) Registration Stamp


5F Blue
Alien Registration Stamp



On June 22, 1923, a new law was announced in L'Memorial, already effective June 15, 1913, which revised the registration requirements under the law of December 30, 1893, for foreigners temporarily residing in the Grand Duchy.
Avons ordonne et ordonnons: Art. 1e r . Le dernier alinéa de l'art. 1e r de la loi du 30 décembre 1893 sur la police des étrangers est remplacé par la disposition suivante: « Un récépissé de sa déclaration sera délivré à l'intéressé; les administrations communales percevront de ce chef une taxe spéciale de déclaration dont le montant est fixé à 5 francs. » Mandons et ordonnons que la présente loi soit insérée au Mémorial pour être exécutée et observée par tous ceux que la chose concerne.
Luxembourg, le 15 juin 1923.
CHARLOTTE.
Le Directeur général de la justice, de l'inférieur et de l'instruction publique,
Jos. BECH.
Luxembourg-Ville issued the 5-franc stamp shown above to document payment of the fee.  At the bottom of the stamp the "Loi du 15 Juin 1923” is referenced.

The new law authorized the communal administrations to charge a 5-franc fee for foreign resident registration (“[L]es administrations communales percevront de ce chef une taxe spéciale de déclaration dont le montant est fixé à 5 francs. “). 

I do not know whether other communes issued special foreign resident registration stamps.  None has been reported.

Below is the stamp used in a Livret d’Étranger book on December 13, 1923, to register Frenchman Camille Gabriel Schaefle, who was born in Nancy, France, April 24, 1890, and who was then residing on rue de la Poste, Luxembourg-Ville.


002




001




003a



Those who favor postage stamp collecting miss out on scarce fiscal items such as this.  For example, the same-period (1916) use of the 5-franc Marie-Adélaïde definitive shown below on a pathetically overfranked, undoubtedly philatelically inspired, registered cover recently sold on Delcampe for 218 euros.  I acquired the much scarcer proper commercial fiscal use of the 5-franc foreign resident registry stamp for considerably less.  You can do the same.

MA_five_franc


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Differdange & Wiltz: Newly discovered surcharged communal revenues


003c

In Benelux Revenues [2nd ed.], John Barefoot lists a Differdange 3F Hôtel de Ville revenue of the design shown above along with 1F and 2F denominations, but the color of the 3F is listed as brown.  Here a distinctly blue Differdange Hôtel de Ville revenue has been surcharged to 2 francs.

003b

Barefoot also lists this 2F Wiltz Le Château revenue along with 1F and 2F denominations and a 3F typewriter surcharged “+12.”  Here is the 2F surcharged to 10[F] with a rubber stamp.
Please contact me through the comment function of this blog or by email to arsdorf@gmail.com if you have unlisted Luxembourg communal revenues in your collections.  I’d be delighted to post them here for all to enjoy.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Use of a 25c Telegraph stamp to pay a Récépissé de dépôt (Deposit receipt) fee


002a




002

Récépissé de dépôt  (No. 62. – 1922)

The 25c deposit fee is paid with a 25c telegraph revenue stamp (p. 12 x 11.5), postmarked
Dudelange II, 9 Jan 1924.

This is the first time I’ve seen of this use.  Do others have similar or different examples?

The Luxembourg telegraph stamps are untouted beauties, often bearing fine circular date cancels.  Used from 1883 until WWII demonetization on October 1, 1940, they treat the collector to an abundance of shade and perforation varieties.  Used examples are not especially scarce, but regrettably we seldom see the documents on which they were used!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Newly discovered Esch-sur-Alzette Pictorial Communal Revenue!


Esch_sur_Alzette_new

Recently discovered, this 1F Esch-sur-Alzette communal revenue is certainly one of the most visually striking  revenues in my Luxembourg collection.  And despite its low one-franc denomination, the stamp design seems rather modern.

Who can tell me more about this stamp, when it was used, and whether other denominations also featured this design?

I’ve also added a new 3F Rosport pictorial to the communal revenue post.  That post is here.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Some uses of the Effets de Commerce revenues


1.  The classic or 'long' design
   (beginning in 1867)


006aa
 10c
(for bills of 100F-200F)
Internationale Bank Luxemburg
24 Jun 1875


Bill of exchange for 108 Reichsmarks, issued in Reims, France,
29 May 1875, to Monsieur Lambert, negotiant tanneur,
in Nieder-Wiltz.


006a


2.  The second or 'short' design 

   (introduced in 1875)

 

008a
 Proof


3.  The third design

 (introduced in 1928)


004aaa
20c
(for bills of 100F-200F)
Banque Générale du Luxembourg
 13 Jul 1935

003


004a
Bill of Exchange from Établ. Philippe Perre, Brussels,
dated 20 Apr 1935 for 185 Belgian francs,
drawn on the Banque de la Société Générale de Belgique – La Louvière,
payable to Monsieur Eug. Marx-Schmit, a negociant in Wiltz.



4.  The modern design 

(introduced in the 1950s)


Effets_new_002
500 F
(highest denomination of the 13-stamp set)
Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat 6 Nov 1985

002a
Effets_new_001
Bill of Exchange
for 500,000 Flux
Issued 13 Jun 1984
(Échéance 30 Nov 1985)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Scarce WWII occupation tobacco bands



During the World War II occupation, tobacco bands were denominated in Reichmarks with ‘LUXEMBURG’ imprinted in the left banner.

6RM_tobacco_band ‘6 Rm das kilogr.’

Interestingly, Luxembourg’s premier cigarette and smoking tobacco manufacturer imprinted its firm name on some of these labels.

8RM_tobacco_band_HvL
8RM_tobacco_band
‘8 Rm das kilogr.’

 image


Lux_cig_factory

The company was founded in 1847 by Jean-Pierre Heintz, husband of Joséphine van Landewyck. He built the family’s first tobacco factory with a shop in the rue de la Porte Neuve, later settling in the Grand-Rue. 50 years later, his son Joseph Heintz established a state-of-the-art factory in Hollerich, on the outskirts of Luxembourg-Ville, next to the train station.Up until today, this venue remains the company’s headquarters.

As a non-smoker, I collect these tobacco-related revenues with trepidation--second-hand smoke kills!

The 1 FRANG documentary stamp error


In 1920, the old 50-centime documentary tax stamp (Timbre de Dimension) was surcharged to 1 FRANC.

 1FranK
1 FRANC
1Franc_b

However, in the Luxembourgish language the French word franc is written as frang.  That’s why you often see old Luxembourg currency and coins denominated in frangs.  And that’s also why the typesetter for this surcharge presumably inadvertently spelled FRANC  with a final G -- FRANG -- instead of with a for at least one position of the surcharge setting.  Lacking multiples of the surcharged stamps, that’s all I can say.

1FranG_error_b

1 FRANG
1FranG_error

The error probably was corrected early in the surcharging process, as this is one of the scarcest Luxembourg revenue stamp errors.

Here’s an example of Luxembourg currency with the denomination shown as “Frang”:

$(KGrHqQOKp0E3uY9iZ)iBO!E7VRBrg~~_3

1943 20-frang GD Charlotte bank note

 image

ZWANZEG FRANG

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Export Certificate Franked with 51 Belgium-Luxembourg General Goods Statistics Revenues


016zz

On this export certificate, the exporter has used 51 five-centime Belgium-Luxembourg general goods statistics revenues to pay the applicable charge.  Each stamp bears a serial number. Linen goods were being exported from Liège, Belgium, to Holland.  The cancel is that of the customs office [douane] at Poppel, Belgium, April 13, 1948.

015 
016

An amazing multiple use of the five-centime general goods statistics stamp!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Belgium-Luxembourg Joint License Revenues


Joint License Revenue Stamps

 

Luxembourg revenue philately – little appreciated by most Luxembourg aficionados – remains a fertile ground for original research and new discoveries. Like postage stamps, Luxembourg revenues paid government fees. They are undeserving of the philatelic discrimination they suffer!

For example, here you see the Belgium-Luxembourg joint license revenue stamps, which were used by Belgium and Luxembourg to document payment of import permit charges.

 Type 1


Licenses_5f


 5F BELGISCH-LUXEMBURGSCHE
COMMISSIE 

Licenses_5f_denom

Denominated ‘Fr-‘ 


 

Type 2


Licenses_10f
 
BELGISCH-LUXEMBURGSCHE
COMMISSIE


Licenses_10f_denom
Denominated ‘Frs B.‘


 
001a
10F BELGISCH-LUXEMBURGSE
COMMISSIE

Denominated ‘Frs B.‘


Cancel:  Office Central des Contingents
 License D'Importation, 17 December 1974. 

002

001 003




Type 3



Licenses_20f

20F BELGISCH-LUXEMBURGSE
COMMISSIE

 

 

Type 4

 Licenses_2.50f

Licenses_2.50f_purple

2.50F BELGISCH-LUXEMBURGSCHE
VERREKEMINGSDIENST BRUSSEL
(OBLC logo design)





Type 5

 

10F Belgisch-Luxemburgsche
Commissie
'Licences' below center ornament



John Barefoot’s Benelux Revenues [2nd ed.], lists only four of the Belgium-Luxembourg Joint License revenues.
  • My Type 1 -- 5-franc shown here (denominated simply in francs rather than Belgian francs) is unlisted in Barefoot.
  • My Type 2 -- 10-franc with spelling LUXEMBURGSCHE is the only denomination Barefoot lists with this spelling.
  • Barefoot lists 5F, 10F, and 20F Type 3 denominations with the spelling LUXEMBURGSE.
  • My Types 4 and 5 are unlisted.


You can help by sharing your research. I would like to know:

  • What stamps were issued? When? In what format?
  • Who printed the stamps?
  • What quantities were printed?
  • What were the import license tax rates?
  • What are the pertinent laws and regulations?
  • On what documents were the stamps used?
  • Why are some denominated in francs; others in Belgian francs?
  • Has the use of license revenues been discontinued (if so, when)?
  • What is known about the Commission Belgo-Luxembourgeoise?


You can be the first to do the research and publish your findings, if you like, as a guest blogger on this website! Email me at arsdorf@gmail.com or post a comment on this blog.