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