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