Between 1892 and 1900, the Austrian Empire transitioned to a new decimal currency. The Gulden (100 Kreuzer = 1 Gulden) would be replaced by the Krone (100 Heller = 1 Krone).
During this period of transition, Gulden and Kronen coins and banknotes
circulated concurrently, with one Gulden being traded at two Kronen.
In January 1900, the Gulden was officially demonetized, and the Krone
became the official currency of the Austrian Empire.
In anticipation of this event, brand new definitive Austrian
postage stamps were issued at the end of 1899. They were identical in
design to the Austrian Empire definitive postage stamps of 1890 to 1891,
but these new stamps were all
denominated in Heller and Kronen.
All of the Austrian Empire
definitive postage stamps of this period feature either the left-facing
portrait or the right-facing portrait of Emperor Franz Josef I. All of the Austrian Empire newspaper stamps of this period feature the profile of Mercury, the Ancient Roman "Messenger of the Gods".
The fifteen definitive Austrian Empire stamp types of 1890-1891 shown above were issued on December 1, 1899. They are printed on unwatermarked, granite paper, and they were produced in varying perforation gauges. The numerals on the Heller denominations are printed in black on a colored background. The numerals on the Kronen denominations are white on a colored background.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 13 x 12 1/2, are as follows. The colors used in the table are from the Michel catalog.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 10 1/2, are as follows.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 12 1/2, are as follows.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 10 1/2 x 12 1/2, are as follows.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 13 x 13 1/2, are as follows.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for stamps that are perforated 12 1/2 x 10 1/2, are as follows.
The thirteen definitive Austrian Empire stamp types of 1899 shown above were re-issued on January 2, 1901. They are printed on unwatermarked, granite paper with diagonal varnish bars, and they were produced in two perforation gauges.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for Austrian Empire stamps that are perforated 13 x 12 1/2, are as follows. The colors used in the table are from the Michel catalog.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes, for Austrian Empire stamps that are perforated 13 x 13 1/2, are as follows.
The four Austrian Empire newspaper stamps shown above were issued on December 20, 1899. They are printed on unwatermarked, granite paper, and they are imperforate. These were the first Austrian Empire newspaper stamps to feature the denomination numeral in the design.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes are as follows.
The four Austrian Empire newspaper stamp types of 1899 shown above were re-issued in 1901. They are printed on unwatermarked, granite paper with diagonal varnish bars (three types), and they are imperforate.
The Michel / Scott catalog attributes are as follows.
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Return to Austrian Empire from
Issues of 1899-1901
Experiments involving the coating of the paper used for printing stamps with diagonal "varnish bars" or "enamel stripes" began during the 1890's. The German word for these varnish bars is "lackstriefen", meaning "lacquered".
There were many changes during this period of experimentation and
during the early period of their official production, including the
width of the bars and the spacing of the bars.
The
diagonal bars of varnish were applied to the paper BEFORE THE
STAMPS WERE PRINTED. Thus the varnish bars are UNDERNEATH the printed
stamp design, NOT on top of it!
These varnish bars were a security measure,
designed to prevent the erasure of a postmark and the re-use of the
postage stamp. If one tried to erase the postmark on these types of
stamps, the printed stamp design would also be erased, rendering it
useless as a postage stamp.
Varnish bars were officially applied to the
paper used for the printing of all Heller denomination Austrian Empire stamps, beginning in January 1901.
The
varnish
bars are said to be yellowish in color, however they can vary in
appearance, depending on the lighting they are viewed with and the
equipment used to make images of them. The examples above, from my
collection, were viewed in fluorescent light, and they were scanned with
a Hewitt Packard scanner. They appear white. Stamps viewed in other
types of light or that are reproduced with other types of imaging
equipment may appear quite different. Having gone through thousands of
these stamps
over the years, sometimes the bars can be so heavy that they distract
from the appearance of the stamp, and at other times, they can be so
light that they are barely discernible.
In the long
run, this methodology turned out to be unacceptable. Sometimes the
printing ink did not stick very well to the varnish bars, causing parts
of the image to be smudged or missing, and environmental effects, such
as the handling of the stamps by postal clerks and postal patrons,
could also cause portions of the printed stamp design to flake away.
The use of stamp paper having varnish bars was finally discontinued during late 1905.