Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 23 Apr 2019 02:16:05pm
I just got a lot of Poland - Post Offices Abroad (Gdansk). There were four stamps that were a bit odd. There was a set of 1K33 - 1K36, all with the same overprint or very carefully done postmark or stamp. Each was round taking up most of the width of the stamp and has around the circumference "POLSKA URZAD POCZTOWY" in the top half, "GDANSK 1" at the bottom and the date 11XI38 - 9 in the centre, the same for each stamp. If anyone out there can read Polish, could you tell me if there is a special meaning or did someone just soak these stamps off a first day of issue cover? I can't find any reference in my 2016 Scott's catalog.
Addition: I just noticed I have a postcard with the above postmark used twice, once on the stamp and once on the left of the stamp. So my guess is that this is a postmark used to commemorate a certain event, could you tell me what the event is?
URZAD POCZTOWY, seems to translate as "Post Office" so the cancel reads Polish Post office maybe it was an anniversary of some sort, perhaps the postal service?
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 23 Apr 2019 05:36:38pm
re: Poland Gdansk
Response to Sheepshanks: If that's all there is to the translation it might be easy to figure out. 1K33 - 1K36 were the last Gdansk stamps to be produced so possibly these were issued to commemorate the end of the run. I can find no reference to the series postmarked this way. Does anyone else have them or an example of the same postmark? My camera still needs to be replaced so I can't send a photo. Please refer to my original post for description.
This relates directly to your stamps.
"On 11 Nov, 1938 the first stamps to be specifically printed for use in Danzig were issued. The engraved stamps were released in 4 denominations and depicted Polish merchants selling wheat in Danzig in the 16th Century. These stamps were sold until the German attack on 1 Sept, 1939."
taken from here. https://www.dcstamps.com/polish-offices-in-danzig-free-state-1920-1939/
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Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 23 Apr 2019 07:17:38pm
re: Poland Gdansk
Thanks for the interesting links. It appears that the postmark used on my 4 stamps was used at the beginning of the use of these stamps, sort of like a first day cover. The main problem with early Poland if the huge number of fakes, especially of overprints, that are out there. I keep all extra copies of these stamps that I run into just in case I ever run into a fool proof way to authenticate them. Never buy an expensive early Poland or Russia stamp without a letter of authentication from a reputable source. Always check to see if reproductions exist of the stamp you are about to buy, especially if a lot of money is involved! I am sure all serious collectors know this anyway!
And, I might add, make regular use of Google Translate. If you collect a lot of Poland, you will soon get to know key words, and there is even an audio facility so that you can hear what they sound like.