President's Corner

THE NEWS OF

HUNGARIAN PHILATELY ______

Volume: 38 / Number: 2 April – June 2007

______

CONTENTS:

Page

1 The President’s Corner by H. Alan Hoover 2 Kudos and Welcome 2 The Society for Hungarian Philately at Chicagopex by Csaba L. Kohalmi 2 Miklós Horthy, Regent of Hungary, Died 50 Year Ago 3 What Did It Take to Purchase Stamps During the Hyperinflation? by Csaba L. Kohalmi 12 Addition to the Table of 1918 Airmail Registry Label Numbers 13 The 1919 Kolozsvár/Cluj - Nagyvárad/Oradea Overprints and the Flight of the Turul Bird from Legend into Postal History by László Szegedi 18 Thank You to the Members of the Society by Alan Soble 18 What I Saw on EBay by Csaba L. Kohalmi 20 The Editor’s Notes by Csaba L. Kohalmi 21 2006 New Issues 22 2007 New Issues 23 Continuation of the SHP Exhibit from Washington 2006 prepared by Csaba L. Kohalmi Back Cover: The 1921 Villány Provisional from the Collection of Dr. Ferenc Nagy

Hungarian Folk Customs definitive stamps

SOCIETY FOR HUNGARIAN PHILATELY 1920 Fawn Lane Hellertown, PA 18055-2117 USA

Established 1969

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ APS Affiliate 34 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President: H. Alan Hoover, e-mail: [email protected]

Vice-President: Robert B. Morgan, [email protected]

Treasurer: Wes Learned, [email protected] P.O. Box 802, Powell, WY 82435-0802 USA

Secretary: Jim Gaul, [email protected] 1920 Fawn Lane, Hellertown, PA 18055-2117 USA

Directors-at-large: Stephan I. Frater, M.D., [email protected] Ted Johnson, [email protected]

Sales Circuit Manager: H. Alan Hoover, [email protected] 6070 Poplar Spring Drive, Norcross, GA 30092

Newsletter Editor: Csaba L. Kohalmi, [email protected] 910 Claridge Ct., Indianapolis, IN 46260-2991 USA

Newsletter Publisher: Chris Brainard, [email protected]

Auction Chairperson: Emmerich Vamos, [email protected] 8722 Belladona Road, Riverside, CA 92508 USA

SHP Web-site: http://www.hungarianphilately.org . ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Society for Hungarian Philately (SHP) is a non-profit organization chartered under the laws of the State of Connecticut and is devoted to the study of every aspect of Hungarian philately. SHP publishes a quarterly newsletter in March, June, September, and December. Manuscripts for publication may be sent to the Society’s address listed above. The articles published herein represent the opinions of the individual authors and the content is not to be construed as official policy of this Society or any of its officers. All publication rights reserved for SHP. Articles from this journal may be reprinted with the written permission of the Editor and the authors only. Back issues of the newsletter may be purchased for $3.00, postpaid, (when available). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Annual membership dues are $18 ($19 if paid by Paypal) for members whose addresses are in the United States. For members residing in all other countries, the dues are $25 ($26 if paid by Paypal). Dues are payable in January in advance for the calendar year. Payment of dues entitles members to receive the newsletter, to participate in the sales circuit and the quarterly auctions, and to exercise voting rights. Send dues payments to: The Treasurer, P.O. Box 802, Powell, WY 82435-0802 USA. Paypal payment may be made to [email protected].  This issue closed on 6 May 2007 The next issue will close 1 August 2007 

The News of Hungarian Philately

THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER

by H. Alan Hoover

With most of the spring flowers about gone here in the Deep South, thoughts turn to mowing lawns, house painting and stamp shows. Guess which one will get my attention first? There’s a small show here in town this weekend; I think I will go and get my enthusiasm started for the stamp season! As reported in another article herein, we are actively making the final plans for our show in November. This will be a bit of a change but hopefully enjoyable with our sister societies in attend- ance too. Chicagopex (http://www.chicagopex.com) is slated as the Pan Slavic show this year. Alt- hough Hungary isn’t considered a Slavic nation, we have similar interests with these societies and that’s another reason why we are attending. Although it is still six months in the future, by the time you read this exhibit frames should be closed, hotel rooms will be hard to find and final preparations will be in place. See Csaba’s article and check the next issue which will be out right before the show. I do recommend you consider making hotel reservations now, as some of them are filling as we speak due to the other societies booking the rooms too. Please note: if you find an enclosed single page notice regarding delinquent membership dues, this will be the last issue of the newsletter you will receive. Kindly take a moment and write out that small check. We are still one of the lowest annual fees of philatelic societies, so you don’t miss out on a single issue. Talking about issues, I have compiled the latest volume of the “bound edition” newsletter that comprises the new format. It should be back from the binder soon, so if you would like one, watch the next issue for ordering instructions and availability information. Candidates for office of our parent society, the American Philatelic Society (APS), are cur- rently flooding members’ mailboxes with solicitations supporting or mud-slinging the other officer candidates. They tout the huge cost increases due to their new location initiated by some of the candidates, blah, blah, blah… Can you tell I hate politics?!?! Although every organization has problems and ours is no exception, there are certain wonderful traits of the APS which we, as a unit of the APS, also strive to uphold. Honesty, ethics, and taking action to warn the membership when a member does not live up to the written standards of the organization is what we subscribe to and uphold as one of our key reasons for existence. For many issues now, our editor Csaba has authored a What I Saw on eBay column outlining some of the rarities and some of the “buyer beware” items offered for sale. In the last issue, the article focused on a stamp the 1956 Sopron issue overprint that would have been a real rarity IF it had been genuine. This item was offered by an SHP member who is also a stamp dealer from Hungary. After much dialog with the Executive Board, I as your president wrote to this member (for the second time in the past 5 years) about his offering of the stamp that was backed as genuine because it was “signed” on the back by supposedly two experts. The item was purchased by another SHP member. I received a written reply to my letter from the dealer and I distributed it to the Executive Board. Although the explanation was written to be a “politically correct answer,” while the dealer admitted the Sopron issue was not his area of expertise, he fell short in his explanation by failing to offer a full refund to the purchaser if so requested or if the item was proven to be a fake. As such, it is my position as President of this organization to reprimand this dealer/member in my column and identify to our membership that the “signed” guarantees, such as this one, has also been faked too. (See the current What I Saw on EBay article on page 18.) If this dealer does not uphold the same standards as we and stand by the principles of honesty, then he does not belong in our membership. It is our job to warn you the membership of such actions and let you make your own decision on whether to continue to trust such offerings or not. Although this is a controversial action, it is a necessary step in our continual pursuit to protect you our membership and philately in general from the efforts of those that just try to take advantage of the uninformed. Be alert – if you come across a Hungarian item for sale and don’t know if it could be considered a fake or not, bring it to our attention and we will give you a recommendation if we can. Guess that’s all for this column – and as always Ray, we will ‘Keep stampin’.



April-June 2007 1 The News of Hungarian Philately

KUDOS AND WELCOME

Congratulations to our members for their achievements in exhibiting. At the APS Ameri- Stamp Expo, Lyman Caswell received the following: Prix d’Honneur for the single frame exhibit The 1953 Commemorative Postage Due Stamps of Hungary; vermeil for the single frame exhibit Hungarian Postage Dues: The Post-World War I Inflation, 1920-1926; and a gold and the American Philatelic Congress medal for the multi-frame exhibit Alexander Humbolt. Alfred F. Kugel won the following awards at the AmeriStamp Expo: Prix d’Honneur for three single frame exhibits Austria- Hungary’s Danube River Flotilla in World War I, Australian Contingents in the Anglo-Boer War, and Scandinavian Volunteers in Finland during the Winter War; and a vermeil for the single frame exhibit Austria-Hungary’s Vistula River Flotilla in World War I. Robert Jensen received a silver and a APS Research award for Hungarian Aerogrammes at Texpex. A note to our non-USA members: Please let us know when and where you have exhibit- ed, what awards you have received, and the title of your exhibit. We would like to publish the awards that you have earned! Welcome to our newest member, Mr. Peter T. Kun of Allen, TX.  THE SOCIETY FOR HUNGARIAN PHILATELY AT CHICAGOPEX

by Csaba L. Kohalmi

The Society's annual board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 17 November 2007 from Noon to 5:00 PM in the Lake Huron Room of the Sheraton Chicago Northwest, Arlington Heights, IL. This is also the show hotel and the venue for CHICAGOPEX. CHICAGOPEX this year is billed as a Pan-Slavic show. The show website is http://www.chicagopex.com/. The agenda for the board meeting has not been finalized yet. One of the items to be included is the upcoming election of officers (president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer). The Society will man a table at the show and share a hospitality room with the Polonus and Czechoslovak Societies. If you are staying for the show, any help in manning the Society table will be appreciated. The organizers noted that over 220 out of the 320 available frames have been subscribed. Any members interested in exhibiting are urged to send in their application as soon as possible. So far, three of our members have entered; however, all of their exhibits are non-competitive. Below is a list of other motels/hotels in the area of the show and the respective cost per night’s lodging:  Best Western at 1600 Oakton Street in Elk Grove, IL., telephone 847-981-0010. This is about a 15 minute drive from the show.  Motel 6, 1800 Winnetka Circle, Rolling Meadows, 847-818-8088 at $49.99 + tax.  Comfort Inn, 1200 Frontage Road, Palatine, 847-392-2100 at $89.99 + tax.  Courtyard by Marriott, 3700 N. Wilke Road, Arlington Heights, 847-394-9999 at $94-104 + tax.

 MIKLÓS HORTHY, REGENT OF HUNGARY, DIED 50 YEARS AGO

He was Hungary’s second and last Regent, bearing a title that was created for János Hunyadi, the hero of Nándorfehérvár, in 1446. He repre- sented the continuum of the ‘old order’ between the Habsburg Dual- monarchy and the rump Kingdom of Hungary left in the ruins of WW I. Be- tween the wars, Horthy guided Hungary’s unitary foreign policy of regaining the lost areas inhabited by ethnic Hungarians. Unfortunately, this led Hunga- ry into the meat grinder of WW II on the side of Germany. Hitler’s occupation of Hungary in March 1944 and the unsuccessful ‘surrender’ in October ‘dethroned’ him. He was a witness at the Nürenberg trials but even Stalin refused to charge him with war crimes. He spend the remaining years of his exile in Estoril, Portugal and died on 9 February 1957, a few months after the brutal suppression of the October 1956 Hungarian Revolution. 

2 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

WHAT DID IT TAKE TO PURCHASE STAMPS DURING THE HYPERINFLATION?

by Csaba L. Kohalmi

I’ve often wondered what it was like to mail a simple domestic letter at a post office during the hyperinflation. There were plenty of types of currencies to be had, government-issued banknotes used during the war, Red Army banknotes as well as freshly printed denominations. The obvious fis- cal manifestation of that period was that the government printing presses churned out banknotes by the ton that regularly and quickly lost their purchasing power since there was such a scarcity of goods, mostly food, to purchase. A large sector of the economy functioned by barter, not just at the consumer level, but also at the business and industrial levels. Still, the government required the trans- fer of banknotes for the payment of postage fees and, most importantly, taxes. So, the postal patron had to have a pocketful of banknotes to purchase stamps. In the following table, I cross-referenced how many pieces of the valid, circulating currency one would have to use in order to post a simple domestic letter. For practical purposes, I stopped counting at 1,000 pieces of any one denomination banknote. At the end of the hostilities, aluminum coinage, 1, 2 and 5P pieces were circulating in addition to fillér-denomination coins minted in iron. By the fall of 1945, coins had lost all of their prac- ticality in commerce. It is conceivable that in rural communities, postal patrons would offer an egg or two or a pack of cigarettes to the local postmistress, who would then endorse the letter with ‘paid in cash’ and somehow account for the monies out of her government salary. I find it hard to visualize any other form of payment. Gold Napoleon coins, broken dental gold or jewelry served as currency in those times, but only in transactions involving sums larger than the cost of mailing a letter. In the table below, I used the Hungarian convention for naming the large numbers since the banknotes were printed using that convention. This means that the Hungarian millió is same as the US million; milliárd equals a US billion; billió is same as the US trillion. In order to reduce the number of zeros on banknotes, the convention milpengő was adopted to mean millions of pengős. Later, the B-pengő system was used for designate billions of pengős. Adópengő (tax-pengő) was originally introduced for the payment of taxes but became the currency of choice for postage fees as well in the closing month of the hyperinflation. The adópengő was introduced on 1 January 1946 and its value in plain pengős was calculated daily. Even though taxes and fees had to be paid in adópengős, notes for circulation and public use were not introduced until 30 May 1946. As can be seen from the third table, paying postal fees with B-pengő by late July was totally impractical. The costs of additional services such as registration or sending a letter abroad were multiples of the domestic tariffs and required even more banknotes to pay. The footnotes are listed at the end of the last table.

Top, left to right: Figures 1 & 2. Bottom: Figure 3 & 4.

April-June 2007 3 The News of Hungarian Philately

Rate period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 May 2 Jul 16 Sep 1 Nov 16 Nov 14 Jan 1 Feb 1 Mar 16 Mar 26 Mar Duration to to to to 1945 to to to to to to 1 Jul 15 Sep 31 Oct 15 Nov 13 Jan 31 Jan 28 Feb 15 Mar 25 Mar 31 Mar 1945 1945 1945 1945 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 Pengő Circulation 1P 3P 10P 60P 120P 600 3,000 20,000 40,000P 60,000P Denominatn Validity P P P ↑ (above) Cost to mail a domestic distance letter in pengős / ↓ (below) number of banknotes required for payment 1P Red Aug 1944 1 3 10 60 120 600 Army to 28 Feb Fig. 1. 1946 2P Red Aug 1944 1 + 5 30 60 300 Army to 28 Feb 1P Fig. 2. 1946 5P 28 Apr 2 12 24 120 600 Fig. 3. 1945 to 6 May 1946 5P Red Aug 1944 2 12 24 120 600 Army to 28 Feb Fig. 4. 1946 10P 15 May 1 6 12 60 300 Fig. 5. 1939 to 6 May 1946 10P Red Aug 1944 1 6 12 60 300 Army to 28 Feb Fig. 6. 1946 20P 16 Nov 3 6 30 150 1,000 Fig. 7. 1942 to 6 May 1946 20P Red Aug 1944 3 6 30 150 Army to 28 Feb Fig. 8. 1946 50P 10 Sep 1 + 2 + 12 60 400 800 Fig. 9. 1934 to 10P 20P 6 May 1946 50P Red Aug 1944 1 + 2 + 12 60 Army to 28 Feb 10P 20P Fig. 10. 1946 50P 5 Jun 1945 1+ 2 + 12 60 400 800 Fig. 11. to 10P 20P 6 May 1946 100P 25 Oct 1 + 6 30 200 400 600 Fig. 12. 1932 to 20P 6 May 1946 100P Red Aug 1944 1 + 6 30 Army to 28 Feb 20P Fig. 13. 1946 100P 9 May 1945 1 + 6 30 200 400 600 Fig. 14. to 20P 6 May 1946 500P 1 Jun 1945 1 + 6 40 80 120 Fig. 15. to 100 6 May 1946 P

4 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

1,000P Aug 1944 3 Red Army to 28 Feb Fig. 16. 1946 1,000P 16 Jul 1945 3 20 40 60 1 to Fig. 17. 6 May 1946 10,000P 17 Oct 2 4 6 1 1945 to 5 Fig. 18. Jul 1946

Left to right: Figures 5 & 6.

Left to right: Figures 7 & 8.

Left to right: Figures 9 & 10.

Left to right: Figures 11 & 12.

April-June 2007 5 The News of Hungarian Philately

Figures 13 & 14 (top row); 15 & 16 (bottom row). Rate period 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 Apr 11 Apr 23 Apr 1 May 10 May 20 May 27 May 1 Jun Duration to to to to to to to to 10 Apr 22 Apr 30 Apr 9 May 19 May 26 May 31 May 10 Jun 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 1946 Pengő Circulation 80,000 160,000 500,000 2 million 10 million 40 million 120 million 400 million Denomination Validity P P P P P P P P ↑ (above) Cost to mail a domestic distance letter in pengős / ↓ (below) number of banknotes required for payment 100P 25 Oct 1932 800 Fig. 12. to 6 May 1946 100P 9 May 1945 800 Fig. 14. to 6 May 1946 500P 1 Jun 1945 160 320 1,000 Fig. 15. to 6 May 1946 1,000P 1 16 Jul 1945 80 160 500 Fig. 17. to 6 May 1946 10,000P 1 17 Oct 1945 8 16 50 200 1,000 Fig. 18. to 5 Jul 1946 100,000 P1,2 12 Dec 1945 1 + 5 20 100 400 Fig. 19. to 60,000 5 Jul 1946 P 1 28 Feb 1946 2 10 40 120 400 million P to 24 Jun 1946 Fig. 20. 10 mill. P 2 Apr 1946 1 4 12 40 Fig. 21. to 24 Jun 1946 100 mill.P 30 Apr 1946 1 + 20 4 Fig. 22. to 10 Jul million 1946

6 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

Figure 17.

Figure 18. .

Left to right: Figures 19. & 20.

Left to right: Figures 21. & 22.

Left to right: Figures 23. & 24.

April-June 2007 7 The News of Hungarian Philately

Left to right: Figures 25. & 26.

Left to right: Figures 27. & 28.

Left to right: Figures 29. & 30.

Left to right: Figures 31. & 32.

Left to right: Figures 33. & 34.

8 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

Rate Period 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Duration 11 June 17 June 24 June 1 July to 4 July 8 July 12 July to to to to 3 July to to 17 July 1946 16 June 1946 23 June 30 June 1946 7 July 1946 11 July 1946 1946 1946 Pengő De- Circulation 4 milliard P 20 400 milli- 40 billion P 2,000 billion 100,000 billion 20,000 tax P nomination Validity milliard P ard P P P ↑ (above) Cost to mail a domestic distance letter in pengős / ↓ (below) number of banknotes required for payment 10 mil- 2 Apr 400 lion P 1946 to Fig. 21. 24 Jun 1946 100 30 Apr 40 200 mill. P 1946 to 10 Jul 1946 Fig. 22. 1 milli- 13 May 4 20 400 ard P 1946 to 10 Fig. 23. Jul 1946 10,000 27 May 2 40 milP 1946 to 31 Fig. 24. Jul 1946 100,000 3 Jun 1946 4 400 milP to 31 Jul Fig. 25. 1946 1 mill. 12 Jun 40 milP 1946 to 31 Fig. 26. July 1946 10 mill. 18 June 4 200 milP 1946 to 31 Fig. 27. July 1946 100 mill. 24 Jun 20 1,000 milP 1946 to 31 Fig. 28. Jul 1946 1 milliard 27 Jun 2 100 milP 1946 to 31 Fig. 29. July 1946 10,000 1 Jul 1946 10 B-P to 31 Jul Fig. 30. 1946 100,000 2 Jul 1946 1 320 B-P to 31 Jul Fig. 31. 1946 1million 4 Jul 1946 32 B-P to 31 Jul Fig. 32. 1946 10 mil- 8 Jul 1946 3 + lion B-P to 31 Jul 2 million Fig. 33. 1946 B-P 100 mil- 11 Jul lion B-P 1946 to 31 Fig. 34. Jul 1946

April-June 2007 9 The News of Hungarian Philately

Rate Period 25 26 27

Duration 12 July to 18 July to 24 July to 17 July 23 July 1946 31 July 1946 1946

Pengő Circulation 20,000 100,000 tax 400,000 4 3 , 5 6 Denomination Validity tax P P tax P 100 million 11 Jul 1946 to 31 320 3 B-P Jul 1946 Figure 35. Fig. 34 10,000 AP 13 Jun 1946 to 31 2 10 40 Fig. 35. Jul 1946

50,000 AP 30 May 1946 to 31 2 8 Fig. 36. Jul 1946 100,000 AP 30 May 1946 to 31 1 4 Fig. 37. Jul 1946

500,000 AP 30 May 1946 to 31 Jul 1946 Figure 36. 1 million AP 30 May 1946 to 31 Jul 1946 10 million AP 18 Jun 1946 to 30 Sep 1946

100 million 25 Jul 1946 to 30 AP Sep 1946

Figure 37.

1 with Hungarian National Bank stamp, w/o stamp: 16 Jul 1945 to 31 Dec 1945 2 two separate printings (dark blue or brown) 3 for practical purposes, this rate was the last one that could be paid for with less than a wheelbarrow- full of B-pengő banknotes. 4 20,000 tax-pengő = 32 x 1018 pengő 5 100,000 tax-pengő = 36 x 1021 pengő 6 400,000 tax-pengő = 48 x 1024 pengő

The 1 milliard B.-pengő banknote is the highest denomination banknote ever printed in the world. This particular note, printed in green, was never placed into circulation because the rate of the hyperinflation accel- erated to the point that even this record-breaking denomination would have been useless. By mid-July 1946, only tax-pengő notes were practical in commerce. (1 milliard billion-pengő = 1 billion-trillion

10 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

pengős using the American convention. Written as a number, it is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 1 x 1021.) The denominations of the banknotes circulated during the hyperinflation reflect the intensity of the loss of the pengő-currency’s purchasing power.

Denomination Exponential number Hungarian convention 1 1 x 100 one pengő 2 2 x 100 two pengő 5 5 x 100 five pengő 10 10 x 100 ten pengő 20 20 x 100 twenty pengő 50 50 x 100 fifty pengő 100 100 x 100 hundred pengő 500 500 x 100 five hundred pengő 1,000 1 x 103 thousand pengő 10,000 10 x 103 10 thousand pengő 100,000 100 x 103 100 thousand pengő 1,000,000 1 x 106 1 million pengő 10,000,000 10 x 106 10 million pengő 100,000,000 100 x 106 100 million pengő 1,000,000,000 1 x 109 1 milliard pengő 10,000,000,000 10 x 109 10 thousand milpengő 100,000,000,000 100 x 109 100 thousand milpengő 1,000,000,000,000 1 x 1012 1 million milpengő 10,000,000,000,000 10 x 1012 10 million milpengő 100,000,000,000,000 100 x 1012 100 million milpengő 1,000,000,000,000,000 1 x 1015 1 milliard milpengő 10,000,000,000,000,000 10 x 1015 10 thousand B-pengő 100,000,000,000,000,000 100 x 1015 100 thousand B-pengő 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 1 x 1018 1 million B-pengő 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 10 x 1018 10 million B-pengő 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 100 x 1018 100 million B-pengő 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000* 1 x 1021 1 milliard B-pengő 25,000,000,000,000,000,000,010,000** 25 x 1024 10 thousand adópengő 125,000,000,000,000,000,000,050,000** 125 x 1024 50 thousand adópengő 250,000,000,000,000,000,000,100,000** 250 x 1024 100 thousand adópengő 1,250,000,000,000,000,000,000,500,000** 1.25 x 1027 500 thousand adópengő 2,500,000,000,000,000,000,001,000,000** 2.5 x 1027 1 million adópengő 25,000,000,000,000,000,000,010,000,000** 25 x 1027 10 million adópengő 250,000,000,000,000,000,000,100,000,000** 250 x 1027 100 million adópengő

* the 1 milliard B.-pengő banknote was not released for circulation ** value of the adópengő notes (shown in bold) converted to ‘old’ pengős on 31 July 1946, the last day of the hyperinflation. Non-transferable cashier’s note for I million tax-pengős purchased on 8 July 1946 in exchange for 12,000,000 B.- pengős. The tax-pengő conversion rate for that date was 120 x 1011 pengős, so one million AP x 12.0 x 1012= 12 x 1018 pengős, which was 12 million B.- pengős (12 million-trillion pengős using the American convention). April-June 2007 11 The News of Hungarian Philately

12,000,000 Bpengő endorsement

500,000; 1 million, and 100 million tax-pengő notes. Not illustrated: 10 million tax-pengő note.

The banknote illustrations are from the au- thor’s collection. Thanks to Dr. Ferenc Nagy of Vi- enna, Austria for highlighting the 1 milliard B.-pengő banknote and suggesting that illustrating this one as well as the other banknotes of the hyperinflation would make a suitable supplement to Bob Morgan’s wonderful book referenced below. The final comment that I would like to mention about this period is that the highest denomination postage stamp, the red 5 million AP (Scott No. 784), was issued on 26 July 1946 and was valid for only five days. Its face value on July 31st was 12,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengős (12.5 x 1027) that was worth approximately 3 US cents (!) at the then-current black market conversion rate.

Left: A classic picture of passers-by in Budapest watching a street sweeper cleaning up discarded pengő banknotes following the intro- duction of the new forint currency on August 1st, 1946.

References: Morgan, Robert B., The Hungarian Hyperinflation of 1945-1946, The Collectors Club of Chicago, 2003. Radóczy, Gyula, A legújabb kori magyar pénzek (1892-1981), Corvina Kiadó, 1984.



ADDITION TO THE TABLE OF 1918 AIRMAIL REGISTRY LABEL NUMBERS

Due to an unfortunate oversight, a series of registry numbers was omitted from Endre Krajcsovics’s table published on page 4 of the January-March 2007 issue of The News. The recorded numbers in the 4500-4599 series were missing and are shown below italics. /Ed./

Registry label 4000- 4100- 4200- 4300- 4400- 4500- 4600- 4700- 4800- 4900- sequence #s → 4099 4199 4299 4399 4499 4599 4699 4799 4899 4999 Date Recorded # of registered mail ↓ July 10 191 30 05,07,48, 07,08,09, 50,52,53, 15,25,33, 55,79,87, 35,39 95

12 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

 THE 1919 KOLOZSVÁR/CLUJ - NAGYVÁRAD/ORADEA OVERPRINTS AND THE FLIGHT OF THE TURUL BIRD FROM LEGEND INTO POSTAL HISTORY

by László Szegedi

/This article was published originally by the Philatelic Study Centre of Brasov, OP-1 PO Box 118, 5000557 Brasov, Romania. President Victor Iordache can be reached by email at [email protected]. The publication is bilingual, Romanian and English. The reprinting of this article was made possible by SHP member George Friedman. Csaba L. Kohalmi is responsible for editing and reformatted it for this issue. The editor also apologizes for the poor quality of the illustrations. The ‘originals’ were small cutouts from the magazine./

The late 19th century brought about new technology in stamp production as in 1900 the Habsburg Dual Monarchy adopted a new perforating device. The Turul issue was the first Hungarian one to thus display separable sheet margins. Another hallmark of the time in Hungary was the change of the monetary currency from forint-krajczár to korona-fillér. This fifth Hungarian issue enjoyed a long life until 31 December 1916, while some overprinted denominations remained in use until 31 December 1917. In the Successor Sates, available stocks of these stamps were overprinted in 1918- 1919 until their withdrawal much later. In Transylvania, unused Turul stamps were still in post office archives or in private hands and were accepted for postal use due to the dramatic shortage of postage stamps following World War I. The Hungarian stamps collected in Kolozsvár/Cluj for overprinting by the Rumanian authori- ties turned up only a few sheet fragments of the Turul issue. In Nagyvárad/Oradea, the Hungarian Post Office central directorate of Budapest provided the shipments of stamps from Budapest until early 1919, among which there were some Turul issues, a few of which were overprinted. Figure 1 shows the design of this stamp that features the legendary Turul bird, which, according to a Hungarian myth, contributed to the birth of the Hungarian nation. It remained as a symbol along with the Holy Crown King St. Stephen, both of which, consequently, were reflected in postage stamp designs. After the first of December 1918, Hungarian stamps were accepted for postage in Rumania on a provisional and changing basis until their final withdrawal according to the Publication of 30 September 1919 (Szalay - Gazeta Oficiala nr. 3). There have been many studies and writings in the philatelic lit- erature in this subject that also showed their local use extended into 1920. From the postal history point of view, postally used letters with Transylvania and Bánát office cancels displaying Turul stamps from November 1918 to May 1919 are extremely rare since the stamps had been withdrawn two years earlier and replaced for regular use with the Harvesters and Parliament issue. The Turul stamps along with the Harvesters and Parliament issue were overprinted in Kolozsvár/Cluj on 22 May 1919 with new monetary designations in BANI and LEI and were released into circulation later on 3 August 1919. These were gradually replaced in all the post offices by Rumanian stamps sent from Bucharest. A few unusual usages are illustrated below and, in certain cases, there is no explanation possible for how the unusual frankings came into being.

April-June 2007 13 The News of Hungarian Philately

Figure 2. PictureFigure 2. p ostcard mailed from BAROTH (Baraolt) Figureto Székely 3. udvarhely/Odorhei, sender’s manuscript date of 1919 VIIII. 9, and, for unknown reasons, it was not mailed until October; affixed with two 5 fillér Turul stamps, cancelled on 919 OKT 4 and censored ‘ODORHEIU / CEN- ZURAT .... 1919’ (three-line cachet). The Hungarian stamps were accepted on a 2 for 1 face value basis, i.e. 10 fillér = 5 bani due to the emergency incurred by the lack of postage stamps. A lot of offices tolerated many irregularities which did not comply with the new fees introduced by the Rumani- an Postal Authority. In the areas inhabited by ethnic Hungarians, the acceptance of these stamps was more tolerated than in other areas. The use of these stamps on a large scale in Bánát is also explained by the Post Office Instructions (Publication in the Gazeta Oficiala nr. 3.) that tolerated the use of old Hungarian stamps “as is,” i.e., without overprinting. For a limited time, Hungarian stamps were also supplied from Budapest. Figure 3. Picture postcard from HERKULESFÜRDŐ (Baile Herculane) addressed in Cer- nauti, Bucovina, sender’s given date on 16/VIII 1919, affixed with one 5 fillér Turul stamp, either precancelled or with an erroneous cancel date of 919 JUN 29 - N1 (no explanation possible) and under-franked, arrival cancel CZERNOWITZ 1/ 3i and straight-line cachet strike ‘Censurat Lugoj.’

Figure 4.

Figure 4. Front and back side of an official business envelope of the Hungarian Post Office Bank “Magyar Postatakarékpénztár” reused with the inner side turned out and provided by the new local Administration in Banat, addressed from BELAJABLANCZ (IABLANITA - jud. Caras-Severin) to “Prefectura Judeteana Lugoj” cancelled with the old Hungarian canceller 1919 DEC 27. - NA, old Hungarian registration label (used in some offices until late 1921), straight line cachet of the Lu- gos/Lugoj censoring office, affixed with the Hungarian Harvesters stamps in use: 2 x 2 fillér, 3 x 3 fillér, 13 x 5 fillér and a single 2 fillér Turul, total of 80 fillér altogether to cover the 2 for 1 parity postage fee of 40 bani, the correct franking for a registered letter. Sender is unknown but most likely was a local administration or postal authority. The simultaneous use of different stamp issues in the new Romanian territories made for some spectacular rare and genuine mixed franking, but had also brightened up the imaginative spirit of some collectors who created letters that defied contemporary postal regulations. Some of these mixed-frankings reaching absurd displays where the 1913 Turul stamps kept showing up. Figure 5. Philatelic mail addressed to famous publisher and collector Dr. Viktor Weinert of Bratislava, mailed from KOLOZSVÁR (Cluj) Post Office 6, cancelled (19)20 OKT 12 despite the fact that by the time, most cancellers were modified to display day-month-year date according to the Ru- manian convention. (The Hungarian convention Figure 5.

14 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

was year-month-day.) The franking, spectacular as it may appear, raises some questions:  2 filler Magyar Kir. Posta Harvesters: (i.e, 3 fillér = 1.5 bani, but the stamp was withdrawn for overprinting and had been out of circulation since 30. September 1919); 1 fillér Turul stamp was out of circulation even in Hungary.  15 bani War aid stamp overprinted in Kolozsvár/Cluj  25 and 50 bani Moldova issue  5 bani Ferdinand, large bust  20 fillér Karl revalued 50 fillér overprinted in Temesvár/Timisoara. Total franking = l.21 1ei plus 0.5 bani, underfranked since the registration fee was 1.40 Lei at the time. The Turul stamp got mixed into the franking by an eager beaver and the Czechoslovak censor cachet “Censurovano” suggests that tolerating such irregularities was commonplace in the postal sys- tems of the ex-Hapsburg lands. Of the 19 denominations of Turul stamps that were collected for the purpose of overprinting, only six denominations were used, one in Kolozsvár/Cluj and six in Nagyvárad/Oradea. According to what Dr. A.B. Szalay presented in his monumental monograph dedicated to the two issues titled CLUJ - ORADEA 1919, Hohere Philatelie (Sibiu/Hermannstadt, 1935, 1054 pages), we can find documents on the background for the two overprinted issues, on the withdrawal of the Hungarian stamps, on the supervising commissions, and the most relevant descriptions of the contemporary “Printing Journal” that had been drafted in three copies. According to Szalay, (and Csatlós will follow hereafter), these served the sole purpose of balancing the accounts with the Stief Jenő printing workshop, whose owner had access to a copy. Szalay dedicated the entire Chapter 28 to this topic. The Journal was compared to the information in the Gazeta Oficiala nr. 4 and Szalay, with the assistance of witnesses questioned on the matter, made the due corrections. In Chapter 31 he details the stamps not only by denominations but also by stamp issues. Hungarian stamps were collected into the Stamp Deposit Department of Kolozsvár/Cluj from the post offices under the authority of that Postal Directorate and from the Directorate of Bistrita. The overprinting process started with the sheets already in the central depository of Kolozsvár/Cluj. According to the Journal, the printing was suspended from 5 to 10 June 1919, after which date it was resumed on the collected stocks.

Figure 7.

The supervisor of that process was “postal supervisor IULIU CIATLOS” shown in Figure 6 who was later pro- moted to “superior officer at the P.T.T. Inspectorate of Cluj, Str. Gen. Postas Nr. 18” (documented by a postcard shown in Figure 7). Much previously unknown data about the overprinting was revealed in 1997 from his personal archive.

Figure 6.

April-June 2007 15 The News of Hungarian Philately

According to the instructions, the stamps collected from commercial sources were forwarded to Cluj where they were recorded in the account balance per value of complete sheets, sheet fragments and single stamps. Loose stamps were affixed to the back side of the forms and the values of the respective denominations were calculated based on the face value disregarding the issue of origin, in fillérs. The total value was attested by the signature - usually in red or in violet ink - by two members of the commission, i.e, Csatlós or Ciatlos, his Romanian name - and a certain Malesu (?) not identified by Szalay, who perhaps was one of the post office accountants. The corresponding totals were then deducted from the accounts of the respective post offices. Only the records concerning the Turul stamps of 1913 are reported here. Copies of two accountancy documents are as follows:

Figure 8. Arrow points to the 3 fillér Turul stamp.

Figure 8 above: Account-closure form “Fölmondás (rövid uton)” of the Hungarian Post- al Bank (M. kir. Postatakarékpénztár), on back of which are seven stamps of the 3 fillér Harvesters issue and one 3 fillér Turul stamp, manuscript note “8 drb a 24 fil...” and the two signatures.

Figure 9. Arrow points to the 5 fillér Turul stamp.

Figure 9 on the left: Ac- count-closure form of the Hungarian Postal Bank (M. kir. Postatakarékpénztár), on back of which are 51 stamps of the 5 fillér Har- vesters issue and one 5 fillér Turul, manuscript note “52 drb = 260 fil...” and the two signatures. Many similar documents exist.

16 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

In the same context, another procedure was in use, as follows. If partial sheets or larger fragments were collected, these would not be stuck on blank forms but were collected in large trans- parent envelopes (290 mm x 252 mm) that bear witness to the extreme lack of paper as these envelopes would be re-used later on for printing proofs whenever the plates were cleaned or the patterns were regrouped into new configurations required by the format of the Hungarian stamp sheets or by the positioning of the stamp details to be overprinted with the new currency BANI/LEI. Among these, I identified an envelope where copies of the 1913 Turul issue were collected, i.e., the 30 fillér stamp that did not get to be overprinted since only 32 pieces were collected: manuscript “32 / 30 fillér Ma-gyar” with two signatures attesting it, “Csatlós” who was by then nominated as a member of the overprinting commission, and a certain “Biti” (?) signed in black ink. The latter was not identified by Szalay among the nominated commission members, being perhaps a post office accounting clerk. The envelope was reused, most likely during the second collecting campaign after the interrup- tion of the overprinting process during 5-10 June 1919 for the withdrawal of the 6 fillér olive- colored 1913 Turul 1913 stamp. the aforemen- tioned "Biti" made the manuscript annotation “1913 a 20 Biti,” i.e., 20 pieces. The existence of that reused envelope with the 6 filler annotation prompted the start of research for the clarification of the enigma, why was the 6 fillér the ONLY denomination Turul stamp overprinted in Kolozs- vár/Cluj? The Michel catalogue listed it for more than eight decades with no indication of value that is usually associated with extremely rare items. Figure 10. Detail from a re-used collection Figure 10 shows a detail of the envelope with the envelope. manuscript annotation made for the 30 fillér Turul stamps. Inside the envelope, copies of the 6 fillér Turul stamps can be seen faintly. But, Szalay in 1935 treated this stamp in a separate chapter 39 under the title “Printing Proofs.” The text deserves full quoting: “Turul, 6 Bani olive. Among the Post Office sheets was a block of 12 pieces of Turul 6. The commission did not allow it to be overprinted, as it did not have the prescribed size (i.e., one full sheet). Yet, a member, on his own initiative, allowed the block to be submitted for overprinting in order to see what would come out of it. The result was a partially oily print. The better looking stamps, 6-8 pieces altogether, were split among 3 gentlemen as souvenirs. Those legitimate examples should be regarded as private printing proofs (made in a jest)...” and the description goes on with the listing of other so-called “private printing proofs.” The description and the above-mentioned facts about the 6 fillér Turul have received a new interpretation in the light of a new find in an inexpensive group of stamps at a Brasov stamp market event, where a less attractive copy of the 6 bani Turul overprint of Kolozsvár/Cluj turned up. As a consequence, the following questions and observations must be asked:  The commission seemingly did not observe the instructions and its own rules that stipulated requiring the overprinting press had to be sealed during meal breaks,  The staff of the Stief Jenő & Co, contrary to the regulations and printing principles in such cases, allowed the commission to be an active part of the printing process resulting in such deviations that have emerged as a consequence of the carelessness of the printers.  Szalay does not mention the source of information but, understandably, it must have been from the members of the commission involved in the fraudulent printing of that (or those) stamp(s).  According to Szalay’s story, he had contacted every living member of the commission in order to reconstitute the history of the overprints, by “... traveling here and there throughout the country 30 times...” as he acknowledged in the book.  From the Csatlós archive we found evidence that he took part in the process of the overprinting but we cannot say whether Szalay met with him or not despite the fact that they lived at

April-June 2007 17 The News of Hungarian Philately

the same time and that Csatlós lived in Kolozsvár/Cluj all his life and was interred there. The supposition is substantiated by a postcard addressed to “Mr. Ciatlos Iuliu, of. PTT Cluj 1, Stamp Dep(osit)” by a clerk from Székelyudvarhely/Odorhei, who was updating him on her situation in a new position. The card was mailed on 7 AUG 1940, a few days prior to the Second Vienna Decision of 30 August that returned Northern Transylvania to Hungary. /For a partial illustration of the card, see Figure 11./ Thus: Csatlós (or Ciatlos, as he signed his name on several occasions) was one of the longest-lasting postal clerks left over from the ex-Hungarian administration (who, most likely, signed the “Dec- laration of Oath” that was compulsory in order to remain as an em- ployee of the new Rumanian Administration) and who advanced through the postal ranks, a living witness deeply involved in the overprinting of the Kolozsvár/Cluj 1919 issue.

Figure 11. Postcard mailed to Ciatlos in 1940.

As a lifetime owner of multiple documents related to the overprinting process, as proven by the archive discovered in Cluj by H.E., Csatlós did not disclose any information to the passionate Sza- lay, likely so as not to jeopardize his status within the Rumanian Post Office. One could also infer such a conclusion from Szalay's book. Could Csatlós have not known of the “jest” on the 6 fillér block Turul overprint? The copy of the 6 fillér Turul stamp produced combines all the features of authenticity since it was printed with Plate 2, used for the “War Aid” type of stamps. The monogram arrangement is identical to the Porto issue with the BANI denomination at bottom displaying oily ink on both sides and, taken from the printing table, the contact image suggests an offset overprint, even a double im- pression on the back with displaced a design that makes the denomination to appear at top. The genuineness of the stamp can be determined by using of the printing micro-signs in the sheet of 100 according to the method introduced by Szalay published in the Romanian philatelic studies, as well as the congruent elements of the story he told in Chapter 39, rendering the “legend” of the philatelic folklore with truth about the “fabulous flight of mythological Turul bird” into the 1919 Ko- lozsvár/Cluj issue; at the same time, making its existence illegal, rendering it not a “private printing proof” according to Szalay, but with a well-deserved attribute of “fake” that negates its record of lon- gevity as genuine according the Michel catalogue - after more than 80 years! But, the “flight” continues to Nagyvárad/Oradea, where the “Turul bird” landed in legitimacy to lift the spirit of the stamp collectors ... but, more on that postal history will in the future.

 THANK YOU TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

by Alan Soble

As you know, I lost most of my belongings to the flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Included was my collection of The News of Hungarian Philately. The good members and officers of this society, working together, have made it possible for me to replace those gems. I thank you all for the pleasure and happiness I have experienced both by your efforts and by one again having these issues in my library.

 WHAT I SAW ON EBAY

by Csaba L. Kohalmi

Mike Rigsby sent in this postcard that he purchased on eBay. The sender was none other than the notorious Heinz Pape, the Budapest wholesale stamp dealer later turned mass-forger of the occupation-era overprints. He sent the postcard on 19 November 1918 to a customer in Germany. The text of the card reads: Budapest, am 19. November 1918.

18 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

Antwortlich Ihres W. von 9.Ds. teile ich Ihnen mit, dass ich die bestellten Marken am 6.November an Ihren w. Addresse abgeschicht habe und hoffe dieselben inzwischen schen schon in Ihren Besitze.- Hochactungsvoll, Heinz Pape. My rough translation is “Regarding your inquiry of the 9th of this month, on my part I sent the stamps on November 6th to your address; and hopefully, in the meantime, these have already met with you satisfaction. Respectfully, Heinz Pape.” At the time this card was mailed, Pape evidently was a legitimate stamp dealer and wholesal- er operating out of Semmelweis Street No. 7 in Budapest’s IVth District. According to Dr. Leslie S. Ettre’s article, Guaranteed Forgeries, published in the July-August and September-October 1975 issues of the News of Hungarian Philately, forgers started to work with the two Transylvania issues, first in Rumania, then in Budapest, and finally in Paris. Géza Tarján and Heinz Pape set up shop in Paris in 1921 and proceeded to flood the philatelic packet market with forgeries.

Left: Postal card sent by Heinz Pape as part of his stamp wholesale business.

The next interesting item was another 1918 airmail cover sold by a stamp dealer from the United Kingdom. This card was sent from Bu- dapest to Lemberg on 17 July 1918.

The cover is one of only 157 letters sent to Lemberg during the three-week long airmail service. After some intensive last second sniping, the item fetched US$550. The lucky buyer was not a member of SHP, unfortunately.

Right: 1918 airmail cover sent to Lemberg.

Below: 1954 unissued Soccer Championship stamp.

The unissued World Soccer Championship stamp on 1954 also made its appearance on eBay. Due to the zealous collecting interests of Comrade ‘K’, a sheet of 100 of the partially printed stamp was preserved for posterity and

April-June 2007 19 The News of Hungarian Philately

has been seen in auctions since the early 1990s. This particular copy was listed for US$1,600 and received at least one bid. Another interesting item was a 1931 airmail cover sent to Australia. The date represents a very early sending to this destina- tion. The four stamps use for franking totaled 2,16P (the light green 1P stamp in the upper right corner doesn’t show up well in picture). Subtracting 40f for a foreign letter, we can calculate the airmail surcharge at 1,76P. I lost out to a last second sniper from Australia at ₤31. Oh, well, hopefully I will be another chance.

Two more examples of scarce 1956 Sopron overprinted stamps made their appearance from the seller vertesfila. Each should have been from a single sheet of 100 and each bore the same spuri- ous MEFESZ Sopron and BÉVI guarantee marks printed at nearly identical angles. In my opinion, the overprint as well as the ‘guarantee’ marks have been forged.



THE EDITOR’S NOTES

by Csaba L. Kohalmi

Unfortunately, the incoming new material for publication in newsletter has slowed to a trickle, again. I have no material left in the pipeline for the September issue. One of our members suggested that the Buildings definitive series of the 1950s be written up since there have not been any articles on that subject. The stamps were printed in large and small for- mats. Anyone willing to undertake this initiative? The American Hungarian Federation website provided the link that described one of the worst coal mine dis- asters in the United States that occurred at the Darr Mine in Pennsylvania on December 19, 1907, 100 years ago this year: The Darr Mine Disaster is known as one of the worst in US history. On December 19, 1907 a gas and dust explo- sion killed 239 coal miners in the dark tunnels of the Darr Mine. The majority of the dead were Hungarian- American. The American Hungarian Federation (then known as the Hungarian American Federation) placed the memorial there in 1909. An inquiry into the disaster af-

20 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

terwards concluded, as was usually the case in that period of Pennsylvania coal mining, that the Pittsburgh Coal Company was not at fault. But within six months the U.S. Geological Survey created the Mine Accidents Division and on July 1, 1910 an Act of Congress established the US Bureau of Mines. AHF commemoration later this year is still in planning stages. For more about the disaster, see the website of the US Mine Rescue Association for photos and some names of those who died. Gábor Voloncs made an interesting observation regarding the 10th anniversary Przemysl Balloon Post cards. He noted that the philatelic vignettes affixed to the cards were added AFTER the cards were returned to the addressees. In other words, the organizers decided to be ‘cheap’ and affix the vignettes only to the cards that were actually recovered from the balloons found in the countryside. On the same topic, I identified still another new ‘finding’ that is illustrated on the left. The card was posted from Ócsa by a Mihály Banzsa on 14 January 1926. This Ballonpost Przemysl 1915 commemorative card posted card represents the third posting from Ócsa. from Ócsa on 14 January 1926. The arrow points to the Two others were sent on the 9th and 10th of line drawn by the finder, the end of which was covered up January by two different individuals who lo- by the vignette added AFTER the card was returned. cated the balloons in Alsónémedi.

New discoveries can be made in more modern areas of Hungarian philately, also. The so-called ‘open window’ variety found on the 2Ft Buildings series stamp (Scott No. 1056C) issued in 1953 turned up with the Hazádnak rendületlenül..! overprint prepared in Sopron in 1956. While 224 sheets of the 2Ft stamp were overprinted, the variety occurs only once in sheet, making it quite a desirable item to find.

The ‘open window’ variety found on Scott No. 1056C is indicated by the arrow. The bottom stamp is normal. The same variety occurred on some if not all of the 224 sheets overprinted in Sopron in 1956.

Henry Gitner, the writer of the Stamp Market Tips column recommended the Hungarian Franz Josef I lithograph stamp issues in the April 16th issue of Linn’s Stamp News. He was espe- cially strong in his advice to ‘buy’ the 15kr value that, in his opinion, still had room to increase in value from the current catalog pricing of $750 mint and $100 used. Re: the banknotes of the hyperinflation. Both of my grandparents had a stack of inflation notes stored in the attic. It’s hard to say why these were retained, perhaps as a reminder of those aw- ful times when they couldn’t exchange them for anything of value. Most people probably used them for starting fires in the kitchen stove. The production of banknotes exhausted the already limited supply of paper stock at the Banknote Printers in Budapest.



2006 NEW ISSUES

Issue Date: 13 November 2006

April-June 2007 21 The News of Hungarian Philately

50th Anniversary of the 16th Olympic Games in Melbourne

Face value: HUF 500. Stamp size: 30 x 40mm, souvenir sheet size: 100 x 65mm. Designer: Attila Elekes. The sheet shows a montage of contemporary pictures of the Hungarian ath- letes who earned 9 gold, 10 silver, and 7 bronze medals. Technical details: Printed using offset by the Banknote Printers, Ltd. in an edition of 120,000 sheets.

Issue Date: 224 November 2006

125th Anniversary of the Hungarian Red Cross

Face value: HUF 100. Stamp size: 33 x 26mm. Designer: Eszter Domé. The stamp shows the Hungarian flag and a red cross. Technical details: Printed in sheets of 100 using offset by the Banknote Printers, Ltd. in large quantities as required by postal demand.

2006 Commemorative Postal Cards

The 100th Anniversary of the Return of Ferenc Rákóczi’s Remains to Hungary (27 October) Belgica 2006 (27 October) 5th World Conference of the Reformation (22 August) 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Alajos Strobl (21 June) 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Mozart (28 April) 10th Anniversary of the Kájel House of Lace, Balatonendréd (28 April) 500th Anniversary of First Written Mention of Karcag (28 April) 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Árpád Tóth (7 April) Completion of the Renovation of the Ferenc Rákóczi Gimnázium, Budapest (31 March) 80th Anniversary of Passenger Service on the Mátra Railway (24 March) 80th Anniversary of the Birth of László Papp (24 April) International Customs Day (26 January) The postal cards were issued in quantities of 10,000 and sold for HUF 97 each.

2007 NEW ISSUES

Issue date: 6 February 2007

50th Anniversary of Space Exploration

Face value: HUF 350. Stamp size: 50 x 30mm. Designer: László Dudás. The stamp shows Sputnik I and II and the space dog Laika. Technical details: 450,000 stamps printed in sheets of 50 using offset by the Banknote Printers, Ltd.

/continued on the inside of the back cover/

22 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

 CONTINUATION OF THE SHP EXHIBIT FROM WASHINGTON 2006

prepared by Csaba L. Kohalmi

April-June 2007 23 The News of Hungarian Philately

24 April-June 2007 The News of Hungarian Philately

WANTED: I am looking for a copy of the book, The Pioneer Period of Hungarian Air Mail, written by Vic Berecz and published by the American Air Mail Society in 1996. If you have a copy for sale, please contact Joseph Gyapjas, 23 Port Lane, Palm Coast, FL 32164. My email address is [email protected].

2007 NEW ISSUES

Issue date: 9 February 2007

Famous Hungarians: János Ferencsik and Count Lajos Batthyányi

Face value: HUF 107, 135. Stamp size: 50 x 25mm. Designer: Péter Berky. The stamps honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ferencsik and the 200th anniversary of the birth on Hungary’s first prime minister, Batthyányi. Technical details: 350,000 stamps printed in sheets of 50 using offset by the Banknote Printers, Ltd.

Easter 2007

Face value: HUF 62. Stamp size: 26 x 33mm. Designer: Edit Szalma. The design shows the tradition Easter Monday sprinkling. Technical details: Printed in offset in sheets of 100 by the State Printing Office, Ltd. in unlimited quantities.

Folk Customs (New Definitive Issue)

Face value: HUF 62, 95, 242. Stamp size: 33 x 26mm. Designer: Péter Nagy. The stamps show such folk customs as toasting and cooking fish soup. Technical details: Printed in sheets of 100 using offset by the Banknote Printers, Ltd.

János Ferencsik Count Lajos Batthyányi



FOR SALE: BOUND VOLUMES OF THE NEWS OF HUNGARIAN PHILATELY

Book # Volumes Years 1 1-3 1970-1972 2 4-6 1973-1975 3 7-9 1976-1978 4 10-12 1979-1981 5 13-15 1982-1984 6 16-18 1985-1987 7 19-21 1988-1990 8 22-24 1991-1993 9 25-27 1994-1996 10 28-30 1997-1999 11 31-32 2000-2001 to be announced 33- 2002- (new format)

April-June 2007 25

Each book individually is priced at $30.00 or purchase the entire set of 11 for $320.00. Freight fees will be added to all orders. Order from: H. Alan Hoover, 6070 Poplar Spring Drive, Norcross, GA 30092; tel: (770) 840-8766, e-mail: [email protected]

VILLÁNY PROVISIONAL

negyven fill

OVERPRINT ON 10 f STAMPED ENVELOPE

cancelled Villány, 1921 jan 10. during the Serbian occupation of Baranya (from the collection of Dr. Ferenc Nagy)