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Welcome to Rainer's Persia (Iran Lion Stamps) Pages
1878-1879, The so-called re-engraved issue |
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Facing the shortage and need for the stamps with higher denominations such as one Kran (= 20 Shahis), four Krans, Five Krans and one Toman (= 10 Krans) stamps for use on postal documents such as parcel post receipts, while waiting for a shipment from Austria, the post office decided to utilize the existing lion clichés. However the existing clichés, especially the one and four clichés to print the one Kran, one Toman and four Kran stamps were badly worn out and needed to be cleaned, repaired and more over, re-engraved. The eight Shahis clichés, which have remained fairly intact, was re-engraved to print the new denomination stamps of five Krans. With an exception of the four Krans stamps, which were printed in horizontal sheets of three, the other stamps were all printed in blocks of four. Although no multiples of the one Toman stamps are known to exist, it is a safe resumption that this stamp was also printed in blocks of four. Since these clichés were altered quite considerably, therefore a new classification of each type and setting is required. It must be remembered that many examples of these stamps were printed very crudely and primitive, mostly over-inked or smudged, which makes it difficult to identify the various types. One Kran, Carmine on white Paper
One Kran and one Toman (10 Krans) on tinted paper Mehrdad Sadri in his definite work „Lions of Iran (3rd. edition 2002) writes about the 1 Kran on tinted paper: Copies of the one Kran stamps in unused condition are extremely rare…
Iran, 1878, 1 Toman violet bronze on blue pelure paper. Persiphila No. 28, Gibbons 39, Scott No. 40, Hartmann No. 29, Michel Number 30. This is type (cliché) B out of 4, recognisable from the damaged bottom frame line. Only 500 stamps is said to be printed but to this date not more then 80 used copies and 7 unused copies are known to exist. |
