Adding up to 1.40

Traversing rates

For more then nine years the postal rate for a Swedish domestic parcel weighing less than 1 kg was 1 kr and 40 öre. There was a definitive stamp designated for that rate, of course a stamp from the Three Crown series, the 1.40 kr dark green. The stamp was first issued in April 1948, but back then it covered the rate for parcels weighing 3 to 5 kg and from June 1951 on  parcels 1 - 3 kg. Its carrier as single stamp on parcel address cards ended the last day of June 1961. It had many other single uses from 1948 and well into the late sixties. The excellent website of the Swedish Postal History Society  have researched all kind of single uses of the Three Crowns series and at the moment they have registered 492 single uses for the stamps in the series. The 1.40 kr stamp has 32 single uses identified. Here are some clips from 1959:

Domestic parcel card,  - 1 kg, fee:1.40 kr
1948, 1 April. 1.40 kr dark green Three Crown series. Qty: 72,900,000.

As described above the parcels rates kind of traversed through the weight classes. It was the same with 1.10 kr, 1.70 kr and the 2 kr rates.

Domestic parcel rates: (öre)

	- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
04-1948	80	110	[140]
06-1951	110	[140]	170
06-1952	[140]	170	200
07-1961	170	200	250

But there was not every Post Office that used a single 1.40 kr stamp, some of them applied more stamps to ad up. Have a look at these clips below, also from 1959:

Domestic parcel card,   - 1 kg, fee: 1.40 kr
1954, 8 November. 60 öre red Rock Carvings type I. Qty: 53,800,000.
1957, 15 October. 20 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 193,000,000. (two-sided perforations)
1957, 15 November. 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 38,400,000.
1954, 8 November. 50 öre grey Rock carvings type I. Qty: 115,000,000.
1954, 8 November. 20 öre grey Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 16,800,000 (three-sided perforation, pairs)

In 1957 the Swedish post decided to print the initials of the designer (del. = latin  delineavit) and the engraver (sc. = latin sculpsit) at the bottom of new stamps. The Gustaf VI Adolf stamps has that new kind of information. Check it out. "D T del." stands for David  Tägström and "S E sc." stands for Sven Ewert. The Rock carvings stamps from 1954 do of course not have that information, but the next editions of Rock carving stamps from June 1957 have the del. and sc. printed at the bottom, forming the type II version. Oddly enough the del. and sc. policy was never applied to the Three Crown series.

Right or wrong, or most correct?

Same, but different

Clips from parcel address cards are excellent examples of how stamps were used. I found three similar ones from around 1950. They were all on domestic parcels cards for parcels weighing up to 3 kg. From 1948 that rendered a cost of 1.10 kr.

The left parcel address card was sent on Thursday 9 February 1950 from Helsingborg to Hässleholm where it arrived three days later. The stamps used are the 50 öre grey  Gustaf V, left profile, originally from 1921 (the old definitive series) and the 10 öre green Gustaf V, right profile type II from 1948.

The parcel card in the middle was sent on Friday 15 December 1950 from Öjebyn to Boden where it arrived one day later, the distance was only 77 km by road. The stamp used are the 50 öre grey Gustaf V, right profile type II, from 1941 and 10 öre green Gustaf V, right profile type II.

The right parcel address card is the oldest one and it was sent on Wednesday 2 February 1949 from Åtvidaberg to Hälsingborg, where it arrived two days later. The stamps used are the 50 öre grey Gustaf V, right profile type II and 10 öre violet  Gustaf V, right profile type II from 1939.

The question is which parcel address card is most correct?

  Left from February 1950:

1921, 6 September, 50 öre grey Gustaf V, left profile. Qty: 10,700,000 (white paper)
1948, 1 April, 10 öre green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 353,012,800

Center from December 1950:

1941, 26 April, 50 öre grey Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 18,600,000
1948, 1 April, 10 öre green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 353,012,800. 3-sided perforation.

Right from February 1949:

1939, 12 November, 10 öre violet Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 367,000,000
1941, 26 April, 50 öre grey Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 18,600,000

No one is completely right by my orthodox opinion. So what is wrong with them?

Left:
Using a stamp that has been replaced by a new one still after nine years does not feel right,

Center:
This looks better, the latest 50 öre grey and the 10 öre green which by the time was the correct UPU-colour for international printed matter. Perfect. But the Post Office in Öjebyn used a parcel address card with the old rates from before 1948, according to that card 90 öre would be sufficient.

Right:
The use of the 10 öre violet is questionable because the UPU-colour rules are strict that all stamps for international printed matter have to be green. The 10 öre violet should not have been used anymore.

 . . . the most correct parcel address card is the one handled by the Post Office in Öjebyn.


Read more about Gustaf V, right profile type II - here.


Where are all these places situated?
Helsingborg - 485 km south west of Stockholm.
Hässleholm  - 436 km south west of Stockholm

Öjebyn         - 691 km north east of Stockholm
Boden          - 746 km north east of Stockholm

Åtvidaberg  - 173 km south west of Stockholm

Mixed stamps from Stockholm to Malmö

New and old stamps meet

Parcel address cards are of course more interesting than clips. A card gives you much more information. However there are much more clips around and why not study them as well. Sometimes they might give you some new insights or different perspectives. Lets have a look at two clips stamped Wednesday 6 December 1939.

Domestic Parcel 5 - 6 kg fee: 1.80 kr

Left: 60 öre red-lilac Crown and Posthorn. Issued 6 March 1925 and
1 kr 20 öre pink Three Crowns. Issued  22 November 1939

Domestic Parcel 3 - 5 kg fee: 1.20 kr
Right: 1 kr orange Crown and Posthorn. Issued 17 November 1921 and
20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile , type I. Issued 10 February 1939

The left clip is from a parcel address card covering the 1 kr 80 öre fee for a parcel 5 - 6 kg. The right one is from a parcel address card covering the 1 kr 20 öre fee for a parcel 3 - 5 kg. Pretty heavy parcels, but it was getting close to Christmas and the gifts have to be sent all over Sweden. These two clips from the parcel address cards were sent the same day from Stockholm and arrived the next day at the Post Office Malmö 1 Skeppsbron 1 (1 Ship's Bridge) in Malmö 514 km south west of Stockholm.

The left one was sent from Post Office Stockholm 9 Hornsgatan 160 - 168 (160 - 168 Horn's Street). At that office they apparently had to mixed the old series for parcel fees the Crown and Posthorn with the successor the Three Crown. Maybe they still had a big surplus of  the old 60 öre Crown and Posthorn? Considering that the new 60 öre red-carmine Three Crown that replaced it by that time had been around for almost 10 months it is a little bit puzzling that the old one is still used. It seems like the 120 öre Crown and Posthorn was already replaced by the brand new definitive stamp 120 öre Three Crown. The 120 öre had been in use just for two weeks that day.

The right clip was also sent from Stockholm but from the Post Office Stockholm 7 Norrlandsgatan 11 (11 Norrland Street). Here the 1 kr orange Crown and Posthorn was still in use but they had started to use the new definitive stamp of king Gustaf V, type I. The latter had been around since February so that made sense, but the type II was in progress with the first release on 11 December (the 10 öre violet) and the new 20 öre red type II would show up in April 1940. The new 1 kr orange Three Crowns was issued in September but not used yet at Stockholm 7, apparently.

It is interesting to see that the post offices first had to use the old stock of stamps before they could use the new ones. There were a lot of parcels sent in December so my guess is that pretty soon both Post Offices were using the new definitive series.

Read more about the Three Crowns series - here, and about the ill fated Gustav V, type I series - here. The Crown and Posthorn is briefly described - here.

Here is the beautiful building where the Post Office Malmö 1 used to be (Google)

Above is a street view from Google Street View showing the building were the Post Office Malmö 1 used to be. There are no Post Offices left in Sweden for the public anymore. All postal services can be found in corner stores, gas stations and other kind of convenience stores.