Five assorted stamps

The changing colours of 25 öre

This letter cover is not of the best quality. A little shredded and stained, blurry cancellation . . . Ah well, lets have a closer look. Five stamps from the 50s. Three 25 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type I, one 10 öre Gustaf VI Adolf and a 5 öre red New Numeral Type type I. The sum is 90 öre and there is also a note about that on the right of the stamp cluster. The label tells us that this postal item is an air mail. That seems correct since the postage rate for airmail to North America was 90 öre between September 1952 and June 1962.

International letter  fee: 40 öre + airmail fee 5 - 10 g fee: 50 öre
1954, 4 February. 25 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 456,000,000
1954, 12 April. 10 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf type I. Qty: 320,000,000
1951, 29 November. 5 öre red-violet New Numeral Type, type I. Qty: 140,000,000

The 25 öre denomination of the Gustaf VI Adolf type I series came in four different issues. Some what of a record having in mind that the type I existed just between 1951 and 1956, a mere six years. The first 25 öre stamp from 1951 was grey. Its single use was domestic letter  - 20 g. A year later the 25 öre red showed up in July and the reason was that the rate for international postcards was raised from 20 öre to 25 öre. The rate for domestic letter  - 20 g was untouched. The stamps for international postcards have to be red since Sweden still complied to the UPU-colours of international mail which stated that the colour has to be red and no other denomination could be red. The effect of following these rules have been presented in this blog post. The red 25 öre was one of the last Swedish stamps to follow the UPU rules since Sweden abounded this practice in 1953. The next 25 öre stamp became blue and arrived in early 1954. There were no raises in the postal rates to trigger a change in colours. Instead the Swedish Post was a little bit unhappy with shades of the colours of the whole series. They thought that the previous colours often was to light and shallow. Finally in June 1957 a fourth 25 öre stamp was issued, this time in a brown colour. It was issued at the same time as the first stamps of the the new revised type II series. That is pretty strange - to issue both old and new stamps. What was the reason? You can find a part of the explanation in the next paragraph. The brown 25 öre was replaced with the 25 öre brown Gustaf VI Adolf type II in October 1957

However the blue 25 öre set a new standard for the colouring of the denomination for the domestic letter  - 20 g (the most common postal rate), not unlike the UPU-colouring practice that was just abounded. It became blue for the years to come resulting in 30 öre, 35 öre, 40 öre and 45 öre blue stamps, until March 1969, when the new stamp for domestic letter first weight class, the 55 öre Gustaf VI Adolf type III, became red. The postage rate for was raised from 25 öre to 30 öre in July 1957. The new 30 öre became blue to mark that this denomination was for domestic letter first weight class. The old 25 öre blue had then to be cancelled and was replaced by the 25 öre brown. Maybe the decision of keeping the blue colour for the most common rate was made pretty quickly and there was no possibility to engrave a new 25 öre in the type II version of the series? I think that is a likely explanation.

The 10 öre changed colours only once. The first 10 öre was green and had to be coloured that way because it single use was international printed matter, even if the rate was still 10 öre it got its new brown colour in April 1954.


The letter was sent on Wednesday 20 June 1956 and the stamps were cancelled at the Post Office Stockholm 23 at 16 Yngliga Saga Street (Ynglingagatan 16), the Ynglinga saga is an old Icelandic traditional folk saga. We have had a postal item sent from that Post Office before, look here.

The back of the cover tells us that the sender was Dr. Jakob Möllerström. He was quite famous and he is regarded to be the father of Swedish biochemistry, he did biochemical studies already in the 20s and was internationally recognized for his research. His son became quite successful also, but in another field, as a composer of music and later professor. His name was Bengt Hambreus.

First red-violet than wine-red

2 kr in two colours

2 kr was the last denomination to be issued in the long running Three Crown series. It was however the second time it was issued. The first 2 kr Three Crown, the red-violet one, is from July 1952. The event that triggered the release was that the rate for domestic parcels 3 - 5 kg was raised from 1.70 kr to 2 kr from 1 July. The last raise to 1.70 kr occurred just a year earlier but the 2 kr rate was effective until 1 July 1961, a long time for a parcel rate.

As usual with the Three Crown series the old rates kind of traveled down the weight classes and 2 kr became the new rate for the next weight class the 1 - 3 kg. The rate 2 kr lasted only a year, until 1 July 1962. After that the 2 kr covered the lowest weight class  - 1 kg. It did so until 1 July 1965. Which meant that the 2 kr red-violet did good service on domestic parcel cards for 13 years in a row. It was also used as single stamps for insured and express deliveries as well as various money orders during those years. 2 kr was also a good denomination to use for higher rates since it was easy to use many 2 kr stamps to count the correct sum. A very versatile Three Crown stamp indeed.

Domestic parcel card 15 kg fee: 14 kr
1952, 1 July. 2 kr red-violet Three Crowns. Qty: 84,800,000
1958, September 17. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 

The parcel address card from 1968 above is an excellent example where the 2 kr was used for higher rates. It was sent from the Post Office Göteborg 2 at 3 Oak Groove Street (Ekelundsgatan 3) in Gothenburg on Friday 1 November 1968 and arrived three days later at the Post Office Stockhom 1, the general post office at 28 - 34 Vasa Street (Vasagatan 28 - 34). Stockholm 1 was also co-located with the head office of the Swedish Post, where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks. Among many functions the stamp print shop was located there at the back towards Klara North Church Street (Klara Norra kyrkogata). Also at the back in the corner of Brewer Street and North Klara Church Street (Bryggargatan/Klara Norra Kyrkogata) was the special parcel office where this parcel was picked up on 5 November 1968.

The parcel card was actually sent just two months before the new version of the 2 kr showed up, the 2 kr wine-red. To me it is puzzling why the Swedish post as the last stamp in this series of 34 stamps choose to issue another version of the 2 kr stamp. Why? They could have kept the 2 kr red-violet. In the end of the 60s the Three Crown series was slowly phased out in favor of the new kind of definitive stamps for parcels that begun with the 3.50 kr olive-grey Ale´s Stones in 1965 and the three new parcels stamps from the spring of 1967, the 3.70 violet the Lion Fortress, the 4.50  red Uppsala Cathedral and the 7 kr blue/red Gripsholm castle.

Below is a domestic parcel card with the new 2 kr wine red Three Crowns, as earlier mentioned the last stamp issued in the series. Yes, it was sent outside the time period for this blog, but it looked so similar to the one above and all the stamps were issued before the end of 1973 so I made an exception . . .

Domestic address parcel card  - 5 kg fee: 9.80 kr + fragile 50% extra fee: 4.90 kr,
over franked with 10 öre.
1969, 20 January. 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. Qty: 67,700,000
1971, 22 January. 80 öre blue/brown the Waxholm Boat. Qty: 58,100,000
1973, 12 November. 10 kr six-coloured Goosegirl. Qty: 14,700,000

From the first one

Six stamps on a letter cover and the sum is 85 öre. This letter was bound for U.S. via airmail in December 1948. After some research I can not confirm any 85 öre postal rates for airmail to North America in 1948. The nearest I got is 80 öre for the weight class 5 - 10 g which was the rate effective from 1 January 1947 to 30 November 1949. My guess is that the sender did not have the right denominations at hand for exactly 80 öre and had to over frank the letter. The letter cover is not marked "5 g" which also indicates the higher weight class 5 - 10 g.

International letter fee 30 öre + airmail 5 - 10 g fee 30 öre,
over franked with 5 öre.
1948, 1 April. 10 öre green Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 82,600,000, 3-sided perforation,
. . .  from the 84th booklet.
1945, 14 February. 15 öre brown Gustaf V, right profile, version I. Qty: 18,400,000 (pairs), 3-sided perforation,
. . . from the 71 th booklet.

According to the back side of the letter cover the sender was Professor Nanna Svartz, Stockholm. Mrs. Svartz was a pioneer in Swedish academics and she actually became the first female Professor in Sweden in 1938 at 48 years of age. She was a Professor in general medicine with a specialization in intestinal and rheumatic diseases.

To me it looks like it is a private letter to Dr. Amandus Johnson at Pennsylvania University. However that was apparently not the right address, some one has changed the address to 1300 Locus Street with a pencil. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is residing at that address which indicates that Dr. Johnson is not a medical doctor. He was not, Dr Johnson was an American historian, author and the founder of the American Swedish Historical Museum. He came with is parents to Minnesota in 1880 when he was three years old. He became a quite famous Swedish-American, at least in Sweden.

New and old Cash On Delivery

This post is about two C.O.D. parcel address cards. The first one is of an older version. The parcel was handed over to the Post Office Bromma 19 in Nockeby a suburb of Stockholm on Monday 2 December 1968. The odd thing is that they used a card designed in January 1939 [more precisely form 398 b.] almost thirty years old by that time. Nockeby was built in the 30s and maybe this card was from the original stock from the opening of the Post Office?

Cash On Delivery parcel 2 kg fee: 3.70 kr + C.O.D fee 0.70 kr + unknown fee 1.20 kr
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 (2-sided perforation)
1967, 16 October, 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm. Qty: 184,000,000

The total sum paid was 5.60 kr. The fee for a parcel weighing up to 3 kg was 3.70 kr in 1968 and the C.O.D. fee was 0.70 kr. That makes 4.40 kr but the sum is 1.20 kr more. My guess is that this parcel was bulky since that fee was an extra 50%, which is the missing 1,20 kr. Maybe the bulky lable came off or they just forgot to label. Anyways the stamp 5 kr blue Royal Palace Stockholm II was first issued in 1941 but then printed on panes. The 2-sided perforated version in coils actually on the card arrived not until 1958. The 30 öre red-orange/blue Outer archipelago of Stockholm single use was for printed matter, but it was a new kind of definitive stamps. One can say that it replaced the New Numeral Type series from the fifties when it came in 1967.  The 30 öre stamps belonged to a series called just Definitive Stamps. The denominations of the series were 5 öre, 10 öre, 30 öre and 90 öre. Read more about the Definitive Stamps series - here.

The content of the parcel were boots and they were bound for the shop called The Shoe Company (Skokompaniet) on King's Street (Kungsgatan) downtown Stockholm. The parcel was picked up the next day. We can also note that the sender filled in the correct postal code 111 22. Postal codes were a novelty for 1968 and introduced in May.


The second C.O.D. parcel address cards was sent more than a year earlier, on Wednesday 25 October 1967, but it looks much more modern. The card came in 1964 and was called form 2010.5. In this case the card has to be printed 1965 or later beacuse the card has the new logotype that was introduced the same year. The parcel was sent from the town Linköping to the village Tandsbyn in the province of Jämtland. The weight was 3 kg and the fee was in this case the same as above, 3.70 kr, the C.O.D. fee was 70 öre totaling 4.40 kr. It was sent from Post Office Linköping 1 situated in a magnificent building at 18 - 20 St. Lars Street (S:t Larsgatan 18 -20).

C.O.D. parcel 3 kg fee 3.70 kr + C.O.D. fee 0.70 kr
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000
1957, 1 June. 70 öre orange Rock Carvings type II. Qty: 10,900,000

In this case it is the 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress that is new, issued in February 1967. The 70 öre orange Rock Carvings is a definitive stamp of an older generation where the first stamp in that series was issued in 1954 as a complement to the long running Three Crown series. In the fifties the Rock Carving series felt fresh and it stayed around at least as long as in the beginning of the 70s. On this card both stamps are a nice couple of Swedish definitive stamps.

Here is where the Post Office Bromma 19 used to be. (Google)

. . .  and here is where you could find the Post Office Linköping 1. (Google)

Where are the places?
Nockeby is situated 8 km W of Stockholm
Tandsbyn is situated 446 km NW of Stockholm.
Linköping is situated 174 km SW of Stockholm.

From unknown to known

Shorter life spans

The stamp 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress from spring 1967 had as a purpose to cover parcel rates. It covered parcels weighing 1 to 3 kg.  The domestic parcel address below got one Lion Fortress stamp and it was sent from Helsingborg Thursday 13 June 1968 to Stockholm. Mr. Münch the sender did not have the correct address to Mrs. Wedar, as it seems. Apparently Mrs. Wedar did not live on 2 Tor's Street (Torsgatan 2). That building was used as office building and was not residential. The address card got stamped "back to sender" on the front and "address unknown" on the back. However the Post Office Stockholm 1 did not give up and sent it to its special bureau for finding addresses.

Domestic parcel 2 kg fee: 3.70 kr.
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000

The back side of the parcel address card.

On Monday 17 June the card got in the hand of the special address bureau according to the oval stamp on the back and they sorted out the problem quickly. The parcel was intended for the Swedish magazine Swedish Journal (Svenska Journalen). The correct address was added to the card on the front. Mrs. Wedar worked there as a journalist, she was also an author of several books. The parcel was picked up the next day.

The 3.70 kr violet the Lion fortress was a new kind of definitive stamps that replaced the old Three Crowns series. The new thing in 1967 was the fact that it was just a single stamp not a series of stamps with the same motifs but different denomination as before.

Take the 1.70 kr red Three Crowns for example. That stamp had the same main purpose as the Lion fortress. It was issued in 1 June 1951 and then it covered the new rate for domestic parcel 3 - 5 kg. In June 1952 it covered the new rate for 1 - 3 kg parcels and finally in June 1961 it covered the new rate for parcels up to 1 kg until July 1964 when the rates were raised again. The denomination 1.70 kr propagated through the postal rates for parcels. After that the 1.70 kr faded away.

The Lion Fortress on the other hand did not last after the raise of the parcel rates in January 1969. The reason was that in the sixties the raises had to become much more substantial than before. Often these specific stamps just lasted during one period of parcels rates.

The life span of the 1.70 kr Three Crowns as a stamp for domestic parcels [öre]

June 1951 to June 1952 to June 1964

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
110	140	[170]
140	[170]	200
[170]	200	250

The life span of the 3.70 kr the Lion Fortress as a stamp for parcels [öre]

January 1967 to December 1968

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg
280	[370]	450

Holland Michigan

Ordinary Gustaf VI Adolf stamps

On Wednesday 1 April 1970 the incorporated company Proinvestements Scandinavia in Stockholm sent a letter to Surplus Service in the town of Holland in Michigan, US. Two 55 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type II and one 10 öre blue/black Swedish ship in Öresund made 1.20 kr. The letter cover has no Air Mail label but the sum 1.20 kr was the rate for air mail letter to North America 5 - 10 g. The rate for sending the letter by surface would have cost 70 öre.  The 55 öre Gustaf VI Adolf single use was domestic letter  - 20 g since March 1969 until October 1971. Two 55 öre Gustaf VI Adolf would cover the fee for international letter 20 - 40 g. The 10 öre stamp was a complementary denomination and belonged to the quite revolutionary series called Definitive Stamps from 1967. Read more about the Definitive Stamps series - here.

Air mail to North America 5 - 10 g fee: 1.20 kr
1969, 28 February. 55 öre red Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 269,000,000
1967, 16 October, 10 öre blue/black Swedish ship in Öresund. Qty: 156,000,000

The letter was handled by the Post Office Nacka 1, but the address of the company Proinvestments Scandinavia was 33 King Street down town Stockholm, definitely a quite posh address, at least thirty years earlier. The closest Post Office would have been Stockholm 1. Nacka is a suburb south of Stockholm.

In 1970 the address of the sender was 33 King's Street in Stockholm. (Google). Just besides one of the two famous King's Towers, Stockholm's first skyscrapers,    . . . well, high raises) and the crossing bridge of  the Ridge Dividing Street (Malmskillnadsbron).
Read more about the King's Tower - here.

There are not much traces of Proinvestments Inc. The Surplus Service in Holland, Michigan, seems to have been in business at least during the sixties and seventies. The regularly advertised in magazines as the Popular Mechanics or the Field & Stream. They sold any kind of government surplus to the public. Just write for inquiries,  . . . so did indeed Proinvestment.

Add from Field & Stream July 1970.

Bound for a box in Argentina

This letter cover has a some what puzzling address. I am not sure what Casilla means in Spanish, Casilla Correros seems to be mail boxes. Maybe it is a Post Office Box? That would mean mail box number 4327 in Buenos Aires. Must be a lot of Post Office boxes in that big city.

There are two 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns and a 20 öre green-black St Stephan, the Stable-Boy on the cover summing up to 4.20 kr. The letter was sent by air and it was also a registered letter. The postage rates for air mail have varied a lot over time and depending on which country. It is quite a research effort to sort that out, unlike surface mail that had a flat rate for every country since 1874.

Air mail to Argentina fee: 1.70 kr  + registered fee 2,50 kr
1971, 23 April. 20 öre green-black St Stephan, the Stable-Boy. Qty: 36,200,000
1969, January 20. 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. Qty: 67,700,000

But there is one thing we know for sure - the fee for registered letter: 2.50 kr.  Then the air mail fee must have been 1,70 kr to Argentina in the fall of 1972. The registered fee was raised to 2.50 kr as of 1 October 1971.

The letter was dealt with at the Post Office Stockholm 1 the General Post Office at at Wasa Street on Thursday 30 November 1972. When Señor Juan Lukan received the letter is unknown.

A farewell FDC

The Three Crowns series on its way out . . .

Three different definitive stamps were issued on 20 January 1969. Different series and different motifs - yes, but also representing different issuing policies.

The 10 öre denomination from the series Definitive Stamps came as a booklet, the same with the 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III and then there was the 2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. This was the last stamp of that series. The first stamp of the Three Crown series, the 60 öre red-carmine, was issued on 10 February 1939, almost 30 years earlier. The series came in 34 denominations. The original idea was that this series should cover the fees for the most common postal rates for domestic parcels and C.O.D. parcels.  That was not the case with the 2 kr wine-red, it could be used a single stamp for domestic letter -250 g, it could also be used for various money orders  until 1971 and later on  used for international letters  -50 g between 1975 and 1976. Read more about the Three Crown series - here.

First Day Cover 1969, 20 January.
10 öre blue/black Swedish ship in Öresund. Qty: 9,500,000 [pairs]. 3-sided perforation.
From the 217th booklet issued by Swedish Post.
50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 3,400,000 (pairs). 3-sided perforation.
From the 218th booklet issued by Swedish Post.
2 kr wine-red Three Crowns. Qty: 67,700,000

The 10 öre blue/black Swedish ship in Öresund represents the new kind of definitive stamps that showed up for the first time in 1965, like the Posthorn and the Ale's Stones. The 10 öre belongs to the series called Definitive Stamps and it was first issued in 1967. The series emphasized the new issuing policy of Swedish Post with definitive stamps in smaller series and adding the concept with different motifs within the same series. That was a big novelty in 1967. The Definitive Stamps series and the Iron Age slot machine booklet were examples of that. Why Swedish Post almost two years later choose to issue a booklet with twenty 10 öre stamps from that series beats me.

The 50 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf was first issued as a two sided perforated stamp in January 1968 and now a year later it also came in a booklet with ten stamps. There was an earlier 50 öre stamp in the series, the 50 öre olive-green from July 1962 where its single use covered International Letter  - 20 g until July 1964. The reason why there was a new need for that denomination in the series was that the rate for C.O.D became 50 öre in 1967. Oddly enough the fee 50 öre lasted only until March 1969. That must have been some what of a bummer, but 50 öre probably did good use as a complimentary denomination for the following years.

Movie box

1941 - 1948 - 1962

First we have the stamp 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II, originally issued in July 1941 as a four sided perforated stamp, and the two sided variety on the card was issued in 1958. Then there is the 1.40 kr dark green Three Crowns issued in April 1948 and the 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III from July 1962. That sums up to 6.75 kr. The weight of the parcel was 4 kg. In December 1968 such a parcel cost 4.50 kr to send anywhere in Sweden. However this particular parcel was also big and bulky and the fee for that was 50 % of the parcel fee; that is 2.25 + 4.50 = 6.75 kr. Check!

Domestic parcel  4 kg fee: 4.50 kr + bulky fee 50 % 2.25 kr, sum: 6.75 kr
1958, 17 September. 5 kr blue Royal Palace, Stockholm II. Qty: 16,500,000 (2-sided perforation)
1948, 1 April. 1 kr 40 öre dark green Three Crowns. Qty: 72,900,000
1962, 2 July. 35 öre blue Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 366,000,000 (2-sided perforation)

On Wednesday 4 December 1968 it was time to return a movie that have been shown in the small town of Karlshamn in the southern Sweden to the movie production company Swedish Culture Films Inc (AB Svensk Kulturfilm) in Stockholm. Mr. Jönsson carried the parcel to the Post Office in Karlshamn. The next day the parcel arrived in Stockholm and was picked up on Thursday 5 December. The card was printed with the address to the movie company. But it was not really completed since by this time the novelty of postal codes were used. The postal codes were introduced in May 1968 in Sweden. In this case the postal code 111 20 was stamped on the card. The parcel reach its destination the Post Office Stockholm 1 located at 28 - 32 Wasa Street, the funny thing is that the office of the movie company was just across the street. The company also assures that the film was fireproof.

The Swedish Culture Films was not the most productive production company. Actually they produced only nine movies between 1949 to 1957. Mostly documentaries and short films. They were also distributors of religious movies in the fifties. Not all of them were even sound film and of course they were shot in black and white only. The first movie got a sound track recorded in 1968 and maybe that was the movie that were shown in Karlshamn?

Where is the place?
Karlshamn is situated 400 km SW of Stockholm. the distance by road is 532 km.

Gustaf V right profile - quantities

A look at some statistics . . .

First place. 1,076 millions issued.
April 1940 to approx. June 1951.

The stamp of the Gustaf V right profile series that was issued in the greatest number including all varieties, was the 20 öre red Gustaf VI right profile type II. Which should not be a surprise to hardly anyone. After all it covered the rate for the most common postal item - the domestic letter first weight class (up to 20 g), international postcard and the extra fee for registered mail until April 1948. In addition, during a time when the postal rates were not changed that often. It was hence around for a very long time period compared to commemorative stamps and other definitive stamps further on.

Second place. 563.5 millions issued.
January 1941 to April 1948.

As a good number two is the 5 öre green. It was around from January 1941 until April 1948 when it was replace by the 5 öre orange. The 5 öre green covered printed matters.

Third place. 506.4 millions issued
November 1939 to April 1948.

It was a hard struggle about the third place, but the 10 öre violet type II was issued in a mere million more than the 15 öre brown. The 10 öre violet was used for local letter  - 20 g until July 1944 as well as for domestic postcards until April 1948.

The quantities issued of Gustaf V right profile series type I and II

The 15 öre brown was used for domestic letter  -20 g until April 1941, local letters after June 1944  and also for domestic postcard after April 1948, that is an explanation why the number was pretty high.

The 10 öre green replace the 10 öre violet in April 1948 because the rate for international printed matter (and domestic) was raised from 5 to 10 öre. Since Sweden still complied to the UPU-colouring principle the 10 öre stamp had to be green. The old 5 öre green was replaced by the 5 öre orange.

Among the higher denomination the 40 öre olive-green sticks out. I think the main reason is that 40 öre was the total fee for registered domestic letter  - 20 g until April 1948 and also it covered domestic letter second weight class (20 - 125 g) from April 1942, as well as local letter  - 500 g until July 1944. To me it was a little bit surprising that the 30 öre blue was issued in a comparatively small number. After all it covered the rate for international letter first weight class for a long time, from April 1940 until approximately June 1951.

Lastly, there are the two stamps that were issued in really small number and they are of course the only two stamps in the type I series issued in spring 1939. They were withdrawn and re-engraved.

Least quantity. 8 millions.
February 1939 to April 1940.

Urgent needs and fragile

Overflow of stamps

By some reason Lingbo Manufacturing Incorporated (Lingbo Verkstäder AB) at the absolute beginning of the new year 1968 needed some thermometer glass and quickly.  The weight was under 1 kg, but of course it was fragile. Labels with the text Colis Fragile, Exprès and Urgent in French were attached.

Domestic Parcel - 1 kg fee: 2,80 kr  + express fee 100 % +  fragile fee; all sums up to 8.40 kr
1967, 15 February, 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. Qty: 16,000,000
1967, 12 January, 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III. Qty: 13,700,000 (3-sided perforated pairs). 190th booklet.

The first stamp we notice is the upside-down 3.70 kr violet the Lion Fortress. It was issued in February 1967 and its main purpose was to cover the rate of domestic parcels, 1 - 3 kg.

Then there are four 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf type III series. That is maybe more surprising in the beginning of 1968. It is the 3-sided perforated version and they came from the 190th booklet. Unfortunately they are vertical pairs and not the preferred horizontal ones and there by not really interesting for stamp collectors. The 45 öre orange Gustaf VI Adolf came in October 1964, but then only in the 2-sided perforated format. It was not until January 1967 until the booklet showed up. The reason was that the postal rate for domestic letter  - 20 g was raised from 40 öre to 45 öre effective 1 January 1967. Since 1957 the Swedish Post had followed a policy that the stamp for domestic letter - 20 g (first weight class) should have a blue colour. Quite like the by now abounded UPU-colouring policy, but for domestic letters. It had the same side effects which meant that existing stamps had to be cancelled and new blue ones printed. But orange is not blue, it was not until June 1967 when the 45 öre ultramarine Gustaf VI Adolf arrived and replaced the orange one. It is remarkable that it was almost six months after the raise of the postal rate.

However in January 1968 the 45 öre ultramarine should have been used. Maybe the Post Office Johanneshov 4 had a surplus of the old 45 öre booklets and they wanted to get rid of those stamps first. Johanneshov 4 was situated in Bagarmossen a suburb to Stockholm.

The sum of the stamps are 5,50 kr. The rate for domestic parcel  - 1 kg was 2,80 kr. The fee for express delivery was a 100% extra, which was 5,60 kr and the fee for fragile had to be added as well. Where are the rest of the stamps? - on the backside of course:

1961, 7 June. 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II. Qty: unknown
1967, 11 April, 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championships. Qty: 3,300,000 (3-sided perforated pairs).
. . . from the 189th booklet. [commemorative stamp]

The stamps on the backside are the 10 öre ultramarine-blue New Numeral Type, type II from 1961 and the commemorative stamp 35 öre red-violet World Table-tennis Championship. The championship was played 11 - 21 April  1967 . . .  Also a quite obsolete booklet stamp in January 1968.

There are stamps for 8,40 kr on the parcel address card which indicates that the fee for fragile was in this case also a 100% of the ordinary rate. 2,80 kr parcel  - 1 kg + express fee 2,80 + fragile fee 2,80 kr = 8,40 kr. The Post Office Johanneshov 4 in Bagarmossen sure had good use for their surplus booklets that day.


The  domestic parcel rates 1 January 1967 until December 1969:
- 1 kg 1 - 3 kg 3 - 5 kg 5 - 7 kg 7 - 10 kg 10 - 15 kg 15 - 20 kg
[2.80 kr] 3.70 kr 4.50 kr 7.00 kr 10.50 kr 14.00 kr  17.00 kr


Where are the places:
Bagarmossen is a suburb of Stockholm situated 7 km SE of the city centre.
Lingbo is situated 205 km NW of Stockholm.
The distance by road is  233 km between the two places.

Plain and simple

2.30 kr brown fulfilling its purpose

The Three Crowns series was originally designed to have single stamps for the most common postal rates for domestic parcels and Cash On Delivery domestic parcels. The first stamps in the series released in 1939 covered parcels up to 1 kg, 1 - 2 kg and 2 - 3 kg for those postal rates. There was also a complementary denomination, the 1 kr orange Three Crowns, which could be used for heavier parcels.

The domestic parcel card below was sent on Friday March 25 1966, almost 26 years after the first issue of the Three Crown series and it was still doing its job. A single 2.30 kr dark brown Three Crowns was all that was required.

Domestic parcel address card  - 1 kg fee: 2.30 kr
1965, 24 September. 2.30 kr  dark brown Three Crowns. Qty: 9,600,000

However, things had already started to change. The new postal rates for parcels effective from July 1965 was like this: [all amounts are in öre, 100 öre = 1 krona]

- 1 kg	1 - 3 kg	3 - 5 kg	5 - 7 kg	10 kg	15 kg	20 kg
230	300	350	550	800	1100	1400

The Three Crown series was for the first time no longer covering the three most common parcels rates with a single stamp since the highest denomination in the series was the 3 kr blue Three Crown issued in 1964. Instead the rate for  parcels 3 - 5 kg now was covered by the new 3.50 kr Ale's Stones. It was a single definitive stamp, no more long definitive series issued over decades. That was a novelty in 1965.

The incorporated company Swedish Mullard (Svenska Mullard AB) sent some vacuum tubes to the Sahlgrenska Hospital, Oncology Department, in Gothenburg (Göteborg). Swedish Mullard was a subsidiary to Mullard Ltd. which originally was an English firm that pioneered in producing high quality vacuum tubes. They also pretty early teamed up with Dutch Philips. Mullard is not anymore, there last production facility closed down in the early eighties.

First the parcel arrived at the Post Office Göteborg 7 at 41 Linné Street (Linnégatan 41) and then it went to the Post Office at the hospital, Göteborg 33.

Some other single uses for the 2.30 kr Three Crowns at the time were domestic letter 500 - 1,000 g or domestic registered letter with advice of receipt 20 - 125 g.


Where are the places:
Gothenburg (Göteborg) is Sweden's second largest city and it is situated 397 km SW of Stockholm.
The distance by road is 470 km between Stockholm and Gothenburg.

Stamp on stamps

Receipt

Some postal matters do not give you hardly any additional information. Often there are more question marks than answers. This is one of them, it is a receipt from the Post Office Tyringe in the south of Sweden. This receipt form could be used for several purposes:
    - Stamps
    - Postage due
    - Christmas stamps
    - Stamp taxes, excise duties
    - Custom duties
    - Cash on delivery fee

There are five stamps on the receipt, four green 80 öre Rock Carvings type II issued in 1957. Type II means that the stamps belongs to the second or third issue of the Rock Carvings, the first one came 1954. Type II also meant that the initials of the designer (del. = latin  delineavit) and the engraver (sc. = latin sculpsit) were both added at the bottom of the stamps. A feature introduces by the Swedish Post in 1957. That feature is the easiest way to distinguish between the two types.

A fee of 3.60 kr was probably paid, but for what?
1957, 1 June. 80 öre green Rock Carvings type II. Qty: 57,000,000
1957, 15 October. 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II. Qty: 38,400,000

The Rock Carvings was an attempt to modernize the Swedish definitive stamps and it mostly complemented the long running Three Crown series that was issued from 1939. The design of the Rock Carvings felt fresh and modern at the time and it connected to Swedish ancient history instead of the usual theme for definitive series like the king or formal Swedish symbols. The motif was modern in a modest way.

The 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II was aimed to cover the rate for international letters  -20 g. The background of type II consisted of a cross pattern, which resulted in a tighter background pattern and the colours became more noticeable. Compared with type I that had a linear background engraved and that turned out to be to light and the colours were not distinct enough. The type II also got the initials of the designer and the engraver added at the bottom of the stamp.

A 40 öre green Gustaf VI Adolf type II was applied, this is an old stamp since the receipt is from September 3 1962. Why use an old stamp? The successor 40 öre green type II was issued already in October 23 1961 and should by September 1962 be already in use at the Post Office Tyringe. That is puzzling. It does not stop there.

The sum of the stamps are 3.60 kr but we do not know what was bought. Stamps? The receipt is not filled in correctly. There is no signature by the Post Office clerk, it is not specified what kind of purchase that have been done. Maybe they were a little careless that day in Tyringe and just hand over the receipt in a hurry?

Or maybe the purchase did not happen? Something went wrong . . .


Tyringe is situated 442 km SW of Stockholm. The distance by road is 532 km.

International letter for Christmas

1972 Christmas stamp

This letter has a yellow label where the sender informs that the letter has a philatelic franking and advises that the cancellation stamping should be done with a light hand. The philatelic arrangement of the stamps was not that well done and the cancellation stamp was done by a machine, not by hand. Well, sometimes the Swedish Post did not care about philatelists' demands.

This was an international letter  - 20 g and the fee was 1 kr. A 15 öre blue Mailplanes and a 75 öre multi-coloured 1972 Christmas stamp did not quite add up to the fee. The Mailplane stamp was taken from the 21st slot machine booklet issued in September 1972. The motif is the mighty Junkers Ju-52 with pontons. The plane was called Södermanland and own by ABA, the predecessor to  SAS. The 75 öre Christmas stamp had been issued just two weeks before the letter was sent. The motif is a S:t Lucia procession and was from a drawing competition for children. A 15 öre stamp had no single use in 1972, but the 75 öre was the postal rate for domestic letter   - 20 g.

1972, 8 September. 15 öre blue Mailplanes. Qty: 4,600,000 (21st slot machine booklet)
1972, 6 November. 75 öre multi-coloured Christmas stamp. Qty: 18,200,000

On Tuesday 21st November 1972 Mr. Alf Lilja in Luleå decided to cheer up his stamp collecting friend Mr. Stefan Münch in East Germany. The letter was handled by normal procedures by the Post Office Luleå 1 and no consideration was taken to Mr. Liljas request for a nice cancellation of the stamps. Maybe because only 90 öre was paid? The letter went to the small city of Meerane in Saxony. Hopefully Mr. Münch appreciated the letter anyway.

One went flying, the other went by ship

These two letters were sent the same day Thursday 3 August 1950 by the same sender. The peculiar thing is that one was sent as an air mail letter and the other one as an ordinary international letter to the same address. The airmail letter has three  20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. They are all perforated on three sides, one pair and one single stamp and hence came from a booklet, actually from the 64th booklet by Swedish Post first issued in 1942. It contained 20 stamps and the cost was 4 kr. Three 20 öre stamps makes 60 öre and that was the fee for   - 5 g air mail to North America in 1950. The other letter, which is a  - 20 g international letter, has two 15 öre brown Gustaf V, right profile. They are also perforated on three sides and they are from the 71st booklet first issued in 1945. A closer look at the 15 öre stamps tells me that these are of version I. For example the band of medals on the king's chest are less detailed and light. (This post deals with the two versions.)

Top: airmail letter to North America fee: 60 öre
7 March, 1942, 20 öre red Gustaf V, right profile. Qty: 98,000,0000 (pairs), 3-sided perforation
Bottom:  - 20 g international letter fee: 30 öre
14 February, 1945, 15 öre brown Gustaf V, right profile, version I. Qty: 18,400,000 (pairs both versions), 3-sided perforation

The letters were taken care of the Post Office Stockholm 1, the Post Office was co-located with the head quarters of the Swedish Post at 28 - 34 Vasa Street (Vasagatan 28 - 34), where the Swedish Post filled up two blocks.

On the the other side of the letter covers the following is printed "Josef Kastengren, Buhlsjö, Österbymo". It turns out that Mr. Kastengren got the first formal driver license in Sweden in January 1907. Well, people were driving along without a license in those days, but this guy was the first one to get a permit the right way. He was a driving instructor and taught the Swedish royals to drive as well, actually he taught the king on the stamps, he was also a car salesman and a business man in the Swedish car industry. Quite a legend.

Eventually both letter reach their destination. 1100 E. Hector Street, Conshohocken, PA.
(Google street)

43 years after he got his license he still seemed to be in the business because the letters were sent to the well known Lee Tire and Rubber Company in maybe less known Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Famous for its car tires.The factory was built in 1910 by John Ellwood Lee, in 1965 it was bought by Goodyear and it closed down in 1980. But it did not end there. The old factory ground was turned into offices and called Lee Park and lately it has undergone some major renovations. It got a new name too, Spring Mill Corporate Center. In 1984 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The odd thing is that the letter that not was sent as an air mail letter has "5 gr" written by hand, indicating that some one bother to put in on a scale. It seems like it was supposed to be sent by air too, the way that the stamps are applied and that they are from booklets indicates to me that it was most likely not done by Swedish Post.
. . . ah well, the mystery will remain unsolved.