Test Stamps (also called Dummy Stamps in the U.S.) are created by post offices, stamp printers, and printing press manufacturers to test printing and production processes and machines. While a few test stamps have had extensive philatelic distribution, most were never intended to be known to collectors and are very scarce. Some test stamps exist in both common mass-produced and philatelically distributed versions and also visually different "real use" versions that range from unusual to scarce to rare. New discoveries continue to be made.
The first Swedish test stamps of which I am aware date from the mid-to-late 1930s and include the well-known 1937 "Miranda" design (used at least up into the 1970s or early 1980s). Early designs also include the 1935 60 öre Riksdagen and the 1936 5 öre Postal Service issues, using defaced dies and overprinted "MUSTER"; and the 1941 St. Bridget using a defaced die. The 1960s and 1970s-1980s designs include the well-known "Uppsala Cathedral" interior by engraved by SLANIA. Lesser-known modern designs include "Snurran" (rotating design), "Classic Bust" by Jorpes, the "Postman", "Drottningholm Theater" engraved by Jakus, and a "PFA" design engraved by Jorpes combined with a geometric designs stamp in a combination plate. Though not all of these designs are yet included on the website, I do have many of them in stock and available for approval viewing.
All test stamp items, whether or not listed on the website, are available for viewing on approval. I have a constantly changing stock of Swedish and all Scandinavian essays, proofs, reprints, specimens, and test stamps. Most such items sell before they get to the website or price lists. What are you seeking? |
The 1980s "PFA" (the name of the Swedish Post Office philatelic department) logo design was engraved by Zlatko Jakus. The only version I have recorded has the PFA and postal emblem in red, with various engraving technique sample lines and designs in green and/or black. To my knowledge, these first came to the philatelic marketplace in 2011 or 2012. They are from the archives of the now-defunct Goebel company, a well-known German manufacturer of stamp and security-paper printing presses. The Swedish post office used Goebel presses. This design was printed using a plate that included (apparently only one row of) "geometric designs with-frame" test stamps.
THE PFA LOGO DESIGN: The stamps are in horizontal format. Centrally placed "PFA" topped by a crown and with posthorn below. Surrounding this are various groups of lines and grids, one group of circles to lower left, and several curly ornaments. All is surrounded by a frame line measuring 59 x 23 mm. The engraver name "Zlatko JAKUS" is at the bottom right, interrupting the frame line. All the examples I have seen are on white paper with invisible gum, perforated 12.75. In 2015 I discovered (I am not aware of any prior reporting of this) that they exist on two paper types: Bright White Fluorescent and Non-Fluorescent.
GEOMETRIC DESIGN WITH-FRAME: It appears that only one row of the plate included this design. Rectangular frame (with border in varying thickness segments) containing various circles with a diamond imposed on top. Based on examples printed in combination with the PFA design, I believe that this geometric design was intended to be viewed horizontally, with the darkest segment inside the central diamond at top. Under magnification, each different segment of the design shows differing types of shading, line thickness and direction, etc. Each design measures 27 x 21 mm. All examples I have seen have two designs per perforated stamp area. The perforated stamp area (containing two designs) is the same size as the PFA LOGO stamps described above. In all the examples I have seen, the heaviest ink coverage areas (thickest lines) have significant flaking of the ink. All the examples I have seen are printed in black, on white paper with invisible gum, perforated 12.75. In 2015 I discovered (I am not aware of any prior reporting of this) that they exist on two paper types: Bright White Fluorescent and Non-Fluorescent. The engraver of this design is not known. This design in a without-frame version has been used for another purpose, apparently in the 1960s, for printing press demonstrations and testing for the Norwegian post office. (Thus all references to this general design must indicate if it is the Swedish with-frame stamp or the Norwegian without-frame stamp.)
The PFA and GEOMETRIC WITH-FRAME stamps were only printed se-tenant, based on the examples I have seen, but seemingly with only ONE ROW of the with-frame geometric design. I have seen the PFA logo design offered independently of the geometric design because there are many more of the PFA design in the sheet/web. I have seen the PFA stamp only with selvage below it, never above. I have seen the geometric/PFA stamps CONNECTED with the geometric above the PFA and selvage only above the geometric. While I do not know the total height of the sheet/web, since there seems to be only one row of geometric design stamps for several rows of the PFA design stamps, the geometrics seem to be much, much scarcer. Sheets appears to have been cut to in a width of two full PFA stamp (four geometrics with frame), plus one 35 mm PFA section at left and one 27 mm PFA section at right. At least this describes the largest units that I have seen. I have not been able to explain why this is the case unless this corresponds to the width of a type of booklet pane or striping blades being tested. |