| Slania: Denmark: Test Stamps - 1980-1985 Horse Statue |
In 1985, as a fundraising gesture for the Danish Philatelic Federation (DFF) and to support the development of philately, the post office made a special printing of these stamps which was turned over to the DFF which sold them. The marginal inscriptions were removed and stamps were only sold as singles, 4-blocks, and 4-strips. From this printing, larger units are known, but are very rare. The 1985 printing is multicolored, with the black engraved, but the "PRØVE" and the colors printed by offset / lithography. It is printed on white paper with greenish-yellow fluorescence and has invisible gum. This stamp is fairly common.
However, it turns out that this was only part of the story! The original 1980 printing(s) [there were surely multiple tests with different colors, etc.] were never made available to the public and have only a very few examples have been recorded. It turns out that after the 1980 testing, the original printing plate and die were destroyed or misplaced. A NEW DIE WAS ENGRAVED and a new plate made for the 1985 printing. The 1980 vs 1985 printings are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ENGRAVINGS. The 1980 engraving/printing(s) have many features that are different: The "PRØVE" is engraved in the 1980 stamp. There is much more elegant detail throughout the design of the 1980 stamp. For example, the tiny pointed tower at the extreme right has horizontal engraved shading lines on the 1980 stamp. The horse has diagonal engraved shading lines on the rear flank. The sky at the upper left is made of horizontal shading lines. There had been a previous report of the 1980 printing published on the Internet, but that report did not fully recognize the scope and significance of the design differences. Simply put, this is a completely different engraving and it adds to Slanias engraving count! This is what the stamp is supposed to look like!
In November 2008, I discovered (in the collection of a client who did not realize what he had) a complete sheet of 50 stamps of a 1980 printing. In addition to the black engraving, there is only Brownish Orange in the trees to left and right of the statue and in the base and pedestal of the statue. There is no other color. The stamps are printed on cream-colored paper with whitish fluorescence and have invisible (?) gum. (There are no plate numbers; there is only a color bar in the right margin opposite the third row.) The result is a stunningly elegant stamp design. The owner of the sheet will retain the top half of the sheet, but has allowed the lower half of the sheet to be broken so that examples may be shared with other philatelists. We thus know of only 50 examples of this printing, and only 25 of them are available to the marketplace (unfortunately, this will satisfy only a small fraction of Slania collectors!).
[Information is wanted about other printings/colors and I wish to buy any such examples.]
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