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You are here: Home / Postal History / AUGSBURG Lithuanian Red Cross Issue: Major Colour Error

AUGSBURG Lithuanian Red Cross Issue: Major Colour Error

August 25, 2014 By Vytautas Doniela

The Augsburg DP Camp Post issue has been given attention by various authors, and a commendably clear listing is provided by Antanas Jankauskas in his “Special Lithuanian Postage Stamp Catalogue 1918-2012”, p.p. 383-85. Though the Catalogue mentions two varieties, it is time to reveal a major error which so far has not been publicised anywhere. The error affects the Augsburg imperforate Miniature Sheet containing the stamp bearing the value of 5 + 5 M.

The commissioned colour of this imperforate miniature sheet, parallel to individual stamps of this value, was to be light brown. However, the printer made a mistake applying to the 5 + 5 M sheetlet the colour light green which was intended for the 84 + 1,16 Miniature Sheet. Below are shown examples of the 5 + 5 M sheetlet with the correct colour light brown and the incorrect colour light green.

DP Augsburg Red Cross sheetlets

Fig 1. correct colour – light brown (left) and incorrect colour – light green (right)

The incorrectly printed sheetlets in light green were promptly replaced by reprinting new ones with the correct colour light brown. But in the meantime some incorrect sheetlets had been sent to one one or two (?) volunteer distributors, soon followed by a request to return the incorrect sheetlets. One such distributor was Edvardas Martinavičius (later Martinas) resident at nearby Wuerzburg.

DP Augsburg Red Cross recall notice

Fig 2. Request to return the wrongly printed sheetlets

As Mr Martinavičius, himself a keen collector with an enviably reliable memory in matters philatelic, personally told me after some 30 years, of the 50 sheetlets he received for selling from Augsburg he sent back 40 and retained 10. At our meeting, that is some 30 years later, he managed to rediscover several such sheetlets, of which I was given 4 but in turn I passed on one to the late Algis Ruzgas (JAV).

While Antanas Jankauskas, in his Catalogue, lists just one imperforate variety (Jank. 10B), there was at least one more as well. Below is shown a full sheet of 25 ( value 75 + 1,25) with some missing bottom perforations and another such variety on a cover with the complete set of the Augsburg Lithuanian Red Cross Issue.

DP Augsburg Red Cross full sheet

Fig 3. Full sheet of 25 (value 75 + 1,25) with some missing bottom perforations (click to enlarge)

DP Augsburg Red Cross cover

Fig 5. Cover with the complete Augsburg set

Filed Under: Postal History Tagged With: Displaced Persons, DP Camp Post, Red Cross

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