Series: Classic Edition - Postage stamps 1883 - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2019 - 80 Euro Cent

The Austrian stamps: This time the stamp block from the “Classic Edition” series shows a 5 Kreuzer and a 50 Kreuzer postage stamp from the year 1883 with the double-headed eagle in the background. The 1883 stamp series was special: this was the first time that a series of stamps was issued exclusively for Austria, as, following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867, the Hungarian post office now issued its own stamps. Identical stamps but with a denomination in Soldi were, however, still used by the Austrian Post in the Levant, with the curved inscription reading “Imper. reg. posta austr.” The range of denominations also changed: in addition to the 2, 3, 5, 10 and 50 Kreuzer stamps, a new 20 Kreuzer stamp was issued as well. The 1883 stamps were issued once the stamps from the previous issue had been exhausted; the new 20 Kreuzer denomination was issued on 15th August 1883. They remained valid until 30th June 1891. New printing procedure: The new stamps show the double-headed eagle printed in colour on a light-coloured background. For the first time, the inscription “Kais. Königl. Oesterr. Post”, the pertinent denomination and the currency Kreuzer, abbreviated as kr., were added in black in a second printing process. The value is placed in the double-headed eagle’s shield, the currency in a light field below this and the inscription cited above in an arc over the eagle’s head. For printing, the same paper as for the previous issue with the water mark “BRIEF-MARKEN” was used. However, by the last print run in 1890 supplies of this paper had been exhausted and it was replaced by the paper used for newspaper stamps with the watermark “ZEITUNGS-MARKEN”. The gum was the same as for the 1867 issue. There are various perforation types for the 1883 stamp series. Originally having harrow perforations of 9 ½, from 1887 this changed to 10. What is more, an inadequately repaired perforating machine resulted in irregular perforations, with the number of perforations on the sides varying. Stamps with the less common line perforation (which is not available for 50 Kreuzer stamps) have a correspondingly higher value.