Finland : Stamps.

Oh they do exist.  But eBay is not your best spot to purchase them.  Try instead Finnish stamp dealers and auctions.  All values except the 1mk orange (and some rare rouletting variations) should be pretty easy to acquire in perfect condition if you are willing to spend some $$$.    

That said, 'spacefillers' are extremely plenty and MUCH cheaper than the perfect specimens.  A single missing tooth drops the value by half, and 2-3 missing tooths eats away 80-90% of the value; and the short ones also eat away from the value/price.  I've seen some dealers offering stocksheets filled with severely damaged 20 and 40p  stamps for $20-30 (roughly buck a piece). 

Here's my best specimen - 40p on piece with clear Tammerfors cancel, just one short perf: 



But I would not worry too much about missing perfs. That's the way these stamps were used... If something looks too good, it usually is. For example this one has got (at least) two implanted perfs (in addition few short ones): 


 

(And yes, I've been thinking of updating these and my specimens of other values to better grade... But it's always about the money, or lack of it thereof    )

-k-

You don't have to go no further than Tampere Railway Station, to see & hear Tammerfors being used actively hundreds of times a day 
The legislation requires that governement officials and institutions must be able to provide services, announcements etc. in Finnish and Swedish throughout the country (even if nobody really needs them). Oh the pleasures of bureaucracy.... 

But back in the 18th and 19th century Swedish was used as primary 'official language' (despite of Russian rule), and hence it was used extensively also on postmarks of the time.   But of course this changed to a degree under the Russification of Finland (1899–1905 and 1908–1917). 

Since my "shout" about Finland and teeth contributed to the development of this thread, I thought I'd post two entirely toothless examples. These I got recently at an auction, entirely without knowing they were among the loose stamps in the box I bought. Does any one know if they have a shot at being authentic? Or where I might look to form an impression?

Thanks, Keijo. I've come to the same conclusion.

Thanks scb,    marvelous stuff.   And you were so quick too  
I feel privileged to have found this one.
I'll be careful and hand wash it.

Rod (and Ryan)... Finnish type 1930 definives are lots of fun and plenty of varieties etc. in there.

There's an excellent handbook (by Hannu Kauppi, title Yleismerkit / Definitives 1930, issued few years back by Finnish Philatelic federation) for these. You might also check www.malli1930.fi, a blog by specialized collector.

-k-

Does anyone have a catalogue number for this, the Finlandia 2017 Overprint booklet (the booklet itself is still sealed in the envelope)? I cannot find it either in Scott's or Lape.



Thanks,

Thanks tobben63, that helps a lot. I wonder why this 2017 overprint is not listed? Apparently only 6000 were issued.

Bought myself a Findland C1 (Scott) Mint yesterday 



Not arrived yet but it looks like this

If I have to go to age 3 to find my thread on Findland, this means a lot of new threads. I have an idea so we do not loose ongoing threads....why not put all the animal stamps (including my Cat stamps) in one Topical: Animal stamps - this would prevent loosing our threads from P1 to P3 for example

.....just a suggestion as we do not have "order" right now.....just a suggestion - people will not go back 3 pages to read.....

René


A new Finland page completed this day:

Great stuff, ADMIN - Thanks !!

Hi Stan (stainlessb),

There is a copy for sale on eBay - www.ebay.com/itm/Scandinavia-Finland-Norway-Denmark-Revenue-Stamp-C4/383453554804?hash=item59479ce874:g:YgAAAOSwcaZeURzH

Looking up the labels, "leimamerkki" is Finnish for "revenue stamp" apparently - but I've not been able to find it in any of my catalogs.

Hope that helps a little!

Thanks Chris and Alex


Mine has the rose watermark

The 'Serpentines' represents quite a challenge when it comes to collecting stamps of Finland, at least for those of us that are general WW collectors. Both in terms of all the varieties of 'perforations' (4 different types of roulettes), papers (normal, laid or ribbed paper), shades, types etc - and not least to find them in decent shape   scb showed us a few really nice ones previously in this thread, those are hard to find! Well done keijo! 

Even tough the serpentines are challenging to find in good condition, they are no less fine ambassadors for iconic classical stamps. I love the design - and consider them up there along with the Ceres and Napoleon issues of France and UK's line engraved classics. 

To pay tribute, I've dedicated 4 pages for the 'Serpentines'. However they ended up rather sparsely populated, just as expected
Here's page 4 (of 4), this one dedicated for the Roulette 'C' stamps (the ones with the longest teeths). Most of my stamps are in spacefiller-condition, but that's ok, its just a starters collection.