Catalogue of Romanian Perfins

 

 

Edited by

Dr Tam Llewellyn-Edwards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Llewellyn Consultancy, Tickhill, UK (2008)

Introduction

 

Perfins were first authorized for use in Romania in 1892 by ‘Buletinul Telegrapho-Postal 1891 p484. The authority authorized their use from 1st January 1892

 

They were used initially mainly by Banks and Newspapers, but in the period between the wars (1918-1939) there use increased considerably and they can be found used by many firms all over the country, although the major use remained in the capital, Bucharest.  After the 2nd World War their use declined, and almost stopped with the formulation of the People’s Republic in 1947.  The latest known use was in 1954, but no record has been found of an order prohibiting their use.

 

This catalogue lists about 1000 perfin designs, and was based on an analysis of a number of collections of Romanian Perfins across the world.

 

The main body of the catalogue consists of a table of known perfin designs in alphabetic order. The columns are :-

 

1)      Catalogue Number

 

The numbering system used in this catalogue is based, with permission, on the numbering system used in the Perfin Club catalogue of 1989. In this system used here the numbers of those dies which appeared in the 1989 catalogue have the same numbers, and new dies appear in the correct alphabetical position, but numbered between pre-existing numbers using decimals (eg the new design ‘A.T.B.’ appears as # 50.5 between the existing #50 (‘A.T.’) and #51 (‘A.W.).

 

For comparison with the 1996 Eros Catalogue the equivalent numbers from this catalogue are shown in brackets under each illustration and in the last column of the tables.

 

2)      User

 

There have been three catalogues of Romanian Perfins that gave identities to some of the users of specific perfin designs.  During the research leading to the production of this new catalogue it was noted that a number of errors and omission had crept in.  In an effort to correct this the sources of used information has been identified. Identity sources are separated by the use of three formats :-

 

Those taken from the Vojtech Maxa’s 1981 Catalogue with be given in ‘Italic       Font’

 

Those taken from the Laszlo Eros 189 & 1996 catalogues will be given in this font

 

Those personally known to be correct by the editor will be given in Bold Font

Except for the 1st  group no guarantee of accuracy is implied.  This leads to a number of alternative conflicting identites and it is left to the collector to decide

 

3)      Business Type

 

Here the type of business carried out by the used is noted

 

4)      Location

 

Here the location of use of the perfin is recorded

 

5)      Period of Use

 

Here will be found a numerical indicator showing the known period of use. The periods used are as in earlier catalogues :-

 

1    1892 – 1918

2    1919 – 1930

3    1931 – 1939

4    1940 – 1944

5    1945 – 1955

 

 

6)      Rarity

 

A letter indication of the rarity is provided as an indication only as there are very few known examples of some designs and they are unequally spread across the holdings of collectors. The symbols indicate :-

 

A Very rare (1 – 5 examples reported)

B Rare (6 – 20 examples reported)

C Fairly rare (21-100 examples reported)

D Common (Over 100 examples reported)

E  Very Common

 

7)      Eros Catalogue Number

 

Here the number given in the Eros 1996 Catalogue is given where on was assigned to enable comparison between the two catalogues to be maid with ease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Format of the Catalogue

 

The catalogue is set out in sections alphabetically, with designs and numbers at the end. Perfins on non-postal fiscal documents are given a special section, but as there is considerable overlap between those perfins used on postal and postal fiscal issue.  Perfins used on postal fiscal issues are recorded in the postal section and those known on both postal and non-postal fiscal documents will be found in both sections.

 

In some cases perfins which are only slightly different have been used by particular firms.  In these cases a simplified classification is to be found in the main body of the catalogue and a full analysis is given in an Appendix for use by specialists.

 

Copyright

 

This catalogue is copyright material, with the copyright assigned to the editor.  However, no restriction is placed on the copying of this work by private collectors for use in the furtherance of their collecting.  However, copied material must not be sold to third parties nor can it be used commercially, unless prior written permission is obtained from the editor.

 

Corrections and Additions

 

Additions and correction as well as new perfin designs are welcomed by the editor and will be added to updates of this catalogue.  Details should be sent to :-

 

“Ty Goch”

4 St mary’s Mews

TICKHILL

S Yorkshire, DN11 9LR

United Kingdom