FEPA News

FEPA NEWS 45 67 The World of Research Over 30 years have passed since the issue of the first regular Slovenian stamps, which became known as “no date coats of arms”, as compared with 1991 issue which is called “date coat of arms”. The stamps show the coat of arms of the Republic of Slovenia. The designers of the stamps are M. Poga�nik (coat of arms) and S. Knafelc (background), and they were printed in four-colour offset printing on 90g gummed paper at DELO Tiskarna (Printing House) in Ljubljana. The size of the stamps is 25.6 x 34.5 mm. The sales sheets for all values consisted of 50 stamps (10x5), and the perforation was line 14. I followed and studied the stamps in question during their issue and later. In this, I collaborated with a colleague and friend from Maribor, who unfortunately passed away many years ago, prof. dr. Ferdinand Marn (“Ferdo” to friends). Information flowed in both directions, especially on special features, but to a greater extent from him to me. A number of his findings are included in this paper so I dedicate this article to his memory. The first issue of this series appeared in February 1992. It includes 5 values, from 1 to 100 Slt (the abbreviation Slt, standing for Slovenian Tolar, was not introduced until mid-1992). A second issue added a further five values in March 1992. They were as follows, with release dates and numbers printed in parentheses – as reported by Michel: February 1992 Issue March 1992 Issue 1 Slt 13 February 1992 4 948 400 2 Slt 16 March 1992 3 344 800 6 Slt 12 February 1992 18 123 250 4 Slt 16 March 1992 833 650 20 Slt 12 February 1992 5 020 600 5 Slt 6 March 1992 15 921 537 50 Slt 12 February 1992 1 802 750 11 Slt 16 March 1992 2 909 050 100 Slt 12 February 1992 1 049 250 15 Slt 16 March 1992 2 905 400 The wide range in numbers printed (with the lowest for the 4 Slt value and the highest for the 6 Slt) can be explained by the needs of postal traffic during the period of validity of these stamps, taking into account in particular the changes in the most frequently-used fees. The first regular stamps in independent Slovenia Boštjan Petauer FRPSL shares the results of his research: Fig. 1. The complete set of stamps with sheet number 1 There were no official first day covers, but some collectors prepared their own.