This is a survey of the

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

and postal history of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Nineteenth century

The principality of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

issued stamps immediately upon gaining autonomy in 1858, with the first '' cap de bour'' stamps being issued in July 1858. These were produced by handstamping on

laid paper Laid paper is a type of paper having a ribbed texture imparted by the manufacturing process. In the pre-mechanical period of European papermaking (from the 12th century into the 19th century), laid paper was the predominant kind of paper produced. ...

, and are now quite rare. The initial round design was shortly followed by one using a square frame with rounded corners, and using blue or white wove paper. These are somewhat more common. After the union of Moldavia and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

in 1861, the design was adapted to show the emblems of both principalities side by side, and inscribed "FRANCO SCRISOREI". The first stamps inscribed "POSTA ROMANA" were issued in January 1865; the three values depicted Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza in profile, facing right. These did not last long in use, as Cuza was deposed the following year, and new stamps depicted Prince Carol I, also in profile, but facing left, and in a style very similar to contemporary French stamps. The adoption of the leu in 1867 required stamps in new denominations, which appeared in 1868. In 1869, a new design consisted of the profile as before, but enclosed in an oval frame, a change lasting only until 1872, when the previous round frame once again came into use, with an overall design reminiscent of the contemporaneous stamps of France. They were originally printed in Paris, and then reprinted in Bucharest from 1876, the reprints having a rougher appearance and coarser perforations. New colors and values appeared in 1879. In 1885, a new definitive series used larger and more readable numeric tablets, and surmounted Carol's profile with a bird. In 1889 the stamp paper was also impressed with a coat of arms, similar to, but not a true

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...

. In 1891, Romania issued its first

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...

s, a series of five in which the usual profile of the king was framed by an inscription marking 25 years of his reign. The series of 1893 introduced a variety of frames, and the first stamps denominated in lei. In 1891, Dimitrie C. Butculescu founded the Romanian Philatelic Society. He became its first president, running the society from his private house, and published ''The Official Gazette of the Romanian Philatelic Society''.Dimitrie C. Butculescu – 160 years since his birth
World Online Philatelic Agency. In 1896, Romanian stamps were

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

ed in Turkish currency for use on ships passing between Constanța and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. In 1903, the first pictorial designs were issued to note the opening of a new post office in Bucharest, followed by a series of 10 designs in 1906, for the 40th anniversary of Carol's reign.

Twentieth century

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Romanian territory was occupied by Austria, Germany, and Bulgaria, each of which issued stamps for the occupied areas.

References

Sources

* Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues
Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities
* Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower.
The Stamp Atlas
'. London: Macdonald, 1986.

External links

Romaniastamps.comRomanian stamp galleryRomfilateliaPhilatelical Museum
{{PostalhistoryEurope Philately of Romania

Nineteenth century

Twentieth century

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links