Monday, 6 March 2023

2716) 85th Stamp Day, Kalocsa Series (85 BELYGNAP - KALOCSA)" , Hungary: Magyar Posta (Hungarian Post) has issued a set of postage stamps of 80 Forint depicting an embroidered Kalocsa Rose motif and the 130 Forint stamp depicting a paprika motif which has a layer of paprika fragrance coating: Date of Stamp set issue: 19.07.2012:

2716) 85th Stamp Day, Kalocsa Series (85 BELYGNAP - KALOCSA)" , Hungary: Magyar Posta (Hungarian Post) has issued a set of postage stamps of 80 Forint depicting an embroidered Kalocsa Rose motif and a 130 Forint stamp depicting a paprika motif which has a layer of paprika fragrance coating: Date of Stamp set issue: 19.07.2012:

About Kalocsa Town:

Kalocsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. 

It lies 142 km (88 mi) South of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the Danube River. Historically it had greater political and economic importance than at present.

Kalocsa is the Episcopal see of one of the four Catholic archbishops of Hungary: 

Amongst its buildings are a fine cathedral, the archiepiscopal palace, an astronomical observatory, a seminary for priests, and colleges for training teachers. 

Kalocsa is one of the oldest towns in Hungary

The present archbishopric, founded about 1135, is a development of a bishopric said to have been founded in 1000 by King Stephen the Saint. 

It suffered much during the 16th century from the invasions of Ottoman soldiers, who ravaged the country.

A large part of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1875, before buildings were constructed of more fireproof materials and when many used open fires for heating and cooking.

The residents of Kalocsa and its wide-spreading communal lands are chiefly employed in the cultivation of paprika, fruit, flax, hemp and cereals, in the capture of waterfowl and in fishing.

About 85th Stamp Day - Kalocsa Serie:

Magyar Posta traditionally issued postage stamps for for stamp collectors on "Stamp Day". 

Pages 2 and 3 of the Stamp album gives a brief description of the Stamps and the actual stamps.

The description reads:

"The main motif of this stamp block for the 85th Stamp Day shows unique artefacts of ecclesiastical art from the Archepiscopal Treasury of Kalocsa and illustrates Hungary's rich cultural traditions.

40,000 copies of the block have been printed, of which copies numbered from 1 to 10,000 form part of this special collection.

In addition to the basic versions of the stamp block and set, special versions with 10,000 copies only have been issued. The special feature of the block is that it contains an Anti-Stokes ink layer as a security element that emits a special green light when placed under infrared light, to which a special device reacts by giving sound and light signals.

One of the individual stamps is made with real Kalocsa embroidery, which is regarded as a philatelic rarity.

The other stamp depicts another speciality of Kalocsa - the Kaloksa pepper.

The colour, aroma and richness of flavour of this and the paprika made from t impart a quality to Hungarian dishes without which the national cuisine would be unimaginable.

This stamp is made using a special printing technique that encloses the pleasant fragrance of paprika in microcapsules.

No Hungarian stamp of this type has ever been made before, so demand from collectors at home and abroad is expected to be brisk. - Magyar Posta".

More on the Special Stamps:

The 80 Forint stamp of the series shows Kalocsa embroidery, while the 130 Forint stamp features a paprika string and part of the exterior of Kaposi’s Paprika Museum

A special feature of the 80 Ft denomination is that its Kalocsa rose motif is real embroidery, while the 130 Ft stamp image with a paprika motif has a layer of paprika fragrance coating which contains the special aroma of paprika sealed in microcapsules.

This compilation was printed in 10,000 copies, which is equal to the number of copies made of the special version of the stamp series.

The stamps of the two denominations are arranged tete-beche, i.e., head to tail. 

What is tête-bêche?

In philately, tête-bêche (French for "head-to-tail", lit. "head-to-head") is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but be linked "head-to-tail".

Mechanical errors during the process of production can result in tête-bêches. During the printing of stamps for booklets, the pages of stamps are usually printed in multiples from a larger printing plate. This can result in tête-bêche pairs. 

The Miniature Sheet (MS):

The Miniature Sheet (MS). It bears the Serial number -00520.

Some unique mementos of religious art from the Kalocsa Archiepiscopal Treasury can be seen on the stamp image and the frame drawing of the numbered sheet. 

A special feature of the Sheet is that a so-called "Anti-Stokes layer" supplements the offset printing process used on it, thanks to which the stamp emits green light and sound when placed under infra-red light

This feature has a safety function, since it can only be detected by instruments specially developed for this purpose

The special pigment layer – by the caption “MAGYARORSZÁG” in the stamp image of the sheet – emits green light under the HORUS 1019 light, while the same infra radiation is triggered in the form of a beeping sound when the stamp is inspected with the RADIR 2029 device

The Miniature Stamp Sheet numbered from 1-10,000 is available in a special stamp selection titled 85th Stamp Day: Kalocsa Collection 

The Cover of the Stamp Album is titled - "85 BELYGNAP - KALOCSA".

The Back Cover of the Stamp Album issued by Magyar Posta






(The above postage Stamp album is from the collection of my friend Jayant Biswas. Stamp Album scanned and post researched and written by Rajeev Prasad)


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4 comments:

  1. Rajan Trikha has commented:
    "Great Description."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Santosh Khanna has commented:
    "Interesting and informative post. Thanks for sharing."

    ReplyDelete