Esch-sur-Alzette --- 6.40F Miner issue recorded, used in 1953

6.40F Miner Issue

New here is the 6.40F denomination of the Esch-sur-Alzette Miner issue. The '6' of '6,40' is in bold with the stamp in blue, used here on 5 Jan 1953.

Recorded so far are the following denominations of this issue:

• Rouletted: 20F red, 50F orange, 70F Peacock blue
• Perforate:  5F violet, 6.40F blue, 10F green, 20F red

But surely there must be many other denominations.  Help add to this listing by sending me scans from your collection! 

You can read more about the Esch-sur-Alzette Miner issue here.

Luxembourg-Ville --- Scarce Surcharges on the 1923 Town View Issue

 

The Town View 

Surcharges

3.20F Surcharge 
on 1F Town View

Courtesy of Martien Zwitserloot

We often find the 1-Franc and 3-Franc (and less often the 2-Franc) Town View issue from the 1920s.  The set exists with small and large numerals.  But what we seldom find are the Town View surcharges.

Seen here from the Zwitserloot collection is the 1-Franc Town View (tall numeral) surcharged to 3.20-Francs.  The surcharge is unlisted in Barefoot, Benelux Revenues (2nd ed.), and this is the only reported 3.20-Franc surcharge on this issue.

5.00F Surcharge
on 1F Town View

 Courtesy of Martien Zwitserloot

Also very scarce is the 1-Franc Town View (tall numeral) surcharged to 5-Francs. It is listed in Barefoot, who dates it to 1936. The surcharge is also found on the 1-Franc Town View (short numeral).

It would be helpful to have information from government records of the tax rate increases that prompted surcharging this issue.  Of course, scans of uses on documents would be especially welcome!

Erpeldange - Three Coats of Arms issues reported

Luxembourg Arms

Commune

d' Erpeldange

Canton Diekirch

2F Uprated to 10F in Manuscript

Thanks to Bruno Vincent for sharing this
beautiful old communal revenue
from Erpeldange

100F

Modern Erpeldange
Coat of Arms 

50F Green
Key Type

Not as beautiful as the other two!

Luxembourg-Ville - Why is the 6.40F Horseman so scarce?

6.40F Horseman
(Horizontal Lines)

Used 5 Apr 1956

Many of the Luxembourg-Ville Horseman communal revenues with horizontal-line background shading are not too difficult to find.  Curiously, Barefoot in Benelux Revenues (2d ed.) lists only the 6.40F, which in my experience is very scarce, much scarcer than the 5F purple, 10F green, 20F blue, 50F brown (two shades), 70F blue, or even the 100F orange. Denominations higher than 100F I have not seen.

But thanks to Martien Zwitserloot, you will see above the 6.40F used along with the 30F Dimension on a birth certificate dated 5 April 1956.  I show a similar use from 1959 here.  I wish we knew more about the quantity printed, the rate for which it was used, and its period of validity.  It was preceded by the 3.20F diagonal-line Horseman surcharged to 6.40 Frs.  Perhaps this rather unusual rate was short-lived and the need satisfied by the surcharged issue.  More research is needed.

Bourscheid - 25F Key Type Uprated to 250F by Manuscript

If you collect the communal revenues, you'll have an opportunity to acquire the unusual, the unique, and the curious without endangering your bank account.

Here the 25-franc Bourscheid key type as been uprated by a factor of 10 to 250 francs by the manuscript insertion of a red zero.

Thanks to Martien Zwitserloot for sharing this stamp from his outstanding collection of Luxembourg revenues.

Pétange -- 5F surcharges on 2F Hotel de Ville (previously unreported)

2F Red Hotel de Ville
with large 5 [F] surcharge

 2F Red Hotel de Ville
with large 5 Frs. surcharge

Used on a residency certificate
(signed by the mayor) and dated 16 Jun 1954.
Courtesy of Martien Zwitserloot

Hosingen - Mysterious old 1F Pictorial Discovered

The Mysterious Tower!

Hosingen
1F Pictorial

Courtesy of Martien Zwitserloot

This previously unreported Hosingen communal pictorial was discovered by Martien Zwitserloot, who shares my love for these old pictorials from the communes. 

Who knows the history of this ancient tower?  Does it still exist?

On January 1, 2012, the Hosingen commune was merged with the Consthum and Hoscheid communes to form a new commune -- Parc Hosingen.

Mertzig - 100F Key Type showing 3 different cancels!

Administration Communale
* Mertzig *

Coat of Arms cancel
with two stars
 

 Administration Communale
Mertzig

Small Lion and Crown cancel
with no stars
 

Administration Communale
* Mertzig *

Large Lion and Crown cancel
with two stars

Special thanks to Martien Zwitserloot in the Netherlands for sharing these Mertzig cancels.  Beautiful cancels from the communes add to the richness of a communal revenue collection!

New Coat of Arms Design from Sanem on self-adhesive 'A' rate stamp

Sanem Self-Adhesive Coat of Arms

Communal Revenue

Here is the newly designed and very attractive Coat of Arms communal revenue from Sanem.  Notice that it pays a categorical tax rate ('A') and is self-adhesive.  Also, the commune name is no longer shown as Sanem-Belvaux; now, it's just Sanem.  I wonder why?

Thanks to Martien Zwitserloot in the Netherlands for sharing this beautiful communal revenue. Those of you who collect only postage stamps should be a little bit jealous, I think!