![Stamp-AUS 1947 Newcastle NSW-John-Shortland error](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Stamp-AUS_1947_Newcastle_NSW-John-Shortland_error.jpg)
A postage stamp design error is a mistake made during the
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
phase of the
postage stamp
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 fa ...
production process. Design errors most commonly occur as minor mistakes, such as a missing letter in the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of an organism depicted on the stamp, but some have been major gaffes, such as a map appearing to lay claim to another country's territory, or the depiction of the wrong person on the stamp.
A design error caught during the production process may disappear quietly, with copies of the error only getting into the public's hands via unscrupulous employees (these are therefore not considered "real" stamps). Design errors are often caught during the distribution process, when large numbers of postal workers are scrutinizing the new stamp; although officials may elect to withdraw all the stamps at that point, it is very difficult to retrieve every one of them, and in these instances a few may end up being sold and used. The exact circumstance are important, because once the stamp is sold to a customer, whether or not against the postal service's rules, it is considered to be legitimate.
The Legends of the West sheet was a particularly difficult case. Shortly before the release of this commemorative series (and after sheets had already been sent to post offices and found their way into collectors' hands), a claim was made that the image of
Bill Pickett
Willie M. Pickett (December 5, 1870 – April 2, 1932) was a cowboy, rodeo, Wild West show performer and actor. In 1989, Pickett was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Pickett was born in the Jenks Branch community of Willia ...
used for his stamp's painting was actually an image of his brother Ben. The United States Postal Service decided to recall the stamps and re-issue them later with Pickett's stamp based on an image known with certainty to be him. The USPS sold the entire run of erroneous stamps at face value by lottery.
Somewhat rarer is a design error that is first noticed by a member of the public. This usually happens within a few days of the stamp first going on sale, and usually ends up as the subject of newspaper articles. A recent example of this is the Maya Angelou stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service on April 7, 2015. The stamp contains a quotation that had been frequently attributed to Ms. Angelou, but was really written by Joan Walsh Anglund. In this circumstance, the Postal Service was unaware of the real author until it was brought to their attention by The Washington Post.
The response of postal officials may include withdrawal of all the stamps, or simply the suspension of printing and distribution, pending revision and reprinting. If the stamps are withdrawn, then the ones already out there become instant rarities, as happened with the PRC's "All China is Red" stamp of 1968. The withdrawn stamps may be destroyed or
overprint
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative pur ...
ed if the design can be repaired that way.
Design errors occurring during chaotic times such as revolutions will simply become a topic of discussion for future philatelists. Similarly for errors occurring in highly technical aspects, such as the spelling of a scientific name of a plant or animal, and may not be noticed during the stamp's period of use.
Some notable design errors
*
Pagsanjan Falls stamp
The Pagsanjan Falls stamp is a postage stamp, issued on 3 May 1932, which is notable for having an error. It is part of a set of seven stamps showing places of interest and landmarks in the Philippines, at that time a United States territory. It ...
, Philippines 1932
*Franz Schubert/Robert Schumann error, East Germany 1956
*
Gronchi Rosa
The Gronchi Rosa is a rare Italy, Italian postage stamp design error showing outdated country boundaries between Peru and Ecuador. It was one of the stamps of a 1961 issue for the voyage of president Giovanni Gronchi to three South American count ...
, Italy 1961
*
The Whole Country is Red, China 1968
*Legends of the West, United States 1993
*Queen Elizabeth II error, Malta 2008
*Predator Free 2050, New Zealand 2018
The largest run of an error on a postage stamp is the 2011 United States '
Statue of Liberty Forever stamp
The United States Post Office issued the Statue of Liberty Forever stamp on December 1, 2010. The stamp shows the replica of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') located at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino on the Las ...
'. The stamp shows the replica of the Statue of Liberty in Las Vegas rather than the original in New York. The stamp was released in December 2010 and the error was not noticed until March 2011 when it was identified by Sunipix, a stock photo agency in Texas. Ten and a half billion of the error stamps were produced.
Postage stamp design error types
Design errors are different from any other types of errors including typographical errors, incorrect watermarks, overprints, paper types, perforation, and gums. There are the following types of design errors:
Stamp Design Errors
Retrieved November 20, 2018.
* Errors in the plot
* Incompatible features:
** errors in chronological compatibility
** errors in the depiction of natural phenomena
** errors in the depiction of technological processes
* Invalid features:
** errors associated with the ownership of territories
** mistakes in state and religious symbols
** errors related to personalities
* Errors in inscriptions or overprints (in numbers, names, concepts)
* Typos, clerical, spelling, punctuation mistakes
* Semantic, factual errors
See also
*Errors, freaks, and oddities
In philately, errors, freaks, and oddities (EFO) collectively refers to the wide variety of mistakes that can happen in the production of postage stamps. It encompasses everything from major design errors to stamps that are just poorly printed an ...
Bibliography
* Jean-Pierre Mangin, ''Guide mondial des timbres erronés. Errors on stamps'', ed. Yvert, Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
; book 1, 1999, ; book 2, 2005. Bilingual books (English and French).
* D.E.G. Irvine and M. Seshold, ''Errors in Postage Stamp Design'' Published by National Philatelic Society, 1979,
* More than 3.000 crazy errors on stamp
References
{{commonscat
Philatelic terminology
Error