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Definitions and new classification
system
By Richard Zimmermann, Chairman of
International Philatelic Society of Joint Stamp Issues Collectors
A proposal for a new classification system for joint
issues was made in August 2003. Several comments from collectors helped to
refine the definitions and the classification system itself. The deeper we go
in details, the higher becomes the number of sub-classes. At a certain stage it
becomes obvious that some sub-classes will have to merge again, as otherwise,
most of the sub-classes will contain only one example of an issue. There are
still some issues that could be reconsidered, but overall we think we came to
something coherent and probably also reliable for future issues.
The main split is made between what was called
previously "True joint issue" and "questionable", the later
containing the omnibus series and the territorial/colonial issues. Within these
two categories, it was obvious to select sub-classes of stamps with or without
the same design. The difficulties start when the design is not identical but
similar, or when both countries take only a part of this design. Sub-classes
were created accordingly. And finally, most of the older joint issues have not
been claimed as joint, and even if they show the same design or have been
issued on the same day, there remain a doubt about the real interest of both
countries to produce jointly this issue.
The discussion for further improvement remains still
open until the following text is published as introduction of the new
catalogue.
Definition:
A Joint Issue can be declared only when two or more independent postal administrations sign an agreement to create new postage stamps or items for postal use with a common interest and issue them within a pre-defined timeframe.
Details:
·
two or
more: there is no limitation in the
number of countries involved. A series becomes an "omnibus series" if
the same printing house is producing all stamps for all countries for economic
reason (abusive issues" and not when it is linked to the number of
countries or the fact that these countries are administratively dependent.
·
independent: Only postally
independent countries can be involved. This excludes colonies and territories
if the stamps are issued only together with the mother country. Territorial or
Colonial issues become a specific sub-class. On the contrary if another
independent country is involved, the whole territorial or colonial issues
become part of the joint issue
·
postal
administrations: not to be confused with printing
house. Therefore omnibus series produced at a same printing site (House of
Questa, Crown's agent, …) for which only the name of the
country is modified will not be considered as joint issues. On top of that, the
country (postal administration) must be recognized by the UPU at the time of
release of the stamps.
·
signature: The issue has to be approved as
joint by both (or more) postal administrations during at least the preparation
or design phase. Therefore issues discussed at the level of the UPU or any type
of collectivity or organization (SAARC, Norden, OPEC, Arab League, CEPT, …)
must be considered as joint as well.
·
agreement: either an official statement by
one of the postal administration must be published, or mixed official covers
are produced by the administrations (and not a dealer or privately). Therefore
the use of first day covers completed with stamps from the second country after
the issue of the stamps of the first country (post-cancellation) cannot be
considered as joint issue. For most of the older issues it is difficult to
provide this proof. Therefore, in main cases a special sub-class was proposed
(waiting list).
·
new: reprint of older issues are not accepted, nor
overprinted stamps can be considered as joint issues
·
postage
stamps or items: stamps, souvenir sheets and
booklets are the most common items used in joint issues, but postal stationery such
as cards, letters, aerogrammes can be part of joint
issues as well. Even revenue stamps and stamp labels could be accepted
·
postal use: any item produced within this
frame must be accepted as payment for mailing. Therefore if only documents
without postal value are produced, the issue cannot be considered as joint. Of
course complementary material without postal value (e.g. black prints, assays,
…) to a true joint issue will be described
·
common interest: all stamps have to be commemorative stamps (topical
or anniversary) and preferably related to an event that is common to both
countries
·
defined
timeframe: the time between the two dates of
issues must be as short as possible. This time will define sub-classes of joint
issues (twin, parallel or concerted). However, it can happen that for technical
or political reason the difference between two issues can be as big as several
months. These issues will be accepted as well. Aborted joint issues will be
considered also each time the information is available.
Classification system
Two characters are used to describe a joint issue
subtype. The first letter stands for the sub-group: U: Unique, S: Siamese, T: Twin,
C: Concerted, P: Parallel. The first part groups all "true"
joint issues, including those that did fail. Subclasses are detailed by using a
figure.
In the second part are gathered all joint issues that
have to be considered as "doubtful" or "not true joint
issues". They use the same lettering system (T, C and P) followed by
another letter explaining the sub-class: O: Omnibus, T:
Territorial (or Colonial), A: Accidental.
Part 1: True joint issues sub-classes
Part 1 collects all series for which it is obvious that
there was at least a will to produce joint issues together, either based on the
design or the date of issue. The difficulty to add new series to these lists
starts when some of the countries are politically linked to each other. If more
than two countries are involved in a series, two countries are sufficient to
define the group to which this series will belong. Therefore, when only two
countries issue identical stamps at the same date beside several other
countries issuing stamps at different dates or with different designs, these
two countries will define the priority in the classification system.
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Name |
Type |
Basic definition |
Conditions and Remarks - Examples |
1.1. Unique and Siamese Issues
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Unique issue |
U1
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One single stamp (or postal item) issued for two countries |
Names of both countries present on the stamp |
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Liechtenstein - Switzerland (5 September 1995) |
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U2 |
One single stamp (or postal item) issued for two countries |
No name of country on the stamp, but used in several countries |
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Territorial Unique Issue |
UT |
One single stamp (or postal item) issued for different territories or colonies |
Unique issue involving dependent countries (extremely rare and should normally belong to Part II - no sufficient examples to create a specific sub-group in Part II) |
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No example known up to now |
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Siamese issue |
S1 |
Two stamps from different countries, issued se-tenant or part of the same souvenir sheet |
Stamps with the same design that can be separated to be used in their respective country |
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S2 |
Two stamps from different countries, issued se-tenant or part of the same souvenir sheet |
Stamps with a different design Although se-tenant, stamps can be used for postage only in their originating countries |
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Territorial Siamese issue |
ST |
Two stamps from different territories (or colonies), either issued se-tenant, or part of the same souvenir sheet, or included in the same booklet |
Siamese issue involving dependent countries (extremely rare and should normally belong to Part II - no sufficient examples to create a specific sub-group in Part II) |
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1.2. Stamps with the same design
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Twin issue |
T1 |
Identical stamps issued on the same day. Most common case, basis of the Joint Issues collection |
Difference between dates of issue can be up to one week. |
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In some very specific
cases, territorial issues (normally classified as TT) can be found in
this class, e.g. when only one territory is linked with a specific topic to
the father country: |
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T2 |
Identical stamps issued on the same day (several countries involved) |
When more than two countries are involved but not all of them are issued on the same day, the most common day will be kept |
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Europa CEPT stamps with the same design and with less than half of the countries being issued at the same date. UPU common issue (ex: |
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T3 |
Similar stamps issued on the same day |
The design is the same, but one item or part of the design is adapted to the specific country. If there are only size differences, printing processes, paper quality, colors or perforations, these stamps will still be considered as T1. |
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T4 |
Identical souvenir sheets issued on the same day with different stamp cuts |
The basic design of the souvenir sheet is the same for both countries, but stamps including printing of the country name and denomination are taken for each country at different positions in the souvenir sheet. Once cut out from the souvenir sheets, stamps should be classified as P1 |
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TX |
Identical stamps issued on the same day |
… but without real proof that the stamps were really issued jointly. They could be TA stamps. Classified as TX until more information is available |
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Pilgrimage to the Mecca (1979) - Egypt (7 November) - Iraq (9 November) - Kuwait (9 November) - Oman (1 November) - Saudi Arabia (6 November) |
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Concerted issue |
C1 |
Identical stamps issued at different dates |
Difference between dates of issues superior to one week. Postal administrations must claim the stamp being issued jointly and explain the difference |
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C2 |
Identical stamps issued at different dates |
This sub-class contains also stamps that were initially not announced as joint, but for which one country offered the design to another country for implementation in their philatelic program |
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These stamps will be sub classified as C2 only if known Example:
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CX |
Identical stamps issued at different dates |
Same as C1 but no proof with mixed cover. Joint issue for which there is still a doubt will in this class as long as they cannot be categorized as C1, C2, CT, CO or CA |
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1.3. Official Joint Issues
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Parallel - or simultaneous - issue |
P1 |
Different stamp designs but issued at the same date |
Difference between dates of issue can be up to one week. Postal administrations must claim the stamp being issued jointly and explain the difference of design or official (not private) mixed cover exists |
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PX |
Different stamp designs but issued at the same date |
Same as above but no proof
with mixed cover. Joint issue for which there is still a doubt will remain in
this class as long they cannot be categorized as P1, PT, |
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Delayed joint issue |
D1 |
Different designs and different initial dates but postal agreement |
Production of one stamp by one country and existence of official mixed covers by using one previously issued stamp from the other country with authorizations from both postal administrations |
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Delayed - double anniversary issue |
D2 |
Different designs and different initial dates but postal agreement |
Delay officially acknowledged and due to the time gap between two linked events, that happened consecutively in both countries |
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Departure from Pitcairn ( |
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1.4. Uncompleted Joint Issues
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Non-issued or Aborted |
N |
Uncompleted issue |
Counterpart stamp missing or stamps that were finally not issued (however designer and printing samples exist), or printed later at another occasion, although the agreement between the postal administration was published |
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Part 2: Common issues sub-classes
Colonies, territories,
omnibus series, joint issues with a too large gap between their issue date and false
joint issues are collected in this second part. For purists, all these stamps
should not be considered as joint issues.
|
Name |
Type |
Basic definition |
Condition and Remarks - Examples |
2.1. Territorial and colonial Issues
As the definition of a colony differs from one
country to another, there will be no splitting between territorial and colonial
issues. The term territorial includes all countries that are "postally" dependent from another, whatever they are
called colonies, territories, oversea department, dominions, etc. Once such a
territory gains its complete postal independence and produces its own stamps
all different from the "politically" parent country, it will be
considered as a country per se. If only a sub-group of the colonies or
territories is involved (without participation of the father country) and if
the topic is related to a local event, then these stamps will be considered as
normal Twin (T1/T2/T3) or Joint (C1/C2 or P1/P2) series.
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Territorial (or colonial) twin issue |
TT |
Identical stamps issued by postally dependent territories (or colonies) at the same date |
List of administrations considered as territories is given elsewhere. However stamps issued jointly with another country than the father country must be considered in Part I, T1/T2 |
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Dutch Overprinted territorial twin issues with different colors will be classified under this heading as well. |
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Territorial (or colonial) concerted issue |
CT |
Identical stamps issued by postally dependent territories (or colonies) at different dates |
However stamps issued jointly with another country than the father country must be considered in Part I, C1/C2 |
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Territorial (or colonial) parallel issue |
PT |
Different stamps issued by postally dependent territories (or colonies) at the same date |
However stamps issued jointly with another country than the father country must be considered in Part I, P1/P2 |
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2.2. Omnibus Series
Omnibus Series include all large series of stamps
printed at a same place by the same printing house for countries that are not
linked politically. British Territories issues from the 40's and 50's have got
the generic catalogue name of "omnibus series", due to the number of
countries involved, but they cannot be considered under this heading, as at
that time, these countries were directly governed by Great Britain. Therefore
these series will be classified as Colonial/Territorial under TT, CT or PT and
the following issues become TO, CO or PO series as soon as independent
countries participate to the issue. Actually the modification of classification
is linked to the date at which the country gained its independence. In case of
doubt, the double classification may be used (e.g. TO/TT) as some collectors
may also want to consider the classical omnibus series under the heading TO and
not TT.
Usually omnibus series involve at least five countries
and the total number can go higher than 20. However some of the series that are
produced on the basis of the same design by the same printing house can be
limited to as low as two countries. If it is obvious that there is no postal or
political link between these countries, these stamps will still be classified
under this heading "omnibus" and the definition will be precised as "Same printing house series".
Series initiated by an association of countries (e.g.
Arab League, Europa/CEPT, OPEC, SAARC, Norden, …)
cannot be considered as omnibus series.
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Siamese omnibus series |
SO |
Stamps from different countries se-tenant; Design is similar, but stamps can be different |
Of course common printing house. Produced as copies of each other in order to reduce printing costs. Usually the number of involved countries is much higher than five. |
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Twin omnibus (or same printing house) series |
TO |
Same or common design and same date of issue |
In all cases, common printing house Produced as copies of each other in order to reduce printing costs. Usually the number of involved countries is much higher than five |
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1981 (22 July), involving
39 countries. The criteria for switching from Territorial TT to
Omnibus TO is the presence of independent
countries, in this case |
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Concerted omnibus (or same printing house) series |
CO |
Similar design, but different date of issue |
In all cases, common printing house. Produced as copies of each other in order to reduce printing costs. Usually the number of involved countries is higher than five. |
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Example: Stamps "United we stand" commemorating the 11 September attack by several countries at different dates during 2002, showing each the local flag. |
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Parallel omnibus (or same printing house) series |
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Same date of issue but different design |
In all cases, common printing house. Actually design remains similar (frame) and stamps are produced as copies of each other in order to reduce printing costs. Usually the number of involved countries is higher than five. |
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1986 (23 July) Prince Andrews marriage with Sarah Ferguson: design for all stamps is similar but the central photograph is different for each one |
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2.3. Accidental Joint Issues
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Accidental Twin Issue |
TA |
Same design and same date of issue |
… but obviously no Twin Issue, as they are issued without agreement between postal administrations. Usually these stamps are issued at an anniversary date and are based on the same painting or picture |
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Ex.: On the 150th birthday (1972) of Louis Pasteur several countries issued a stamp in honour of the scientist and used the same classical painting. |
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Accidental Concerted Issue |
CA |
Same design but different date of issue and no link between countries |
Obviously stamps being produced based on the same design (e.g. portrait, logo, painting, …). Some issues can have several years of difference |
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Ex: |
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Accidental Parallel Issue |
PA |
Same topic and same date of issue but different design |
Obviously not a joint issue as, for example, those stamps produced at an anniversary date, but without agreement between postal administrations |
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Borrowed design |
BD |
Same design as an already existing joint issue, but not being part of this issue |
Includes also shared, rented, borrowed or even stolen designs |
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2.4. Non-Accepted Joint Issues (non exhaustive lists)
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Overprinted Issue |
OP |
Common date, but only overprinted stamps |
The issues that will be reported are exceptions. Overprinted stamps are normally excluded from the scope, except in the cases where the color of the stamp differ |
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Non-com-memorative issue |
NC |
Common date and common design but definitive stamps |
Definitive stamps are excluded from the scope |
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Usually first colonial stamps |
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Non-UPU recognized countries |
NR |
Stamps issued by countries not recognized by the UPU |
Joint issues are limited to countries that have a political and postal worldwide accepted existence at the time of issue of the stamp |
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Abkhazia and |
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Common issue |
CM |
Same topic but different design and different date of issue |
Except as examples, those will not be reported in the catalogue |
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False joint issue |
FJ |
Only the topic is common |
Any stamp pair that does not fit with one of the above definitions |
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Non exhaustive list of common design or topic stamps issued the same year, but definitely not as joint issue |
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2.5. Joint Cancellations (non exhaustive list)
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Common cancellation |
JC |
Creation of a specific cancellation |
Agreement between postal administrations to cancel jointly stamps with similar topics. Non-exhaustive list. The issues that will be reported are exceptions. |
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