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The Two Cuckoo's Eggs of the 1913 Turul Series

2026.02.24. 0 reacties

Guests from the Future, or the „Cuckoo's Eggs” of the Stamp World


Among stamp collectors, there are two denominations in the 1913 series that, although they look exactly like the other Turul stamps, are actually heralds of a completely different era. Meet the secret history of the 70 and 80 filler stamps!

Turuls in the Time of the Harvesters?

Imagine the autumn of 1916: the printing works were already busy preparing the new Harvester and Parliament series. At this time, however, a major tariff change created an urgent need for 70 and 80 filler stamps. Although these were originally intended as the first members of the new series, the post ultimately decided to produce them „for the time being using the existing designs.”

This led to the peculiar situation that while the other members of the old Turul series were no longer being printed, these two values appeared freshly on 1 October 1916 – moreover, on the same watermarked paper as the 1913 issue.

Why Do We Still Classify Them Here?

From a stamp-historical perspective, these stamps would belong to the Harvester series, as they were born from the same design competition. However, over the past hundred years, collectors have become so accustomed to regarding them as supplementary values of the 1913 series due to the identical design (the Turul) that experts also did not wish to disrupt the system by changing it. They remain „honorary” 1913 issues.

Rare Experiments and Colour Trials

Before the final versions were produced, the State Printing Works began experimenting in August 1916. These experimental prints are today among collectors' most treasured possessions: imperforate, on white cardboard paper, in such exciting colours as:

  • copper-red/blue
  • dark violet/blue

What Did the Official Gazette Say?

The September 1916 decree was extremely lengthy, but it omitted one important detail: the colour of the stamps! It only specified that the design would remain the old one. This too shows the haste and transitional state in which these two special denominations were born.

Tip for collectors: If you come across a 70 or 80 filler Turul, think of it as a time traveller that, in its old form, already served the tariffs of a new era!


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