The Rouletted Revenue Stamps Of Finland

Thursday 29 September 2005

Jussi Tuori

In the world of collecting there often appears to be an unexplainable trend, which is also seen in collecting revenue stamps. Revenue stamp collecting has apparently gone on for as long as stamp collecting. By the end of the 1800s and early 1900s, studying and collecting revenue stamps became popular, although not in the same manner as that of postage stamps. The earliest famous collector of Finnish revenue stamps was Agathon Fabergé whose great interest apparently was triggered by the close relation of revenue stamps to postage stamps. The technique that was used in the rouletting of revenue stamps was the same as that of postage stamps. Markings by Fabergé are found on numerous stamps and especially on rare strips such as a certain large block that he had reconstructed. To my knowledge Fabergé did not collect documents nor display the revenue stamps in any shows.

The golden age of Finnish revenue stamp collecting was in the 1940s and early 1950s. At that time many well-known and savvy philatelists such as E.A. Hellman, Th. Grönblom, Jarl Pettersson, Harald Olander, G. v. Möller, Sulo Kinnunen, Jaakko Kemppainen, and a younger, but no less important Björn-Eric Saarinen were enthusiastic about revenue stamps. The revenue stamp collectors founded their own club. E.A. Hellman served as its first chairman.

There were three good revenue collections in the Helsinki Stamp Exhibition of 1948, which also included significant amounts of new research. Nevertheless, the revenue collections fared very poorly in the judging. This offended the revenue stamp collectors who reasoned that the Finnish judges wanted to give the death knell to revenue stamp collecting. The newly founded Philatelic Federation of Finland (Federation) had from 'certain quarters' received a notice questioning whether revenue stamp research should be included in the philatelic arena. At a Federation meeting in the spring of 1949 an overwhelming majority voted unfavorably concerning revenue stamp collecting and also that revenue collections in Finland would no longer be accepted in the Federation sponsored shows, not even outside of the competition. However, this situation had a positive effect, too, because it spurred revenue stamp collectors into action by founding their own publication aptly named Libertas Philateliae. The magazine was of surprising quality with an attractive appearance. The publication would not have been possible without the financial support of the generous and distinguished American collector, formerly of Sweden, Colonel Hans Lagerlöf. The first chief editor was E.A. Hellman, soon followed by Björn-Eric Saarinen. After a year, however, the form and appearance of the magazine had changed to a more modest multi-copied version, and from the beginning of 1954 to the A5-format. The final issue appeared at the end of 1956. The magazine dealt widely with the so-called fringes areas of philately.

The following is what the first magazine editorial had to say about the Federation decision:

"Does the newly founded Philatelic Federation not favour real research work? The instigators of this refusal did, at least, know how close Finland's revenue stamp research is to that of postage stamp research of the corresponding time period. It seems that purely self-interests and selfish authoritative issues were the deciding factors in everything that now has transpired. However, in the future, most certainly, the greatest emphasis will be on various kinds of philatelic research and on its different areas rather than the influence of the size of the chequebook or other distractions. This will surely be witnessed already in the near future."

Interest in revenue stamps died down almost completely in the 1950s due to the steady passing of old collectors from this earthly life and the nearly total absence of the younger generation. To get acquainted with revenue stamps apparently was considerably more difficult than with postage stamps, and made even more so by the scant availability of literature. Actually the only reading was Hellman's rather brief catalogue. And the only person really actively involved was Björn-Eric Saarinen.

But time did work its magic on Finnish revenue stamp collecting while elsewhere in the world the interest had continued unabated. Especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries the collecting of revenue stamps has been popular throughout history of stamp collecting. Pressure to bring the status of revenue stamps up to par with postage stamps grew, and in 1991 FIP decided to establish a revenue stamp class and a commission to oversee this re-emerging branch of philately. Thus, the revenue stamps were allowed as equals to postage stamps even in Finnish exhibitions without the Federation having to change its original decision.

The interest in revenue stamps has re-emerged in Finland thanks to Björn-Eric Saarinen's very good catalogue. In the 2002 national show at Jyväskyla there were four revenue stamp exhibits of which two reached gold. The research, too, has resumed and some old persistent myths overturned. The revenue stamps are included in the LAPE 2004 catalogue.

However, the nature of the collections has changed, as has that of postage stamps. Fifty years ago very little attention was paid to revenue stamp use on various documents, and their relevance was still minor. This can be clearly observed in the E. A. Hellman collection at the Postal Museum. Today one can say that such different usages are decisive. Comparing a revenue collection to a postage stamp collection, one can argue that the documents in a revenue collection are much more diversified and interesting than covers in a stamp collection. The letter post merely tells the story about mail delivery, but the documents reveal the entire culture of the country and the versatile development of the society. The primary problem in the collecting of Finnish big-toothed (serpentine) revenue stamps is the scarcity of material because very little is available at auctions or even existing. But there are still opportunities to feel the joy of discovery at flee markets and antique stores. A second problem is the rarity of the high value main types. Both the 1865 Fmk 60 and 80 stamps and the 1866 Fmk 150 and 500 stamps are so uncommon that only three to five copies of each are known. No comparable degree of rarity is known among postage stamps. Even of the Zeppelin error, nearly all of the 500 copies apparently exist. In the Finnish Philately only equally rare item is the 1850 black 20 kop postal stationary.

Stamp Taxes As Revenue Source For The Government

Governments have for centuries financed their activities, in addition to collecting the usual taxes and customs duties by charging for services or an adding an excise tax on financial transactions such as real estate sales or the purchase of luxury items. The more widespread use of actual revenue taxes occurred in the 1600s. The income structure of the state differed considerably in the 1800s from that of the present day. The main sources of income were the customs duties, taxes on land and manufacturing, stamp-duties and taxable income from personal wealth. It is interesting to note here 3% of the Grand Duchy of Finland's income from taxes and 6.5% from indirect taxation in the 1860s originated from stamp-duty. When it comes to imposing taxes, the government officials have always been extremely imaginative. Thus in those days, stamp-duty was collected on all kinds of items. Evidently the largest number of different types of surviving documents originated in matters handled at courts of justice. All documents presented at the courts had to be stamped whether it was a question of pieces of evidence, powers of attorney, petitions or title registrations. Likewise, petitions to the governor, emperor or any other governing authority had to be stamped, as did all legal financial matters as well as deeds of purchase concerning real estate that often involved a court announcement, promissory notes, last wills and testaments, bankruptcy auctions, stock dividends, and so forth. Upon obtaining his position, an office holder had to pay considerable stamp-duty, and regardless whether his career had been successful or not, also, upon retirement. In order to enter into matrimony a stamp-duty had to be paid on the banns. Also for a ship to enter or depart port a so-called permission for passage had to be obtained for which stamp-duty was charged. Gambling has always had a sinful connotation, and so a tax was levied on playing cards beginning in the 1700s, and in Finland in 1842. The list goes on and on. The revenue stamps and the stamped papers indicated that the required payments had been fulfilled.

The Beginning Of Stamped Papers And Revenue Stamps

Just as with stamps where postage stamps are differentiated from postal stationary, actual revenue stamps are differentiated from stamped paper. The stamped papers are official papers that have been furnished with a stamp imprint of specific values. They could have imprints of special types.

The governing body of the Venice waterways issued the world's first stamped papers in 1608. In 1604 a special tax had been enacted for each letter addressed to a government official. However, in order to reinforce this law, letters had to be written on paper with the amount already printed in advance or for the letter to be sent inside such a paper cover. The world's first entires, the Mulready stationary in England, were not issued until 232 years later. In Sweden stamped papers were first used in 1660 and in Finland a year later. Finland naturally used the same papers than Sweden. The oldest known stamped paper used in Finland originates from 1664 and concerns a real estate border dispute in Espoo, near Helsinki. Some stamped papers from the period of Sweden's rule over Finland are encountered, and not very uncommon especially from the latter half of this era. When Finland was annexed to Russia in 1809, the move to Russian currency was swift. As early as 1810, in order to speed up things, the old Swedish era marked papers were changed into kopek values by drawing lines over the 'skilling' currency and then replacing them with an embossed kopek denomination. That same year, the first real issue appeared and then various issues followed as needed until 1860, when Finland placed into circulation its own currency. Although it took as much as 5 years until the new currency - the mk - (Finnish Markka) was adopted for revenue stamps and stamped papers due to governmental difficulties and fluctuations in the price of silver.

The first issues of the mk stamped papers from 1865 and 1866 are the most splendid pieces of artwork that I have seen in philately. But from a collecting and exhibit standpoint the large size of some stamped papers is challenging because it becomes necessary to use a page with the height of two regular pages.

The Charta Sigillata Office was in charge of collecting the stamp-duty beginning in 1810, but in 1894 the name was changed to Finland's Stamp Office (Leimakonttori). It also was in charge of both stamped papers and from 1865, the manufacture of revenue stamps. Although the stamped papers were issued in 30 different denominations, and if needed be could be ordered in various combinations, the sole use of these proved tedious and difficult.

In 1856 the first Finnish postage stamps had been issued, the first Russian imperial postage stamps following a year later. Based on the positive experiences with the postage stamps, it was decided to issue at the same time the mk value stamped papers and the first revenue stamps. The first postage stamps with in the Finnish currency appeared in 1866, but the revenue stamps were issued a year earlier in March of 1865.

Before continuing with a more detailed description of the first two Finnish revenue stamp issues, it is worth mentioning an interesting point concerning the politics of language. The first issue from 1865 was entirely in one language, Finnish. Finland has neither before nor since had any other single language stamp issue neither among the postage nor revenue stamps. How this happened is unknown. In any case, the "stroke of the Empire" was swift; a little more than a month after issuance on April 18, 1865, His Imperial Majesty graciously decreed 'that we have seen it appropriate to decree that the printed 'Stempel' stamps should, besides the number and the Finnish words, include also words in Swedish. However, the presently existing charta papers and charta stamps that according to aforementioned paragraph have only the Finnish words "may be accepted, and should be sold." So the officials were very sparing. The person behind the language politics was apparently J.W. Snellman because due to Snellman's efforts also the coins were only in Finnish. The second revenue stamp issue was taken in use gradually beginning in summer 1865. Up to now it has been believed that the issue was appearing in the beginning of 1886, but new evidence is indicating an earlier start.

The decree above makes a reference to validity and it may be said that the revenue stamps were valid practically 'forever' because they were akin to money and may have been saved for a long time. Consequently, the latest use of the 1865 issue is dated August 26, 1895, 30 years later. The latest known use of the 1866 issue is also from the above same year, dated October 4, 1895. Their long usage is indicative of the low rate of inflation but the stamps lost their validity first with Finland's independence.

The Printing Of The Revenue Stamps

The initial revenue stamps were ordered from Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Kirjapaino (the printing office of the Finnish [language] Literature Society) and with a related lithographer, F. Polen & Co., founded in 1858. It printed and gummed the stamps during 1865-67. The printing office went bankrupt in 1867 after which the technical director Ferdinand Tilgmann, bought the printing office and machinery, started his own firm and continued the printing of revenue stamps. The gummed sheets were delivered to the Charta Sigillata Office, and which then did the perforating and control marking.

The printed sheet size and the other printing arrangements have up to now been left to speculation, but only in 2002 did Jukka Mäkinen from Oulu present a sensible theory. One of the basic problems has been that no vertical pair among the revenue stamps has been found. The largest continuous strip is a strip of seven and a combined strip of eight that has a strip of seven and a single stamp joined.

The greatest and apparently erroneous understanding came about at a Finnish revenue stamp collectors' club meeting on April 4, 1948 where the printing arrangements were discussed.

Messrs. Grönblom and Hellman presented two 5 Fmk stamps that had an extremely rare irregular rouletting of IxIxIVxI. When these were fitted together the lower sides joined perfectly; and as the idea of a tête-bêche position had been suggested earlier, this supposedly provided the needed proof. The sheet size was most likely thought to be 10 x 2, which seemed to support the notion that the control marking would have been easier to perform. But not even one inverted control mark has either been encountered. But the aforementioned understanding about the printing has been very persistent showing even up in Saarinen's superb catalogue from 1998.

The new study starts with the premise that in printing the revenue stamps the same type of postal stamp paper was used, which was suitable for security printing of both revenue as well as postage stamps. It was available in so-called median-sheets size 440 x 560 mm and it was obvious, also, that the paper was used as effectively as possible. Furthermore, since strips of more than 8 has not been seen, the most logical arrangement is that two printing sheets - each having 8 x 6 = 48 stamps - were printed on the 'median' sheet. This theory is supported by a document from 1865 signed by Tilgmann in which he states that each sheet had 48 revenue stamps. Also, the known printing quantities further supports this particular sheet size. One additional proof is, that I found a stamp with step rouletting and the adjoining stamp is without any doubt in the same upright position.

Obviously, Agathon Fabergé did not believe in the tête-bêche theory. Pictured is a configuration from 1865 that Fabergé put together of the 2 mk stamps. Fabergé had unused strips of 5 and 6 that he made into a block of 11. In knowing Fabergé's expertise, this reconstruction has to be correct.

The absence of vertical pairs is due to the manner of rouletting. which will be described later. The old notion that the last printing of 1860 10 kop stamp was printed in the FLS printing office is also overturned. And since this printing consisted of 4,800 copies, they must have been revenue stamps and not postage stamps. Harry Walli had indicated this already in 1952.

The actual printing was by lithography. Many printing details are still unknown. Whether the original master die was drafted in stone or on paper is not known. It is not either known how many printing stones or clichés were made. But the variance in the picture image size (that is, in the height as much as 60-65 mm even in the same value) is indicative of several printing stones. Likewise is the cliché breakage in the penni denominational stamps a proof of the same. The penni values can be divided in two large groups, the first one without and the second one from 1877-78 with the breakage.
The thickness of the paper used varies greatly from very thin to nearly cardboard quality. The general impression has been that thin paper was used in the early years and the thicker paper later on. The long period of use is naturally an impediment in determining the timing. Also, the paper colour varies to some extent. Usually it is white, but yellowish or greyish paper is also seen. Furthermore, the effect of the gum and light hampers colour determination.

There are great variances in the revenue stamp colour. The penni values were brown and the mk denominations blue. In the penni denominations the most rare colour is the salmon pink and in the mk values the violet-blue. Only a few of these are known in some of the values. In general the colour vary in the penni denominations from a near yellow to a dark chocolate and in the mk values from a bright blue to a greyish-blue through green and ultramarine. A comprehensive research lies ahead with the colour and their timing.

The Rouletting (Perforation)

It was natural, that the method of separation used with postage stamps was chosen for the revenue stamps. The tools used were perforating disks, partly similar to those used for postage stamps. One new disk (disk IV or D) was manufactured for revenue stamps, which created perforations in the shape of a spade. The dense disk V made for private stamps has never been seen to be used on the revenue stamps, but the disk IV was sometimes loaned to the postage stamp department and thus the sought after rarities of the postage stamps were created.

The most rare disk used was disk III, which is especially rare on the type 1865. On stamps this was not used until 1867. There are only three stamps known from the 10 ink values that have the IIIxI perforation. The existence of these indicates that the disk III was available as early as 1865; or a sheet or sheets of 1865 stamps left at the bottom of the stack had not been perforated until 1867.

Initially the perforation apparently was done horizontally with the aid of a ruler, which made the horizontal perforation nearly always straight. The strips were rouletted probably all at one time and separated for the control marking. After that the stamps were vertically perforated and delivered for sale apparently in strips.

Due to this procedure the stamps with mixed perforation are very common, even more so than those rouletted with only one disk. And there is also so-called irregular rouletting, that is stamps that have a different perforation on only one side or the stamp has three different perforations. All of these are rare. Of the type 1865 only one irregular rouletting is known, and in the type 1866 about 40. These are in various denominations and nearly all different.

When the rouletting was done vertically, apparently without a ruler and the row beneath moved effortlessly, many variations occurred. A sloping perforation is sometimes distinct and step perforations exist, too. All this provides variety for a collection. Much work has been done in the research of the various perforation differences, but much still remains. The problem is partly that some of the material has been scattered among different collections but regardless, a relatively good end result may still be obtainable. After the publication of the Saarinen catalogue, new variations have been found and surely more will follow.

Printing Flaws And Specialties

The long issuing period and the many printings did naturally bring numerous printing flaws and variations within the values. The printing errors may be permanent or temporary, e.g., caused by some particle. The many variances are evidence of several printing stones. Extremely few of these exceptions are seen in the first issue and due to the small number of printings, the printing stones did not become damaged and neither were many stones required. In the second issue, several very well known varieties are seen almost without exception in the penni denominations because the printing quantities were much larger than in the Fmk values. One of the most famous exceptions is the so-called broken cliché that appears in all other penni values except the 80 penni denomination. It has already been discussed earlier. The broken cliché means, that there is an extra line askew above both the Swedish, and Finnish texts.

In the 20, 40, and 50 penni stamps alike there are both fat and regular thin numbers. Fat numbers especially in the 20 and 40 penni are rare. Likewise, very well known is the 20 penni 'open' number '2'. A scratch in the shape of a half circle has also been seen on this particular stamp denomination. The clichés may have become quite worn, thus the upper roundel on the letter 'A' on the 80 penni stamp was already worn off early on. The question could be asked whether here, too, different printing stones were used, although 80 penni was a value somewhat less used.

The Cancellations

When the use of the big-toothed revenue stamps started in 1865, it was decreed that the revenue stamps had to be cancelled in ink referring to the document to which they belonged. The stamps were large and thus could accommodate a good deal of writing, but this procedure was extremely work intensive and so in 1874 the oval-shaped bi-lingual Swedish/Finnish "MAKULERADT/MITATON" cancellation marks appeared. Some of these cancels showed the complete date, others only the year. The locality is absent on the marks except in the very rare Swedish/Finnish

"MAKULERADT/OULUSSA/MITATON" stamp used in Oulu and Kuopio, of which both only three are known. Due to the late start of use of the cancellation stamps, they are rare in the first issue. The latest use of this issue is dated August 1895, 30 years after the date of issue. Furthermore, quite rare are the single row (both in Swedish) "KASSERAD" (Invalidated) and "Annulleras" (Annulled) marks. Of the latter only one copy is known. On the 1866 stamps there are several different types of cancellation stamps such as small, large and double ring ovals. Some of them are late usages, too, from the 1890s. Various authorities used their own marks such as the Helsinki municipal finance department very low oval (in Swedish) "MAKULERADT/HELSINGFORS DRATSELKAMMARE." The Turku prison authorities used two different bilingual marks in Finnish and Swedish respectively, "RANGAISTUSVANKILA TURUSSA/STRAFFANGELSET I ABO" (Penal institution in Turku/Abo) and "KURITUSHUONE TURUSSA/TUKTHUSET I ABO" (The Penitentiary in Turku/Abo). Still more private in nature and extremely rare are the sailors' home marks, at least, those used in Mariehamn (Aland) and Rauma as well as one mark depicting a bear head where the origin is unknown. Furthermore, pastors and priests might have rationalized their work as seen in the pictured C. Alfr. Calamnius mark on the banns at the present, the only known copy. As I have stated previously about the many aspects of the revenue stamps, there is likewise much research still to be done with the cancellations. Some earlier unknown cancellations have newly been founded like "MITATON" (cancelled) only in Finnish language.

Unused stamps exist, too, but they are rare. These are more easily found among the penni values but unfortunately for someone even a 100 Fmk stamp has also been found unused. Some of the seemingly unused stamps could be washed-off marked stamps from documents. Further examination of these stamps is required. However, the Fabergé large block indicates that even rows of unused stamps have survived. In addition to that there is a 30 penni strip of five. The unused mk denominations are, according to Saarinen, generally very rare.

The Groups

Only strips are known of the big-toothed revenue stamps and all longer than a pair are rare. This, of course, is due to the method of rouletting and also because usually the revenue stamps were fastened vertically to the left side of the document. In most of the denominations not even a pair is to be found. There are some strips of three, but beginning from the strips of four all are very rare. The longest unbroken group is a strip of seven.

Documents - The Essence Of A Collection

The various documents are an essential part of a revenue stamp collection, the same as postal items are in a postage stamp collection. A document helps to reveal the many-faceted by-gone cultural periods. Through documents one gets a wider perspective of life 140 years ago than from postal items in a postage stamp collection. The revenue stamp documents were generally always kept with the payer of the stamp-duty, which means that not many are found in the archives. A number of various kinds of letters have in the past been seized from the archives and church registry offices. This is not the case with documents, which often are found in the bottom of a desk drawer. An estate inventory of a deceased, a legal confirmation of possession and a deed of purchase have always been important documents of any family and therefore carefully kept. These are also the most common of documents that can be found to this day as are those issued in connection with court of justice proceedings such as power of attorney, reports, and other paper evidence.

In conclusion and in order to present some idea of the variety, I have introduced seven different documents here [5 are illustrated]. The first is the banns from Evijarvi on January 4, 1882 in which Antti Matinpoika Björkbacka has been registered to join in Christian matrimony to Serafia Antintytar Lassila. When studying the revenue stamp decree of May 20, 1878 and paragraph 5 thereof it becomes evident that the banns were priced entirely according to the groom's social standing. The pricing alone of these statements took up more than two pages of the ordinance. The most expensive charge for the banns - 200 Fmk - had to be paid by a 2nd class civil servant, and the lowest on the list - 10 Fmk - by a 14th class civil servant. An announcement made by an archbishop cost 120 Fmk and the same by a sexton only 5 Fmk, which sum was also charged to an elementary school teacher. The society in those days classified all of its citizens and each person apparently knew his/her status on the social ladder. Thus, Antti Matinpoika as the son of a peasant farmer paid 2 Fmk when as a tenant farmer he would have paid only 1 Fmk. The aforementioned document is made interesting, too, by the unique cancellation used, mentioned earlier.

Kaarlo Ekberg had been named to the Kuopio sharpshooter battalion platoon officer post The second document is an appointment paper in which the junior commissioned officer Kaarlo Ekberg had on April 16, 1882 been named to the Kuopio sharpshooter battalion platoon officer post. Ekberg had, according to the appointment paper come to the attention of battalion commander, Colonel Gahmberg, because of Ekberg's diligence, skill, and good behavior. According to the revenue stamp ordinance, 4% of an annual salary had to be paid in stamp-duty when appointed to an office. However, the tax paid while holding the previous position was subtracted when determining the tax for the new post. Thus, junior officer Ekberg paid 9,60 mk in stamp duty, which amounts to an annual salary increase of as much as 240 mk. An interesting philatelic feature is the rare rouletting IIIxI on the 5 Fmk of which less than three are known for this denomination.

The third document is on April 29, 1869 a title registration from the Korsholm judicial district. The peasant farmer Erik Johansson had purchased from his brother Johan Johansson a lot the size of 11/48 'manttaalia' (which is equal to a tax assessment unit for land), and paid 1,400 Fmk for it. The stamp-duty for the transaction was 1,40 Fmk and with that Erik Johansson was the new legal owner of the property. An interesting detail is that the certificate was written on 1 mk stamped paper to which a 40 penni revenue stamp was attached. The stamp also has for this denomination rare rouletting IIxI, and a very rare fold for a revenue stamp.

a letter on the Helsinki merchant Arvid Brofeldt In the fourth document I have combined postage stamps and philately. The French wine merchant Ed. Hall & Co sent a letter on January 13, 1875 to the Helsinki merchant Arvid Brofeldt rejecting Brofeldt's return of liqueurs the Frenchman had sold to him. These had been in Brofeldt's possession for a long time, and the quality was fine, too. The letter had been franked with a French blue 25 c. pair, the standard foreign rate. Evidently Brofeldt did not believe Hall's argument and the letter was used as evidence in court on June 2, 1875 where it was franked with a 30 penni revenue stamp. How the story ended is, at least to me, regrettably unclear.

The Tomei steam saw mill stock certificate The next document is as beautiful as can be. It is a 1867 Tornefi Angsags Aktie-Bolag (The Tomei steam saw mill) stock certificate. The shareholder was the well-known Oulu businessman J.W. Snellman.The sixth is a mixed franking of 12 kopek stamped paper from 1845 and a 40 penni revenue stamp from 1865. The document is a lease contract for an amount of 80 mark a year. The correct tax was 80 penni. The rate of kopek was close to 0.35 pen, so the contract is about two penni. overrated. The interesting point is that Saarinen says in his catalogue that the inspection reports indicate the existence of 1845 stamped paper also in 1865. However no examples have been recorded. I found a decree dated November 11th 1864, which told that these stamped papers were valid up to the end of year 1865. The document is dated October 1st 1865. So this is the only known usage of 1845 stamped paper in 1865 and also the only known mixed franking of kopek and penni values. According another document this particular lease continued at least for three years. The last one is a copy of one page from the accounting book of a sawmill in January - May 1875. The sawmill went obviously bankrupt. This copy was franked on the back of the page with 22 copies of 5 mk stamps and 26 copies of 1 mk stamps in six rows of eight stamps. The amount is 136 mk. From 1 mk stamp there is one strip of seven, which is the largest known strip of this issue. Also there two strips of four. This is the largest known franking in numbers of the stamps. The document has belonged to Agathon Fabergé.

Literature

E.A. Hellman: "Finland's Revenue Stamps," the 1944 special printing that appeared in the SP magazine
Th. Gronblom and Jarl Pettersson: (In German) Durchstich-Tabellen fur die Finnischen Stempelmarken, Helsinki 1950, the Tilgmann printing office
Jarl Pettersson: Finland's Revenue Stamps, The 1866 Emission, bound duplicate (20 specimens), 1948
B-E Saarinen: Finland's and Aland's Revenue Stamps and Revenue Papers. Special catalog 1998. Jay Smith & Associates, ISBN 0-9656592-08
Jukka Makinen: Articles in the Filatelisti, issues 7/02, 8/02, 9/02, and 3/03
Libertas Philateliae, publication issues 1950-1956