Parcel Post
Italian parcel post stamps at this time had an interesting, practical design. They were sold in pairs as you see here. If you click on the image of the album page you’ll see a larger version of it. You can see the text written on them. The left one of each says at the bottom, Sul Bolletino (i.e., On the Shipping Bill). The right ones say at the bottom, Sulla Ricevuta (i.e., On the Receipt).
Basically, when someone would buy one of these pairs, they would pull them apart and put the left one on shipping bill or label to show the post office they paid for the shipment. The right half is attached to the receipt. I’m not sure, though, if that receipt is immediate given to the sender, or if it’s attached to a post card that acts as the receipt and will be mailed back to the sender after the recipient receives it.
Note
These parcel post stamps are available from stamp dealers, as two complete sets, but they’re a little pricey. So far I have the first set and one stamp from the second set that I’ve had for a long itme. I just put in a bid at a stamp auction in Italy for the bottom set. The price wasn’t too high – assuming I win with my bid.
There are two extra stamps at the bottom of the page, catalog number PP25 and PP25. They’re identical to the ones with the same denominations as those in the second set of stamps, except that the size of the overprint is smaller. Those little deviations get a stamp its own catalog number and place in an album. I redesigned this page to put them at the bottom of the page – I originally had them mixed in with the second set.
This is very much part of stamp collecting: identifying properly and fiddling with the organization of stamps. Making minor adjustments like this may seem tedious, but bringing order to a collection is satisfying and relaxing. It helps in dealing with the other aspects of one’s daily life – which isn’t always very orderly and can’t be ordered.
Contains 26 spots: own 24 – 24 unused, 0 used.
Album or Web Page Last changed Feb 5, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
Parcel Post Pairs - Overprint I
✓ |
PP1 |
5c (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP2 |
10c (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP3 |
20c (aug 1918) |
|||
✓ |
PP4 |
25c (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP5 |
50c (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP6 |
1₤ (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP7 |
2₤ (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP8 |
3₤ (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP9 |
4₤ (nov 1915) |
|||
✓ |
PP10 |
10₤ (nov 1924) |
|||
✓ |
PP11 |
12₤ (nov 1924) |
|||
✓ |
PP12 |
15₤ (nov 1924) |
|||
✓ |
PP13 |
20₤ (nov 1924) |
Parcel Post Pairs - Overprint II
✓ |
PP14 |
10c (nov 1937) |
|||
✓ |
PP15 |
25c (nov 1937) |
|||
✓ |
PP16 |
30c (nov 1929) |
|||
✓ |
PP17 |
50c (nov 1936) |
|||
✓ |
PP18 |
60c (dec 1929) |
|||
✓ |
PP19 |
1₤ (dec 1937) |
|||
✓ |
PP20 |
2₤ (dec 1937) |
|||
✓ |
PP21 |
3₤ (dec 1927) |
|||
✓ |
PP22 |
4₤ (dec 1927) |
|||
✓ |
PP23 |
10₤ (dec 1936) |
|||
✓ |
PP24 |
20₤ (dec 1936) |
Parccel Post Pairs - Small Overprint
PP25 |
50c (dec 1931) |
||||
PP26 |
5c (nov 1939) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
