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I have brought these prices up to date and added currency selection. CheckList Setup |
| Shortcuts to different sections | |||||
| Basic set | Perforations | Cancels | Telegraphic use of postage stamps | Stationery | Telegraph Seals |
Steve Hiscocks wrote in 1982:
The telegraph stamps of Rumania were introduced on 1 November 1871 and they were used until some time in 1874. Curiously enough imperforate
copies do not seem to be known although they were first issued at a time when the postage stamps of Rumania were not officially perforated. For
such a short lived issue they show a remarkable range of perforations between 9 and 11 with many compound varieties. These are listed below in
table format since there is not sufficient information to allocate prices to specific varieties. It can be said however that those perforated 9 or 9½ are
scarcer than those perforated 10½ or 11 and should perhaps sell for twice as much. In listing the known perforation varieties I have followed Morley in
keeping to increments of ½. A closer analysis is needed however to bring the list to ¼ increments since many specimens listed at 10½ or 11 are
nearer to 10¾ and the same seems to be true around 9½.
1871 (1 November) Embossed profile of Charles I on higher values. White wove un-watermarked paper.
Perfs. as indicated in table.
  |
| Romania set H1 - H5. |
| Perf. | 25B | 50B | 1L | 2L | 5L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | * | 1 | 1 | ||
| 9 x 9½ | * | 1 | |||
| 9 x 10 ½ | * | * | * | * | * |
| 9 x 11 | * | ||||
| 9½ x 9¼ | 1 | 1 | |||
| 9½ | * | * | 1 | ||
| 9½ x 10 | * | ||||
| 9½ x 10½ | * | * | * | 1 | 1 |
| 11 x 9¼ | * | 3 | |||
| 10 x 10½ | * | 2 | |||
| 10 x 11 | * | * | |||
| 10½ | 20 | 2 | 3 | * | 2 |
| 10½ x 9 | 1 | ||||
| 10½ x 9¼ | 1 | ||||
| 10½ x 9½ | 1 | * | |||
| 10½ x 9¾ | 1 | ||||
| 10½ x 11 | * | * | * | * | |
| 10¾ | * | 4 | 9 | * | |
| 10¾ x 10½ | 2 | * | * |
Hiscocks provided the table above and added the following note:
| Note. Most of the above is taken from Morley. While I do not seriously doubt his measurements, I am not sure that he always set them down in the modern convention of horizontal (i.e. top and bottom) measurement first and vertical (i.e. sides) second. Work by someone with a large selection of these stamps is required. |
My note: There was a similar problem with the Telegraph stamp perforations of Japan.
A modern specialized Japanese catalogue gives very different information.
I have replaced '*' in the table above with quantities that I have, where I have any.
The 1 type entries were not in the table before. Red sizes are ones I have added and
Magenta sizes are adjusted to the nearest ¼ from Hiscocks original table.
I have come to the conclusion that this should be treated like Austria.
On the question of Morley, his World Catalogue was published in 1900. I am not sure how he measured the perforations,
but they are all to the nearest ½, leaving open to question how some of my measurements would have been recorded.
It is also worth mentioning that many things he recorded in his catalogue have not been seen by anyone else since.
Because it is difficult to prove the non-existence of something, they continue to be listed in new catalogues.
The guage varies too much, you can measure one thing along the top of a stamp,
and something different along the bottom. Similarly with the sides.
Here are some interesting examples, notice that they are all 5L stamps,
I'm sure it is not a coincidence, as they are catalogued quite high in Yvert & Tellier:
 |
Anomaly 1 - along the top, I measure from 8¾ to 9¼, call it Perf.9 |  |
| Along the bottom, I measure from 8¾ to 9¼, call it Perf.9 |
 |
Anomaly 2 - along the top, I measure from 9¼ to 9¾, call it Perf.9½ |  |
| Along the bottom, I measure from 9 to 9½, call it Perf.9¼ |
 |
Anomaly 3 - along the top, I measure from 9¼ to 9¾, call it Perf.9½ |  |
| Along the bottom, I also measure from 9¼ to 9¾, call it Perf.9½ |
In each case, the two sides are very different. It is possible that in some cases, one side has been re-perforated, but why with such an obviously different guage ?
Yvert & Tellier simply list them all as Perf.10½.
Multiples are unusual
Though with some separation, this 4x4 multiple of 25B is certainly unusual. Though the image is at 300dpi, I am displaying it at 240dpi to get it on the standard page width.
Used in Galatzi, the 5 blue cancels are unclear, even with channel separation, but this appears to be dated 30 September 1873, unusually with the year at the top. Images courtesy of Bram Leeflang.
This was presented as an example of later telegraphic use:
It is not. Teleorman is the name of a county in the south of Romania.
However, like most countries, Postage stamps were used before Telegraph stamps were available, and probably after.
The blue thimple CDS cancels seen above are indicative of telegraph usage.
This pair of 15B used in RIMN SARAT, 18 July 1872, image source David Feldman SA.
Here is a 2B and 3B with a different, undated cancel reading "STATIA TELEGRAFICA POSTALA / BUDAU", also in blue,
on a piece of telegraph form, image source David Feldman SA.
I would be interested in seeing other examples.
Form images at 150dpi, with any closeups generally at 300dpi.
Telegram of 21 June 1929, used at Aiud, nothing on the back. The bottom-left has "p. Conformitate" with Conformitate meaning Conformity.
The imprint at bottom-right says "Form. 122/6. - C. R. 37621".
Telegram of 31 August 1930, used at Galati, nothing on the back.
The imprint at bottom-right says "R. S. — C. 4946 — Form. 122".
Telegram of 27 January 1938, nothing on the back. I do not know the significance of the "RADIA-MADEA" stamped on it.
The imprints at bottom say "Form. 315 (176X250) 1935" and "M. O., Imprimeria Nationalà" ("National Printing House ").
From Sibiu to Timisaoara dated 7 August 1941.
The imprint at bottom-left says "Form. 315 (176X250) 1939" and bottom-right "M. O., Imprimeria Nationalà" ("National Printing House ").
Image courtesy of Bram Leeflang.
Used on 25 May 1947, this is a Hungarian form repurposed as a Romanian telegram in Oradea, Transylvania.
The imprinted Hungarian stamp has on it "OKIRATI ILLETEK" meaning "DOCUMENTATION".
The heading on the front is "POSTAI SZÁLLÍTÓLEVÉL BELFŐLDI CSOMAGHOZ" meaning "POSTAL DELIVERY LETTER FOR DOMESTIC PACKAGE ".
In red it has "(A címirat másolatát helyezze el a csomagban !)" meaning "(Place a copy of the title in the package!) ".
From 1940-1944, this area had been part of Hungary. The Treaty of Paris (February 1947) reallocated it to Romania.
The imprint on the back says "M. kir. állami nyomda. Budapest, 1943.", "állami nyomda" being "state printing house".
Very similar to the last. Used on 4 May 1947, the imprint on the back says "M. kir. állami nyomda. Budapest, 1944."
Telegram of 25 August 1955. It is headed "MINISTERUL POȘTELOR ȘI TELECOMUNICATIILOR DIN R.P.R." meaning "THE MINISTRY OF POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF THE R.P.R."
It now has a Coat of Arms. The imprints at bottom say "E.S.I.P. 9606275 — l P Croiova 1576" and "Ktg 6-20. Format A5. (1) / Ed. 1954".
Croiova is the name of a city, capital of Dolj județ county.
Telegram of unknown date, but before the later types. It is headed like the last, but in a different font.
The imprint at bottom says "Ktg 6-20 Format A5". It may be earlier than the type above.
Telegram of 7 July 1959, but now again simply headed "TELEGRAMA". The Coat of Arms has gone.
The imprints at bottom say ". 28. Tlp. d.p.t." (I think) and "Ktg. 6-20. F. 1/12 A1". It may be earlier than the type above.
Telegram of 18 June 1960. Similar to last but different left imprint.
The imprints at bottom say "C. 315 — Tlp. d.p.t." (I think) and "Ktg. 6-20. F. 1/12 A1".
Telegram of 6 March 1965 (I think, from a poorly legible backstamp). Similar to last but different imprints and quite a bit smaller.
The imprints at bottom say "60/308", "cd. 4358/1962 Imp M.T.Tc. Filaret" and "M.T Tc. 8-01".
Filaret is a village in Giurgiţa Commune in Dolj County.
Telegram of 5 February 1966 (from the backstamp). Similar to last but different imprints and quite a bit smaller.
The imprints at bottom say "60/308", "I. P. Tiparul" and "M.T.Tc. 8-01".
Tiparul translates as "Pattern".
Telegram of 8 June 1968 (from the backstamp). Similar to last but longer and different imprints.
The imprints at bottom say 'c. 7710/1967 — I. P. ,,Tiparul" ' and "M.P.T. 3-01; 1/12 A1".
Telegram of 27 December 1969 (from the Radauti backstamp). Similar to last but different imprints.
The imprints at bottom say 'I. P. Tiparul' (though the T looks like a Γ) and "M.P.T. 3-01 , 1/12 A1".
Telegram of 3 March 1973. Similar to last but different imprints. Used at Baia Mare
The imprints at bottom say 'I. P. Tiparul — cd. 5934/1971' and "P.T.T.R. 3-01; 1/12 A1".
Telegram of 3 March 1973. This is the same date as the last, but used at Alba Iulia, Transylvania. Similar to last but missing the bottom-right imprint.
No imprint at bottom-left. The imprint at bottom-right says "P.T.T.R. 3-01; 1/12 A1" like the last one.
Unused Telegram form of 1978. This is roughly the same size as previous ones, but in a portrait rather than landscape format. It has an imprinted 10 Bani postage stamp with the 1965 Coat of Arms.
The imprints at the bottom say "128/ 1978" and "M T.Tc. 29-1-312". The side inscription says "Prej de vínzare 10 ' ani" ("About 10 years old").
Here are a couple of them.
Steve Hiscocks made a start on cataloguing seals of the world in a book he published in 2007.
It was his hope to update it later, but unfortunately that was not to be.
His original book can be viewed at
Telegraph Seals: A World Catalogue. There are links from the pages to my updates.
Alternatively you can view the latest page for Romania.
If anyone can provide scans to help with this, I am happy to give appropriate credit.
Last updated 14th. October 2026
©Copyright Steve Panting 2012/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26 except where stated.
Permission is hereby granted to copy material for which the copyright is owned by myself, on condition that any data is not altered and this website is given credit.
