BULGARIA
Only the two seals shown below have so far been found. Very little is known about them.
| Updates. The above was written by Steve Hiscocks. Like Romania, I will take Bulgaria as dating from the Treaty of Berlin (1878), before which it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria almost doubled in size in 1885 by unification with Eastern Rumelia (itself made autonomous by the Treaty of Berlin, capital Plovdiv). I have only converted to HTML. Tentative pricing added. |
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| 1878-81 Early type, various. |
1881-1927 | 1927-46 | 1946-48 People's Republic. |
1948-90 People's Rep. this and similar. |
1997 onwards |
Principality of Bulgaria. - "БЪЛГАРСКО КНЯЖЕСВО" - established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
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| #1 1884, 32.2mm This is the identical item that Hiscocks illustrated. |
#2 1888-1900, 33.4mm |
Type 2 are found on forms that have "188 год.", "189 год." or "190 год." where "год." is short for "година" meaning "year",
leaving the last digit to be filled in. The forms also bear the 1881 coat of arms. This is dated 30 October 1894:
"Ч." is short for "ЧАС" meaning "TIME"
Type 1 on the other hand is on a form with "iЙ " in the same location, completed with the digit "4" as shown below:
(smaller because the old form is smaller)
I do not know what "iЙ" means, if it is the same as "year" then this would indicate 1874 or 1884.
Since the Kingdom was not created until 1878, it must be 1884.
The early form has the coat of arms shown below-left, compared to the 1881 type on the right:
| RH # | Type. | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RH1 | 1 | 1884 Imperf. Black on white. | 30.00 | 30.00 | 50.00 |
| RH2 | 2 | 1888-1900 Imperf. Black on white. | 10.00 | 10.00 | 15.00 |
Hiscocks adds the following note:
| Note. Both of the above appear to have been supplied in strips or sheets and the seals cut or torn off as required. Further information is needed. The date for #2 [1917] was suggested by the seller and the seal was reconstructed from a photocopy of a badly cut actual seal. |
My note: I now have 7 examples of #2 on telegrams, ranging in date from 1888 to 1900+ (pre-filled with 190
but the last digit unfortunately not added, in two places !)
CANADA
Great North Western Telegraph Company of Canada
A single seal from the Great North Western Telegraph Company of Canada, has so far come to light.
This was used apparently on the 1900s to seal a folded telegram and was, unfortunatly, damaged in
opening so only a rather battered scan of the two remaining halves on piece can be illustrated.
The telegram from which this illustration was taken was undated.
| Updates. The above was written by Steve Hiscocks. I have added only a better image. No pricing either. |
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| #1 189? (last digit not filled in), 29.5mm |
| RH # | Type. | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RH1 | 1 | Imperf. Red on white. | 10.00 | 10.00 | 15.00 |
Canadian Military Telegraph Seal
The sealing tape illustrated was used on an Army Post Office telegram sent to a Canadian Officer in the 13th Battery,
Canadian Field Artillery serving in France on 14 Feb., 1919. The seal bears the words À DÉCHIRER
(directing the recipient to tear or rip it open) as do the 19th century seals used in France and Turkey, along with a French text (Free delivery, etc.).
It is debatable whether this seal should be regarded as French or Canadian, but I have chosen to regard it as a
Canadian Army system and thus Canadian until someone corrects me.
Unfortunately I did not win the eBay auction in which this item appeared but the seller kindly scanned the seal for me before sending it to the winner.
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| #M1 |
About 12mm high. Length not known.
| RH # | Type. | Description | Mint | Used | On telegram |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHM1 | M1 | 1919. Imperf. Black on buff. | 10.00 | 10.00 | 15.00 |
If anyone can provide scans to help with this, I am happy to give appropriate credit.
