Post-War Watermarks on Italian Stamps

by Tony Clayton


Main Index


Winged Wheel


There are three types of Winged Wheel watermark as shown by the following illustration:
WW General

Measurements of the three types

Type 2 is only used for certain recess printed stamps. Type 1 is oval in appearance and can be indistinct. Type 3 is usually much clearer and is more circular in appearance. When the watermark is displaced and you can only see the gap between two winged wheels, then Type 1 has an 8 mm gap while Type 3 has a 10 mm gap between them

They come in up to eight possible orientations, but it is rare for there to be more than four for an individual stamp, and often only one.

The orientations are as seen from the back of the stamp, and described using abbreviations as follows:

This is best understood by looking at the illustrations below.

If the sheet was not perfectly aligned then the letters of the marginal inscription would appear on the stamp rather than just the selvedge. Such stamps command a premium which varies according to how much of the letters show.


Type 1 Winged Wheel


ND

1ND

NS

1NS

CD

1CD

CS

1CS

db

1DB

da

1DA

sa

1SA

sb

1SB


Type 3 Winged Wheel


ND

3ND

NS

3NS

CD

3CD

CS

3CS

db

3DB

da

3DA

sa

3SA

sb

3SB


Stars Watermark


The stars watermarks were introduced to get round the orientation problem, and had no letters in the selvedge.


Type I Stars


The stars are sharp and clear, and aligned horizontally or vertically.
s1h

Horizontal

s1v

Vertical

It is known for some examples to show lines indicating that the paper is laid.


Type II Stars


The stars are slightly less sharp and clear, and aligned at an angle. This angle can either be 25° or 65°.
25d

25°D

25s

25°S

65d

65°D

65s

65°S


Type III Stars


The stars are slightly less sharp and clear, and aligned at an angle. This angle can either be 25° or 65°. Alternative rows are not precisely aligned.
325da

25°DA

325db

25°DB

325sa

25°SA

325sb

25°SB

365da

65°DA

365db

65°DB

365sa

65°SA

365sb

65°SB


Type IV Stars


The stars are arranged as for Type I, but are very fuzzy and indistinct.



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Watermarks
Copyright reserved by the author, Tony Clayton
v1 23rd April 2015
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