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TIMBRUL DOMNESC / ROYAL STAMP |
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 The beginning of an organized fiscal system is marked by the Organic Regulation of the 1st of January 1832, until this act we cannot speak of an organized fiscal system in the real sense of the word. That does not mean that until then there were no taxes. On the contrary, there were too many. The people of the Princely States (Moldova and Walachia) were paying overburdening taxes, reason for emigration to neighboring countries, besides being too much, they were not even collected by State officials, but by various entrepreneurs, tax-collectors (taxildari) which acquired at public auctions the right to collect taxes from the citizens. There were great abuses in the collecting of taxes, taking from peasants - the category being the only taxpayers, nobles and the clerical staff being exempted, many times over the same tax, the poor people not being able to denounce the injustice, justice being on the side of the powerful, meaning the tax-collectors. This situation, and the more and more numerous revolts, as well as the migration of peasants made the country's Ruler think. The hard and abusive system needed a refreshing, which appeared during the Organic Regulation, which had the merit of simplifying the taxation system and pointed out the fiscal obligations of the taxpayers. The Organic Regulation imposed a quarterly payment of any tax, the issue of a receipt for the collection of the tax, regardless if the taxpayer was literate or not, the amount being in turn deposited with a receipt. Clerks who fulfilled many tasks appeared, registered and accounted, therefore not leaving room for the many abuse of the past. The changes eased somewhat the life of the taxpayer, already difficult, and eased the way to future legislation.
At the end of the 1848 Revolution and the Convention of Balta - Liman, in 1849, between Russia and the Ottoman Empire , the rulers of the Romanian States were appointed for a 7 years period. During their reign they tried to improve the State and the Administration. After the withdrawal of the Russian troops, Austria occupied both States, which they held under occupation for a long period,  bringing new hardship and financial damages. During this time, in Moldova, Grigorie Alexandru Ghica Voda, after an exile established in Vienna where he met and appreciated the western knowledge, returning to the throne (October 1854 - June 1856) looked for a well thought program for the improving of the fiscal system, among which the issue of a revenue stamp. Grigorie Alexandru Ghica orders the publication of "The royal ordinance number 2, for the promulgation of a law establishing the stamp tax", through which is established, as a stamped sheet, the first fixed stamp - the royal stamp - in value of 20 parale and gradual stamps (the proportionate stamps of later). The need to create Romanian stamps for court and commercial acts, led to the establishing in Iasi of a State print "the Stamp Workshop" ("Atelia Timbrului"), which started its activity on the 12th of January 1856. So is born the first Romanian revenue stamp, two years prior to the famous Auroch's Head.
From the Great Union of the Romanian Princely States and until the age of reforms from 1866, a number of laws are passed, aimed at improving tax collecting.
On the 28th of February 1872, King Charles Ist, promulgates the "Law for the establishment of the Tax and Registration Tax", followed on the 1st of September by the release into circulation of a number of fixed and mobile revenue stamps. This Law is the first that introduced in our country the stamp and registration tax over all court and
administrative acts, be them civil, commercial and over the movement of real securities and real estates. This Law, modified by the requirements of time, exists to this day and governs the issue of general use revenue stamps.
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| Timbru Fix / Princely stamp 1856 - 1863 issue |
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 20 Parale, 1856 issue. Wet stamp printed in a circle with a 29 mm diameter, on ministerial type paper, 46x35,5 cm, folded down the middle. In the middle, Justice standing under the balance, the auroch head and a value box with the inscription 20P, around it the words TIMBRU DOMNESC, and the name of the engraver J. Bessaignet. Under the wet stamp is printed the dry stamp, with a diameter of 28 mm which is engraved with the coat of arms of the Principality of Moldova, around it the words TIMBRU DOMNESC and the name of the engraver J. Bessaignet. Two important issues are known from the type of paper used, the first issue 1856 - 1857 on paper without watermark and the second, 1857 - 1862 on special paper with watermark as provisioned by the stamp law. The paper has watermark down the middle, vertically, the words TIMBRU DOMNESC separated by a circle in which the coats of arms of Moldova is found with the auroch's head and set between two spiraled columns, the entire sheet being striped by 36 horizontal and 14 vertical lines. |
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| Timbru Gradual / Gradual stamp 1856-1863 issue |
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 Gradual stamp, 1856 issue divided into to classes, Ist class of 2 to the thousand and the IInd class of 5 to the thousand. Wet stamp printed in a circle of 29 mm in diameter. In the middle Justice standing, under the justice balance is the auroch's head and a value box with the value in lei, around it the words DE LA 0 PANA LA 000 ("from 0 to 000", where the value is specified), and under, the name of the engraver J. Bessaignet. Under the wet stamp the dry stamp is printed with a diameter of 28 mm, engraved with the coats of arms of the Principality of Moldova, around it the words TIMBRU DOMNESC and the name of the engraver J. Bessaignet. According to the Decree issued by Ghica on the 12th of January 1856 there should be a number of 111 proportionate taxes. The stamps are applied on various types of paper, watermarked as well as without watermark
After the Union of the Principalities of Walachia and Moldova, in 1861 they should have been in use throughout the country, but there is no proof yet of this happening. It appears that they resorted to a paragraph from the Organic Regulation in which was provisioned the use of a receipt as proof of tax payment. After 1863 there are no more documents documented with the two types of fixed or gradual stamps up to the Stamp and Registration Law of 1872. |
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The period of 1863 - 1872, after the Union |
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| Due to the fact that documents with Princely Stamp (Timbru Domnesc) or gradual stamps are extremely rare, the archives being partially destroyed, from 1863 up to the new Stamp and Registration Law of 1872 there are no documents discovered for this entire period, bearing these stamps applied. Most likely the tax was paid directly to the cashiers of the Ministry of Finance, receipts being issued. In my collection there are 12 documents with Princely Stamps and 8 with gradual stamps issued between 1856 and 1863, all of them issued in Moldova. The administrative union of the two principalities (Walachia and Moldova) was done in the autumn of 1861 and the unification of the two governments after January 1862. In this period and up to the reform unification of 1866 a series of new laws appear aimed at improving the fiscal system. The two Law project's publish in the Official Monitory no. 255/October 27, 1860 and Official Monitory no. 287/ December 30, 1865 are the same as the Law from January 12, 1856. These should be the main reasons for the disuse of the Princely Stamp throughout the country. In other private collections there are six more documents with Princely Stamp for the same period. For the period of 1863 - 1872 there is no concrete evidence, only personal observations of a number of documents from various parts of the country, who initially should have been subject to fiscal tax, issued by different authorities, absolutely all of them without Princely Stamp, fixed or gradual. According to the law, documents subject to taxation were mandatory printed on watermarked paper (the so called "stamped paper"), in the period mentioned being no reports of such documents. The authors of the book "100 years of Official Bulletin 1832 - 1932" mention the faulty accounting of the Princely Stamps and the fact that they were recalled due to inefficiency, but do not mention the year it happened. In the Official Monitory no. 68/ April 9, 1863 Article 1, the Legislative Assembly and the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, abolish the Law already approved in January 12, 1856. Other authors, J. Barefoot and Mihai Cojocar, present in their catalogues an issue of 1860 with the characteristics of the 1872 issue. It is possible for confusions to be made in the reading of the documents, being frequent extracts of the birth or death registers, for the '60th but usually issued much later. Examples are found in the pages on the study of documents. It is up to later studies to clear this issue.
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TIMBRU FIX EMISIUNI NATIONALE / NATIONAL ISSUES |
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 Justice with flowers. Colourless embosed stamp inscribed ROMANIA TIMBRU (without value). Imprint STERN is the engraver (in Germany). Two issues: one with watermark ROMANIA/arms/HARTIA TIMBRATA, second with 1875 dated watermark ROMANIA/arms/HARTIA TIMBRATA/datewich fills most of the sheet. From 1876 to 1881 the fixed stamp remains with the same design only the dry stamp having printed the identical value to that on the wet stamp, the royal coat of arms from the sheet's watermark is surrounded by two concentric ellipses with the big vertical axis of 103 mm, which include on the top the word ROMANIA, down HARTIE TIMBRATA of 10 mm high, in the center the country coat of arms with the year included beneath. From 1877 issues are annual with the year included in the watermark. |
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 Starting with 1881- 1903 the Justice with flowers, but "dry" design with LEU or LEI and value, and watermark contained in a vertical oval (dates inside the oval), dates as indicated. The fixed stamp remains with the same design only the dry stamp having printed the identical value to that on the wet stamp, new watermark (the country coat of arms from the sheet's watermark is surrounded by two concentric ellipses with the great horizontal axis of 123 mm, in between, up the word ROMANIA, down TIMBRU of 10 mm high, in the center the country coat of arms, the year above or below the ellipsis), the sheets of paper being ordered at the LETEA paper factory. |
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 1903 through 1927. Circular imprinted stamps no longer have "Timbru Fixu" but, instead, the value in a box below Justice. "Dry" control and watermark as previously. Double stamp are also known, when it was necessary to supplement the value of a single stamp by adding a second to make up the value required by the document. |
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 Justice with flowers. Colourless embosed stamp inscribed ROMANIA TIMBRU (without value). Imprint is the local engraver. Dated watermark ROMANIA/arms/HARTIA TIMBRATA/date, wich fills most of the sheet. Unsuccessful attempt for a new issue in the year 1904, rapidly withdrawn (proof of circulation only for the months of March and April 1904) because the value of the tax was hard to read in the new type of valor cartouche. Personal discovery published in the Filatelia magazine (589) 2/2006 and on http://www.revenues.ro/pagini/curiozitate.htm#rom . "unlisted in the Barefoot, Cojocar or any other catalogues" |
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| German Military Administration in Romania 1917-1919 |
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  In the territory under the German Administration it is ordered that taxes that are to be paid with revenue stamps to be paid according to the Romanian laws from the 4th of February 1906 and 24th of December 1914. During the military occupation, on the majority of documents was used the stamped paper existing in stock from previous years, without amendment from the law. Valid shall be only stamps with the M.V.i.R overprint (Military Administration in Romania) or "Gültig 9 Armée". Is included as mandatory issue the overprint
MF by Law Decree 868/25.02.1919, the validity of fiscal stamps, of stamped sheets and policies of any kind being canceled unless bearing the MF initials. In circulation until 1.10.1919 according to Decree 1176/12.03.1919.. |
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 From 1924 the fixed samp has the same Judicial wet design, mainly in black, some high value in green or red. Changed dry control and watermark as previously. Double stamps are also known, when it was necessary to supplement the value of a single stamp by adding a second to make up the value required by the document. |
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 Fixed Stamp, new deign. 1943 through 1947 when this fixed tax was definitely replaced with mobile revenus stamps. Same dry control and watermark as previously. Double stamps are also known, when it was necessary to supplement the value of a single stamp by adding a second to make up the value required by the document. |
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 This is a final fixed stamp tax, introduced in 1947 and during since 1952 when the fixed stamp was definitely aborted replaced by the mobile stamps. The 1947 issues was imprinted on the royalty watermarked paper and overprinted with the Romanian Peoples Republic simbol. Changed dry control with the new images. The second issue was imprinted on the new watermaked paper. |
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EFECTE PARTICULARE / COMERCIALE / FOREIGN EFECTS |
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| Proportionte 1st & 2nd Class 1872-1884 issues |
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 Similar types inscribed TIMBRU PROPORTIONALU. There are two issues, the wet stamp representing the same characteristics to both issues, only the dry stamp being different. For the first issue, the one from 1872 the dry stamp does not have the value printed on it; in the second issue from 1881 the printed value being similar to the tax on the wet stamp. Stamped paper with watermark. |
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| Proportionate 3rd Class 1872-1884 issue |
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Similar types inscribed TIMBRU PROPORTIONALU. There are two issues, the wet stamp representing the same characteristics to both issues, only the dry stamp being different. For the first issue, the one from 1872 the dry stamp does not have the value printed on it; in the second issue from 1881 the printed value being similar to the tax on the wet stamp. Stamped paper with watermark. |
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| Fixed on bills 1872-1880 issue |
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Justice with flowers. Colourless embosed stamp inscribed ROMANIA TIMBRU (without value). Imprint STERN is the engraver (in Germany). Two issues: one with watermark. From 1877 issues are annual with the year included in the watermark. |
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| Fixed on bills 1880-1902 issue |
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Starting with 1881- 1903 the design of the wet stamp and that of the dry stamp remain the same, the watermark having all the data inserted in a horizontal oval, the year above it or below. The fixed stamp remains with the same design only the dry stamp having printed the identical value to that on the wet stamp. |
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| Fixed on bills 1902-1929 issue |
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Fixed Stamp, new deign. 1903 through 1927. Circular imprinted dry stamp no longer have "Timbru Fixu" but, instead, the value in a box below Justice. From 1924 the fixed samp has the same Judicial wet design, mainly in black, some high value in green or red. Same dry control and watermark as previously. |
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| Bills 1904 provisional issue |
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Justice with flowers. Colourless embosed stamp inscribed ROMANIA TIMBRU (without value). Imprint is the local engraver. Dated watermark ROMANIA/arms/HARTIA TIMBRATA/date, wich fills most of the sheet. Unsuccessful attempt for a new issue in the year 1904, rapidly withdrawn (proof of circulation only for the months of March and April 1904) because the value of the tax was hard to read in the new type of valor cartouche. |
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| Fixed on occupation customs |
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In the territory under the German Administration it is ordered that taxes that are to be paid with revenue stamps to be paid according to the Romanian laws from the 4th of February 1906 and 24th of December 1914. During the military occupation, on the majority of documents was used the stamped paper existing in stock from previous years, without amendment from the law. Valid shall be only stamps with the M.V.i.R overprint (Military Administration in Romania). |
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| Fixed on bills 1930-1943 issue |
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From 1924 the fixed samp has the same Judicial wet design, mainly in black, some high value in green or red. Changed dry control and watermark as previously. Stamped paper with watermark ( the country coat of arms from the sheet's watermark is surrounded by two concentric ellipses with the great horizontal axis of 127 mm, in between, up the word ROMANIA, down TIMBRU of 10 mm high, in the center the country coat of arms, the year above or below the ellipsis), year placed sideways, the sheets of paper being ordered at the LETEA paper factory. |
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| Fixed on bills 1943-1947 issue |
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Fixed Stamp, new design. 1943 through 1947 when this fixed tax was definitely replaced with mobile revenus stamps. Same dry control and watermark as previously. Double stamps are also known, when it was necessary to supplement the value of a single stamp by adding a second to make up the value required by the document. |
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TIMBRU FIX alte emisiuni / OTHER ISSUES |
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 For the country's air defense, for the development of air lines and for the general flourish of Romanian aviation, through the Law of the 4th of April 1931 the National Aviation Fund was created. The absence of this stamp had the consequence of the absence of the revenue stamp or the taxation. The National Aviation Fund Stamp circulated between the 1st of May 1931 and the 1st of April 1942. |
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 Issue not mentioned to date in any specialized works. The value of the stamp, between 5000 and 10000 lei on the lower side of the stamped sheet, 1946 overprint. Were issued for the land register sections and were replaced with RPR issues."unlisted in the Barefoot, Cojocar or any other catalogues" |
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 Found on documents certifying freedom from disease, for animals taken to market or slaughter, in a similar way to methods used in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Used mainly in Transylvania (closest to Hungary or in areas that were formerly Hungarian). |
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