| AUSTRIA. ATM issues (2017-2019) |
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In 2017, the Austrian Post philatelic department decided to decommission the Sielaff kiosks and replace them with new equipment manufactured by the company Inform. Both types of equipment coexisted for six months, each with its own printing system, with the consequent duplication of varieties ... plus some programming errors.
| Farewell to SIELAFF kiosks |
Between 2006 and 2007, Österreichische Post AG acquired a total of nine Automatenwertzeichen (AWZ) or variable value stamp vending machines, manufactured by the German company Sielaff GmbH & Co.
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These machines (AWZ 1 to AWZ 9) were installed in post offices and at the premises of the philatelic service, and were also used temporarily at many philatelic events (see article, also published in VARIABLE 2).
In the images, the Sielaff AWZ 9 kiosk installed in the lobby of the Fleischmarkt post office, in the center of Vienna, in service until the end of March 2018. |
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After 10 years in service, the philatelic service decided to remove all the Sielaff machines, and replace them with a new kiosk model manufactured by the Austrian company Inform GmbH. From October 2nd 2017, all the variable value stamps supplied by the philatelic service were pre-printed on an Inform machine. However, the eight public service Sielaff kiosks remained in operation over the following months until the end of March 2018, so all the scheduled imprints during that period were produced in two different printing varieties. Moreover, at the request of some collectors and dealers, the philatelic service issued stamps with the new Inform equipment with all the designs and imprints produced (at least) since January 2016.
For the printing of stamps, both machines use a similar font, although it is possible to see some differences.
| Sielaff |
Inform |
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- Printing by ink, with a dot matrix printer
- Grey/black tones imprint
- More expanded text
- The face value adds '0' in values below 10
- Face value height: 25 mm.
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- Printing by thermal transfer printer
- Dark black imprint
- More compressed text
- Sans serif font, 'I' instead of 'I'
- Face value height: 30 mm |
At the start of March 2018, as a farewell, before shutting them down permanently, the postal company gathered five of the Sielaff kiosks in the lobby of the company's headquarters and the philatelic service shop - Philatelie 21, in Steinheilgasse, in Vienna.
For one month, until the end of March 2018, the AWZ 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 kiosks were in operation for the last time and available to visitors.
Each machine had a small sign on top, depicting the designs and the text printed on the stamps. |
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Via the screen menus and side option buttons, the machine enabled the direct purchase of one or more stamps with the main current postage rates, in addition to sets of stamps made up of several values (see last screen). By selecting the 'Value selected' option, the user could obtain stamps with any face value, starting from 1c .
Payment was only possible with coins, and the change was returned in the form of one or more stamps with the programmed 'residual values'.
At the user's request, the kiosk could print a receipt for the operation, printed on thermal paper. |
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| The new INFORM philatelic kiosks |
Österreichische Post AG will replace the Sielaff equipment with a new philatelic kiosk manufactured by the local company Inform GmbH. As can be seen in the images, it is similar to the postal kiosks of the same company, installed since the end of 2012 in post offices throughout the country (see article, also published in VARIABLE 28).
Both models of kiosks have the same case and devices, although the new machine has an additional coin payment device, in addition to the card reader, together with a GSM antenna. Specific software will allow it's use for philatelic purposes.
| For the printing of the stamps, this new kiosk is also fitted with a Citizen CL-S621 thermal transfer printer (not direct thermal), which will guarantee the permanence of the stamps imprint. |
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The Austrian postal administration has acquired six units, which could be installed from mid-July 2018.
As in previous years, the Austrian philatelic service prepared a series of two designs to be used with the Sielaff and Inform equipments throughout the year, plus another special series, available only during the Christmas season.
The ninth definitive series featuring floral themes (called 'Sommer 9' by the philatelic service) features the flowers of the primula farinosa and the fir tree. The two designs are by Tristan Fischer and the rolls of gummed labels were manufactured by Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., printed by offset.
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Text: PHILA PUNKT
Printing varieties: Sielaff (philatelic service and kiosk installed in Steinheilgasse, Vienna) & Inform (philatelic service)
Date of issue: January 9th 2017 |
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Text: PHILATELIE.SHOP
Printing varieties: Sielaff (philatelic service and kiosk installed at Fleischmarkt post office, Vienna) & Inform (philatelic service)
Date of issue: January 9th 2017 |
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Text: SONDERPOSTAMT
Printing varieties: Sielaff (philatelic service and kiosk installed at Philatelie 21, Steinheilgasse, Vienna) & Inform (philatelic service)
Date of issue: January 9th 2017 |
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Text: MARKE&MÜNZE 17
Printing varieties: Sielaff (philatelic service and kiosk installed at the philatelic exhibition, in Seiersberg) & Inform (philatelic service)
Date of issue: From May 19th to 21st 2017 |
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Text: GMUNDEN 2017
Printing varieties: Sielaff (philatelic service and kiosk installed at the philatelic exhibition, in Gmunden) & Inform (philatelic service)
Date of issue: From August 24th to 27th 2017 |
From October 2nd 2017, the philatelic service decommissioned its Sielaff kiosk and started to print the ATMs or variable value stamps on the new Inform equipment; these included the current designs and new imprints, but also earlier designs and imprints, on demand.
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Text: ÖVEBRIA 2017
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at the philatelic exhibition, in Hirtenberg)
Date of issue: From October 6th to 8th 2017 |
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Text: GSIBRIA 2017
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at the philatelic exhibition, in Lustenau)
Date of issue: From November 10th to 12th 2017 |
The tenth special series for Christmas 2017 is composed of two designs by Tristan Fischer with festive motifs: a church in a snowy landscape and a mistletoe decoration with a Christmas bauble. The rolls of gummed labels were manufactured by Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., printed by offset.
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 17
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosks in Postamt Christkindl and Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: From December 1st to January 6th 2018
Note: Also Sielaff incorrect imprints CHRISTKINDL 2017, CHRISTKINDL2017 & CRISTKINDL 2017 (More) |
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Text: FROHES FEST 17
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed in Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: From December 1st to 24th 2017
Note: Also the incorrect imprint FROHES FEST, with no year (Inform & Sielaff) |
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Text: NUMIPHIL 2017
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at the philatelic and numismatic exhibition, in Vienna)
Date of issue: December 1st & 2nd 2017 |
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Text: PHILA PUNKT
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: From December 1st to January 6th 2018 |
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Text: PHILATELIE.SHOP
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed in the Fleischmarkt post office, Vienna)
Date of issue: From December 1st to January 6th 2018 |
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Text: SONDERPOSTAMT
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at the Philatelie 21, Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: From December 1st to January 6th 2018 |
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Text: STILLE NACHT 17
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed in the Stille Nacht-Platz Museum, in Oberndorf)
Date of issue: From December 8th to 24th 2017 |
The two Sielaff kiosks installed, permanently, in Postamt Christkindl deserve a special mention. This is a temporary post office opened only during the Christmas season and very popular with collectors and visitors.
The office has two special postmarks with Christmas motifs, one used until the day after Christmas, illustrated with a Nativity scene, and another used until the closing date of the post office, dedicated to the Magi. |
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In operation since December 2006 during the days the post office was open, both machines issued variable value stamps with the two Christmas designs of the year and the temporary imprint with the name of the office, 'CHRISTKINDL' followed by the year in two digit format. Unfortunately, over Christmas 2017, several errors in the programming caused the appearance of stamps with up to five different text variants !
The text 'CRISTKINDL 2017' (with no 'H') was programmed in error on December 1st, the first day of issue after an electrical breakdown, and was available at least for all the following day. When postal clerks corrected it, they forgot the space between the text and the year, so during the following days the machine on the left issued stamps with the text 'CHRISTKINDL2017' and the one on the right with the text 'CHRISTKINDL 2017'.
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 2017
(Year in four digits '2017', instead of two '17')
Sielaff kiosk installed in Postamt Christkindl |
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Text: CRISTKINDL 2017
(Wrong programming without the 'H' at CHRISTKINDL)
Error at one of the Sielaff kiosks installed in Postamt Christkindl |
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Text: CHRISTKINDL2017
(No space between CHRISTKINDL & 2017)
Error at one of the Sielaff kiosks installed in Postamt Christkindl |
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 17
(Right imprint)
Sielaff kiosk installed in Steinheilgasse, Vienna, in 2018 |
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 17
(Right imprint)
Inform equipment used by the philatelic service |
The tenth definitive series featuring floral themes (called 'Sommer 10' by the philatelic service) features the flowers of the flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus) and the devil's bite (Succisa pratensis).
| The two designs are by Tristan Fischer and the rolls of gummed labels were manufactured by Royal Joh. Enschedé, printed by offset. |
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Text: PHILA PUNKT
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed in Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: January 8th 2018 |
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Text: PHILATELIE.SHOP
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed at the Fleischmarkt post office, Vienna)
Date of issue: January 8th 2018 |
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Text: SONDERPOSTAMT
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service) & Sielaff (Kiosk installed in Steinheilgasse, Vienna)
Date of issue: January 8th 2018 |
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Text: ÖVEBRIA 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and philatelic exhibition in Klagenfurt)
Date of issue: From May 25th to 27th 2018 |
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Text: POST AM ROCHUS
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and Philatelie Shop in Post am Rochus, Vienna)
Date of issue: June 6th 2018 |
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Text: PRAGA 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and World Stamp Exhibition - PRAGA 2018)
Date of issue: From August 15th to 18th 2018 |
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Text: ''phila''-Toscana'18
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and philatelic exhibition in Gmunden)
Date of issue: From August 23rd to 26th 2018 |
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Text: REGIO WEST 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and philatelic exhibition in Altach)
Date of issue: September 15th & 16th 2018 |
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Text: POSTMUSEUM 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and Postmuseum in Eisenerz)
Date of issue: From September 22nd to October 6th 2018 |
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Text: SINDELFINGEN 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and Internationale Briefmarken-Börse in Sindelfingen)
Date of issue: From October 25th to 27th 2018 |
In 2018, the eleventh special Christmas series consists of two designs by Tristan Fischer featuring a snowy landscape and a Nativity scene.
The rolls of gummed labels were manufactured and offset printed by Royal Joh. Enschedé. |
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Text: PHILA PUNKT
Printing varieties: Inform
Date of issue: From November 23rd to January 6th 2019 |
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Text: PHILATELIE.SHOP
Printing varieties: Inform
Date of issue: From November 23rd to January 6th 2019 |
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Text: POST AM ROCHUS
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service & Philatelie Shop, in Post am Rochus, Vienna)
Date of issue: From November 23rd to January 6th 2019 |
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Text: STILLE NACHT 18
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and seasonal post office in Oberndorf bei Salzburg)
Date of issue: From November 23rd to December 24th 2018 |
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 18
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and seasonal post office - Postamt Christkindl)
Date of issue: From November 30th to January 6th 2019 |
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Text: NUMIPHIL 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and philatelic and numismatic fair, in Vienna)
Date of issue: From November 30th to January 1st 2019 |
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Text: Weihnachtsmarkt 2018
Printing varieties: Inform (philatelic service and Christmas market 'Am Hof', in Vienna)
Date of issue: From November 30th to December 24th 2018 |
| 2018. The roll out of the new INFORM philatelic kiosks |
During 2018, Österreichische Post AG acquired a total of ten new philatelic kiosks from the local company Inform GmBH to replace the old Sielaff equipment (see article, also published in VARIABLE 48).
Six of these machines have been permanently installed in philatelic shops in Vienna, Salzburg and Steyr and, as a special feature, offer customers variable value stamps with all the current imprints.
In addition, the philatelic service occasionally relocates one or two kiosks to seasonal and temporary post offices, as well as to major philatelic events. In this vein, the first Inform kiosk was installed in ÖVEBRIA 2018, the philatelic exhibition held in Klagenfurt at the end of May 2018. In 2018, there followed two other national exhibitions, ''phila''-Toscana 2018 in Gmunden (right image) and REGIO WEST 2018 in Altach, and two international shows, the World Stamp Exhibition - PRAGA 2018, and the Sindelfingen Internationale Briefmarken-Börse, in Germany. A temporary kiosk was also installed in the Eisenerz Postmuseum.
The philatelic service programmed a commemorative imprint on the stamps issued during each of these events. |
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| During the Christmas season, the Austrian postal service installed four Inform kiosks in two temporary post offices only open during the holiday season, Christkindl (article and VARIABLE 48) and Oberndorf bei Salzburg (pictures), in addition to the 'Am Hof' Christmas market in Vienna, and the NUMIPHIL philatelic and numismatic fair, in Vienna. |
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Via the touch screen, the user can buy variable value stamps with four basic postage rates of domestic mail (0.80€, 1.35€, 2.70€ & 4.20€) and four for international mail (0.90€, 1.75€, 1.80€ & 2.10€), plus the additional fees for national and international registered mail (2.30€ & 2.85€, respectively). It is also possible to buy stamps with any face value between 0.80€ and 20.00€, which is the maximum value allowed for each purchase session. Payment is possible with coins and bank cards.
Like the old Sielaff equipment, it is possible to obtain stamps with lower values than the minimum programmed; the kiosk does not return change in cash for payments with coins, but in the form of stamps with the residual value or difference.
The new 2019 definitive series 'Sommer 2019' featuring floral themes features the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and the forget-me-not (Myosotis).
| The two designs are by Tristan Fischer and the rolls of gummed labels were manufactured and offset printed by Royal Joh. Enschedé. |
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Österreichische Post AG has six Inform philatelic kiosks permanently installed at philatelic shops in Vienna, Salzburg and Steyr, offering customers variable value stamps with all the currently programmed imprints. Other kiosks are used at philatelic events and temporary seasonal post offices.
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Text: PHILATELIE.SHOP
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: January 8th 2019 |
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Text: SONDERPOSTAMT
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: January 8th 2019 |
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Text: VÖPH
(Verband Österreichischer Philatelistenvereine - Austrian Association of Philatelic Federations)
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: January 8th 2019 |
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Text: POSTMUSEUM 2019
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk in the Österreichisches Post- und Telegraphenmuseum, Eisenerz
Date of issue: From May 4th to 15th 2019 |
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Text: MARKE&MÜNZE 19
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the exhibition held at the Sporthalle, Seiersberg
Date of issue: From May 17th to 19th 2019 |
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Text: ''phila''-Toscana`19
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the exhibition held at the Kongresshaus, Gmunden
Date of issue: From August 23rd to 25th 2019 |
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Text: REGIO WEST 2019
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the exhibition hold at Vorarlberger Museumswelt, Frastanz
Date of issue: September 27th & 28th 2019 |
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Text: ÖVEBRIA 2019
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the exhibition held at Arena Nova Halle 4, Wiener-Neustadt
Date of issue: From October 18th to 20th 2019 |
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Another error. In November 2019, the philatelic service supplied a few subscribers with variable value stamps with the six imprints programmed for the Christmas season. But instead of being printed on the new winter series labels, they were erroneously printed on a roll of labels featuring the floral themes series, released in early 2019. The three regular imprints (PHILATELIE.SHOP, SONDERPOSTAMT & VÖPH)
had already been issued in January 2019, but not the three festive ones CHRISTKINDL 19, NUMIPHIL 2019 & STILLE NACHT 19. |
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| The special 2019 Christmas series ('Winter 2019') consists of two designs by Tristan Fischer featuring a snowy Mittelberg and mistletoe. The rolls of labels were manufactured and offset printed by Royal Joh. Enschedé. |
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Mittelberg is a small town in eastern Austria close to the German border, in the district of Breguenz. It's curiosity value comes from the fact that, despite being an Austrian city it is located in a valley only accessible by road from Germany.
Like the annual definitive series, the six imprints programmed for these designs were obtainable from the six permanent Inform philatelic kiosks, with three of them also available from the kiosks installed at the temporary seasonal post offices and the Vienna collectors fair.
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Text: CHRISTKINDL 19
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the Christkindl post office
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020, and from November 29th to January 6th (temporary kiosk) |
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Text: NUMIPHIL 2019
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at the philatelic and numismatic fair held at MGC Messe, Vienna
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020, and on December 6th & 7th (temporary kiosk) |
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Text: PHILATELIE SHOP
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020 |
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Text: SONDERPOSTAMT
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020 |
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Text: STILLE NACHT 19
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks and temporary kiosk at Oberndorf bei Salzburg post office
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020, and from December 8th to 24th (temporary kiosk) |
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Text: VÖPH
Place of issue: Permanent Inform kiosks
Date of issue: From November 8th 2019 to January 6th 2020 |
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© J. Jove - ATEEME. Variable value stamps study group. All rights reserved
This page was created in May 2018 and last updated:
17.01.20
. English edition last rewritten by J. Gareze (17.01.2020)
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