Bohemia and Moravia
Stamps of 1939

Michel 7
"Plzeň"

Issued 15th July 1939. Czechoslovak issued stamps with "BÖHMEN u. MÄHREN / ČECHY a MORAVA" overprint. Former country name obliterated using 3 lines. This stamp features the city of Plzeň (Pilsen), approximately 90Km west of Prague, the capital city. The city is most famous as the home of Pilsner lager. The image pictured likely features traditional fermentation buildings required in the brewing process.

Mi 7
50H
blackish bluish green
Scenery

Valid until: 15th Dec 1939

Quantities: 1,322,000

Unlike some other stamps in this set Michel 7 exists overprinted on existing stamps as well as on new stamps. Existing and new printings are roughly 50% each of the total number of stamps issued.

There are many counterfeit overprints in existance, the genuine overprints can be detected by magnification where it can be seen that the overprint is made up of small dots. The counterfeit examples are typically solid and do not show individual dots. In addition there are many counterfeit cancellations, many of which are backdated and these need to be expertised to ensure they are genuine.

The new printings can be differentiated from the original printings in that there is a coloured dot above the 1st stamp and below the 51st stamp on the 100 stamp sheet and there is a dot above the 5th and below the 50th stamp on the 50 stamp sheets. None of the original printings have these dots.

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