Big Blue 1840-1940: Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan in Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations

Unusual lithography makes the 1919 Azerbaijan stamps stand out; it’s almost like silk screening. The five-ruble example (second row, second stamp) is a later Soviet reprint, as evidenced by the inverted left column ornament. Some white paper varieties are in this row, too. Counterfeits are common, although they sometimes command prices higher than the genuine. Soviet era stamps (1922 and thereafter) appear in the supplement pages. Acid in the paper makes them tend to crumble. Old feeder albums commonly have chaotically displayed Azerbaijanis, especially from the Soviet era.

Comparison of left column ornaments on five-ruble stamp...

Census: 10 stamps in BB spaces, no tip-ins, 25 on supplement pages (all Soviet era).

Jim's Observations

Big Blue has 100% coverage of the National Republic, while 0% coverage of the Soviet era.

The National Republic issue is on thin white paper, while the Soviet re-printing is on thick grayish paper. In my experience, the thick grayish Soviet re-issue is far more common in collections.There was also a design change on the 5r & 10r stamps for the Soviet issue, as noted by Bud.

The early white issues are valued by Scott @ 5X usual catalogue.

Azerbaijan Blog Post and Checklist

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