ABOUT THE STAMPS - BASIC INFORMATION

DEMONIMATION - POISHA OR TAKA?

The denominations of the various stamps are stated as either “Poisha” or “Taka”. One hundred poisha equals one taka. The only exception to this was the first Stamp Papers. The value was listed as "Paisa". For those who do not speak or read Bangla this can create confusion when collecting the stamps, especially if the stamps are similar in design. In some of the early sets the problem was solved by issuing the stamps in two different colors, one for poisha and the other for taka values.

• The top Special Adhesives and lower Court Fee stamps show the poisha values on the left and on the right, the taka. In both instances the words "poisha" and "taka" are written under the numeral in Bangla. In both of these sets numerous values were issued in each color, with the poisha values one color and the taka values another color.

• This Court Fee series had the same denomination in both poishas and takas. While the numerals are different sizes, the value under the numerals tell wheter they are the poisha or the taka value.

• The Import stamps on the left show the first letter of "poisha" behind the numerals, and the taka value has the taka symbol in front of the numeral. When the taka symbol is used it is always placed before the numeral. The next values from a Share Transfer set, have "poisha" written under the numerals, but the taka value has the taka symbol in front of the numeral and both the numeral stated in script and the word taka.

The majority of stamps of any particular type (Insurance, Share Transfer, etc.) however, had different colors for each value and it is easy to confuse them as there may be a 10p. stamp and a Tk.10 stamp. Fortunately, for many stamps there is a easy way of determining if they are poisha or taka values, and that is by the taka symbol that often is in front of the numeral. Others have the first letter of poisha after the numeral, or the entire word.

DESIGNS OF SOME STAMPS

It is interesting to note that at the bottom of several types of stamps, there is a nearly blank panel. The stamps in question are generally related to motor vehicles. This panel has quite small text in the upper portion of the panel, or at the left central area. The purpose of the panel is to write the number of the post office where one buys the revenue stamps. Most users did not fill in the box, but one will find stamps with writing in the boxes. This certainly indicates genuine use of the stamps.

• The above stamps, starting on the left side, are from 1978, two from 1980 and one from 1988, that have numbers written in the boxes. The second stamp on the left appears to have letters, rather than numbers, but the numbers are actually "14141". Note that the "Post Office Number" is abbreviated in Bangla on the three stamps on the left.

The name of the country is generally at the top of the stamps, but the three stamps on the left, above, have the name near the bottom. Additionally, the type of stamp is written on the stamps, i.e. Insurance, Share Transfer, etc. Because of that, it is easy to determine what type of stamp it is and then one can go to that page to see the denominations, or other information.

Colors

The major catalogs must cater to the collectors of all the world's stamps. Fortunately, we are only concerned with those of Bangladesh. Because of the thousands of different colors and shades used for printing stamps all over the world, it is important to distinguish the color(s) of each stamp accurately. Since we are dealing with a smaller number of stamps the color descriptions may differ from those of the major catalogs. The average collector is famiiar with the basic colors, but not the hundreds of variations of them. The descriptions used in this catalog are basic, and hopefully easy to use in identifying the stamps.

Identifying the Stamps

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