Aden cover 1943 help

Rod Simmons

This cover is postmarked Oct '43, but the Scott listing for the 2rs stamp (Scott #25) says it was issued in '44...or am I missing something?

Michael Generali

Scott 25 was issued in 1944, but Scott 25a (rose violet and indigo) was issued in 1939, which is what the stamp on the covers appears to be. The minor variety is in the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue.

Rod Simmons

Thanks Michael...it's interesting that the minor variety was issued before the primary.

Michael Generali

Scott used to give the lower valued stamp the major number, and the higher value stamp(s) minor numbers. When the value of a minor became lower than the major, Scott would flip the stamps from minor to major. This was an annual pain in the butt with the constant number changing. Scott stopped the practice several years ago, and stamps sit with their major and minor numbers. It's still screwed up with the mix of different year issues lumped all together as one set, but then with other countries it is broken out in different sets. Just some of the needed work I'll be doing to fix things when I buy Scott.

Rod Simmons

I've wondered about that before, doesn't make much sense, So put that high on the "things to fix when you buy Scott" list. And maybe the "everything is worth at least 25 cents" policy.