Northern Transylvania - Tîrgu-Mureş

Târgu-Mureş / Marosvásárhely	County Mureş / Maros

November 1944 (earliest known use Nov. 20)

Romanian postal personnel entered Târgu-Mureş in October 1944, but were ordered to leave after a few days by the Soviet authorities. The Romanian postage stamps which they brought with them were left behind, and the local post office used a portion of this supply to prepare the Târgu-Mureş local issue. The issue was quickly sold out and was used mostly on philatelic covers. Subsequently, normal unoverprinted Romanian stamps were used for postage.

Two line bilingual overprint
ERDÉLY / TRANSYLVANIA

	Postage Stamps
No.	Value	Issue	Color	Scott	Michel	Quantity
1	1 leu	1944-45 King Michael	dark violet	537	799	450
2	2 lei	1944-45 King Michael	red orange	538	800	450
3	5 lei	1944-45 King Michael	rose carmine	543	805	450
4	10 lei	1944-45 King Michael	deep magenta	546	808	450
5	16 lei	1944-45 King Michael	deep blue	550	812	450
6	20 lei	1944-45 King Michael	brown	551	813	450++
7	1 leu	1943-44 Postal Tax	lilac rose	RA26	Z 30	450
8	2 lei	1943-44 Postal Tax	brown	RA27	Z 31	450

The literature mentions that there were two editions.

Edition I:	Overprint through king's face (200 sets)
Edition II:	Overprint clear of king's face (250 sets)
	(Some stamps, especially no. 6, were printed in larger quantities.)

Allegedly, Edition II was printed on Nov. 26, 1944 because Romanian post offices would not forward covers with the king's portrait defaced. This contention is contradicted both by the existence of covers with Edition I stamps successfully delivered into Romania, and by covers with Edition II stamps cancelled prior to Nov. 26.

Overprint Varieties

Due to the lack of complete sheets or large multiples, this issue has not been completely plated. The following major typographical varieties are known:

TRANSYLVANIA (2 small A's)

(positions 4, 5, 39, 59, 79, 89)

TRANSYLVANIA (3 small A's)

(positions 60, 70, 80, 90)

TRANSYLAANIA

(positions 25, 27)

TSANSYLVANIA

(position 35)

TRANSYLYANIA

(position 42)

TRANSYLVNNIA

(position unknown)

TRANSYLAANIA

TSANSYLVANIA

TRANSYLVNNIA

TRANSYLYANIA

Trial Printings

No.	Value	Color	Scott	Michel
I	50 bani	dark green	536	798
II	3 lei	red brown	539	801
III	4.50 lei	dark brown, ERDÉLY / TRANSYLVANIA	542	804
IIIA	4.50 lei	dark brown. TRANSYLVANIA / ERDÉLY	542	804
IV	50 lei	olive black	553	816

II.

III.

IIIA.

IV.

Covers with Overprinted Stamps

Nov. 22, 1944 registered philatelic cover with complete set of 8
2 Lei orange (2nd from left) is TRANSYLVANIA variety (3 small A's)
20 Lei brown (bottom left) and 1 Leu rose (far right) are TRANSYLVANIA varieties (2 small A's)

Nov. 23, 1944 registered cover
16 Lei blue (2nd from left) is TRANSYLVANIA variety (3 small A's)

Nov. 23, 1944 registered cover

Covers with Unoverprinted Stamps

Post card with 3, 16 Lei plus 1 Leu postal tax stamp
Bilingual provisional cancel with "1945 JAN 27" datestamp

Post card with 3, 16 Lei plus 1 Leu postal tax stamp
Bilingual provisional cancel with "1945 JAN 27" datestamp
Returned to sender with "Elköltözött / Parti" (moved) label

Post card with pair of 5 Lei stamps
Bilingual provisional cancel with "1945 APR -8" datestamp
Returned to sender with penciled notation "Elmenesült" (departed)

LOCAL ISSUES

Under Construction

Introduction
Bistriţa / Beszterce	Odorhei / Székelyudvarhely
Sighet / Máramarossziget	Târgu-Mureş / Marosvásárhely
Oradea / Nagyvarad (1st issue)	Oradea / Nagyvárad (2nd issue)
Zalău / Zilah (1st issue)	Zalău / Zilah (2nd issue)
Satu Mare / Szatmárnémeti

NOTES

1.	All bilingual proper names will be expressed in the form "Romanian Name / Hungarian Name".
2.	Individual stamps are shown at 150 dots per inch (dpi); covers and blocks are at 100 dpi. Larger items may be shown at 75 dpi or smaller and will be so noted.
3.	In the case of overprinted stamps, Scott and Michel catalog numbers are used to refer to the basic stamps.

<><><><><>

Home Page

Interests	Exhibits	Collections
Want Lists	Reference	For Sale