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85 Sen Betsu-No
Supplementary Surcharge
Postal Cards

First Issue of the FTDD
January 1969











The first issue of From The Dragons Den was written by 
Mr. J.C. ("Jake") Templeton. He had the first issue printed, 
at his own expense, working evenings for the printer to pay 
off the bill.  The issue was sent to known Ryukyu collectors 
and only after sufficient favorable response was received, 
was the Society organized.  Many consider Jake to be the 
founder of the RPSS.  Jake continued to edit and publish 
FTDD through its first eight years, at no expense to the 
Society. 
Thank you, ol' dragon!






The Ryukyu Islands occupy a unique place in United States philately!


In the twenty-seven years that the Island Postal Services operated under U.S. Administration 
[from April of 1945 until May 15, 1972], it offers EVERYTHING IN ONE COUNTRY that 
exists in the entire field of philately.


Beginning with free emergency mail between members of a family on Okinawa, it went on to include the 
worlds only mimeographed stamp [Kume Shima provisional], postmasters provisional postage stamps, 
stampless covers, definitive and commemorative issues [which include varieties, errors, essays, 
specimens, proofs, and separate printings], airmails, special delivery, revenues fiscal tax stamps, 
labels, seals and postal stationery which included airletter sheets, aerogrammes, cash registration 
envelopes, official business envelopes of various types, official business postal cards of various 
types, air postal cards, and election postal cards plus a good number of other material.


From George MacLellan's  "The Commentator"

















85 Sen Betsu-No
Supplementary Surcharge
Postal Cards








Post card rates were increased February 1, 1951 to 1 yen. After small denomination postage 
stamps were depleted or found unusable, TWO types of HANDSTAMPS and THREE types of 
TYPOGRAPHED (hand set, printed) were used to surcharge an estimated 
233,300+ additional 15 sen single and double postal cards.

To make up this rate, 15 sen cards were surcharged with an additional 85 
sen valuation.  The cards were recalled from existing stocks of the post offices and were 
initally surcharged with a rubber handstamp.










Two types of card stock were used on these cards, Tan Paper and Gray 
Paper. Frequently it is difficult to distinguish between the two because 
the normal aging process can give the gray paper a tannish tone.  The 
gray cards contain flakes of gray-blue (purpleish) pigment which are not in the tan paper 
stock.  These pigment flakes are much less visible on the single cards 
and are more pronounced on the double cards.  On the single cards the 
flakes are widely dispersed and more faint than on the double cards.

This information is from the web site of George Baxley (http://www.BaxleyStamps.com
/ryukyu.htm).
     



Five types of surcharges were applied to 15 sen postal cards in 1951.

Surcharges, handstamped and typographed in Vermilion, except as noted

Surcharge Reads:
 85 SEN / BETSU-NO / RYU-KYU / YU-SEI-CHO
(85 Sen /
 Additional Paid / Ryukyu / Communications Administration).



HANDSTAMPS:

The Type illustrations and Type numbers are from Part II of the RPSS 
Specialized Catalog.

The handstamps were carved in rubber by a local Naha seal maker and because 
a poor grade of rubber was used, a gradual natural deterioration of the handstamps occurred, 
also caused by light and heavy pressure in the application process. This caused an infinite 
variety of impressions from expansion and distortion.
 Total Handstamps issued: 
 101,300+

Types I and II are the handstamps in their original state.
Types IA and 
IIA are the same handstamps, deteriorated, expanded and distorted.

Type I (V4C - V4C-A, V6C - V6C-C, V8C, VX4C - VX4C-A) small rectangle, 19-21 
x 23-25mm.
 43,400+ issued

View Handstamp Cards, Type I

Type IA (V4C-B - V4C-C, V6C-D - V6C-G, VX4C-B - VX4C-C) large rectangle, 
22-23 x 26-27mm.
8,000+ issued

View Handstamp Cards, Type IA





Type II (V5C - V5C-A, V7C -
V7C-A, V7C-D - V7C-E, VX5C-B) small rectangle, 20-21 x 24-24.5mm.
40,000+ issued

View Handstamp Cards, Type II

Type IIA (V5C-B - V5C-D,
V7C-B - V7C-C, V7C-F - V7C-G, VX5C - VX5C-A) large rectangle, 22-23.5 x 25-26mm.

9,900+ issued

View Handstamp Cards, Type IIA
 







TYPOGRAPHED:

The labor of handstamping the cards was tedious, double cards were cut in 
two and three different printing companies were contracted, resulting in three different 
surcharge types. All of them were machine overprinted surcharges and were manually assembled, 
using individual pieces of handset rule and type, no two were ever exactly the same. Because 
each of the printing bases, for all of the machine overprinted cards were manually assembled, 
using individual pieces of handset rule and type, no two printing bases were ever exactly the 
same measurement wise.  Subtle variations in both the frame lines and characters exists.

Total Typographed issued:  E132,000+ 

Type III (V9C - V9C-C, VX6C - VX6C-A) Rectangle 23 x 27-27.5mm, CHO in 
original form.

60,000+ impressions issued

View Typographed Cards, Type III



Three of four printing bases


Type IV & Type IV-A (V10R - V10R-Ca) Rectangle 23-23.5 x 26.6-27mm) CHO in 
simplified form.
70,000+ impressions issued

View Typographed Cards, Type IV

View Typographed Cards, Type IV-A



Three of four printing bases


Type V (V11R - V11R-C) Rectangle 23-23.5 x 26.5-27mm) CHO in simplified form.

2,000 impressioned issued

View Typographed Cards, Type V



One of two printing bases







Information contained on this web site is from the RYUKYU PHILATELIC SPECIALISTS SOCIETY, 
LTD's various specialized catalogs and publications and personal sources of the web site owner.


Articles in three issues of FTDD were written about these cards.

Vol. 7 No. 1 April 1975, Picture of VX6C-A with shifted and smeared overprint.
Vol. 9 No. 3 October 1977, Extensive article on V11R
 "An Unheralded Classic Ryukyu Rarity . . . Schoberlin V11R!" 
Vol. 17 No. 2 April 1985, Extensive article on V7C-A & V7C-B "A Tale of Two Cards"

Surcharge Type I is Scott Catalog Type a
Type IA is b
Type II is c

Type IIA is d
Type III is e
Type IV is f
Type V is g

Here is a page of RPSS & Scott Catalog
Concordance

The Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society Secretary's address is:

Attn: Laura Edmonds
RPSS
PO Box 240177
Charlotte NC 28224-0177





RPSS #295, Richard Lewis
Visit the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist 
Society
Website at
www.ryukyustamps.
org


Official RPSS WebSite












The heading displayed on my web pages is from the album pages produced by

Joseph V. Bush Inc.,
P.O. Box 626, Bonita, CA 91908
AS A TRIBUTE

to a vintage and long time Ryukyu stamp dealer and supporter and promoter of Ryukyu 
philately.
 




1955


Illustrations on this page are from
"Specialized Catalog of the Postal Issues of the 
Ryukyu (Liu Ch'iu) Islands", Part II

This is a personal web site and I'm Dick Lewis and I have been a member of the RPSS since 
1973


 Please email me with any comments or 
suggestions.







For God So Loved The World...
John 3:16


"I Know Whom I Have Believed"
2 Timothy 1:12







Site created 10-14-05


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Counter Started 08/30/10




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