Postage stamps 1850–1866

Austria's first stamps went on sale on 1 June 1850 – no portrait of the emperor, only the imperial arms and the words 'KK Post-Stempel'. The five values of 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9 Kreuzer were printed by the State Printing Works in Vienna; Lombardy-Venetia had the same design in centesimi. They were imperforate and cut apart with scissors. The early printings are on rough hand-made paper with the watermark K.K.H.M. in the sheet margin; from 1854 smooth machine-made paper took over.

Sources: Wikipedia: Postage stamps and postal history of Austria, Wikimedia Commons: Stamps of the Austrian Empire, 1850

Austria's first newspaper stamps of 1851 show the head of Mercury, messenger of the gods, and carry no printed value – the colour set the rate. Blue paid for one newspaper (6/10 kreuzer), yellow for ten and rose for fifty.

Sources: Wikipedia: Red Mercury (newspaper stamp), David Feldman: Austria's Mercuries

In 1856 a red Mercury took the place of the yellow one, at 6 kreuzer for a bundle of ten newspapers. A new Franz Joseph design replaced it as early as 1858, so few survive: the 'Red Mercury' is the rarest Austrian newspaper stamp, fetching around 40,000 dollars at auction.

Sources: Wikipedia: Red Mercury (newspaper stamp)

The currency reform of 1 November 1858 – a gulden now had 100 kreuzer instead of 60 – made the old stamps invalid and brought in a new set with the emperor's head facing left. The change of technique was prompted by forgeries of the Lombardy-Venetia stamps, in Verona in 1853 and in Milan in 1857: the new stamps had an embossed portrait, much harder to imitate, and they were also Austria's first perforated stamps. This first type (Type I) is known by the ribbon loop at the back of the head – thin and open, shaped like a '3'; on the 2 kreuzer the foot of the numeral 2 thins towards the right.

Sources: Austria-Forum: Freimarken 1858, Wikipedia (de): Kaiserkopfausgabe 1858, World Stamps Project: Postage stamps of the Austrian Empire – varieties and types

With the currency reform of 1 November 1858 the Mercury newspaper stamps gave way to a new design showing Franz Joseph. Like the new postage stamps it has the emperor's head embossed, facing left, and it carries no value – it was worth 1.05 kreuzer. Type I stamps are blue; Type II of 1859 came out in lilac, and the types are told apart by the ribbon loop at the back of the emperor's head.

Sources: Wikipedia: Red Mercury (newspaper stamp), Wikipédia (hu): Hírlapbélyeg, Big Blue 1840-1940: Austria & L-V 1860-64 Franz Josef & Coat of Arms issues

In 1859 the dies of the 1858 issue were slightly reworked, and collectors call the result Type II. The surest sign is the ribbon at the back of the emperor's head: on Type I the loop is thin and broken, like a '3'; on Type II it is thick and closed, like an '8'. On the 2 kreuzer the numeral itself tells them apart – on Type II the curved foot of the 2 is of even thickness. Stamps of both types were valid in Austria until 1864.

Sources: Austria-Forum: Freimarken 1858, World Stamps Project: Postage stamps of the Austrian Empire – varieties and types, Wikimedia Commons: Stamps of the Austrian Empire, 1858

The new stamps of late 1860 turned the emperor's head to the right and set it in a coloured oval, to match the stamped postal envelopes introduced in 1861. For better protection against forgery they were again embossed, from new dies cut by the experienced engraver Josef Tautenhayn. They were valid for postage until 31 May 1864.

Sources: Austria-Forum: Freimarken 1860, Austria-Forum: Doppeladler der Freimarken 1863 und 1864

When the emperor's head on the postage stamps of 1860–61 turned to the right, the newspaper stamps got a new design too: an embossed head of Franz Joseph facing right in an ornamental frame, again without a printed value (1.05 kreuzer). Like the postage stamps of this issue, they were valid until 31 May 1864.

Sources: Stamp Encyclopedia: Austria – back of the book issues, Wikimedia Commons: Stamps of the Austrian Empire, 1861, Wikipédia (hu): Hírlapbélyeg

After only a few years a decision of the German-Austrian Postal Union – that the most-used values of all member administrations were to share the same colours – called for a new set, and on it the emperor's portrait gave way to the arms. The white double eagle sits in a coloured oval with a geometric pattern; the dies were again engraved by Josef Tautenhayn and the stamps were embossed. Collectors watch the embossing of the eagle – the more worn the plate, the less of the eagle's coloured detail shows. In Austria they were valid until 31 August 1869.

Sources: Austria-Forum: Doppeladler der Freimarken 1863 und 1864, Stamp Encyclopedia: Austria – empire issues, 1850-1918