Another part of the history of philately are the so-called ‘natural’ stamps and the countless variations that define the rare and not so rare stamps in the sector. The term “natural” stamp was coined by the Bolaffi company, which was historically involved with the sector. It was used to define all specimens that had been issued by a postal administration yet arrived on the market with unexpected inconsistencies. This essentially meant a plausible yet incorrect design that maintained the iconographic logic needed to make them resemble an official stamp.
The first “natural” stamp in Italian philately was an issue from the old italian States and came from the Duchy of Modena. It was a 25c issued in 1852 that was green instead of chamois and it was studied by the great expert Emilio Diena in his work on the stamps of Modena which was published in 1894. The value was initially considered a trial and only subsequently an error, a theory supported by the fact that the paper and gum were very similar to the green 5c of the same series.
The next Bolaffi philately auction will include an important selection of “natural” stamps taken from a splendid and extensive Kingdom of Italy collection. The catalogue will include all the most important rarities in the sector, starting with the Volta Violetto, a stamp issued in 1927 to commemorate the first centenary of the death of the famous scientist Alessandro Volta. A small quantity of the 20c sheets destined for the Italian Colonies somehow escaped overprinting to create this highly sought-after specimen. This was also how the series of four values of the Seconda Milizia (issued the following year at an additional charge for the Voluntary Militia for National
Security) in different colours came about. These were also destined for the Colonies but were not overprinted. The same occurred on the Nozze Verde of 1930 and the Augusto Violetto of 1937 which came respectively from the only two sheets of 50 specimens not to be printed with the property name.
Some of the best-known varieties in the Italian Republic are two symbolic stamps known as the K2 and the Derby senza scritta.
The first was issued to celebrate the conquest of the K2 peak by an Italian expedition to Karakorum led by Ardito Desio on 31 July 1954. The stamp was approved by the Board of Ministers on 5 March 1955 and authorised by decree on 21 June but, for reasons unknown, the stamp never saw the light of day.
The second specimen comes from the final row of one of six sheets of 50 ordinary stamps where, due to a regulator error causing an incorrect indentation, the caption “Centenario Derby Italiano di galoppo” was never printed.
 
by Matteo Armandi