The "S. Andrew Cross"

I said in the general introduction of the first and second issues that the sheets of stamps presented in the last row not 8 stamps like in the previous rows but 4 stamps and 4 S. Andrea's Crosses, in substance 4 big "X" in place of the stamps.
To understand the reason of the presence of these Crosses we have to make a step back: the stamps in use in Lombardy-Venetia were the same used in Austria; they differ only for the indication of the value, in Centesimi the "Italian" ones, in Kreuzers the "Austrian".
The Crosses have been inserted to simplify the calculation of the value of the Austrian sheets. Each sheet of stamps was composed by 240 samples, divided in 4 groups of 60 pieces (two groups at top and two groups at bottom) each quarter was made by seven rows of 8 stamps plus the last row with only 4 stamps. The result was that each quarter contained 60 stamps (7x8 + 4 = 60). The Austrian currency was at that time the Fiorino (or Gulden) that was composed, strangely enough, by 60 Kreuzers. For that reason each quarter of "Austrian" stamps had exactly that value in Fiorini of the printed stamp. For instance the value of a quarter of the sheet of 1 Kreuzer was 1 Fiorino (60 pieces of 1 Kreuzer were 60 Kreuzers, that means 1 Fiorino), the value of a quarter of a sheet of 6 Kreuzers was 6 Fiorini (60 pieces of 6 Kreuzers were 360 Kreuzers that is 6 Fiorini...) and so on. This solution made very fast the calculation of the sheets in stock, avoiding complex mathematical operations (the calculators were far away to be invented...).
This system made quite simple also the calculation of the values in centesimi (even if this is probably due by accident from the moment that the Crosses have been designed for the calculation of the stamps in Kreuzers); each quarter had a value that was expressed with a whole number avoiding the centesimi.
As said, the Crosses were kept also for the second issue, with the only clear reason to allow for calculations with numbers always multiple of 10 and easy to be summed in the administrative calculations.
I summarize here the scheme of the values of the quarters of sheet both Austrian as well as Italian.

Quarter sheet of the 1 Kreuzer	= 1 Fiorino
Quarter sheet of the 3 Kreuzer	= 3 Fiorini
Quarter sheet of the 6 Kreuzer	= 6 Fiorini
Quarter sheet of the 9 Kreuzer	= 9 Fiorini
Quarter sheet of the 5 centesimi	= 3 Lire
Quarter sheet of the 10 centesimi	= 6 Lire
Quarter sheet of the 15 centesimi	= 9 Lire
Quarter sheet of the 30 centesimi	= 18 Lire
Quarter sheet of the 45 centesimi	= 27 Lire
Quarter sheet of the 2 Soldi	= 120 Soldi
Quarter sheet of the 3 Soldi	= 180 Soldi
Quarter sheet of the 5 Soldi	= 300 Soldi (or 3 Fiorini)
Quarter sheet of the 10 Soldi	= 600 Soldi (or 6 Fiorini)
Quarter sheet of the 15 Soldi	= 900 Soldi (or 9 Fiorini)

There it is explained the S. Andrea's Crosses mystery: asimple but clever accounting simplification.
Let's now look at them in detail. The disposition of the Crosses in the various quarter sheets was of three types, even if we cannot exclude different others. I show them here below (Fig. 1, 2, 3); the Crosses are made evident in red:

Fig. 1: the first possible disposition		Fig. 2: the second possible disposition

Fig. 3: the third possible disposition

The Crosses, (that get this name from the "X" disposition of the cross used to martyr S. Andrea) are present in sheets of the first and second issue.

THE FIRST ISSUE CROSSES

They are printed in the same color of the stamps, on white background; some expert classifies them in two types, the first one thick and the second one thin. Some other classified only one type without making distinction on the thickness. They have variable thickness between around 1 and 2 millimeters. Due to the attentions used by the postal workers to cut them out it is not easy to find samples that show some consistent part of them (even few millimeters). To find them in the whole attached to a the stamps, means to find a treasure...
Sometimes they were used in the whole or in pieces to close a letter (Fig. 4) and in some very exceptional cases as emergency postage stamps.

Fig. 4: fragment showing parts of two crosses, used to close a letter

Here are some samples showing different parts of Crosses (Fig. from 5 yo 14)

Fig. 5: 5 centesimi with Cross at right

Fig. 6: 15 centesimi 3rd type with parts of two Crosses at bottom; the diagonal cut on the stamp is a cut of postal disinfecting	Fig. 7: 15 centesimi 3rd type with parts of two Crosses at bottom

Fig. 8: 15 centesimi 1st type with Cross to the right	Fig. 9: 15 centesimi 1st type with Cross to the right

Fig. 10: 15 centesimi 3rd type with Cross at right and lower border sheet

Fig. 11: 15 centesimi 3rd type with Cross to the left

Fig. 12: 30 centesimi 1st type with Cross at right, thick type	Fig. 13: 30 centesimi 2nd type (even if from the picture it looks like a 1st type due to an occasional deformation of the '3') with Cross at right, thin type

Fig. 14: 30 centesimi 1st type; a variety very rare:
The Cross, thin type, is present only at the bottom.
A similar thing appears also in Fig. 8

---

THE SECOND ISSUE CROSSES

They are printed "at the contrary" in comparison with the previous issue, that means in white on colored background of the same color of the stamp. About their rarity it's valid what we said on the first issue. The only difference is the fact that in samples out of center of the next to last row or in the last sample of each quarter it is possible to see its beginning inside the stamp itself.
There are two types: big and small. In the big ones the colored background occupies almost the full stamp while in the small ones the colored background leaves uncovered the border of the stamp itself. The thickness of the white cross is variable between about 1 to 2 millimeters. Here is how it is possible to find the Crosses, depending on the stamp itself:

Fig. 15-16-17: three exceptional pieces. The first is a couple of 2 Soldi of the 1st type with Crosses at bottom of big type The second is a 15 Soldi of the 2nd type with Cross at bottom of small type The third one is a couple of 3 Soldi green with Crosses at bottom of big type, out of which the second one has very visible the white dot indicating the quarter sheet from whom it has originated. (Photos 14 and 16 are taken from the magazine "Vaccari Magazine", nr. 16/1996 and the center photo from the Auction catalogue "Corinphila" nr. 129 of 10/4/2001)