The 3rd Issue - general introduction


June 30th 1857 is the first known date of use of a stamp of the third Parma Duchy issue.
The printing plates of the second issue were already quite worn and the aesthetic result of the stamps (that from the beginning did not constitute an example to be copied...) was quite poor and therefore they should have been remade .The decision was instead to proceed to make a new issue.
This set is born in a mystery because it was never found any info of an official issuing decree...
The minting die even in this case was made by Donnino Bentelli, even in 1850 or 1851 (and therefore before the 1st issue); nevertheless, for different reasons, it was never put in use. In 1857 instead it has been decided to use it, may be also to save the expense of new minting dies and stereotypes that as said needed to be remade.
The stamp of rectangular frame, presents in the center the Borbonic lily on a background with lines, enclosed in a shield with on top the Duchy Crown, with on the left an oak branch and on the right a laurel branch. Al this enclosed in a thin and close double rectangular frame. At the top there is the pompous label "DUC. DI PARMA PIAC ECC." (it was just the complexity of this name one of the reasons that left aside the printing of this stamp in 1851); at the bottom there is the plug with the value. The printing is typographic in color, on machine made white paper, of average thickness, not watermarked and not of great quality.
The set is composed by the following values:

15 centesimi
Vermilion
25 centesimi
Brown
40 centesimi
Blue

A value of 10 centesimi was foreseen at the beginning but it was never done. Only one printing run was made for each value: we know the quantities and the remainders that are the following:

Value
Quantity
Remnant
15 centesimi
648.000
354.258
25 centesimi
432.000
321.156
40 centesimi
216.000
143.668

As often happen, the original minting die was unique and without the value indication that was inserted using typographic mobile elements. The stamps were printed in sheets of 72 pieces (9 rows of 8 pieces) by the typographer Stefano Rossi Ubaldi, in the Parma Postal Administration.
The stereotypes obtained from the primary minting die are of two types for each value and this brings some small difference in the stamp look. I send you to the single stamp cards for more details.
The continuous use of the plates was the cause of worn even large that presents itself with evident missing or interruptions of the printing, more extended for some sheet position. We can find chromatic differences between the various samples, due to the non-uniformity of the printing ink used. The 15 centesimi exists also printed with very greasy ink.
They were put out of validity July 31st 1859, as all the Parma stamps.