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The Moldavian Bull's Heads ((ルーマニア語、モルドバ語():capul de bour), lit. "aurochs' head") are the first Romanian postage stamps, sold by Moldavia from July to October 1858. Released in four values, these stamps are renowned for their rarity. The second and third Romanian issues also feature the head of the aurochs, symbol of Moldavia—the former on its own and the latter, printed after the Union of the Principalities, alongside a representation of Wallachia. ==First issue== Following the 1856 Treaty of Paris, the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia took a number of modernizing measures, including postal reform. Their leaders were aware of the appearance of postage stamps, starting in the United Kingdom in 1840. In Moldavia, ''caimacam'' Nicolae Vogoride and his council named a postal committee and directorate as well as hiring trained personnel from Austria. The postal headquarters was set up in a 14-room building in Iaşi, and price regulations issued on June 30 and July 6, 1858. A letter traveling up to eight post offices cost 27 para (57 bani), and one going more than eight cost 54 para (1.14 lei). Short-distance registered letters were 81 para (2 lei) and long-distance ones cost 108 para (2.28 lei). From Iaşi, one could send a regular letter for 27 para to Bacău, Botoşani, Dorohoi, Fălticeni, Huşi, Mihăileni, Piatra Neamţ, Roman, Târgu Ocna, Târgu Neamţ and Vaslui. (Mihăileni was farther than eight post offices, but received a lower rate since it was a border crossing point.) The higher rate was charged when sending to Adjud, Bârlad, Bolgrad, Cahul, Focşani, Galaţi, Ismail and Tecuci. Letters bearing the stamps could only circulate within Moldavia. The charges were valid until October 31, 1858, with a new stamp series and a single charge introduced the following day.〔 Mihail Cezar Săvulescu, ("Cap de bour – 150 de ani de la apariţie" ), ''România Liberă'', August 14, 2008; accessed June 3, 2012〕 Starting on July 1, 1858, letters without stamps were placed in mailboxes placed in public squares and at the postal headquarters in Iaşi, while in other towns such letters were handed over at the post office. Payment would then be made by the recipient. Although the rates went into effect on July 1, it seems the stamps were not placed into circulation until July 15. Their printing was approved May 26, and four steel dies costing 389 lei had been produced by July 1, the engraver unknown. The stamp sheets were printed one by one with the aid of a manual press; in all, 24,064 stamps were printed. Unlike many stamps of the period, which featured the ruling head of state, Moldavia's had the ancient coat of arms with the head of an aurochs. There is a five-pointed star between the horns. The aurochs' lower lip rests on a post horn, within the inner tube of which is the stamp's value in Arabic numerals. The horn and head are enclosed in a circle. Around this circle, in the interior above the head, are the Romanian Cyrillic letters ПОРТО СКРИСОРИ (PORTO SCRISORI; "letters to be paid for by the recipient"). The use of the word PORTO is a mistake; FRANCO denotes letters where the postage has been paid by the sender, as was the case for letters using these stamps.〔 Aside from the economic advantage derived from simplifying communications, the stamps and the symbol they used were a political statement against the Ottoman Empire that still exercised suzerainty over the principality. The Ottomans themselves would not issue a stamp until 1863. Indeed, they are the first stamps from Southeast Europe, with Greece issuing its first in 1861, Serbia in 1866 and Bulgaria in 1879.〔 Dan Arsenie, ("Cap de bour – timbrul care a împuns Poarta Otomană costă 100.000 de euro" ), ''Evenimentul Zilei'', November 13, 2010; accessed June 3, 2012〕 Earlier attempts to introduce a national coin or seal had been denied by Turkey, but the stamp, Moldavia's first exercise of autonomous statehood, was allowed because the relevant imperial authorities there were not yet familiar with the notion.〔Nicolau, p.53〕 The paper used to print the stamps came from Bath, Somerset, imported by an Iaşi merchant and bought by the Finance Ministry.〔 (According to another variant, the project was undertaken in haste, and leaves of paper were bought from an Iaşi bookstore.)〔 Each sheet had 32 stamps, with four rows of eight, and the middle rows included eight ''tête-bêche'' pairs. The 27 para were done in black ink; the rest in blue. The sheets were tinted rose (27 para), greenish (54 para), bluish (81 para) and light rose (108 para). The paper was horizontally lined, except for the 81 para, which was ordinary paper. The sheets were gummed manually with a brush using gum arabic. The stamps were imperforate, cut with scissors at the post office.〔 Because of this, individual stamps have significant size differences between them. Also, due to the manual printing, the rows of stamps were not properly aligned on the sheets.〔 Stamps were cancelled with a double circle featuring the name of the post office above and the word ''Moldova'' below, in capital letters. In the middle, in fractional form, were the date and month in Arabic numerals. The rubber stamps were ordered from Vienna.〔 The first 187 sheets of 32 (5,984 stamps) were sent from the press to the treasury on July 11, 1858. These were sent to the post office headquarters the following day, receipt confirmed on July 14. Headquarters decided not to send the stamps to other post offices until the full stock was received. The remaining 18,080 stamps had arrived by July 21, when the first stamps were sent to the main post office in Iaşi. In August, stamps were sent to Bacău, Bârlad, Botoşani, Dorohoi, Fălticeni, Focşani, Galaţi, Roman, Tecuci, Târgu Neamţ, Vaslui and Mihăileni. The earliest letters featuring the stamps date to July 22; the latest, to October 31.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Moldavian Bull's Heads」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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