Vatican City's First and Only
Parcel Post Stamps Issued

Vatican City Parcel Post Stamps Q1-Q15 (1931) On October 1, 1931, the Vatican Post Office issued its first and only set of parcel post stamps. The issue consisted of the entire 15-stamp Conciliation issue (issued in 1929), with each stamp overprinted with "PER PACCHI" ('For Parcels"). This issue was made necessary by an attempt of the Vatican Postal Administration to simplify records of parcel post handling. On the same day, the Post Office issued its first Postage Due stamps, which included six stamps from the Conciliation Issued overprinted with "SEGNATASSE" ("Tax Receipt"). At the bottom of this article is philatelic first day cover with all fifteen of the parcel post stamps. Finding postally-used stamps (on cover or dispatch cards) that have been properly used from this series are extremely rare (see the article by VPS member William Wickert in the References). REFERENCES: William M Wickert, Vatican Notes, Volume 43, Number 6, pp.12-15, 1995, “The Elusive Parcel Post Issue” Kenneth A. Wood, Post Dates