Hi,
I was interested in varieties (plate flaws) of this issue long before I finally was able to add this
major error to my collection. I acquired this nice stamp very recently.
This coat of arms with black surcharge 0.60 is pretty common but such error is rare. Only two sheets (100 stamps in sheets) are known, one was sold in Tartu and other in Tallinn. Stamp I have is from Tartu sheet. Numerous varieties exist. I have researched but am still not quite sure how many times plate was repaired and cleaned. Certain flaws such as filled 6 or broken 0 are repeating. Others seem to be random. There is also one other error, where surcharge box is strongly shifted upward, 5-10mm.
On covers such inverted surcharge stamp is very rare, only about 10 or less covers are known to be in collections.
A very collectable issue!
All the best,
Toivo
