An Italian police stamp that almost didn't exist

It took twenty years before Italy issued a second stamp with a, for us interesting, image of a police motorcycle. But on November 28, 2017, the Italian Post Office issued a new stamp with the Traffic Police as its subject.

It commemorated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the police traffic department. The stamp features three images of tasks for which the Polizia Stradale is responsible. The stamp has a value of €0.95, a circulation of 400,000 and was issued in an unusual number of 28 self-adhesive stamps per sheet. Three photographs were chosen for use on the stamp. These were transformed into drawings by computer.

The image on the top right is based on an image that was previously placed on the cover of the police magazine "Polizia Moderna": a father proudly showing his new "service bike", a Moto Guzzi, to his children.

The bottom picture shows the modern way of traffic surveillance by showing two officers carrying out their task on the BMW R 1200 III P in the new colour scheme.

However, the image at the top left sparked off discussion about the issue.

The stamp's designer, M.C. Perrini, saw in the photo a traffic cop taking care of an injured victim of an accident. However, it turned out to be an officer comforting a distraught father of a son who had just died in a motorcycle accident.

The family of the unfortunate boy, who had received the motorcycle from his parents the day before and crashed into a tractor, reported to the post. Because the stamps had already been distributed to the post offices and the pre-sale to traders for making memorabilia had also taken place, it was decided in consultation to simply continue issuing. However, with this knowledge, the stamp has acquired a different character.

Info from ASAPS, the Associazione Sostenitori Amici Polizia Stradale, or the Association of Friends of the Highway Police.

Hans de Kloet

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