# San Marino

* The first regular postage meters came into use in 1973 although one Official machine was used possibly as early as 1969.
* All stamps include “SAN MARINO” or “S. MARINO” in the frank except one which has the abbreviation “R.S.M.” in the town mark.
* The stamps are grouped according to usage:
       A - Inscribed “SAN MARINO - POSTE” or “SAN MARINO POSTE”
       B - inscribed “S. MARINO – POSTE”
       C - inscribed “REP. SAN MARINO – POSTE”
       D - inscribed “POSTE – SAN MARINO”
       E - frank without inscription, town mark contains “(R.S.M.)”
       PO - stamps only from post office meters
       PP - stamps only from parcel post meters
       OO - stamps used only for official government mail
* For specialized information about the meter stamps of San Marino, see Catalog of the Meters of San Marino, by Nino Barberis, AICAM, 2003.

## GROUP A: Inscribed “SAN MARINO - POSTE” or “SAN MARINO POSTE”

A1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5000” series (MV), 1973.
    Frank 33-34 x 22 mm.
    Flower and leaf design in side panels.
    Date figures raised in relation to value figures.
    “PB 5000 OR” and meter number reading downward between TM and frank.
    Two meters known, 10377 and 11878.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000
A2. Sima (MV), 1973.
    Inner box around value figures has two lines at top and bottom.
    Side panels of frank contain ornaments with circle in center with teardrop shapes above and below.
    The small ends of the teardrops end in little circles with three rays.
    Value figures large and angular.
                                                                      A. Tall letters in "SAN MARINO-POSTE"
                                                                      B. Short letters in "SAN MARINO-POSTE"
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000. 000 000. 0000
A3. Sima (MV).
    As Type A2 but inner box around value figures has one line at top and two at bottom.
    Value figures large and angular.
                                                                         A. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with teardrop shapes above and below. The small ends of the teardrops end in little circles with three rays
                                                                         B. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with vaguely fish-shaped wavy lines above and below that are open at the ends
    TM: SC
    V/F: 00. 000 000. 0000
                                                                         a. Official stamp, used by the San Marino Department of Tourism
A4. Sima (MV).
    As Types A2 and 3 but inner box around value figures has one line at top and one line at bottom.
                                                                            A. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with teardrop shapes above and below. The small ends of the teardrops end in little circles with three rays. Short letters in "SAN MARINO-POSTE".
                                                                            B. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with vaguely fish-shaped wavy lines above and below that are open at the ends. Tall letters in "SAN MARINO-POSTE". [$5]
    TM: SC
    V/F: 00. 000 000. 0000
A5. Sima (MV), 1980. [$10]
    Similar to Type A4B but the frank is shorter, only 21 mm tall, and the town mark is smaller.
    One meter known.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000.
A6. Sima (MV), 1981. [$10]
    As Type A4A but without straight inner frame line at top.
    “SAN MARINO – POSTE” appears to run into the simulated-perforation frame line.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000.
A7. Sima “76” (MV), 1983.
    Very narrow spacing between TM and frank.
    Value figures much smaller than previous types.
    When present, M# below frank, with "S" or "SI" prefix.
                                                 A. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with teardrop shapes above and below. The small ends of the teardrops end in little circles with three rays.
                                                 B. Side panels contain ornaments with circle in center with rays extending outward above and below.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 0000 ★000 ★★000
                                                 a. V/F: 0★000 [appears to be an error]
A8. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV), 1985.
    Spacing between TM and frank is narrow but not as narrow as with Type A7.
    Value figures are level and evenly spaced.
    M# with “H” prefix below frank.
    TM: DC
    V/F: 00000

## GROUP B: Inscribed “S. MARINO - POSTE”

B1. Sima (MV), 1975.
    As Type A1 but with different inscription.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000.
B2. Sima “76” (MV), 1987.
    As Type A7B but with different inscription.
    M# with “S” prefix below frank.
                                                                            A. Very narrow spacing between TM and frank
                                                                            B. Post Office stamp, wide spacing between TM and frank
    TM: SC
    V/F: ★0000 ★000
                                                                            a. As A, with Registration box at left of TM
B3. Neopost “Electronic” (MV).
    Straight and wavy line design at sides not enclosed in panels.
    TM: BIC
    V/F: 000

## GROUP C: Inscribed “REP SAN MARINO - POSTE”

C1. Sima (MV), 1985. [$5]
    Large angular value figures as with earlier Sima types.
    Ornaments in side panels have very small logo for the postal service with flower and leaf design above.
    Wide spacing between TM and frank.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000.
C2. Sima “76” (MV), 1985.
    As Types A7 and B2 but with different inscription and different ornaments in side panels.
    Very narrow spacing between TM and frank.
    When present, M# with "S" prefix, either below the frank or the TM.
                                           TM: SC
                                           V/F: ★000 ★0.00 00.00 ★★000
                                                 a. With Registration box at left of TM
C3. Neopost “Electronic” (MV).
    Similar to Type B3 but with different country inscription and with small postal logos in bottom corners.
    TM: BIC
    V/F: 00,00
C4. Neopost” (digital).
    Similar design to Type C3 but the frank is taller and not as wide.
    M# in bottom panel without letter prefix.
    TM: DC
    V/F: 00,00
C5. Neopost” "SM26" (digital).
    As Type C4 but with meter model SM26 below the value figures.
    Without meter number; bottom panel empty except for postal logos.
    TM: DC
    V/F: 00,00
NOTE: This is possibly an essay design.

## GROUP D: Inscribed “POSTE – SAN MARINO”

D1. Sima (MV), 1984. [$10]
    As Type A1 and B1 but with revised country inscription.
    One meter known, without meter number.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000.

## GROUP E: Frank without inscription, “(R.S.M.)” (Republic of San Marino) in bottom of town mark

E1. Hasler “F88” (MV), 1975.
    Leaf and flower ornaments in side panels.
    One meter only, M# “H66e11077” below frank.
    TM: DC
    V/F: ✳000

## GROUP PO: Special franks found generated only by Post Office meters

* See also Type B2B for a Post Office stamp.
PO1. Sima “Italpacchi” (MV), 1962.
    Originally a meter designed for franking parcel post forwarding cards, several machines were modified for window service use in post offices.
    The frank is very tall with “SAN MARINO – POSTE” at top.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 0000
PO2. TAE “Citis”, “PT3” (MV).
    Horizontal frank with “REP. SAN MARINO POSTE” at top.
    Service indicator between TM and frank.
    Shown is the service indicator for registered mail.
    TM: SC
    V/F: five figures with a ✳ for all leading zeros, i.e. ✳✳✳✳1, ✳✳✳10, ✳✳100, etc.
PO3. EMS (MV).
    Wide frank, narrow spacing between TM and frank.
    Box with rounded corners at left of TM to contain 4-digit registration or other service number.
    TM: SC
    V/F: six figures with a ✳ for all leading zeros, i.e. ✳✳✳✳✳1, ✳✳✳✳10, ✳✳✳100, etc.

## GROUP PP: Special franks used to stamp parcel post forwarding cards

PP1. Sima “Italpacchi” (MV).
    Double frank with two sets of value figures and two TMs, one above the other.
    The top half of the stamp was a record for the post office and the bottom half franked a card that was a receipt for the customer.
    Shown here is only the bottom half.
    Straight lines in side panels.
    Inscribed “IA PARTE” above “SAN MARINO•POSTE”.
                                                       TM: SC
                                                       V/F: 000
                                                       NOTE: Used only at the Borgomaggiore post office.
PP2. Sima (MV).
    Very similar to Type PP1 but inscribed “POSTE S. MARINO”.
    Bottom half of stamp shown.
    Leaf design in side panels.
    TM: SC
    V/F: 000
NOTE: Used only at the Karnak post office.

## GROUP OO: Stamps used only for Official government mail

OO1. Francopost (Frama) “500” (MV), 1976. [$5]
    Small frank only 26-27 mm wide with large and thick value figures.
    Inscribed as Group A, with “SAN MARINO – POSTE” at top.
    One meter with “FP 500 E 5001” vertical between TM and frank.
    TM: SC
    V/F: ★000
The stamps shown below resemble meter stamps but are press-printed rather than meter-generated. The top one closely resembles Type OO1 but has a 3-bank value figure and a much larger town mark with slashes instead of stops in the date. The lower stamp, with post horn centered at bottom, was used by several government departments including the San Marino Philatelic and Numismatic agency.