Magyar Posta is issuing a special postage stamp with a coupon to commemorate the 125th anniversary of introducing the Hungarian registered mail label. On the coupon attached to the Message Stamp IV - Domestic 35 (Üzenet bélyegem IV. – Belföld35) postage stamp, a montage made of a few Hungarian registered mail labels can be seen. The stamp was produced by Pénzjegynyomda on the basis of the design of Imre Benedek, graphic artist. The new product is available from 17 October, depending on the availability of stocks, at first day cover post offices and at Filaposta, and it can also be ordered from Magyar Posta's web shop. The registered mail label is a small postal form on an adhesive sticker of a uniform appearance, cut, serrated or perforated, used for marking registered postal items. For the first time it was used in Prussia in 1865. It was introduced in international circulation by UPU in 1883. In Hungary the use of registered mail labels was prescribed in Decree No. 60.817/1889 dated 4 February 1890. Its symbol is the letter R, from the French word recommandé. Its paper and the colour of its letters vary, but the symbol R is always stated on it, as well as the receiving post office and the item number. In Hungary, before the introduction of the registered mail label, the signs registered, Recom., Recommandirt, or even earlier NB (nota bene, "note well”) were used. The registered mail label, as an independent area of collections, belongs to paraphilately. (Source: Bélyeglexikon, Magyarország ajánlási ragjegyei - Stamp lexicon, Hungary's registered mail labels - 1890-1977) On the coupon that belongs to the stamp, from the 125-year-long history of the registered mail label – in a non-exhaustive manner – six pieces have been selected. The first registered mail label from 1890 is characterised by the fact that the vertical lines of the frame run all across the sheet, while the horizontal lines remain between the vertical ones, and another important characteristic feature is that it is not serrated. Two other very rare registered mail labels have been included in the montage: the one with a black frame, which was only used in few post offices and in an extremely low number of copies, and the provisional Makó mail label, which was produced locally, as a stopgap measure after World War II. Three further special mail labels supplement the composition: copy No. 1 of the special mail label issued in 1940 for the 50th anniversary, and the mail labels of the Hungária 1100 stamp exhibition and of the Pigeongram (pigeon post) service. Besides issuing the stamp with a coupon, a special registered mail label has also been produced to welcome the anniversary, which is a so-called jubilee item identifier, and on the day of issue Magyar Posta will use a special postage stamp.
