Design errors

Dates and events

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Married in 1923, not in 1926 ! The Queen-mother got married in 1923, not in 1926. Another stamp of the same series confirms that her first child was born in 1926. (BURKINA FASO - 1985)


Early letter. According to the postmark, this letter was sent in the year 185 ! (UNITED KINGDOM - 1850)


Wrong date On the 4 kronor stamp issued for the STOCHOLMIA 86 stamp exhibition, the author Strindberg writes a letter to Harriet Bosse, clearly dated by him in 1905. On the cover however, the cancellation shows August 19th 1906. (SWEDEN - 1986)


Wrong date This conference, foreseen in 1971, took place in 1972. The stamps with a red 1971 overprint were withdrawn and replaced by stamps with a red 1972 overprint. However some stamps escaped their destruction (CEYLON - 1972)


Wrong date There is no relation between chess and the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the chess championship of Havana took place between 25/10 and 20/11/1966, not in September (ROMANIA - 1966)


Wrong birthdate Stamp honouring the authoress Annette KOLB (1870-1967), giving her birth date as 1875. In this case, nobody is to blame, as she had assumed her sister's date of birth, and never admitted her own real age. (GERMANY - 1975)


Wrong birthdate Chemist Janos Iringi's birthdate is wrongly given as 1819 instead of 1817 (HUNGARY - 1954)


Wrong date of death The physician Endre Högyes died in 1906, not in 1921 as stated on this stamp (HUNGARY - 1954)


Wrong date of death The chemist Karoly Than died in 1908, not in 1906 (HUNGARY - 1954)


Language and date errror MADECINE and ANNIVERAIRE instead of MEDECINE and ANNIVERSAIRE. Furthermore the 21st anniversary in 1952 was followed by the 23rd anniversary in 1953 ! (AFGHANISTAN - 1953)


Wrong date The great Roman composer Porumbescu was born in 1853, as shown on a previously issued stamp. Not in 1854 as shown on a preprinted postcard. (ROMANIA - 1954)


Wrong date Visit of Queen Elisabeth to Bangladesh. In 1933 Bangladesh did not yet exist, and Queen Elisabeth was still a child. The wrong date Nov. 33 was soon corrected into Nov. 83 (BANGLADESH - 1983)


Wrong date Commemoration of the independence of the country. The wrong date 1968 was of course soon corrected into 1960. (NAURU - 1968)


Wrong date Stamps issued to commemorate the discovery of the maritime path to India by Vasco da Gama, which took place in 1498, not 1598. The wrong date 1598 was soon corrected into 1498 ! (MACAO - 1998)


Inverted portrait - wrong birthyear The sculptor J.F. BOSIA was pictured twice on stamps from Monaco : the same portrait was used, but was inverted on one of the stamps. And on one stamp, 1769 is wrongly shown as his year of birth : the sculptor was born in 1768 ! (MONACO - 1948-68)


Wrong birthyear The year of birth of Hamilton is given as 1757. This was claimed by Hamilton himself, but in fact he was born in 1755 and tried to mask his illegitimate birth. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1957)


Wrong date In the margin of this stampsheet, it is claimed that The XVI Olympic Games were held between the 8th and 25th February. The correct dates were 8 to 23 February. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1992)


Too early ! Postcard illustrating a letter cancelled on arrival in London on the 2nd March 1840. The famous Black Penny however, was officially issued 4 days later ! (UNITED KINGDOM - )


Wrong birthdate Stamp issued in 1963 to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Jules DESTREE. However a wrong birth date 1864 was given instead of 1863. (BELGIUM - 1963)


Wrong date China offres an excellent service to philatelists, numbering and dating all their stamps. Except here … 1855 is not correct, the stamp was issued in 1955. (CHINA - )


Early death. Stodola died in 1942, not in 1924 ! (CZECHOSLOVAKIA - 1959)


Wrong date. The moviestar Yul BRUNNER died in New York on Nov. 10th 1985, not in 1987. (GAMBIA - 1988)


Wrong date Georg Friedrich Händel died in 1685, not in 1585. When the error was discovered, a new stamp was immediately issued. (GERMANY - )


Wrong date This stamp from a booklet shows a George V silver 3d coin. The last time this coin was minted was in 1935, but the stamp clearly shows 1991. On a label in the booklet however, the correct coin is shown. (UNITED KINGDOM - 1991)


Wrong birthdate Maxim GORKI was born in 1868, not in 1869. (HUNGARY - 1948)


Wrong birthdate Goethe werd in 1749 geboren, niet in 1742 ! (HUNGARY - 1948)


Wrong date A. ROSSI died in 1899, not in 1918. (ITALY - 1950)


Wrong birthdate Eléonora Duse was born in 1859, not in 1858 as mentioned on this stamp. (ITALY - 1958)


Postponed visit. The visit of the Iranian Shah was delayed, as the Pope passed away at that time. The visit took finally place in November 1958. (ITALY - 1958)


Different dates. According to one of those stamps, the bicycle was invented in 1809. But according to the other one, it happened nine years later. (MALI - 1968)


Wrong date First major stamp error : the original stamp showed POST OFFICE instead of POST PAID. He was however issued in 1848, not in 1847. (MAURITIUS - )


Wrong date. On March 13, 2000, a stamp was issued bearing the image of President Estrada, with an open end date of his presidential term. On June 19th of the same year, the design was retouched, and the and date was added. Unfortunately Estrada was ousted in January 2001, so the date of 2004 is incorrect. (PHILIPPINES - 2000)


Wrong date. Jaracz died in 1945, not in 945 ! (POLAND - 1947)


Wrong date The sinking of the German battle-ship BISMARCK took place on May 27th, 1941 at exactly 10h40, and not on 26.V.1941 as claimed on this stamp. (POLAND - 1991)


Wrong date Gorki was not born in 1869, but in 1868 as shown correctly on a Russan stamp. (ROMANIA - 1956)


Wrong date 1951 was wrongly given as the beginning date for the collective farming. This was corrected to 1949 on a new stamp. (ROMANIA - 1956)


Wrong birthdate The Russian composer GLINKA was born - as correctly noted on a Russian stamp - in 1804, and not in 1803 as claimed on a Romanian stamp. (ROMANIA - 1958)


Wrong date of death Russia commemorated the american William Foster on a stamp (1881-1961) but unfortunately gave 1964 as the date of his death. The stamp was withdrawn and a corrected version was issued a few weeks later. (RUSSIA - 1971)


Wrong date The departure of Cardinal Sarto from Venice to a Conclave in Rome occured on the 26th of July, not on the 27th of June (XXVII-VI) (VATICAN - 1960)


Wrong commemoration This stamp of 1976 commemorates the 200th anniversary of the American Constitution, which was not signed until September 17th 1787. (SPAIN - 1976)


Wrong year The first flight over the Rio de la Plata took place in 1912, not in 1913 (SPAIN - 1930)


Error in name and dates Wrong : Juan Sebastian Bach (1714-1788) - Correct : Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) (PARAGUAY - 1980)


Wrong name and dates Wrong : Adolf Wagner (1835-1917) - Correct : Richard Wagner (1813-1883) (PARAGUAY - 1980)


Wrong birthday Wrong birthdate : 11 janvier 1875 - Correct : 14 janvier 1875 (MALI - 1965)


Wrong date The GRAF-ZEPPELIN LZ-127 was built in 1927, not in 1924 (MALI - 1977)


One year too early. Stamp issued in 1970 to commemorate the centenary of the first stamp. This first stamp however was issued in 1871. (AFGHANISTAN - 1970)


Wrong date Lunik III was launched on 4.10.1959, not on 4.11.1959 as shown on the stamp (ALBANIA - 1963)


Wrong date De Gaulle became co-prince of Andorra when he became President of France. This happened in January 1959, not in 1958. (ANDORRA - 1972)


Wrong date According to the date in the postmark, this railwaystamp was already in use in 1738 (BELGIUM - 1938)


Incorrect year This stamp was issued on Dec 12th 1995, and nit in 1996. (FRANCE - 1995)


Wrong date Wrong date : February 31th does not exist. (MEXICO - 2010)


Not the first The first statue of Nelson was already erected in Montreal in 1808, not a the Barbados in 1818 (BARBADOS - 1906)


Accurate date DEC 89 seemed not precise enough, so the stamp was re-issued with the correct date of the meeting : 15 DEC 89. (TOGO - 1989)


Wrong name The person featured on this stamp is called Astronomer Seng Yixing. His real name was Zhang Sui, Yixing is a religious surname that was given to him after he became a monk. . Issue year : 1955, not 1966. (CHINA - 1955)


Wrong birthdate Antonio BARAYA was born in 1770, not in 1768. (COLOMBIA - 1950)


Wrong number and date The locomotive featured on this stamp is the number 427 (not 408) of the Österreichchische Staats Eisenbahn Gesellschaft built in 1872. The date 1865 on the stamp refers to the date when production of this class of locomotive started. (CZECHOSLOVAKIA - 1966)


Wrong date Dr A.B. MORENO, president of Ecuador from 1919 till 1920 was born in 1861, not in 1859. (ECUADOR - 1958)


Three years later Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier was born on April 30th 1757, not in 1754. (FRANCE - 1936)


Wrong date Due to the death of the Queen's mother, the British royal visit to France was postponed, and took place on July 19th 1938 instead of June 28th. (FRANCE - 1938)


Wrong date Du Guesclin was not born around 1314, but in 1320. (FRANCE - 1969)


Wrong date The Hotel des Invalides was founded in April 1674, not in 1675. (FRANCE - 1974)


One year too late The French National Academy of Medecine was founded in 1820. So this stamp, issued in 1971 to celebrate the 150th anniversary came one year too late. (FRANCE - 1971)


Wrong year Avicenna was born in 980, not is 952 as mentioned onb the stamp. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1952)


Wrong date The first day cancellation was stopped on the first day of issue : instead of 9 november, the postmark beared the wrong date 7 november. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1958)


Wrong year The return of the Porkkala territories from Rusland took place on January 26th 1956, not in 1955 (FINLAND - 1956)


One year too early Stamp issued in 1964 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication by Kekulé of the formule of benzole. Kekulé's theory was in fact formulated and published in 1865. (GERMANY - 1964)


Wrong birthyear Jean BART was born in 1650, not in 1651. (FRANCE - 1958)


One day The Order of Liberation was created on November 16th 1940, not on the 17th. (FRANCE - 1960)


Wrong transposition Wrong : MDCLXVII (1667) - Correct in numerals : 1666. (LUXEMBOURG - 1966)


Doubts The so called Gutenberg Bible was not completed before 1456, certainly not in 1454, and it is not sure that this bible was printed by Gutenberg. (GERMANY - 1954)


Wrong date The physician Endre Hogyes died in 1906, not in 1921 as given on the stamp. (HUNGARY - 1954)


Wrong year The space trip of C.Conrad and R. Gordon took place between 12 and 15 December 1966, not in 1965 (HUNGARY - 1966)


Wrong date Wrong : 1793-1959 - Correct : 1793-1857 (FRANCE - 1955)


Strange anniversary The message on the stamp issued in 1937 says : Centenary of Spontini. The composer Gasparo Spontini however lived from 1774 till 1851. (ITALY - 1937)


Wrong date The stamps tells us that this painting was made in in 1590. But a closer look at the right upper corner of this painting reveals the real year : 1570 (NETHERLANDS - 1956)


Wrong birthyear Exact birthyear : 1847, not 1837. (INDIA - 1963)


Wrong birthyear Overprint Hammarskjoeld 1904-1961. His correct name is Hammarsköld and he was born in 1905 (JORDAN - 1961)


No relation This precolombian messenger has no known relation with the date of 1790 ion the stamp. (MEXICO - 1990)


Dangerous landing Sailboats with deployed sails close to the border. Futhermore this landing took place in 1779, not 1770. (FRANCE - 1980)


Initial date The South Pacific Games were postponed till early 1967. Nevertheless this stamp was issued mentioning the initial date December 1966. (NEW CALEDONIA - 1967)


Wrong birthday Erasme was not born in 1466, but in 1469. Correct on another Dutch stamp. (NETHERLANDS - 1936)


Postponed Stamp issued in 1994 to commemorate the visit of the Pope to Belgium. The visit however was postponed till June 1995. (BELGIUM - 1994)


Wrong date The first flight of the Concorde took place on March 2nd 1969, not on May 2nd 1969. (NIGER - 1972)


One year later The 2nd Pacific Gales were postponed till 1967. (PAPUA NEW GUINEA - 1966)


Wrong date Due to a sun eclipse occuring during the battle of Stiklestad where King Olaf Haraldsson died, this can be precisely dated : August 31th 1030, not July 29th. (NORWAY - 1930)


Wrong dates General Henryk Dembinski died in 1864, not in 1866, and General Bem was born in 1794, not on 1795. (POLAND - 1948)


Wrong birthdate General Swierczewski was born in 1897, not in 1896. (POLAND - 1952)


Wrong year Georg ENESCU must have died either in 1855 or 1856, both alternatives can be found on Romanian stamps. 1855 is correct. (ROMANIA - 1981)


Wrong date This car was first built in 1901, not in 1909. (RUSSIA - 1973)


Wrong date Alexander the Good did not access the throne in 1406 as given on the stamp, but in 1400. (ROMANIA - 1932)


Wrong date Stamp issued in 1923 for the inauguration of the Postal Air Services. The lanch was however postponed until the following year. Meanwhile there had been a change in currency : the surcharge conviently covered most of the wrong date. (RUSSIA - 1923)


Wrong year Rusland and France both issued a stamp in 1975 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Russian-French relations., but the Russian stamp put the anniversary wrongly in 1974. (RUSSIA - 1975)


Wrong date The discovering of the three northern islands by Louis de Bougainville happened in 1768, not in 1776 as on the stamp. (BRITISH SALOMON ISLANDS - 1972)


Wrong date This Mercedes was of course not built in 1910, but in 1950. (PORTUGAL - 1994)


One year later The first time a man landed on the moon was in 1969, not in 1968. (CHAD - 1983)


Next year This stamp was not issued in 2008, but in 2009. (ALGERIA - 2009)


One year earlier Commemoration of the 300th anniversay of book printing (1639-1939). But this first book was already printed inb october 1638. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1939)


Not yet issued stamp The green 2C Washington stamp was issued on Sept 10 1887. The cancellation date shown on the stamp is June 10, 1886, one year begore the stamp was issued. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1986)


Different dates According to one of those stamps, the bicycle was invented in 1809. But according to the other one, it happened nine years later. (NIGER - 1968)


Strange date The stamps on this cover sent from China to Köln are all cancelled in 1937. But yhe 1.000.000 Y stamps were only issued in 1947, during the post-war inflation period. (CHINA - 1947)


Wrong year This stamp was issued in 1921, but according to the postmark, this cover was already cancelled in Strömstad in 1919 ! A machine cancellation on the backside shows a more acceptable date : 1926. (SWEDEN - 1921)


Wrong year Postcard with two machine cancellations with different dates : 27.06.83 on the left, 27.06.82 on the stamp. According to the written text on the card, 83 is the correct date. (SWEDEN - 1982)


Wrong date François Villon died around 1463, certainly not in 1498. (FRANCE - 1946)


One day later The treaty of Rome was not signed on the 24th of March, but the following day, on March 25th. (ITALY - 1982)


Wrong year This plane was not built in 1904, but in 1908 : it is a Wright A 1908. (SAN MARINO - )


Wrong year The first 'Boules de Moulins' came in use in January 1871. The date 1870 is thus errneous. (FRANCE - 1979)


Wrong date Stamp and cachet show 1941 or December 10, 1941 for the fall of Singapore, which occured in fact on February 15th, 1942. (MARSHALL - 1991)


Wrong birthyear Albrecht Dürer was born in 1471, not in 1474. (GABON - 1978)


Wrong year Due to an error in the printing plate the birthdate of Händel became 1585 instead of 1685. (GERMANY - 1935)


Wrong year The Nobel prize was attributed to Max Planck in 1918, not in 1914. (IVORY COAST - 1978)


Wrong year Wrong date : this train was built in 1825, bot in 1925. (PARAGUAY - 1972)


Impossible date According to this postmark, this postcard arrived on January 32nd ! (GERMANY - 1986)


Strange association It is strange to associate the St. Peter's dome in Rome with the year 1560, as it was only completed in 1590. (SAN MARINO - 1999)


Wrong birthdate The Belgian Cardinal Mercier was born in 1851, not in 1856 (BELGIUM - 1976)


Different dates Which day did this letter arrive in GÖTEBORG : 27/10, 28/10 or 30/10 ? (SWEDEN - 1986)


Inverted date Inverted date in the cancellation of this letter sent from the Stamp exhibition of 1986 in Stockholm : it should be 86 instead of 98. (SWEDEN - 1986)


Wrong date First day cover issued on March 20th 1959. The purple postmark however shows March 2Oth 1948. (SOUTH KOREA - 1959)


Wrong date This cover has been cancelled two times with different dates, the first obviously was a mistake and was crossed by the post employee. (SWEDEN - 1856)


Wrong date According to the postmark, this postcard will be sent in 2895 ! (GREECE - 1895)


Wrong birthday Wrong birthday : not 1861 but 1862. (CANADA - 1961)


Two years earlier Dr Schweitzer received the Nobel prize in 1952, not in 1954. (ECUADOR - 1967)


Wrong year Amundsen passed Sint Petersburg in the Norge on his way to the North pole in 1926, not in 1923. (RUSSIA - 1991)


Wrong year The visit of the Graf Zeppelin to Russia occured in 1930, not in 1928. (RUSSIA - 1991)


Wrong year The first Bible was printed by Guterberg in 1455 or 1457, certainly not in 1452. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1952)


Wrong year Exact birthyear is 1658, not 1660. (AUSTRIA - 1960)


Missing cord Bow without cord (RUSSIA - 1991)


Wrong date Jules Verne died in 1905, not in 1909. The 75th anniversary, however, was correctly celebrated in 1980. (TOGO - 1980)


Inexact birthyear The exact birthyear of Holbein the elder is unknown, but most probably around 1465. (CHAD - 1976)


Inexact birthyear The exact birthyear of Albrecht Altdorfer is unknown, but most probably around 1480. (CHAD - 1976)


Wrong birthyear Isaac Newton was born in 1642, not in 1643. (MALI - 1977)


Wrong birthyear The birthyear of Mother Theresa is 1910, not 1907. (BURKINA FASO - 1998)


Wrong year Foute datum 2003 werd verbeterd in 2002 op een nieuwe zegel. (TUNISIA - 2004)


Wrong year The first flight of Gagarine took place on April 12th 1961, not in 1960. (DJIBOUTI - 1981)


Four years later This locomotive was not built in 1840, but in 1844. (POLAND - 1976)


Not the right one This is not the first balloon that was used for the first flight in 1783, but one that was built some years later. (POLAND - 1981)


Wrong date The Sputnik I was launched on October 4th, not on Oktober 11th 1957. (ALBANIA - 1962)


Wrong date Luna III was launched on October 4th 1959, for a first flight around the moon, not on October 7th. (ALBANIA - 1962)


Wrong year While creating the envelope, the designer wrote 1999 instead of 1998 (see postmark). (CROATIA - 1998)


Wrong moment The solar eclipse in Zagreb had its peak at 12.48 pm, on the FDC this event is marked at 10.47 a.m. (CROATIA - 1999)


Wrong year Croatia wrongly commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Academy of Science and Arts in 1992, Yugoslavia does it correctly in 1991. (CROATIA - 1992)


One year earlier The scientist Kekulé published his discovery of the benzene formula in 1865, not 1866. (BELGIUM - 1966)


Wrong commemoration The first manned ascension in a balloon already took place in France in 1783, not in Russia in 1731. (RUSSIA - 1956)


Wrong dates Jean de Gerson was born in 1363 and died in 1429 (thus 1362-1428 is wrong) (FRANCE - 1946)


Wrong birthyear Martin Luther King was not born in 1928, but on 15 January 1929. (LIBERIA - 1968)


Wrong date The reunification of Germany took place on October 3rd 1990, not on November 10th 1989 (NIGER - 1991)


Wrong dates Hugo Eckener was born in 1868 and died in 1954 (not 1870-1940) (GAMBIA - 1995)


Impossible date 13.13.76 is an impossible date (BELGIUM - 1976)


Unknown birthday ? Why put a question mark for the birthday date, as it is written correctly on another stamp ? (CUBA - 1961)


Wrong birthyear Wrong birthyear - wrong : 1877 correct : 1873. Correct on other stamp (PAKISTAN - 1967)


Correction by overprint This stamp was already printed when the Brexit-date was postponed. The problem was solved by an overprint. (AUSTRIA - 2019)


Wrong years Wrong birth and death year (COLOMBIA - 1966)


Wrong death year James Cook died in 1779, not in 1889 (PARAGUAY - 1985)


Wrong birthyear Wrong birthyear. Wrong: 1596 - correct: 1546 (NICARAGUA - 1994)


No emissions In 1915, during the first world War, no silver coins were issued (SWITZERLAND - 2015)


Wrong birthyear. De Caravaggio was born in 1571, not in 1573. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1973)


Wrong year Wrong year of death. Correct year is 1048. (TURKEY - 1973)


Wrong year Wrong year : the exact date of the battle d'Eylau is Feb 8th 1807. (EQUATORIAL GUINEA - 1976)