Moldavian Bull's Heads

The second and third Romanian issues also feature the head of the aurochs, symbol of Moldavia—the former on its own and the latter, printed after the Union of the Principalities, alongside a representation of Wallachia.

Following the 1856 Treaty of Paris, the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia took a number of modernizing measures, including postal reform.

In Moldavia, caimacam Nicolae Vogoride and his council named a postal committee and directorate as well as hiring trained personnel from Austria.

The higher rate was charged when sending to Adjud, Bârlad, Bolgrad, Cahul, Focşani, Galaţi, Ismail and Tecuci.

The aurochs' lower lip rests on a post horn, within the inner tube of which is the stamp's value in Arabic numerals.

[1] Aside from the economic advantage derived from simplifying communications, the stamps and the symbol they used were a political statement against the Ottoman Empire that still exercised suzerainty over the principality.

[2] Earlier attempts to introduce a national coin or seal had been denied by Turkey, but the stamp, Moldavia's first exercise of autonomous statehood, was allowed because the relevant imperial authorities there were not yet familiar with the notion.

[3] The paper used to print the stamps came from Bath, Somerset, imported by an Iaşi merchant and bought by the Finance Ministry.

[2] Stamps were cancelled with a double circle featuring the name of the post office above and the word Moldova below, in capital letters.

In August, stamps were sent to Bacău, Bârlad, Botoşani, Dorohoi, Fălticeni, Focşani, Galaţi, Roman, Tecuci, Târgu Neamţ, Vaslui and Mihăileni.

Later, following Moldavia's union with Wallachia and the creation of a single postal service, they were moved to the old central post office on Strada Doamnei in Bucharest (now the site of the Stock Market Palace).

A German expert certified they were forged, although the museum responded that he had only analyzed three stamps directly, with the rest of his decision based on scans, and that the authenticity remains uncertain.

In 1889, prosecutors entered the press of Universul newspaper, where they found dies for and thousands of copies of Bull's Head stamps.

[2] The stamps have been admired at various expositions, including at what is now Sala Dalles in 1932 for their 75th anniversary, and at the Postal Palace in 1958 for their centenary.

[1] Vasile Voiculescu's 1947 short story Capul de zimbru and Lucian Pintilie's 2006 film Tertium non datur both feature the Bull's Head stamp as one of their themes.

In 2006, a November 11, 1858 edition of Zimbrul şi Vulturul featuring eight 5-para stamps from the second series became the most expensive newspaper copy ever sold at auction.