National Boy Scout Jamboree — Sibiu

A year after the 1931 Boy Scout Exhibition set, Romania issued a second semi-postal Scout series on 8 June 1932 for the National Boy Scout Jamboree (SOSOW; often associated with Sibiu in collectors’ literature). Again each stamp carried equal postage and surtax for Scouting: 25+25 and 50+50 bani, then 1+1, 2+2, 3+3 and 6+6 lei.

The six designs move from camp craft to the royal house. The low values show Scouts before a tent, signalling, tracking, and cooking over a fire. The 3+3 lei portrays King Carol II; the top 6+6 lei shows Carol II with the young Prince Michael (later King Michael I). As on the 1931 set, the crown appears as patron of Romanian Scouting at a moment when the movement was growing under strong state and royal attention.

Production was by the Government Printing Works after designs by Stefan Constantinescu, photogravure, perforation 13½, watermark crown and monograms. Each value is reported at 150,000. Together with the 1931 exhibition issue, these stamps are among the classic early European Scout semi-postals and document how Romania used the post to fund and publicise national Scout events.

According to ATA 1964 the National Boy Scout Jamboree was at Sibiu; five values show the Scout badge in the lower corners, while the 50 bani shows a Scout signalling in semaphore. Other designs include camping, cooking and stalking; the high values again place King Carol II and Prince Michael in the Scout story. Fake Timisoara and Bucurest cancellations are known for this issue as for other early Romanian Scout sets.