Description Of The Second Matrix
By 1934, the plates from the first matrix had worn out, and as neither the negative nor the black prints used to produce it had been preserved by the printer, to make more plates the printer needed a photograph and for that reason had to make new black prints. These were taken from an offprint of the 1934 plates.
Thus, the plates for 1935, 1937, and 1938 [note the absence of 1936, when the third matrix was used.] must by necessity have the same plate flaws as did the 1934 plates. However, because the black prints from the 1934 offprint were reassembled randomly when creating the new ten by ten array, the flaws appear in completely different positions. This second set of black prints was used to create the second of the three matrices.
Also, it is clear that only one negative was made because the spacing between the stamps on every plate for the years 1935, 1937, and 1938 is exactly the same -- and this spacing is quite different than that of panes printed from the first matrix. Thus, it is clear that the second copper matrix was produced as described above.
Every plate for the years 1935, 1937, and 1938 have the same flaw in position 91 -- a notch in the outer outline of the value tablet directly above the numeral 1. An additional indicator is a small circle found in the stress bar just below the right edge of position 91. This circle is less apparent on panes from 1938 because the stress bar itself was made smaller. Finally, the plate flaw from position 100 mentioned in the description of the first matrix was now found in position 70.
In 1936, the printers moved on to create a third matrix, which was a failure. So, instead of using more 1934 offprints to produce new black prints, the Czech Union printing firm derived directly from the second matrix the next set of galvanized plates for the years 1937 and 1938. These plates have exactly the same flaws as the 1935 panes, and even have the same circle in the stress bar, save for the 1938 panes. In it, the size of the stress bar was reduced, making the circle slightly less perceptible.
