Posts Tagged ‘postal stamps’

Many of the items listed as freaks are off-center perforations, where the perforation is so far off center as to cut right through the center of the stamp or, in many cases, cut off one portion of the stamp, placing that portion of the stamp above or below it, or perhaps to the side. Sometimes, in multiple-color printings, one color is shifted to a degree that it makes a strange design on the stamp instead of the intended impression.

Sometimes the perforations are so far off center that the name or the value of the stamp, normally say, on the bottom, is cut off entirely from its proper location and appears instead at the top of the stamp below. This means, of course, that all the stamps in that sheet will be the same, except the first row which will be lacking the name of value entirely, having a wide margin instead. It would appear that this row would be of greater value than all the other stamps.

Color variation is another category that is in great favor among specializing collectors. These people will make a collection of dozens, or even hundreds of specimens of the same stamp, separating them into infinite minute shades of color. Another way of collecting is position collecting. This is done more with the stamps of Great Britain than with other countries, since the older British stamps had a letter or symbol in one or more corners of each stamp, designating its position in the printed sheet. The idea behind position collecting is to obtain every stamp in a sheet, mounting them in the original positions they occupied until an entire sheet is reconstructed.

Counterfeiting is big business, especially in stamps of countries that are no longer in existence, and whose legal stamps are very high priced. Many of the old European states issuing their own postage actually have very little traffic in postal duty. Their stamps are worth a couple of Pounds unused, but several hundred Pounds, perhaps, if canceled. Hence, counterfeit cancellations are very plentiful. If you buy such stamps, it is best to buy from a large dealer who will authenticate the stamp and the cancellation, and issue a guarantee certificate attesting to its genuineness. You will pay for this service, naturally, but the alternative is the possibility of ending up with a worthless piece of ornamental paper.

And then, of course, there are the out and out counterfeits. Almost every valuable stamp of the world has been counterfeited at one time or another. Some of the rarer items are as plentiful as counterfeits that it a nearly impossible to find a genuine copy. Of course, the fact that it was nearly impossible to find a genuine copy in the first place is what made the stamp valuable to begin with.

It would seem very easy to counterfeit some of the older rarities, since they were so crudely made by their governments. They were wood-block prints on soft, spongy paper, the dyes imperfect and imperfectly applied to the printing die. The impressions were often off-center and sometimes almost illegible. All these things make it easier for the counterfeiter, and for this reason you should be very sure, when you buy such a rarity, that you know for certain that the stamp is genuine. Authentication by a reputable and knowledgeable dealer is the best way.

For stamp collectors, stamp collecting can be more exciting if you know where and how to get your collections. Whenever you collect a stamp, always remember that, someday, it will become rare and will worth a lot of money. So handle your collected stamps well.

In this article we give you some tips on how to collect your postage stamps.

Follow some of our tips and we guarantee that you will have lots of postage stamps as your collections.

Buy your stamps. It is always a good idea to spend a little amount of money for your collections in order to get your stamps regularly. Just by doing this, you will soon build up an impressive collection of stamps, in a little amount of time.

Postage stamps are not that expensive anyway. Recent stamp issues are available in the Post Office near you; you can always purchased stamps issued over the last few months. You can also look for the right stamp dealers in your area; most of them have huge collections. Find some that you like. Remember that the value of old postage stamps is much higher than others.

Exchange stamps with friends. Ask your friends if someone are interested to exchange stamps with you. If not, ask stamp dealers if they want to exchange for some of your collections. But first, choose stamps that are duplicate, exchange the other one for a stamp that you still don’t have. Go for the older stamps. You can offer a greater number of stamps in exchange for an old stamp.

Old posted stamps are hard to find. Don’t worry – you can always buy stamps that are recently issued. One way to publicize your passion for stamps is by blogging. Create a blog about your desire to exchange stamps with other postage stamp collectors, this way, you reach out farther, many famous stamp collectors from all over the world may see your posting and maybe will contact you for stamp exchange.

On the 15 fennigi stamp of the Republic of Poland in its last issue of 1919 appears the face of Paderewski, whose unusual career at once attracts attention and admiration of all.  It is probably the only instance in history where a noted musician has been honored with his picture on a postage stamp, although of course it was not his fame in that line which prompted his country to so honor him.

Paderewski was born in Podolia, Russian Poland, on November 6th 1860. He was nominated Professor of Music in the Warsaw Conservatory at the early age of eighteen.  He also held a Professorship at the conservatory at Strasburg but his favorite line of musical endeavor was that of a pianist.  As a pianist he made his debut in 1887, and his fame spread rapidly until the whole world soon paid him its homage as one of the greatest pianists who ever lived.

Probably every musical centre of the knows him as a musician, but during the troublous days of the World War he turned his talents to other laudable things, that of helping his distressed country to throw off the yoke of servitude imposed by Germany, Austria and Russia.  He toured the American Continent for funds to help the distressed people of his native land and to further their cause for liberty.  When the German army was heing cleared of Poland he returned there and it was probably more to his wisdom and skill in statecraft that the Republic was so successfully organized.  He served as its first Premier and held the ship of state at the most crucial period of its history and acquitted himself with a capability which shows him to be equally skilled in statesmanship as in the manipulation of the keys of a piano.

All over the world today, stamp collecting is the most practiced hobby among many hobbyists. It is been considered as an art among art practitioners around the world. Because of its meaningful nature, artistic attributes and valuable essence, stamp collecting became famous for such descriptions.

Everyday, many individuals decided to begin stamp collecting and became stamp collectors for several wonderful personal reasons. One of them is “investment”. Yes, stamp collecting could be a real investment for the future. If you can find rare postage stamps and put it in your collections, it sure is worth more than you would know when the time comes.

Regardless of what kind of stamps you collect, be it UK postage stamps, personalized photo stamps, cancelled postage stamps, used postage stamps or rare stamps, one thing is certain, it is worth the time and money. Some collectors choose to collect personalized stamps because of its uniqueness.

If you prefer to buy stamps, be sure to purchase them from the right stamp dealers like ‘The Ten O’clock Show’. Be sure to take good care of your collections, you may use proper stamp collecting tools to avoid damage. It is also good for collectors to sort stamp collections by country like engaging in UK postage stamp collecting or according to theme they prefer.

Map of the World Stamp from Canada, a large one is too bulky for very general use, so it must be admitted that Canada has the distinction of issuing the only postage stamp which pictures at a glance the world.

This particular stamp was to mark the opening of the British Penny Postage scheme which was advocated from the days of Sir Rowland Hill.  New Zealand, Transvaal, etc., issued a special type and Canada did likewise. The designing of this stamp also had another meaning. The Ottawa Evening Journal has it in these lines: “When Postmaster General of Canada Sir William Mulock, was in Britain he as surprised to notice that the great mass of people (of Britain) did not appreciate the vastness of the British possessions abroad. This was especially true of Canada”. When it was time to prepare a suitable design for the 1898 issue, he suggested a map of the world showing the British possessions in a striking color.  He called for designs, but none suited. Then he drew a rough sketch and submitted it to an artist to finish.  The Journal also states that “Mr. Mulock is giving the public the cheapest map of the world ever made”.

The British possessions were in red while the countries of other powers are not so noticeable.

At the top the Crown is displayed and at the bottom the legende “We hold a vaster Empire than has been” appears.

The legende is taken from the Jubilee ode of Sir Lewis Morris, entitled “Song of the Empire”.

This remarkable stamp caused no end of criticism at home and abroad, not only because of its startling design, but (quoting C.A. Howe’s “Canada”) also because of the bombastic legende which appeared.

Before the section of Philately of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, John N. Luff, on February 24th 1899, mentioned this issue in a lecture delivered in the interests of the hobby.  He observes, “The motto is a trifle bombastic and suggests the Teutonic superlative “So bigger as never was”, and “Xmas 1898″ reads like the advertisement of a department store: “Gents pants for Xmas gifts”.

So great was the public demand for this stamp that it was put on sale the sixth day of December, although the intercolonial reduced postage did not become effective until Christmas Day. The value of the stamp was two cents and the colors, originally red and lavender, but within a short time copies appeared with Neptune’s realm in light green and Prussian blue.

Though it was given the laugh when it was first introduced by an English Schoolmaster, the civilized world today pays homage to the postage stamp, the friend of humanity, on its hundred and sixty eighth birthday.

Not since the days of printing had there came to humanity such a boon as was launched in England on May 6th, 1840, when the first postage stamps were used.  That date in all history marks the beginning of popular communication, placing within the reach of the poorest peasant the means of writing to friends and relatives. It put the people of the world into closer relationship, it encouraged the art of writing and it spread civilization.

Millions of people in this world to day receive letters, tear open the envelopes and seldom glance at the stamp, and should they do so, the pretty piece of paper would represent to them but the cost of transmission.

An incident relative to its inauguration is interesting to relate, Rowland Hill, the schoolmaster was passing through a rural district of northern England.  At one inn where he stayed overnight, the postman came along with a letter for one of the girls employed by the inn keeper.  The girl took the letter from the carrier’s hand and after looking it over handed it back to him saying that she did not have the one-shilling to pay for its carriage.  We might say here that about this time (1835-40) the postal charges were ‘Cash on Delivery’.  Hill being of a generous heart paid the postman the postage and the letter was duly delivered.  After the carrier had left the girl turned to Hill and thanked him for his kindness, but at the same time told him that his action was entirely unnecessary.  She and her brother had arranged a code which was placed on the outside of the envelope and she had read the short message when she had first taken it from the hand of the postman.

Hill was amazed as such a fraud drafted a scheme to combat them.  This hastily prepared basis is the forerunner of the present day world postal system, and the secret of their success; prepayment of postage by postage stamps.

Having convinced himself, he had to convince the people.  In the year 1837 he made a study of the statistical reports of the then postal “system” and the next year wrote a booklet “The Post Office Reform” in which he advocated a one-penny rate for all letters weighing less than one ounce, that were addressed for delivery in the United Kingdom.  Previous to this time, and the same was true of all other countries; the rates of postal charges were based on the distance schedule.  Now along came a schoolmaster who claimed to be able to put in use a one-penny rate when the one then in use was a one-shilling, twelve times more.

After the first roars of laughed had rolled away there were some who came forward and openly agreed with him.  That was enough.  Now he had to spring the plan on Parliament.

The government was slow to appreciate the farsightedness of this gentleman, and even resented the interference as he held no office in the English government.  The people and a few newspapers began boosting Hill and his scheme.  The Parliament gave way to accept his suggestions.

He claimed that the high cost of mail service was directly due to irregularities of the mail service, such as reckoning the charges by the number of sheets contained in an envelope and rated by the distance schedule, and collecting the charges from the addressee.

In his booklet he called for the one-penny rate, and “any difficulties in that plan”, to quote the booklet, “might be easily settled by using a bit of paper just big enough to bear the stamp and having on the reverse side some sort of glutinous substance which when moistened would hold the stamp to the back of the envelope”.

The invention of the postage stamp dates from his modestly advanced suggestion.

January 10th, 1840, saw the penny postage rate effective in Britain, but it was several months later, May 6th 1840, hundred and sixty eight years ago, that the first postage stamp was put in use.

Roland Hill was knighted for his efforts and received a gift of nine thousand pounds sterling for his work, raised by public subscription, besides a big job in the post office department.  In 1854 he was made chief secretary and was retired in 1864.  After his retirement he wrote several books on his research.  The History of the Penny Post was one of these.

This closes the story of Sir Rowland Hill, but let us says a word of the postal activities in relation to the new postal system.

In 1839 the letters carried totaled 76,000,000; 1840, 169,000,000.  Because of the lowered rates the postal revenue fell from pounds 478,000 to pounds 278,000 and the net profit from pounds 326,000 to pound 100,000.  It was more than ten years before receipts again totaled those of 1839, but the number of letters carried increased constantly, reaching 350,000,000 in 1850.

More often people really do enjoy collecting stamps not for profit but for pleasure. Experienced stamp collectors usually advise beginners to start collecting stamps on a general or worldwide theme. This is not a bad idea; however, it will give beginners the notion that this hobby is tiresome and demands a lot of effort for the reason that, thousands of new stamps are produced. With the worldwide theme on hand, it may seem endless. So instead of enjoying the hobby it may lead to frustration.

Conversely, topical stamp collecting or thematic philately is much easier and more interesting as compared to general stamp collecting. It may be general in some ways because, topics can be chosen from wide varieties, it can range from Birds on stamps, flowers on stamps to scientist on stamps or any topic you wish to collect.

When collecting topical postage stamps or thematic stamps, there are no rules to follow, you can simply just set your own rules and change them as you wish; for instance, defining the scope of you collection or making literary pieces to describe your collection.

Thematic stamps certainly won’t bring you a fortune because topical stamps are most often referred to as stamps for fun and relaxation; not for acquiring riches.

To start topical stamp collecting, all you need is a topic, a checklist of stamps which are related to the topic and a stamp album.

Select a Topic. In forming a topical stamp collection, topic selection is a very vital aspect. Your topic must be something that interests you or things that fascinates you. Once the decision is done, you must take into consideration how limited or how broad you topic will be. The easy way is to opt for a sub-topic from a topic with larger scope. For example; if you chose flowers, a more specific topic can be orchids. Then you can focus on collecting different kinds of orchids.

Prepare a checklist. In order to prepare a checklist, you can scan through stamp catalogs from your local library, like the “Scott’s Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue” or the “Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue”.

Acquire Stamps. Study your checklist and classify the topical postage stamps into sub categories like; theme on stamps that feature your topic as the principal design; stamps which have the same borders or shading; stamps that feature your topic as a symbol or stamps that can be considered as supplementary for your collection.

Once done, you can start off buy purchasing stamps in packets from dealers, obtaining stamps from friends or relatives, or search on the internet. Sort your stamps according to the sub categories mentioned earlier, then you can search for additional stamps later on.

Procure a Stamp Album. For a well-organized collection you need a stamp album and better yet get a stamp tong too.

Arrange and Mount. Devise your stamps in an orderly manner, this way it will be easier to find any stamp in your collection. When arranging your stamps remember the keys for an attractive display; Symmetry, Balance and Clearness. It is rather difficult to arrange stamps that vary in sizes, so you can simply experiment as you intend to mount. When you find an arrangement that is pleasing to the eye, make a sketch of the outline then use it as a guide when finally mounting your stamps.

Consider spacing. It is imperative that you maintain uniform spacing between stamps as it can add beauty to the finished appearance. You can use “Quadrille sheets” to aid page arrangement.

Make write ups or descriptions. Write descriptions that will simply tell about your collection, but remember not to over do it; let the stamps tell its story.

As you continue with your topical collection, you will soon realize that the art on stamps are colorful, interesting and educational. Later on, as you scavenge for your desired stamps, you might encounter rare topical stamps; this will make you more interested in the hobby.

Except for the stamps that you bought at the post office, it is possible to sell stamps and covers in the same places that you purchased.

That means, sell them back to dealers, advertising or sale in the philatelic exhibitions, or sell them to other collectors at the meetings of your stamp club, have a dealer to sell them at auction, or offer them yourself in an Internet auction. Each stamp show, the dealers are there to buy and sell.

There is lot of sales opportunities by using the so-called “circuit books,” a part of the services of some of the philatelic organizations, and then the organization is moving forward with other collectors in the mail. Beneficiaries may choose what to buy send money to the organization, brochures and sends them to the next collector. Circuit books are an excellent way to sell low and middle price of stamps and covers.

Run an ad in a few publications is an inexpensive way to sell stamps. It is a good idea to try and find the best market for your stamps before its time – corresponding to what you have the best potential buyers. For example, offer your collection United Nations a dealer who specializes in Britain is likely to be a waste of time, although sometimes a dealer is willing to buy “outside” in his area if the matter is something that could be delivered quickly. Maybe the dealer may sell to another dealer at a future stamp show.

It will be advantageous for you to organize your stamps in very specific groups, and then offer for sale separately, rather than mixing together different countries and promote it as “the world.” Sometimes it is best to break it up by categories popular news – a group of birds, or trains, rather than a country collection. The reading ads on the market is a good way to get an idea of what sells, and how, so you can price your collection accordingly. The values listed in places like the Scott catalog are estimated retail price of – that you might spend to buy the stamps in very good condition. It is not the price a dealer would pay you, and it is certainly not the purchase price for stamps and less good condition.

A few words on the stamp value: value depends on the condition, on the quantity available, as well as market demand. These factors offset each other. For example, if there are only a few examples of a certain stamp, and everybody wants one. People are so eager to have they will not mind so many flaws. But if there are millions of mint copies still available, then nobody is going to pay top dollar for your stamp or cover.

There may be a lot of copies, and if they are not popular to collect, it does not matter if the stamps are perfect or imperfect, nobody wants anyway! If there are a lot of copies, and stamps are popular, then the best copies command the best prices, but less perfect copies will always be a market. All this is common sense.

There are “modes” and trends of stamps that in other markets and stamps you can not sell today can have their turn at some future time, when circumstances change. But, remember that this is supposed to be a hobby, something to be in the show for fun, not for future profits. Collect for fun and you will never be disappointed.

A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a small group of postage stamps still attached to the sheet on which they were printed.

Postal authorities worldwide have issued souvenir sheets to commemorate any number of different special events, from royal births to major stamp exhibitions. Although the main purpose of any postage stamp is to show that postage fees have been paid, it often serves a second purpose: to commemorate a past event or a well-known place or person.

The stamps on the sheet may be perforated in the usual way, or imperforate. The margins or selvage of the sheet may have additional printing, ranging from a simple statement of the occasion being commemorated, up to a full picture of which the stamp(s) are just a small part.

On Dec. 22, 1922, Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg, the younger sister of that country’s present ruler, Grand Duke Jean, was born. Just 12 days later, on Jan. 3, 1923, Luxembourg issued a special small sheet that contained a single green 10-franc stamp with perforations all around, and a wide border of margin paper. There is no inscription in the margins, but the special sheet was prepared specifically upon the occasion of the royal birth.

Although the terminology is not as precise as most stamp collectors would prefer, the souvenir sheet is an interesting part of the stamp hobby. Collectors may choose to collect only souvenir sheets that promote stamp shows and exhibitions, or they may look for souvenir sheets related to another type of event or some specific topic. Many collectors enjoy souvenir sheets because they fit easily on a stamp album page. Some modern souvenir sheets contain interesting artwork as part of the decorative selvage.

We can find that specialists study their stamps to an extent far greater than the general collector, for, in his limited field, his energies are not scattered to the extent that those of a devoted general collector are. We all admit and perhaps this is one of our pet arguments as to the benefits of Philately, that the study of our stamps, and the knowledge gained thereby, is one of the most important advantages conferred by the Goddess Philately on her prostrate admirers and worshippers. This granted, to make a proper and advantageous study of our stamps, it is, of course, reasonable to state that it is not wise to have a field too extensive, else it is a case of “knowing everything, yet knowing nothing well”.

Specialism may be practiced to a greater or less extent. Some collectors seem to have the idea that to be a specialist you must throw up the greater part of your collection and confine yourself to a single country. This idea seems to be sheer foolishness. We are all specialists of a kind. We all have some favorite country that we prefer to all others, even though we collect everything from everywhere. Thus a general collector is in a small degree a specialist, having some country he devotes more attention to than to others.

Again oddities are collected by many, as an outside specialty; albinos, miss-cuts, miss-strikes, double impressions, and in fact anything of a like this nature seems to be carefully hoarded up.

Another very useful specialty is that of counterfeits, which are of great value for comparing with the genuine stamps, and the Philatelist who masters the points of difference between the genuine and the forged stamps has acquired an important portion of his Philatelic education.

So much for a few interesting side specialties, for either specialists or general collectors.