Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Stamp Collector

Huge demand for London 2020 frames It’s always the same with international stamp exhibitions held in London – the events prove so popular that many want to exhibit, have stands, or simply visit, writes Richard West. So it is with London 2020, the international stamp exhibition being staged at the Business Design Centre in Islington from Saturday, 2 May to Saturday, 9 May. Far more collectors wanted to exhibit than space available would allow, even though the exhibits will be changed halfway through the exhibition. Fortunately it has been possible to accept two-thirds of the entries: every effort has been made to ensure that the same percentage of frames has been accepted from each country and across every class. A reminder that during the first half (2 to 5 May)…

Given the fame or infamy of the Stock Exchange Fraud, we were unexpectedly pleased to discover that examples of the counterfeit stamps used when committing the crime can still be purchased for prices in the low hundreds. We also noted that a QV 1s green from a genuine printing plate contemporary with those used by the forgers can be added to a collector’s album for only tens of pounds. A relative beginner wishing to get closer to owning one of the counterfeits might benefit from photocopying images of the forgery at variously enlarged scales, then carefully comparing them with his/her genuine watermarked example. Beneficial learning results from such exercises. The history of the Stock Exchange shilling green fraud; from its first coming to light in the dying years of the…

The video game theme has become increasingly popular in recent years, as more and more post offices celebrate the make-believe characters that entertain and challenge gamers around the world. France paid homage to a range of video games, including Pac-Man and Super Mario, in 2005; Ireland’s An Post issued four stamps celebrating game icons in 2014; and the USA gave a nod to video games with a single value showing two children playing in 2000. So the theme, and the popularity of video games, is nothing new. Indeed, these new British stamps are unashamedly nostalgic, recreating scenes from some of the earliest computer games created in the UK. As Royal Mail point out: ‘the roots of Britain’s video game industry can be traced back to the very early 1980s… This…

Athletes often feature on stamps. Many appear on cynically produced money-spinners from countries that have little interest in the sport or the people featured. Other sports stamps glow with national pride. This one falls – or rather flies though the air for an unimaginable distance – firmly in the latter category, writes Chris West The Finns love ski-jumping. Along with ice hockey and their own form of baseball called pesäpallo, it is their national sport. Their jumpers embody the national virtue of sisu, an untranslatable word that means grit, determination, willpower and sheer hardness. Their greatest jumper – arguably the greatest of any nation – is the man on this stamp, Matti Nykänen. When he was eight, Nykänen was dared by his father to do a jump. Already full of…

Over five years of war across most of the world in the period 1939 to 1945 had brought many countries to devastation and near financial ruin, as well as the horror of the death and injury to many millions of people. However, the postal systems had adapted, postage stamps had been designed and printed, and new routes of delivery had been devised. One such is the well known route via Lisbon in Portugal with the aid of the International Red Cross. In Germany, stamps were printed to show the German way of life, and a large series showed the profile of the Third Reich leader, Adolf Hitler. Preprinted postcards were a useful means of communication with the stamp printed on the card, meaning the writer did not have to visit…

The Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis, both in Turkey, and the Statue of Zeus in Olympia, Greece, have all vanished. There are doubts if the Hanging Garden of Babylon has ever existed at all. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (also spelt Cheops) was probably completed c.2560 BC and it was built as a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu. It is a huge building still measuring some 138 metres high. It is believed that the pyramid was the world’s tallest building for some 3,600 years until the 160-metre-tall spire of Lincoln Cathedral was completed around 1300 AD. The Giza complex includes three pyramids of which the Pyramid of Khufu is the largest and oldest. Millions of blocks of stone…

The Royal Canadian Mint have issued a special stamp-shaped coin to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth, recreating the 1897 Jubilee 50-cent stamp, which featured a dual-portrait of the monarch. The coin is limited to 5,000 pieces and is 99.99% pure silver. Over the festive period Royal Mail reintroduced four special Christmas postboxes with ‘an elfy dose of festive cheer’. First introduced in 2018, the four festive postboxes were decked with festive designs, and responded to post with the sounds of elves hard at work. The four boxes were located in busy hotspots in London’s Greenwich, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. The Faroe Islands Post Office are the latest philatelic bureau to join the www.allaboutstamps.co.uk website as a ‘Post Office Partner’, giving collectors the chance to see, and read…

LETTER OF THE MONTH ROYAL APPROVAL Dear Stamp Collector How wonderful to see HM The Queen attend the Royal Philatelic Society London recently to open the new building. It is reassuring and satisfying to know that our monarch holds philately in such high regard and from the images I have seen she seemed interested in the subject and the progression of the Society. One can only imagine what it is like to have your portrait appear on so many postage stamps, and then to appreciate just how many people around the world avidly collect them. It is also intriguing to know that HM’s grandfather was a President of the Society all those years ago. I would like to congratulate the Society on arranging this high profile and wholly appropriate opening…

Alderney birds Guernsey Post has released a new set of sixteen definitive stamps depicting birds found on the island of Alderney – the first set of Alderney definitive stamps that Guernsey’s philatelic bureau has released in more than a decade. Despite the island’s small size, Alderney’s habitats include heathlands, woodlands, rich farmland, cliffs, dunes and offshore stacks – between them providing a rich variety of habitats for the island’s birds. Alderney’s west coast and Burhou Island have been designated a Ramsar site, recognising a wetland of worldwide importance. The first three stamps feature the Dunnock, Robin, Goldfinch and Blue Tit (1p and 2p, 7p and 9p values), all well-known birds found across the British Isles. Next are birds of the marine heathland – Meadow Pipit (8p), as well as Alderney’s…

John Cabot’s ship Matthew took 35 days to cross the Atlantic from Bristol to reach the new-found land of North America and bring it to Europe’s attention in 1497. During the next three centuries thousands of merchantmen, warships and fishing boats followed in his expedition’s wake; seeking a north-west passage to China; or trade for beaver pelts with indigenous tribes; or catches of cod over Newfoundland’s Grand Banks. What all had in common amounted to almost total reliance on wind to carry them on their more than 2,500 nautical mile voyages. Uncertainties about wind force and direction denied the possibility of running a reliable scheduled service for mail or for passengers until the wooden-hulled side-wheel steamship SS Sirius powered her way between Cork and New York in 1838 at an…

My first visit to the new headquarters of The Royal Philatelic Society London, at 15 Abchurch Lane, was set to be a very special one. With only around 125 invited guests permitted to attend, I was honoured to be included. That morning, invitation in hand, I boarded the early train down to London, found my seat and just for a moment had to stop myself announcing to the busy carriage about my exciting day ahead, I was literally going to London to see The Queen! A Royal history The Society’s links to Royalty are clear from its name. The oldest philatelic society in the world, established in 1869, added the ‘Royal’ prefix in 1906, and ten years earlier HRH The Duke of York, son of King Edward VII, had become…

Engineering is the application of scientific principles to design and build machines and structures. Worldwide, it’s estimated that there are 15 million people working as engineers. It’s a discipline that impacts on almost every aspect of our daily lives too, from the fuel you put in your car on the way to work, to the bridge you drive over to get there. There’s no denying that large thematics like this can be daunting. ‘Engineering’ as a broader topic has appeared on a huge number of releases, and the USA’s Forever Engineering stamp (2018) is a wonderful example. However, for a more manageable collection it’s arguably helpful to decide exactly which aspects of engineering you want to focus on. Fortunately, there’s lots of choice. You could narrow your theme to look…

Many English words are of Norse origin. Window is ‘vindue’ in Norwegian and a typical example of Norse influence on the English language. But Norway has contributed many more words to the English language including ‘quisling’. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives the following definition of this particular word: ‘someone who helps an enemy country that has taken control of his/her own country.’ This rather heinous word is a fairly recent addition to the English language as it only dates back to the Second World War. Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945) was a Norwegian officer and far right politician who reached prominence during the German occupation of Norway. He collaborated with the Germans and was appointed as leader of the Norwegian government during the years of occupation. During the war, the…

So that was 2019, a rather strange year dominated by political chaos at Westminster and growing climate change concerns, but it wasn’t all bad news. We won the Cricket World Cup in a dramatic, historic final; we looked back to D-Day as we marked the 75th anniversary; and we wondered if a stamp would be issued for England’s rugby team, only for South Africa to spoil the party. As ever Royal Mail’s special stamps punctuated the year, with all manner of subjects receiving the philatelic honour. So how much can you remember, did you collect all the stamps issued? Test your knowledge in our annual quiz and you could win a 2019 Yearbook featuring every special stamp issued during the year, courtesy of Royal Mail. Quiz time! 1. The ‘Stamp…

SOLD FOR £842 Comoros, Letter franked 50f with 5 half Comorian stamps of 20f cancelled Dzaoudzi 1976 SOLD FOR £456 Grenada, 3$ Frigatebird 1968 - originla artwork for wildlife series SOLD FOR £379 Persia, 1929 Definitive Reza shah Pahlavi MNH SOLD FOR £760 China, unfranked postcard sent from Padova to Bhamo via Singapore and Rangoon taxed on arrival in China 1908 SOLD FOR £578 Chile, 100th anniversary of the University 1942 set of Black prints on special sheet SOLD FOR £336 Wurttemberg, 70k lilac Coats of arms 1874 used (with cert.) SOLD FOR £555 Andorra, 2cts Definitive 1963 MNH shifted perforation SOLD FOR £399 Belgium, 20c olive Leopold II issue of 1884 MNH SOLD FOR £336 Monaco, 5f carmine on green Prince Charles III 1855 used (signed) SOLD FOR £332…

POSTCARDS The charm of Gruss Aus cards Early chromo-lithographed postcards showing several vignette views and a white space for a short message are known as Gruss Aus types, writes Richard Stenlake. This is after the German ‘gruss aus’ (greetings from) cards published in huge numbers for German, Austrian and Swiss towns in the last years of the 19th century. The views often include the town hall, the railway station, the church or the local hotel. The travel industry quickly saw the advertising potential of these attractive coloured postcards and the bigger hotels were soon producing postcards. Like the car adverts of this time the hotel postcards were selling to the already wealthy. The cards are of high quality and presumably were available gratis and guests were encouraged to send them…

Any postal historian will be aware of how many letters survive bearing the black borders indicative of mourning. A combination of large extended families, ill-health and conflict meant that families were often in mourning for long periods of time and it was polite to use special stationery during this period. Printers provided a wide variety of letter paper and envelopes as the width of the border depended on the nearness of the deceased relative or the length of time since the loss. Not everyone chose to exercise such niceties and some writers never used other than the narrowest band while others ‘with the most perfect propriety, discard it altogether’. However it was very bad form to use mourning stationery when writing a letter of congratulation or of condolence, unless the…

The word ‘stamp’ certainly brings music to a philatelist’s ear, yet they have also been a musical medium. Postal authorities around the world issue hundreds of postage stamps incorporating reproductions from musical manuscripts, either in their entirety or as excerpts, into their designs. Combined with other stamp designs comprising instruments, composers and famous musicians, the British Library’s Philatelic Collections are actually an invaluable, untapped resource for cultural historians, manuscript specialists and musicologists alike. In Banal Nationalism the sociologist Michael Billig writes that an underlying, non-extremist, endemic type of national identity is formed by everyday encounters with representations of authority on official and consumable objects including coins, stamps, paper money and flags. Such power stems from their mechanical mass reproduction, widespread dissemination and consumption. As a transmission medium, stamps form excellent…

It was 1999. We had a good stamp business. I’d started by supplying stamps on approval. In fact, just like Victor Kiam of Remington Razors fame, I bought the stamp ‘Approvals’ Company called Omniphil that sent me stamps on approval when I was in my teens, but that’s another story… After a few years I decided that a ‘one-legged’ stamp approvals business, should stand on two feet(!), so I added a ‘Buy One, Take One Free’ off-paper world mixtures department which soon became a big success thanks to a loyal following of collectors who loved sorting through unsorted mixtures, and still do. Meanwhile buying stamp collections at auction had created a pleasant problem. We had accumulated better stamps which we felt were too valuable to be sent to clients on…