Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i Stamp Collector

Due to the second lockdown in England, the Grosvenor Philatelic Auctions sale previously scheduled for 2 and 3 December will now be held on 22 and 23 January 2021. A statement from the auction house said: ‘The decision has been taken in the interest of vendors in order to ensure the maximum prices that can only be guaranteed by the availability of pre-sale inspection of lots and the competitive dynamic of an open auction room.’ The Club de Monte-Carlo and the OETP (the Monegasque Office for Stamp Issues) has announced that the next MonacoPhil exhibition will take place from 3 to 5 December 2021. The event will feature an exhibition of 100 iconic stamps and documents, over eighty stands operated by postal administrations and stamp dealers, and the Monaco Top…

It’s the end of a tumultuous year and, as our guides on pages 18 and 20 reveal, post offices around the world are looking back on their stamp issues from the last twelve months, including Royal Mail. This year’s British stamps have portrayed areas as far apart as classic British computer games and the much-loved soap opera Coronation Street; the Gothic Revival Palace of Westminster and the flamboyant rock band Queen; the UK’s brilliant pollinating bugs and the perennially inspiring Romantic poets. Here’s your chance to own them all; we have a 2020 Yearbook, worth £186, to give away in our end-of-year competition. For your chance to win, just answer the following questions, take the first letter of each answer to form a five-letter word, and enter on the www.allaboutstamps.co.uk…

Jersey’s Lunar New Year series began in 2016 with the Year of the Monkey, followed by the rooster, dog, pig and rat. Once again, Chinese stamp artist, Wang Huming has designed the next instalment, Year of the Ox, which will be issued to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year in 2021. The design is based on a Chinese style of painting and paper cutting. In Chinese culture, the Ox is seen as a symbol of prosperity, being hard working, kind and reliable. The golden bull on the 54p stamp, with its head raised upwards, represents a longing for a prosperous future, while its hoof, tightly buckled downwards, indicates a down to earth attitude. The pattern on the body of the bull is traditional Chinese imagery of a butterfly…

In the Edwardian period there really was no holds barred in terms of what could be published and there are some postcards that make you wonder why they were bought and sent as they hardly say ‘wish you were here’, writes Richard Stenlake. In the social history section of dealer boxes you will often find cards of prisons. Views of Princetown on Dartmoor, Sark and Portland are pretty common and price from about £2 up. Back in the day if you were in the clink you lost your rights so publishers had no compunction about showing clearly identifiable groups of inmates. No point lying at the job interview about being abroad for two years when your prospective employer could triumphantly show you a postcard of yourself marching off to work…

Uhoh, an envelope is yelling at me. ‘Reading is fundamental’ blurts a large slogan, blotched on top of a carmine-coloured 1st class stamp, and sprawling across the envelope’s top fold. There’s a small book icon and even a phone number: 0171 828 2435. Intrigued, I call the line, but it’s dead. Not entirely surprising seeing as the envelope was sent in 1997, but thought I’d check, just in case. Flicking further through the collection, I notice other demands. ‘Send your TAX RETURN’ one implores, next to a moustachioed cartoon man pointing his finger at me. So it continues: Pass on your postcode. Call for a 30-day trial of Demon Internet! By the time I’m told to ‘Have a break’ with a famous chocolate brand, I’m ready for it. Who knew…

In southern Africa at the dawn of the 19th century, shortly before Europeans arrived in large numbers, land hungry armies of Zulu ejected their weaker neighbours from traditional grazing lands and replaced them with herds of cattle – the common measure of wealth in the region at that time. Most of the displaced fled in panic; but one clan, the Basotho, led by a local chief named Moshoeshoe, made a strategic withdrawal into a landlocked mountainous region from which they conducted a successful resistance against the Zulu. Even when Europeans carrying guns moved inland from their toeholds on South Africa’s coasts, Moshoeshoe held them at bay from a lofty and steep-sided plateau where he soon afterwards founded a capital, Meresu, which proved easy to defend against invaders. An intelligent ruler…

Commercial flight before 1940 was, at times, hazardous, but it is fortunately not so now. This postcard that has come to light and belongs now to a collector in Indiana, USA, has a story to tell about the journey of the writer, the transmission of the postal item, and the transport of the time. The year is 1930, the period of airships and flying boats which precluded the vast expense of constructing airfields for their departures and arrivals. However, they did not have a monopoly of air transportation as a surplus of military aircraft that had seen service in the recent Great War could be used to carry passengers. This postcard would have been originally purchased prior to the flight at Paris/LeBourget airport, most famous as where Charles Lindbergh had…

For centuries, Europe had been threatened by the Ottoman Empire. In the decades running up to the battle, that threat had been heightened by the successful campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman died in 1566, but his successor, Selim II, was determined to carry on his warlike policy. In August 1571, his forces captured Cyprus. The defeated garrison at Famagusta was promised safe conduct, but four of its leaders were executed and the rest enslaved. In response, Pope Pius V called for a coalition of European Catholic forces. A navy was gathered, and command given to the youthful Don John of Austria – a Spanish nobleman, with no connection to Austria. The fleet set sail, and on 7 October, battle was joined. Don John had slightly fewer ships, but superior…

Thousands of stamp and postal history collectors around the world recently enjoyed three days of talks and Q&A sessions during the first Collectors’ Conference held on the popular allaboutstamps.co.uk website. The special online conference was dedicated to collecting classic GB stamps and was held in partnership with the Great Britain Philatelic Society (GBPS). The online event followed the success of the month-long Summer of Stamps online event, which attracted thousands of collectors from around the world. Editor Matt Hill said: ‘I loved this first Collectors’ Conference and am so grateful to the many philatelic experts who took the time to present a talk. I’m always amazed by the vast knowledge and comprehensive collections on show, and over the three days we’ve been treated to some fantastic presentations, on a range…

The Royal Philatelic Society London has received an extremely generous gift of £750,000 towards its ‘Tomorrow’s Royal’ appeal. The gift has been made available by the Trustees of the Spear Charitable Trust, and falls within its objectives of providing benefit to educational projects, training, the arts, culture, heritage and conservation. The Trustees of the Trust have a close connection with the Society through its former Honorary Treasurer, Nigel Gooch. The Society, in recognition of the act of generosity, has agreed to name its museum, The Spear Museum of Philatelic History. The ‘Tomorrow’s Royal’ on-going appeal follows the Society’s move to a new home in the City of London, at 15 Abchurch Lane, from where it plans to enhance both its own public image and of the hobby of philately through…

The results of the annual Nexofil Awards were recently announced at a ceremony in Madrid, revealing what the international panel of judges deem the ‘Best Stamp in the World’. The winners, all issued in 2019, are shown here……

What a year it has been; 2020 will go down as one of the most challenging years in history, and the many postage stamps issued around the world provide a window into this unique time for us all. Many countries issued stamps acknowledging the pandemic, key workers, and the race for solutions, whilst stamps marking a range of anniversaries and special events remind us of the challenges and triumphs of the past, and the hope for the future. Year books give us the opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months, add the colourful designs to our albums, and discover more about the topics covered with beautifully designed pages showcasing the artwork and background to each issue. In this special end-of-year guide we pick a selection of yearbooks to add…

At the end of July 2020 Royal Mail announced it had to make changes to some of its overseas rates because passenger planes were being grounded to limit the movement of people between countries to contain Covid19, writes Stuart Leigh in the first of a two-part guide. The new tariff effective from 1st September being necessary to meet increased costs, which means the Post & Go Collector Strip of six increases from £9.07 to £10.11 – with the change of service indicators to: • 1st Class up to 100g• 1st Large up to 100g• Euro 20g World 10g• Euro 100g World 20g – NEW• World 100g Zones 1-3–NEW• World 100g Zones 2 – NEW Another change in the programming of the Post Office kiosk, came as a surprise. When I…

Unlike its namesake in New York State, Long Island in Ireland is quite small at just 4.8 km long and less than a kilometre wide, writes Christer Brunström. It is located south of Schull in Co. Cork and this tiny island certainly rose to prominence in 1973 when a local postal service to Schull was started by the Long Island Local Carriage Service Ltd. In Irish the island is known as Inis Fada which literally translates as Long Island. Both names are given on a set of four se-tenant stamps issued on 24 April 1973. They were designed by Guy Brison-Stack and printed by Dakota Ltd in Dublin in sheets comprising eight complete sets. According to an information leaflet, the stamps were perforated by De La Rue. Of the 60,000…

For those of us who are interested in bird stamps, I should like to say to Laura McInerney’s observations about Christmas stamps, that this time of year offers a great opportunity to add to my collection. Over the years, amongst the birds that have featured are: Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal (USA and Canada), Rock Ptarmigan (Iceland), Dove (various) Robin (Great Britain) Masked Booby (New Caledonia), Penguins (British Indian Ocean Territory), Goldfinch (Sweden), Owl (Luxembourg) and a Parrot (Cayman Islands). Christmas stamps also offer something equally as important to us all, as well as to bird stamp collectors; and that is humour, something perhaps we all appreciate right now. The annual Christmas stamps of Christmas Island offer both birds and a smile, as the illustrated example from 2017 shows. Other…

Soon after the invention of railways they were used to carry mail. Prior to 1891 railway companies accepted letters tied with string and they were carried ‘express’ to the nearest station to the addressee, who then collected the ‘parcel’. The Post Office resented this abuse of their monopoly for carrying the mail, so on 1 February 1891, an agreement between the Post Office and several railway companies came into force under which letters could be carried more quickly than the normal postal service. For this benefit the railways could charge an additional fee, payment being shown by a special adhesive stamp affixed to the bottom left corner of the envelope. This was in addition to the normal postage rate. The Railway Letter Fee was initially fixed at 2d, twice the…

Every stamp collector has experienced it. After several years the difficult used value of a long butterfly set from an island state finally shows up. Or, one day after years of looking through dealers’ cover boxes, what pops up but an example of a postmark that was known to exist but had never been seen. The feeling of success, of exultation, of euphoria, is well out of proportion to what might be logically ascribed to the assembly of a few bits of hardly pristine paper, or the acquisition of a slightly soiled envelope with an ink imprint only slightly different than thousands of others. To true collectors, however, this feeling is as real as the floor beneath them or a pay packet at the end of a hard week’s work.…

Pigot’s Directory advises that the quality of the silk, cotton and lace produced by machine in Nottinghamshire are not surpassed by those ‘tediously produced by hand’ in France or Germany. The Post Office had a significant role to play in circulating price lists and other commercial papers and the international nature of business can be evidenced from circulars such as that from Samuel Renshaw, manufacturers of hosiery and lace in Nottingham in 1841. The circular is printed on thin paper to allow for the lower weight bands on the continent and the text is repeated in French and German with over sixty different lines being priced. In the days before envelopes a folded letter is often a chapter of history in itself. Bayley & Shaw were Fellmongers and Leather Dressers…

‘money spent in the wrong way soon mounts up …’ Successful and enjoyable collecting depends upon understanding the relationship of your budget to your interest. Offers and services can be confusing can’t they, and money spent in the wrong way soon mounts up. In philately, sometimes it is hard to decide which way to go. Your passion may exceed your resource, so just what may be best for you? Often, it is not what you collect but how you collect This is the reason why my team and I have devised this quick and easy philatelic route-map QUIZ which does not ask you what you collect – but helps you to determine by your answers just which type of collecting service may best suit you Presently you may find few…

Post offices around the world are beginning to reveal their stamp schedules, at a time when the world begins to look forward after a hugely challenging year. Modern stamps issued in 2020 covered a huge range of subjects, with many unplanned designs being issued to raise funds for the fight against Covid19 and praise key workers. Whilst the pandemic and the roll out of vaccines may find its way onto stamps in 2021, we’re all hoping for a more settled twelve months, and philatelic bureaus are now beginning to publish their plans for the coming year. USA stamps for 2021 The US Postal Service (USPS) were one of the first post offices to reveal at least some of the many designs to adorn USA mail in the new year. Subjects…

Stampex International, the UK’s largest stamp event which usually takes place in London twice a year, is set to go virtual for a second time due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The Philatelic Traders’ Society (PTS) recently revealed that Spring Stampex will not take place at the BDC in February 2021 as was previously planned, instead the organisers will use the same virtual format which proved so successful in October, with a 72-hour philatelic event taking place from 25 to 27 March 2021. At this time, Autumn Stampex 2021 is scheduled to take place from 29 September to 2 October 2021. PTS Chairman, Suzanne Rae, said: ‘Unfortunately, due to the continuing uncertainty around COVID-19 and the amount of time it takes to plan and implement a world class Stampex show,…

Records of over twelve thousand General Post Office (GPO) War Heroes from both World Wars are now available for the first time through Ancestry, the UK’s largest family history site. The First World War had a huge impact on the postal service testing it to the limit and changing the way it operated forever. Over 75,000 postal workers went to war, over 8,000 of them never to return and many thousands more were injured, many permanently. To commemorate the postal workers who gave their lives James Trezies, a postal worker himself, decided to create a unique record and memorial to all his fallen colleagues, from the two world wars. Over three years in the mid-1950s Trezies researched and hand-wrote every name of the fallen on individual sheets of cream wove…

The Isle of Man Post Office is celebrating the Chinese New Year, with the first set of triangular stamps from any of the British postal administrations (Royal Mail, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). The stamp set pictures the Ox in four guises, in addition to which, two other animals feature in the set that are strongly associated with the Ox: the Rooster is the most compatible sign with the Ox while, most famously, the Rat was carried by the Ox to the finish line of the mythological Emperor’s race of the zodiac signs, only to hop off at the last moment to leave the Ox in second place. The four values in detail show the Ox and the Rooster on the 62p stamp. The Ox and the Rat…

Guernsey will release stamps to celebrate the Year of the Ox, the eighth set in its Chinese New Year series, which begins on 12 February 2021. For the Ox set, artist Chrissy Lau, who has worked on Guernsey’s entire Chinese New Year series, has taken inspiration from the patterns found on Feng Shui ornaments, as, in China, it is common practice in China to display Feng Shui animal ornaments depicting coins and gold to attract good fortune. Decorations associated with Chinese New Year, including oranges, lanterns and Chinese red packets, also feature on the stamp designs, whilst the Chinese symbol for ox appears on the top left of each stamp. The use of red symbolises good fortune and joy. The 50p stamp features artwork entitled ‘Amongst the Clouds’, the cloud…

November was a busy month for the auction experts at Spink with a series of online auctions and sales conducted behind closed doors. The first part of the ‘Dubois’ Collection of Jamaica Postal History and Stamps included an upper left corner horizontal pair of the 1919-21 pictorial issue 1/- orange-yellow and red-orange, with the frame inverted. Described as ‘a hugely important and magnificent multiple of this great rarity’ the rare error was discovered in March 1922 when a small block of stamps, reported as ten and described as with centre’s inverted, was found at the Manchioneal Post Office, a small village on the north east coast of the island. According to Spink: ‘The General Post Office at Kingston had confirmed that only half a sheet of thirty stamps would have…

At any stamp show you always see a group of collectors hunting the halls for coin covers, writes Brian Austin. Now the first question is are they collectors of covers or coins? Over recent years a number of coin collectors have discovered that they can find rare modern coins in coin covers. On the other side of the coin, excuse the pun, ten years ago it was quite common for us to buy sovereigns to put into, say, royalty covers; now with the price of gold they are most likely being taken out. I now try and steer clear of both the coin and sovereign markets, but over the last two or three years have been selling covers featuring banknotes, be it £1, £5 or £10. The cover shown here…

Our featured cover was headed up ‘The Burrus Cover’, on page 38 of a David Feldman auction dated June 2014. And you get an even greater understanding of exactly how significant the cover is when the auction catalogue is titled ‘The John E. du Pont Grand Prix Collection of British Guiana’. Two of the greatest philatelists of the modern era, both who assembled collections of exceptional quality, full of rarities, both with personal fortunes of rare quantity, and both came with the notoriety and lifestyle to underpin such incredibly fascinating biographies. These two giants in the philatelic world will soon appear in our Eminent Philatelists series starring in a leading role, as there is so much more to air about them, but they are just making cameo appearances here to…

Once Great Britain had shown the way, it was a close race for the next five places. The Canton of Zurich 4r and 6r were issued on 1 March 1843. Brazil’s 30, 60 and 90 reis were issued on 1 August 1843. The Canton of Geneva 5c + 5c came out on 30 September 1843 and the Canton of Basel 2½ r stamp was issued on 1 July 1845. The New York 5c Postmasters Provisional followed on 14 July 1845, giving Switzerland three out of the top six places. The stamps emerged during a time of unrest for Switzerland, as a loose assemblage of cantons gradually came together to form a country. After a short civil war in 1847, the Federal Constitution came into force in 1848. Until then, the…

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Most civilisations had some form of proto-paper. First manufactured in Egypt, papyrus was the Ancient world’s standard writing material for millennia. The plant is celebrated on Egypt’s 1966 Post Day issue, with a lovely image of both papyrus ‘letters’ and the plants that were harvested to make them. A 1989 ‘Ethiopian Manuscripts’ five-stamp set from Ethiopia features another early form of writing material, velum. Paper, and print-making, as we know it today was invented by Cai Lun around 105 CE. Cai Lun finessed the process to make a paper which was lighter and more durable. China’s 1962 stamps, which celebrate great scientists, commemorates both Cai Lun and the process he invented. It’s worth nothing that errors in which the ACE birth date was misprinted as BCE are rare and widely…