STAMP COLLECTING

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 106, 29 January 1938, Page 5 (Supplement)

STAMP COLLECTING

By “

"KAATA”

The large number of lifi’erent cent stamps which have come from the United States in varying shades of purple in the past few months have kept collectors busy. (.'on memorative stamps have become big buhiness in the United States postal department, and the number of admirers of well-known and little-known national heroes have helped along the issuance of special stamps in celebration of some person or event. According to the requests placed before Washington postal headquarters, there should lie many more commemorative stamps during this year.

FIRST COMMEMORATIVES The first of the pictorial commemoratices from the United States was the Columbus issue of 1893. Five years later the Trans-Mississippl issue appear. and from then on the pace was speeded up with an issue every three years. In 1924 output was again accelerated. and several issues of single, Two-or-three-value sets appeared every year after 1925. With the advent of the Roosevelt New Deal, and the president an ardent collector, eight distinct issues at different dates, were added to the year's quota. Printing this postal paper has brought millions of dollars to the post office for which no mail had to be carried. most of these special stamps finding their way unused into stamp collections.

There is considerable agitation among Canadian collectors for a similar stamp-issuing programme by the Canadian post office, to add to the revenue of the Dominion, since Canada is one of the most popular countries with collectors, not only throughout the Empire, but also in the United States. COLLECT POSTMARKS

The question whether stamps should be collected unused or postmarked has been keenly debated, and even now the same old question crops up sometimes in the philatelic magazines. It is purely a matter of taste. An unused stamp is evidence of the condition in which it was issued, while a used one furnishes proof that it has actually performed the duty for which it was intended.

From the sentimental point of view one would “plump” for the postmarked stamp, which may have travelled from one end of the world to the other; while its unused brother Ims stayed at home. The beginner would be well advised to collect both used and unused stamps, just as they come along. There is a world of interest in the postmarked stamps. In many cases the mark bears the name of the place of posting, and the date, and such postmarks are often valuable evidence of the earliest period at which a particular variety was used. Sometimes the office of posting is indicated in a kind of code such as the numbered postmarks of the different Australian States. Sometimes a particular postmark will prove that the stamps of one country have been used in another part of the world. "USED ABROAD"

.Many pages of stamp catalogues are devoted to postmarks which denote the use of certain British postage stamps in various parts of the world, while Indian postmarks may be found indicating stamps used at certain offices outside India, such as Zanzibar, and some French postmarks may denote the use of French stamps in French colonial possessions. Australian stamps have been used in Papua and Nauru, and others in France and Egypt, during the war. Such stamps are in demand and are collected under the beading “used abroad.” Tlie modern postmark often bears tin advertisement in addition to tlie date and place of posting; As some of these advertisements are illustrated pictorially, quite an interesting collection of advertising postmarks intty be made.

It is usual to assume that all stamps cancelled in pen and ink are fiscals, or duty stamps, which have been used on receipts or other documents, but this is not always tlie case. Certain early stamps of Tasmania. Venezuela, and other countries, were frequently postmarked by-a penmarked scribble. Afghanistan at one time was even more drastic, for here “postmarking” was done by chopping a piece out of the stamp with scissors. Sometimes a piece was torn out.

SPECULATION Every stamp collector since collecting began bas invested in stamps, for a stamp collection has a very definite salvage value and offer results in a profit to the collector. This is by no means tlie main reason for tlie popularity of stamp collecting, but if a collector, while enjoying his hobby, can also build up a sound investment, he will regard it with all the more interest. Thousands of stamps which, 50 years ago cost a few ponce each, are now worth many pounds. But recently a new element—speculation —has been introduced. Stamps are being treated in very nearly tlie same way as stocks and shares on tlie Stock Exchange. Certain individuals, many of them neither stamp collectors nor dealers, have tried to buy up complete

issues of stamps and then offer them to collectors at an enhanced price.

SOUTHERN RHODESIANS An instance of this is to be found in the 3d. value of the coronation series issued by Southern Rhodesia. This stamp should have been available until August 31, 1937, but certain indiviluals brought up huge quantities of the 3d. stamps, the Southern Rhodesia Post Office was completely sold out of this denomination, and many collectors and dealers failed to obtain supplies. The result was that the value quickly advanced.

In Cape Town the price for the complete coronation set, which had a face value of 1/-, was raised to as much as 30/-. This price also ruled in Wellington at a few book-shops in which dealing in stamps are a sideline.

FOREIGN ENCOURAGEMENT The British Empire, however, is by no means the worst offender. Foreign countries, particularly the smaller ones, do all they can to encourage speculation, for, from their point of view, the more stamps they sell (particularly as they will be asked to give no postal service in return), the better it is for them.

The organisers of a recent International Philatelic Exhibition in Paris, asked the French Postmaster-General to print them a special miniature sheer of stamps as had been the custom at other stamp exhibitions. This was agreed to. but the organisers of the exhibition were asked to be responsible for the actual postage value of the stamps, which amounted to 125,000 francs, as each of the blocks printed had a face value of 1 franc.

50 TIMES ORIGINAL VALUE! Most of these blocks of stamps were sold in advance, by subscription, to private individuals, and only 40.000 blocks were left to be sold during the exhibition. When the public knew that there was only this small number thousands queued up to obtain these blocks, and few of them were collectors. The blocks were being sold outside the exhibition for anything up to 50 times their original value, which means that the total issue, with an original face value of 125,000 francs is now worth 6,000,000 francs! After a great deal of ogitatiou another 11,500 blocks were issued, but this small number made no difference at all.

NEW ISSUES Recent issues include a special set of air mail stamps from Salvador, marking the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the United States Constitution. . . . Barbados will have nine stamps in its new George VI issue. . . . Ceylon will soon issue a new pictorial set’ of 11 values with a portrait of George VI incorporated in each design. . . . The Seychelles Islands will have a 15-value pictorial set showing a palm tree, a giant tortoise, and a fishing boat on each of five values. The King’s head will be shown also on each stamp. . • . Albania, which has not issued new stamps for some time, will soon print a nine-value commemorative set marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of Albanian independence. A miniature sheet will be issued at this time. . . .

Nicaragua marks the anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America with seven different m’niature sheets, each of four stamps. ... To mark the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the State and city of Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil has issued a 300-reis commemorative stamp.. •. Czechoslovakia has printed a short set to mark the convention of the International Labour Bureau at Praha. . . . Manchukuo has finished building its national capital and lias issued a series of stamps marking the event as well as the completion of the first five-year plan period. . . . Dominican Republic is to issue a one-centivo stamp which will have to be used on all inland mail in addition to regular postage. The proceeds of the special stamp are to go toward a fund to celebrate the republic’s 100 years of independence in 1944. India has overprinted four values of George V stamps with “Burma-Ser-vice.” . . . Egypt marks its freedom from foreign court rights within the country with a pictorial set showing a native woman carrying a water jug. In December a set for the international Cotton Congress, and in January a set for the International Communications Congress was issued. . . . Sweden will issue early this year a set marking the three hundretlth anniversary of the founding of the colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in the United States. . . . Falkland Islands’ one-shilling stamp appears in a new shade, emerald green. . .Turkey issued two stamps to mark the second Turkish historical congress last monthPrincess Josephine-Charlotte is featured on the Belgian charity stamps issued in Decetnber. . . . France has issued a stamp of the world’s highest motor highway, about 1} miles above sea level, recently opened at Savoy. . . . Leielitenstein, recently out of stamps, has added to new pictorials a small stamp showing a peasant’s house.