COMMERCE STAMPS

Evening Star, Issue 22471, 16 October 1936, Page 1

COMMERCE STAMPS

THREE VALUES EXHAUSTED The Post Office announces that stocks arc exhausted of three denominations of the special commerce stamps. These are tho 2fd, 4(1, and 6d. The department, in order to mark specially tho distinctive occasion of the first holding in New Zealand of tho Empire Conference of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of tho British Empire, prepared a special issue of commemorative stamps of live denominations, and, in ordering supplies, endeavoured to estimate on the basis of the normal month’s sales, together with a reasonable excess to meet the possible demands of collectors, as it was recognised that a certain amount of interest is always taken in any new stamp issue. No official “ first covers ” were prepared. It was evident, however, by the demand for, first-day impressions at the special Congress Post Office that interest in the commerce stamps was exceptionally keen, and about 40.000 firstday impressions were handled, these rovers in the majority of cases bearing full sets of stamps. This indicated a very unusual demand for the higher values, and tho extraordinary extent of it can be gauged by comparing the normal monthly stamp .sales of those values with the numbers of commerce stamps ordered for the special issue and rapidly sold out. Average

Monthly Commerce Sales. Stamps. 2id . ... 30,000 357,696 4d . ... 160,000 364,896 6d ... 180,000 441,696