Stamp Collecting.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVIII, Issue XXII, 31 May 1902, Page 1100

Stamp Collecting.

A new series of King Edward stamps have been ordered for Hongkong, so collectors require to fill up vacancies of Queen’s heads with all possible speed. + + + Orange River Colony has issued a 4d stamp for registration and parcel post service. In order to meet requirements 4d in red was surcharged on 6d. V.R.1., the 6d being deleted by a red line. * * * The new British 2/6 and 10/ stamps were issued on April 7th and the 9d on April Bth. ■fee New Zealand stamps since the Queen's head was replaced by views and birds, will sooif become a small collection alone, from a specialist’s point of view. Even the Id universal stamp shows various types, both of paper, perforation, and watermark. It would almost, seem latterly as if the Department was using up the old scraps of paper in stock for the printing of the penny stamp. Quite recently the fact was chronicled that thin tough paper was being used, then a fortnight ago stamps were issued on paper without any watermark at all. This week penny universals were selling which were printed on thin paper, watermarked “Star, N.Z.,” single lines, similar to that in use for many years for Queen’s head stamps. E E E The San Francisco “Sunday Call.” in an article dealing with stamp-col-lecting states: “There are in the United States no less than 20,000 active stamp-collectors. Europe has about 5,000,000 stamp-collectors, among whom may be mentioned Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, Alfred De Rothschild, who has written several books on the subject, the Du’ehess of*Marlborough, also the late Victor Emanuel, and the Prince of Wales.” E E E “Uganda” has been surcharged on the half-anna yellow green, the 2J deep blue British East Africa stamps. The watermark is "Crown agents for the colonies” in large double-lined capitals, one letter on each stamp. Niue stamps postally used are now obliterated by the postmaster at the island with what appears to be a rubber stamp. At the top of the circle is the word “Niue,” and below “New Zealand.” The obliterating ink at present is carmine, and therefore much the same colour as the penny universal stamp itself. Niue, issues, therefore, are three already, the New Zealand Id universal used in 1901, without any overprint, then the same stamp overprinted “Niue” with rubber stamp, and the recent issue printed in Wellington, surcharged “Niue,” and the value of the stamp in native language. E E E Three thousand eight hundred dollars was recently paid by Mr Henry J. Crocker for a St. Louis 20 cent stamp in America. Mr Crocker’s collection is estimated to be worth 200,000 dollars. The history of the St. Louis 20 cent stamp is peculiar. Before the United States Government issued stamps the city of St. Louis employed an artist to engrave six stamps on a plate, the size of a card.

The values were four 5 cents and two 10 cents. Subsequently some 20 cent stamps were printed from the same plate by beating out on the copper the original fives, and inserting 20. The stamps, however, when examined show traces of the alteration. _ E E E The Cuban stamps 5, 10, and 20 cents of 1883 were overprinted with various ornamental devices, because a large number of stamps of those values were stolen. The designs consist of five different geometric figures, fourof which have the numeral of value in a space in the centre. They were printed from three plates of 100 each, the designs being differently disposed in each.