Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Stamp Collector

The Stuart Rossiter Trust is sponsoring the Literature Reading Lounge at EuroPhilEx. For the show, they have a couple of special offers that need to be pre-ordered before 28 April. They are offering three books for the price of two and a special offer on complete sets of SRT Postal History Journals. For full details, see the Stuart Rossiter Trust website (www.rossitertrust.com). The ABPS has announced that owing to funding from The Philatelic Fund, it is able to offer free entry to UK first-time exhibitors at National and International exhibitions. Please see the ABPS website (www.abps.org.uk) for full details. Maidstone and Mid-Kent Philatelic Society‘s 2025 Spring Stamp Fair is being held on 12 April at the Grove Green Community Centre in Maidstone, Kent ME14 5BT. It will be running from…

The withdrawn, first version of Monaco’s European stamp ‘Octopus of the Mediterranean’ from May 2024 without the EUROPA logo (see Stamp Collector, November 2024) reminded me of an earlier issue of the principality from 1971, when an error in the stamp design was noticed in good time before the issue date (Figure 1). It was intended to be Monaco’s contribution to the ‘Dürer Year’ of 1971, when the 500th birthday of the master painter and creator of important graphic works was celebrated with many issues around the world. A copperplate engraving entitled Christ before Pilate was chosen for the reproduction on Monaco’s 2f stamp. The work is sheet V from Dürer’s so-called Copperplate Passion, which is one of the highlights of the Nuremberg artist’s graphic oeuvre. Created between 1507 and…

Over thousands of years, mail services came and went, but in 1680, two men finally gave the letter-writing public what they’d always wanted: an affordable door-to-door service. These men were Robert Murray and William Dockwra, and while their London Penny Post may have been short-lived, it was revolutionary. During the period, London’s only General Post Office was in Lombard Street, where mail for the entire city was deposited and sorted before being put aside for collection. Later, ‘receiving houses’ were established, but letters still had to be sorted and collected at Lombard Steet. When you consider that the population of London was then around 750,000 – one in ten of the entire population of England – you can imagine the chaos that a ‘visit’ to the post office might entail.…

The word ‘privy’ has a number of meanings as either an adjective or a noun. In the context of this article, it is as a noun, referring to the privy purse, which is the British sovereign’s private income that comes mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. Why would that be is a question that can be answered by a brief glance back into history to some 626 years ago. There had been unease at the end of the 14th century with the rule of King Richard II, and a revolt under the leadership of Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, was successful with his accession as King Henry IV in 1399, and all of his titles merged with those of the Crown. The legal basis for the sovereign to use the…

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13 March – Noonans 16–17 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 13 March – St James’s 10 Charles II Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 4AA stjauctions.com 13–15 March – Stack’s Bowers Hotel Baur au Lac, Talstrasse 1, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland stacksbowers.com 14 March – Mowbray Collectables West Plaza Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand www.mowbrays.co.nz 16 March – Chris Rudd PO Box 1500, Norwich NR10 5WS celticcoins.com 16 March – Heritage 2801 West Airport Freeway, Dallas, TX 75261, USA www.ha.com 17–19 March – Künker Nobbenburger Straße 4a, D-49076 Osnabrück, Germany www.kuenker.de 18–19 March – Lockdales 52 Barrack Square, Martlesham Heath, Ipswich IP5 3RF www.lockdales.com 19 March – Stack’s Bowers Griffin Studios, 1550 Scenic Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, USA stacksbowers.com 26 March – Tennants Auction Centre, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire…

In the ‘Treasure Hunt’ columns on coins for Lunar New Year and the Olympic Games, I have already demonstrated how modern coin producing countries and companies are always looking for new records to encourage collectors, investors and general customers to spend large amounts on their hobby. ‘Big, bigger, biggest’ seems to be the motto of today. And the hunt for large quantities of precious metals supports this trend. Some of these rare, limited editions seldom ever come to the market again, so comparable prices are hard to find. Many pieces are conserved in the treasure chests of rich families and entrepreneurs, in the safes of banks and in public collections, who hardly have the need to sell for amounts that are just ‘pocket money’ in their eyes. CONQUEST OF THE…

This month’s edition of Stamp Collector features an article on items of mail dating from World War II and another on an undersea war memorial from that conflict. These are the first in a series of features the magazine will be running to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, with war in Europe ending on 8 May 1945 and the war with Japan ending a few months later on 15 August. The article on mail from World War II highlights mail to and from the UK in the lead up to the war and during the early days of the conflict. It covers events such as mobilisation, the ‘Phoney War’, preparations for air raids, mail returned from countries already affected by conflict and the evacuation…

NEW ZEALAND British Empire Games A set of four stamps released by New Zealand on 5 February commemorate New Zealand hosting the British Empire Games – now known as the Commonwealth Games – for the first time. The games were held 4–11 February 1950, with the opening ceremony at Eden Park in Auckland attended by 40,000 spectators. At the time, it was by far the biggest international sporting event ever held in New Zealand. Taking place only a few years after the end of World War II, the games were seen as an opportunity to reinforce New Zealand’s ties with other Commonwealth countries. They were long remembered as a spectacular sporting event that marked an end to post-war austerity. A total of 590 athletes from 12 countries competed in 11…

Ever since the Penny Black went on sale in Britain on 6 May 1840, people with the collecting bug have enjoyed adding stamps to their albums. Today, the number of different stamps runs into tens of thousands, and collectors simply have to specialise. Quite a few collectors have selected a most interesting specialty – number ones of the world. This simply means that only the first stamp issued by a country or territory is of interest. The British Penny Black is, of course, the main item in such a collection. Norway released its very first postage stamp on 1 January 1855. The stamp carries a denomination of 4 skilling and depicts the Norwegian national coat of arms. Two million copies were printed in blue. At the time, 4 skilling was…

The continent of Australia was first demonstrably discovered by European seafarers in the 17th century, led by the Dutchman Willem Jansz, and initially called ‘New Holland’. The British commander James Cook landed on the east coast on his first voyage to the South Seas in the spring of 1770 and took possession of the area as the colony of New South Wales for Great Britain. In 1788, the ‘First Fleet’ under Captain Arthur Phillip (1738–1814) landed there and began to establish a convict colony around Sydney, named after the British Home Secretary and initiator of the project, Lord Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733–1800) (Figure 1). Voluntary emigrants and settlers followed in the 19th century, with five further colonies established under the sovereignty of the British Crown, ensuring that postal…

If you ever locate a stamp album that once belonged to a juvenile collector way back in the 1960s, you are more than likely to find a few pages filled with beautiful but low-value pictorial stamps issued by the Republic of San Marino. Many children with a limited weekly allowance were only able to acquire part sets with values ranging from 1 to 5 lire (which was next to nothing). For many years, San Marino released numerous pictorial sets, which always included a number of values for which there was absolutely no postal need. They were simply printed to be marketed to young collectors (some were also used on large picture postcards mailed by tourists visiting the republic). With a total land area of just 61km², San Marino is the…

The highlighted stamp this month was issued in October 1968, as part of a 12-item definitive series celebrating Zambia’s new currency (Figure 1). The country had become independent four years earlier but had used British money up till then. The new currency was decimal (three years before Britain went down the same route). This stamp was worth 20 ngwee (one fifth of a kwacha). Others in the series represented warriors, dancers, moths – and a VC10 jet airliner from Zambia Airways. The aim was to present a nation both modern and proud of its heritage. It succeeded – as did many of its stamps over the following three decades. Most of Zambia’s 20th-century stamps stand out for their attractive design and for their genuine attempt to showcase the country, its…

In this month’s edition of the magazine, we include details about the latest Trial of the Pyx, which is an annual event dating from 1248 to test the quality of coins produced by The Royal Mint. This year, for the first time, sixpences struck with silver extracted from medical and industrial X-ray films are being tested. Although an innovation, these sixpences will be taking part in a process with well-established procedures and ceremonies that have developed over centuries. Today, as in the past, coins are randomly selected throughout the year from every batch of each denomination struck, sealed in bags containing 50 coins each and locked away in pyx boxes for testing at the trial. For centuries, the boxes were stored in the Pyx Chamber in Westminster Abbey, where the…

HM Treasury has announced the appointment of Chris Walton as non-executive chair of The Royal Mint. Mr Walton joins The Royal Mint for a three-year term succeeding Graham Love, who served as chair from December 2018. Mr Walton has spent the last two decades as a full-time non-executive director across organisations of different sizes and sectors. The United States Mint has launched a redesigned version of its educational Coin Classroom website (kids.usmint.gov). The new site features a more streamlined look, refreshed graphics, simpler navigation and improved mobile responsiveness. Cambridge Coins was targeted twice in 24 hours by thieves with tens of thousands pounds worth of stock stolen on 20 February. Initially, two men targeted the shop using a ladder and a brick at just after 3am, and it is believed…

Each year starts off in numismatics with a bang! The Florida United Numismatists (FUN) is one of the most anticipated shows of the year, with dealers from around the world flocking to Orlando, FL, with its warm climate and throngs of eager numismatic buyers. The very next week is the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC). This show is totally focused on ancient and world coins, with US coins not even allowed to be displayed if they were produced after 1815, and it is also well known for its line-up of numismatic auctions. The Thursday night American Numismatic Society (ANS) gala is my favourite reason to attend the show. It is a great opportunity to support an organisation devoted to serious numismatic education. For the last few years, after FUN…

A new stamp from San Marino marks its participation in Expo 2025, the upcoming World Expo, which is being held in Osaka, Japan, from 13 April to 13 October. The stamp depicts the First Tower of San Marino and recalls the theme of the San Marino pavilion, which is inspired by Mount Titano, with an ascent of the mountain symbolising an expansion of horizons. The pavilion has been designed by students at the University of San Marino. The logo of the San Marino pavilion is a graphic synthesis of the two states – an outer red circle represents the Rising Sun, while the three inner circles recall the towers and peaks of San Marino’s mountains. The theme of Expo 2025 Osaka is ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’, with sub-themes…

Readers of ‘Market Insight’ will know that these articles, where possible, like to highlight notable philatelists of the past and present, as well as discuss the technical merits of a particular stamp or cover. This month, our featured item is a Gambia King Edward VII 1906 1d on 3s carmine and green on yellow, which exhibits the ‘surcharge double’ variety (Figure 1). This stamp provides us with the perfect opportunity to present a duo of great philatelists, albeit two very different characters, but who both gave to our hobby in contrasting ways. It is catalogued in the Stanley Gibbons Part 1 as SG70a and is listed in unused condition at £1,800. It is a relatively humble stamp, although scarce and highly collectable, especially when it has a philatelic pedigree. This…

13–15 March – Corinphila Mortelmolen 3, 1185 XV Amstelveen, The Netherlands corinphila.nl 15 March – Mowbray Collectables West Plaza Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand www.mowbrays.co.nz 18–19 March – Cherrystone 300 Frank W Burr Boulevard, Box 35, Teaneck, NJ 07666, USA www.cherrystoneauctions.com 18–21 March – Postiljonen Hans Michelsensgatan 9, SE-211 20 Malmö, Sweden www.postiljonen.se 19 March – Robert A Siegel 21 West 38th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA siegelauctions.com 20–21 March – Raritan PO Box 425, Cranbury, NJ 08512, USA www.raritanstamps.com 22 March – AVH PO Box 569, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 9NP www.avhstampauctions.co.uk 24–29 March – Heinrich Köhler Hasengartenstraße 25, 65139 Wiesbaden, Germany heinrich-koehler.de 25 March – Corbitts Britannia Hotel Newcastle Airport, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne NE13 8DJ www.corbitts.com 26–27 March – SGB 399 Strand, London WC2R…

Counterfeit stamps sold as ‘discount postage’ are a multi-million-pound headache for Royal Mail but are a boon for collectors of modern GB definitives. When Royal Mail introduced new security features to the Machin definitives in 2009, the management must have believed this would prove a strong deterrent to counterfeiters. Instead, some denominations of Machins were counterfeited on an almost industrial scale. The rising face value of stamps, new technology that helped forgers and the rise of the internet as a means of distribution all contributed to the epidemic of counterfeiting. THE PROBLEM OF COUNTERFEITING So, from 2021, these ‘security Machins’ were superseded by barcoded, larger format Machins, beginning with a blue 2nd class Machin. Old, non-barcoded Machins were declared invalid as from 31 July 2023 but could be swapped out…

Every nation with a coastline must have issued a set of stamps that feature its fish; the colour and diversity of marine life makes it a perennial favourite among thematic collectors. The islands of the Pacific have long been prolific producers of fish stamps, but there is one set in particular that stands out, which shows the fish living in the world’s largest war memorial. THE ISLAND OF TRUK (NOW CHUUK) Truk is one of the Caroline Islands – a widely spread archipelago of 500 small islands in the Western Pacific. They were taken over by Germany in June 1899, then conquered by Japan in World War I. The Japanese remained in control after the war and began to build up a naval base on Truk. This came into play…

The world coin auction at Coin Cabinet on 20 February included a 1931 silver 100 mils value from the British Mandate of Palestine – the key date in the series (lot 86). On the obverse, Palestine was inscribed in Hebrew, English and Arabic, with an olive branch at the centre and the date in English and Arabic on either side. The reverse featured the denomination in Hebrew, English and Arabic. Graded MS63, it went under the hammer for £15,000. SOLD FOR £15,000 Noonans held the sale of ‘A Collection of Scottish Coins, the Property of a Gentleman (Part III)’ on 19 February. The top-selling item from the sale was a very rare groat from the reign of James IV (1488–1513) (lot 1128). Struck in Edinburgh from the heavy coinage (type…

The World Money Fair in Berlin isn’t just an annual industry get-together; it also marks the start of hunting season for collectors of rare and highly limited fair-exclusive coins. Whether it is circulation coin sets from Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan (and this year, Finland and Switzerland as well), the annual Panda medal, the Berlin Kookaburra or a newly introduced German coin card signed by the artist, treasure hunters have their hands full every year. But the first few minutes are crucial if you want to get your hands on these coveted items, which are initially sold for around €15 to €30 and can fetch prices of €100 to €200 while the event is still ongoing. If you once again came up empty-handed during this year’s gold rush, don’t worry…

For the 1890 Penny Postage Jubilee, which celebrated 50 years of the Uniform Penny Post, a commemorative medal was produced by Spink. Exceptional rarities exist for this medal because the medal was first struck with a spelling error in that ‘SYSTEM’ was spelt incorrectly as ‘SISTEM’ (Figure 1). A proof medal in bronze with the same error is also known in The Postal Museum, London. I was inspired to tell the story of the medal after giving a Zoom talk to the Caledonian Philatelic Society, where one of the attendees, Stewart Gardiner, told me he had received a bronze medal with this rare error from Margaret Morris, which had belonged to her late husband, Edwin. Later, Stewart contacted me to say they had both decided to gift the medal to…

In AD 410, Rome finally withdrew from Britannia, which stood at the outer reaches of the crumbling Empire. The period that immediately followed was classed as the Dark Ages. Yet, this term was coined by scholars who viewed Rome as the pinnacle of civilisation. The reality was more complex. In Britannia – England and Wales – mining, farming and the arts continued to flourish. While it is true that barter slowly replaced money for small, everyday transactions, Britain continued to trade with and be influenced by the larger world. We know this because when the earliest Anglo-Saxon coins started to be minted, those small gold ‘shillings’ were modelled on the tremisses produced in Merovingian France. These appeared between AD 620–75 and are usually called thrymsa by numismatists. These coins were…