Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Stamp Collector

In this month’s edition of Stamp Collector, regular contributor Michael Burzan highlights his new ‘Stamp Rain’ project, which aims to encourage children into the world of stamp collecting. His efforts are part of a wider movement to encourage an interest in stamps among youngsters, with several initiatives based in the UK. This movement includes Stamp Active, which is a volunteer-run organisation supporting young collectors through their competitions, activities, Kidstamps postal club and their dedicated Kids Zone, which takes place at Stampex and other stamp shows. If you haven’t seen the great work that they do, please check out their website (www.stampactive.co.uk) and maybe see what you can do to help them in their efforts. StampIT is the youth section of the Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies and offers a range…

ISLE OF MAN History of Manx coins On 14 August, Isle of Man Stamps & Coins released a six-stamp issue honouring the Isle of Man’s unique currency heritage through notable coins from the Orrysdale Collection, which was a significant archive of world coins, tokens and card money on the island. The Orrysdale Collection was compiled by Dr John Frissell Crellin MRCS MHK (1816–86), who was the eldest son of John Christian Crellin of Orrysdale and Catherine Quayle of Castletown. Educated at King William’s College, he later studied medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. He inherited the family property at Orrysdale and practiced medicine locally on the island. Dr Crellin was appointed to the House of Keys in 1843. Crellin became on-island…

10 September – AJH The Laurels, Manchester Road, Accrington, Lancs BB5 2PF ajhstamps.co.uk 10 September – Hansons Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire DE65 6LS hansonsauctioneers.co.uk 10–11 September – Cavendish Cavendish House, 153–57 London Road, Derby DE1 2SY www.cavendish-auctions.com 18–27 September – Heinrich Köhler Hasengartenstr. 25, 65139 Wiesbaden, Germany heinrich-koehler.de 20 September – Mowbray Collectables West Plaza Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand www.mowbrays.co.nz 23–26 September – Abacus 29 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley, Victoria, 3149, Australia www.abacusauctions.com.au 23–26 September – Postiljonen Hans Michelsensgatan 9, SE-211 20 Malmö, Sweden www.postiljonen.se 24–25 September – Grosvenor 399–401 Strand, London WC2R 0LT www.grosvenorauctions.com 26–27 September – Garden City Auctions 811 Princess Avenue, Victoria, BC V8T 1K7, Canada gcpauctions.com 27 September – Somerset Hill Farm, Hemyock, Cullompton EX15 3UZ www.somersetstampauctions.com 28 September – Provincial Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson,…

In ‘Coin Update’ this month, we feature a new fundraising programme at Yorkshire Museum that allows the public to adopt an object from their collection. As well as raising money, this programme enables the public to connect with objects held by the museum, including the Vale of York hoard, which includes 617 coins. While reading about this, I began to wonder which coins would prove popular if other museums offered an adoption process. One contender would surely be the Alfred the Great penny at the Royal Mint Museum. Featuring the monogram of ‘LONDONIA’ and a portrait of King Alfred (849–99), the Anglo-Saxon ruler of Wessex whose later coinage described him as the king of the English, the coin is from one of England’s most renowned leaders, as well as an…

The United States Mint has unveiled the designs depicting Batman and Wonder Woman as the second and third product releases in their Comic Art Coin and Medal Program. The unveiling took place on 19 August during the American Numismatic Association (ANA) World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City. The names of the next six DC Super Heroes to feature in the series will be Green Lantern, Robin and Supergirl in 2026, followed by The Flash, Batgirl and Aquaman in 2027. The Royal Mint Museum has appointed Sir David Cannadine as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Sir David is Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University. He is the author of 20 books and editor of numerous volumes. His scholarly interests range across the economic, social, political and cultural…

Board members of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) decided about four years ago to conduct the 2025 World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City, OK. The decision shocked many dealers, who were accustomed to the organisation choosing larger metropolitan areas. Post covid, the board was given less options, and there had been a serious case of Rosemont, IL, fatigue. Oklahoma City had recently constructed a new convention centre and hotel complex, and the city’s various amenities seemed appealing. After much consideration, the board bravely choose to try something new. There was immediate criticism from nearly every corner of the hobby. Dealers complained about flight options, size of the city, remoteness of the location and a host of other issues. The contracts for the location had been signed, however, and the…

Europe’s major powers met 100 years ago to draw up the Locarno Pact. To mark this centenary year, Swiss Post will release a CHF1.20 commemorative stamp on 4 September reproducing a group photograph of the conference participants. Delegates from Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland and the former Czechoslovakia convened in Locarno, Switzerland, in October 1925 to negotiate on European security issues. The result of the 12-day conference was the Locarno Pact, a series of treaties that were signed in London on 1 December of that year. The agreements included a guarantee that Germany, France and Belgium would not use force to change the national borders set out in the Treaty of Versailles. Great Britain and Italy, meanwhile, pledged to provide military support if this agreement was violated. In…

When looking at the Wilding definitives of Queen Elizabeth II (Stamp Collector, June 2025), I explained the background to the introduction of phosphor bands on stamps from 1959. Following initial trials, the use of the automatic letter facing equipment gradually spread, requiring stamps with phosphor bands in more areas. However, it understandably took a while before such need became universal. Nevertheless, where phosphor stamps were needed, this naturally extended beyond definitives to include the special issues. So, from the National Productivity Year set of 14 November 1962, special issues were produced either without phosphor bands (known as ‘ordinary’) or with phosphor bands for those areas where required. Sometimes, differences of this nature initially seem too minor to appeal to all collectors, so at first the versions with phosphor were largely…

Look up Hayreddin Barbarossa (not the German Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa), and you may find him referred to as either a despicable pirate or a heroic admiral. The issuers of this splendid stamp, which features him, clearly fall into the second category (Figure 1). The truth? Both. Barbarossa was born Khizr Reis around 1470, one of four brothers. His father, Yakup, was the headman of a village on the island of Lesbos, which was controlled by the Ottomans. Yakup ran a successful pottery business, which involved sailing from island to island with the wares. The brothers learnt the ways of the sea early, and as young men eager for adventure, they became professional sailors. After a while, they also became corsairs – a more romantic-sounding term than ‘pirates’, but that’s what…

A scension, Tristan da Cunha and St Helena are three of the most remote islands in the world. Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, St Helana is 1,200 miles from Africa and 1,800 miles from South America. Ascension Island is 807 miles to the northwest, while Tristan da Cunha is 1,510 miles south of St Helena and 1,750 miles west of Cape Town in South Africa. ASCENSION We looked at the location, discovery and naming of Ascension when we covered a 1971 issue as one of our ‘Celebrated Sets’, but the island’s postal history goes back much further. In 1816, Ascension became a Royal Navy establishment, so navy rules applied until 1860 when the Post Office took over. In 1867, they sent some stamps. So, until the island’s status changed…

12 September–14 September NORDIA 2025 MalmöMässan Mässgatan 6, Malmö, Sweden nordia2025.se 17 September–21 September PHILAKOREA 2025 COEX Magok, 143 Magok Central Ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea philakorea2025.kr 10 October–12 October Stampa 2025 Griffith College Conference Centre, South Circular Road, Dublin 8, Ireland stampa.ie 22 October–25 October STAMPEX 2025 Business Design Centre, Islington 52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH www. stampexinternational.com 23 October–25 October Internationale Briefmarken-Börse Ulm Messe-Ulm Ulm, Germany briefmarken-messe.de 7–8 November Stafford Stamp Show Staffordshire County Showground, Weston Road, Stafford ST18 0BD staffordstampshow.co.uk 16–17 January 2026 York Stamp & Coin Fair The Grandstand, York Racecourse, York YO23 1EX stampshows.net 4 February 2026–8 February DUBAI 2026 Sheikh Maktoum Hall, World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dubai dubai2026wse.com 8 May 2026–10 May NORDIA 2026 Dipoli Congress Centre Espoo, Finland…

On 20 August, the coins, medals, militaria and banknotes auction at Warwick & Warwick had some unusual lots. The highest-selling item in the auction was a 1960 3 dinars (also known as a sovereign) pattern issue that was issued by Kuwait (lot 706). Struck to mark the anniversary of the reign of Sheikh Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, only a handful of this rare coin was made and they are all thought to have been gifted to guests by the sheikh. The obverse of the coin depicted a bust of the sheikh facing slightly to the left. The reverse featured a boom sailing ship, which is a traditional deep-sea dhow with two masts, which was sailing to the right and had a small flag at the stern on the left side.…

Bristol Philatelic Society are holding an open evening on 23 October to encourage new or lapsed collectors into collecting and promote new membership in a welcoming and friendly group, as well as to highlight the joy of stamp collecting and the advantages of joining a society. The evening will feature a range of events, including several four-page displays, an expert panel with a Q&A session, featuring members from neighbouring societies, a valuation opportunity and a stamp market. The event is being held at Redland Park URC Church, Whiteladies Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 6SA. For further information, see the society’s website (www.bristolphilatelicsociety.uk). Stamp Active are keen to see more entries to the different competitions young collectors can enter. ‘Brilliant Britain’ is a one-page competition for young people up to the age…

The 75th anniversary of the German Stamp Traders’ Association and the 100th anniversary of the Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung led me to look back on the decades since I wrote my first philatelic article at the age of 14 and reported on stamps on TV for the first time. Now I think it is time to give back, with suggestions for activities for young people and for the future of philately. My aim is to sow some seeds of collecting, contrary to the current downward trend. Even if success is unlikely to be measurable in the short term or have a noticeable financial impact – such expectations would be misguided, perhaps even counterproductive. We have been hearing for many years: ‘Children and young people are no longer interested in stamps.’ But isn’t…

The island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean is one of the world’s favourite destinations for travelling. This has even earned it its own special stamp, issued in June 2025, which was part of Germany’s ‘Popular Holiday Places’ series. The name Mallorca means the ‘larger island’ and refers to its neighbour Menorca, the ‘smaller island’, which located around 40km to the north-east. Ibiza and Formentera are positioned to the south-west. All belong to the Balearic Islands, with autonomous administration within the Spanish state. The Spanish postal administration used a historical map to depict the location of the Balearic Islands on 8 July 1981 (Spain Mi 2505) (Figure 1). The original of this Portolan map of Europe and the countries around the Mediterranean was drawn by the Portuguese Diogo Homem (1521–76) in…

What do the oldest surviving railway company in the world and postage stamps have in common? Simple – Henry Archer. While Rowland Hill was both an inventor and an innovator, according to one of his colleagues, he had difficulty accepting any idea that he hadn’t thought of himself! So, while it was obvious to everyone who bought or sold early postage stamps that using scissors to separate them was painfully inefficient, it took another 14 years for perforated postage stamps to become the norm. And that was thanks, in part, to Henry Archer. Archer was an Irish lawyer, based in Wales, who was one of the founders of the Ffestiniog Railway Company (Figure 1). And, when he wasn’t practicing law and managing a narrow-gauge railway, he somehow managed to find…

CINDERELLAS Train on mutual society stamps In 1946, four stamps were printed for the Mutual Benefit Society of the Moroccan Railways in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco, writes Christer Brunström. The society had been created for the employees of the railway company. The Spanish protectorate of the five northernmost provinces of Morocco was officially established in 1912 following negotiations with France. Tangiers was not included because it was an international city under separate administration. Spain had lost most of its colonies in the 1898 war with the USA and was not too keen on entering into new colonial ventures, but the Spanish government wanted to prevent France from completely surrounding the country. The cities of Melilla and Ceuta on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast had been Spanish possessions for centuries. Already in…

14 September – Chris Rudd PO Box 1500, Norwich NR10 5WS celticcoins.com 23 September – Sovereign Rarities 17–19 Maddox Street, London W1S 2QH www.sovr.co.uk 24 September – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 24 September – St James’s 10 Charles II Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 4AA stjauctions.com 25 September – SGB 399 Strand, London WC2R 0LX sgbaldwins.com 30 September–1 October – Spink 67–69 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 4ET www.spink.com 1 October – SGB 399 Strand, London WC2R 0LX sgbaldwins.com…

The first time I came across large jade coins was decades ago when I visited the Jade Market and Jade Street in Hongkong, shortly after the former British colony was returned to China. SPIRITUAL ARTEFACTS IN STONE Throughout history, jade has held a revered place as ‘stone of heaven’ in many cultures, particularly in East Asia, where it was often valued more highly than gold or silver. Among the most intriguing artefacts crafted from this precious stone are large jade coins – circular objects, often with a central hole (Figure 1). They were not used for everyday trade but rather served ritualistic, symbolic or prestige purposes. These ancient items offer a fascinating window into the societies that produced them, blending artistry, spiritual belief and socio-political power as symbols of wealth,…

The 10th century was a period of crumbling and soaring empires. Of cultural change and exchange. In the West, the so-called Dark Ages were an era of possibility, rather than stagnation. Europe was about to emerge from the downfall of Rome into an age of renewal. However, elsewhere that wasn’t the case. It was in the 10th century that African kingdoms, such as Nubia, reached the height of their power. After generations of war, China was nearing unification. The Muslim world was flourishing. And, in the East, Volodymyr the Great, Prince of Kyiv, was building and consolidating an empire that united the Slavs into Kyivan Rus. Both Russia and Ukraine still claim Volodymyr as one of their founding fathers (Figure 1). Volodymyr is one of those historical figures that could…