Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Stamp Collector

I’d like to introduce myself as the new editor of Stamp Collector and to thank Matt and the rest of the team for making me feel so welcome. After 17 years as editor, Matt is going to be a tough act to follow, but luckily, he is still going to be around for help and advice. I’d also like to thank all the contributors for sharing their knowledge during this time of transition. What fascinates me about stamps are the stories they tell and what their design and production reveal about the history of the times in which they were produced. With a background in archaeology and history of architecture, I am particularly interested in stamps featuring these subjects. One of the new issues highlighted in this edition of Stamp…

Kedah lies to the north-west of the Malaysian Peninsula, bordered by Perlis to the north, Thailand to the northeast and by Perak and Penang to the south and south-west, respectively. Geographically, it is mostly a flat, alluvial plain, where rice has been cultivated for thousands of years; Kedah has long been known as ‘the rice bowl’ of Malaysia. Britain gained possession of Malaysia with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, which set the borders of modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia. The British gained what would become one of the most productive parts of the Empire. Malaysia was rich in tin, while rubber was introduced from Kew Gardens in 1876 and grew rather well; Malaysia is one of the world’s leading producers. Throughout the colonial era, there were always tensions between the need…

I’m delighted to welcome you to the June edition of Coin Collector, which is the second in our new monthly schedule. Being published every month means that the ‘Coin Update’ section can cover numismatic developments more comprehensively and in a timely manner. As a result, this month’s news includes several stories that highlight exciting new developments and discoveries in numismatics. The first reports on ground-breaking research recently published on the origins of Anglo-Saxon silver. Scientific analysis of 49 coins in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum has revealed Byzantine bullion and a French silver mine as the source of the silver used in production between AD 660 and 750; a time that saw a rapid rise in the use of silver coins and a revival in trade. The result of…

In the ‘Treasure Hunt’ column in Issue 20 of Coin Collector on the long-lasting 5 francs ‘Fünfliber’ from Switzerland, I reported that the material was changed from silver 83.5% to cupro-nickel for the mintage of 1968. However, a very small number of silver planchets were used erroneously. One of these rarities appeared at Sincona’s Auction 5 in Switzerland. The description reported that this 1968 5-franc coin from the Berne mint, weighing 15.4g, was struck on a silver rondelle (Figure 1). The genesis of this error was explained. During a delivery of silver planchets intended for the 1967 or 1969 vintage, a small number of pieces probably remained in one of the containers and were subsequently used for minting the 1968 vintage. Again and again, supposed 5-franc pieces from 1968 appear…

Recently, gold bullion prices have risen sharply, briefly topping $2,400 for the first time. Tensions over global conflicts and concerns about the massive US Federal debt have made gold look attractive as a safety play. Almost daily, we have clients calling and asking about how to buy gold to protect their assets. It will only take one major headline crisis for gold to move to the next level, possibly above $3,000. The most immediate effect of the recent gold rise has been an upsurge in activity in coin shops in the United States. I would also guess that companies around the world with a strong web presence that is devoted to bullion have also seen an increase in business. ss. Many dealers who I have contacted have been buying much…

Congress Medal 2024 The ABPS has awarded the 2024 Congress Medal to Bill Hedley, FRPSL, who has made and continues to make contributions to organised philately at all levels. He was elected president of the Federation of European Philatelic Associations in 2019, having previously served as a UK delegate, and in 2023, he was re-elected for a second term of office. Having recognised a gap in the international philatelic calendar, he served as chairman of the organising committee of EuroPhilex 2015. Under his chairmanship the show set out to differ from previous international exhibitions by attracting many more overseas dealers and securing special items such as the printing plate for the Mauritius 1847 Post Office issue and the printing machine used by Jean de Sperati for printing his forgeries, loaned…

Rare cover to Novia Scotia In the sale of the Dave Tarry Mauritius collection on 17 April, the very rare ‘MAURITIUS/PACKET-LETTER’ of 1816 that was carried on the very first packet letter sailing from Mauritius, which was highlighted in last month’s edition of Stamp Collector, surpassed its £2,000 estimate to sell for £9,000 (lot 18). Another highlight from the sale was a cover of 7 May 1869 sent from ‘Port Louis’ to ‘Halifax, Nova Scotia’ that combined a rare rate, an early registered item and a rare destination (lot 232). It was endorsed ‘Via Marseilles’ and ‘Registered’ with a 6d green, 9d dull purple and a 1/-yellow that were cancelled by fine ‘B53’ numerals. Additionally, the 1/-was tied by a red 4 June transit datestamp for London at the 2/3d…

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The first issue of French stamps hit the post office counters 175 years ago. The design, famous and loved as ‘Cérès’, bears witness to an eventful period in history. As the Musée de La Poste in Paris demonstrated in an exhibition, the primary aim at the time from a postal history perspective was to standardise the price of postal mail. Before 1849, the French only received an average of three letters per year. The postal rates were complicated, and the graduated prices for a letter were sometimes very high, with the recipient paying the postage. Up to 40km, a tax of 20 centimes was charged for a letter weighing less than 7½g. If the distance was more than 900km, the same letter cost six times as much, one franc and…

FIRST DAY COVERS Let the battle begin For this month’s cover, we go back to the 1966 issue marking the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, writes Brian Austin. We show here the large Connoisseur cover (yes, there was a smaller version) with the full set of stamps and the Battle special postmark. And as I have mentioned the postmark, you may or may not know, there are two versions available, one with the swords pointing up and the other, down. For this issue, there was also a Battle FDI postmark to collect, as well as one for Hastings, along with connected CDS postmarks, for example Battle (yet again), Normandy and Harold Hill, all very rare. A few years ago, I found a Kingstone CDS, which I was very…

SWEDEN Waterloo 1974 Fifty years ago, on 6 April, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest and went on to become global superstars. To mark the anniversary of this win, Sweden released a three-stamp miniature sheet, Waterloo 1974, on the day of the anniversary. Under their original name of Festfolk, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid ‘Frida’ Lyngstad entered Melodifestivalen, the competition to select Sweden’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, with the song ‘Waterloo’, which took them all the way to the Eurovision finals in Brighton. By the time of the competition, they had changed their name to ABBA, an acronym of their first names. The Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974 saw the group win the international juries over with ‘Waterloo’, although ‘nil’ points…

A total of 12 souvenir sheets are being produced in conjunction with EuroPhilEx Birmingham 2025, and the first two will be included in next month’s edition of Stamp Collector. This international stamp exhibition will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from 7 to 11 May next year. British stamp exhibitions have long been accompanied by some form of souvenir: perhaps unsurprisingly for many years, these took the form of perforated labels; a visual resemblance to the adhesive postage stamp without having any postal validity. However, a change would occur in 1950. INTERNATIONALS International stamp exhibitions had been held in the UK for many years, mainly in London. One was planned for 1940, the centenary of the Penny Black, but was aborted because of World War II.…

One stamp like no other is the Chinese ‘Year of the Monkey’ from 1980, which rose from a few cents to three- to four-figure amounts in euros, dollars, pounds or franks (Figure 1). As an exemplary case, it has come to symbolise the economic rise of the People’s Republic of China in recent decades. I recommend keeping an eye on it, as will thousands of collectors, dealers, auctioneers and speculators around the globe. The small-format 8f stamp, known as the ‘Golden Monkey’, was issued on 15 February 1980 (Mi 1594). Created by the designers Huang Yongyu and Shao Bolin, it opened China’s series of issues with signs of the zodiac for the then ‘Year of the Monkey’ (Figure 2). The edition of five million was produced using a combined printing…

Most serious stamp collectors have one or two main philatelic studies but frequently also a number of sideline fun collections with no ambitions of ever entering them in competitive stamp exhibitions. Some have told me that they derive far more pleasure from their sideline collections than from their gold medal exhibits, which have required heavy investments of both time and money. But there are so many other enjoyable ways of collecting stamps and frequently at a most moderate cost (in fact, there are numerous philatelic areas that can be collected for next to nothing). This writer is a general collector, meaning I collect all the countries of the world. This is, of course, a mission impossible as there are hundreds of thousands of stamps. My method is to limit my…

Stamp Collector caught-up with Stephanie Bradley of Yorkshire-based legal firm Ramsdens Solicitors to find out how she became involved in the philatelic market and how she helps stamp collectors with specialised collector wills. Stephanie is an associate at Ramsdens, who has worked for the law firm for nearly 20 years, specialising in wills, probate, estates and related legal work. Stephanie is a regular at York Stamp Fair and other philatelic events throughout the year. How did you become involved in looking after collectors and collector wills? I have worked at Ramsdens Solicitors for 19 years and worked alongside the late Mike Roberts, who was a keen and very experienced philatelist. Mike spotted a gap in the market for collectors many years ago and with his professional career as a will…

INCORPORATING COIN COLLECTOR ON SALE 14 JUNE Build your knowledge… build your collection with the UK’s only stamp and coin magazine How to Collect Vietnam WE EXPLORE THE COMPLEX PHILATELIC HISTORY OF VIETNAM Market Insight WHAT AN OIL RIVERS OVERPRINT REVEALS ABOUT A BRITISH PROTECTORATE IN NIGER Postal History HOW THE POOR WERE FED IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND 5s Stamp of New South Wales THE STORY OF A RARE AND UNUSUAL ISSUE All at Sea HOW TO START A COLLECTION WITH A NAUTICAL THEME The 2nd Century AD YOUR GUIDE TO THE SMALL CHANGE OF ROME AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS OR DIRECT FROM WWW.ALLABOUTSTAMPS.CO.UK…

The enactment of the treaty between Alfred and Guthrum in c.880, while a victory in the sense that the very existence of Wessex had not been snuffed out, was ultimately a compromise. The Viking ‘Great Heathen Army’ had sailed over from Scandinavia seeking new land to settle and treasure to plunder, and in both respects, they had succeeded – to a degree. When the dust settled, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria were destroyed as political units, leaving Wessex as essentially the only Anglo-Saxon kingdom with an intact administrative and governmental system. Although Alfred can be seen as partially responsible in his efforts to bind together the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms as one nation, it is interesting to consider what might have happened had the Scandinavians not invaded or been repulsed early…