Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Stamp Collector

INCORPORATING COIN COLLECTOR The 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) is being commemorated in October. It was established as the General Postal Union on 9 October 1874, when 22 countries signed the Treaty of Bern. The formation of the UPU unified a complex mass of international postal services and regulations into a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letters. This meant that the barriers and frontiers that had impeded the free flow and growth of international mail had been removed. The very earliest postal systems date from ancient times (see ‘Philatelic Firsts’ on page 56 for details of Rome’s cursus publicus), but gradually, more sophisticated postal delivery systems, such as that provided by the Thurn and Taxis dynasty, developed. They served as the imperial courier for…

Every year, on 9 September, thematic collectors of bear stamps celebrate ‘Teddy Bear Day’. For six decades, the popular toy has been featured on stamps in many variations, with an increasing number being issued. The first issue of this topic – and many of the following ones – are still available at low costs. Yugoslavia started the theme on 5 October 1963 with a stamp for the ‘Week of the Child’, showing a girl with teddy bear and a boy with aeroplane (Figure 1). Just over 60 years ago, in June 1964, the German Democratic Republic presented the first teddy bear as main motif on a stamp – ‘Bummi’ was from a children’s television programme (Figure 2). What has followed in the last few decades are more than 100 attractive…

They say that all roads lead to Rome, and it was Rome’s roads that were the backbone of not just their military might but its ability to rule such an expansive empire. Roman citizens were required to help maintain roads and, remarkably, the same was true of one of Rome’s most important highways, the cursus publicus – the ‘public way’. Used to transport officials, soldiers and government personnel at speed, the cursus publicus was also used to transport mail and goods – making it a precursor to today’s parcel post. IMPERIAL MAIL Rome’s cursus publicus was created by the Emperor Augustus (63 BC–AD 14), who was inspired by the Chapar Khaneh (Figure 1). Initially, the cursus publicus was only used by government officials or the military. However, very quickly, licences…

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6 September – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 15 September – Chris Rudd PO Box 1500, Norwich NR10 5WS celticcoins.com 17 September – Hosker Haynes Bath Mews, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 7HL www.hoskerhaynes.com 18 September – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 20 September – Mowbray Collectables West Plaza Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand www.mowbrays.co.nz 24 September – Sovereign Rarities 17–19 Maddox Street, London W1S 2QH www.sovr.co.uk 25 September – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 25 September – RWB 144 High St, Royal Wootton Bassett SN4 7AB www.rwbauctions.com 25 September – St James’s 10 Charles II St, St James’s SW1Y 4AA stjauctions.com 26 September – Spink 67–69 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 4ET www.spink.com 30 September – Harmers of London Berkeley…

At the start of August, the Baldwin’s team headed to Chicago, USA, for the annual ANA World’s Fair of Money. This year’s fair was held at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont from 6 to 10 August. The World’s Fair of Money is a premier event for numismatic enthusiasts, collectors, dealers and industry professionals. The event is hosted by the American Numismatic Association (ANA), and it showcases a diverse range of rare coins, currency and precious metals, attracting attendees from all around the world. This year looked to be especially strong in terms of rarity and quality of the coins that were exhibited. Rosemont, about 40 minutes from central Chicago, is a well-known home of the ANA show, and the event has been held there frequently, thus, for…

On 25 July, Guernsey Post issued ten non-value indicator (NVI) stamps, in GY and UK values, depicting Day and Night Scenes, with the stamps highlighting the natural beauty of Guernsey’s stunning islands. The stamps feature images taken by Guernsey photographers Chris George and Ben Fiore. One of the Bailiwick by Night stamps depicts Rousse Tower, which is one of 15 loophole towers built between 1778 and 1779 to defend Guernsey against the threat of a French invasion. A new ‘B’ value stamp, issued by Poste Italiane on 21 July, is from the thematic series ‘Natural and Landscape Heritage’ and is dedicated to the bicentenary of the Renazzo meteorite. It depicts a fragment of the meteorite that fell on the evening of 15 January 1824 near the town of Renazzo, in…

On 1 January 1887, Great Britain issued its first stamps printed in two colours. The resulting set of stamps, in values from ½d to 1s (the £1 was also issued in green in 1891), is generally known as the ‘Jubilee issue’ because 1887 marked the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign. The stamps, however, were not commemoratives. Similar bicoloured designs, with a change of portrait, were used for the reign of King Edward VII, whose accession was on 22 January 1901, with the stamps being issued on 1 January 1902. However, the cost of producing stamps in two colours was proving prohibitive, so it was decided that three values, 1½d, 2d and 4d, should be produced using the same design but now printed in just one colour: at the same…

9–10 Sept – Tony Lester Unit 2, The Sidings, Birdingbury Road, Marton, Rugby CV23 9RX www.tonylester.co.uk 11 Sept – AJH The Laurels, Manchester Road, Accrington, Lancs BB5 2PF ajhstamps.co.uk 12 Sept – Brian Reeve 2 College Fields, Prince Georges Road, London SW19 2PT www.brian-reeve.com 12–14 Sept – Cheshire Stamp Auctions Egerton Court, Parkgate, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 8DX www.cheshirestampauctions.com 13–14 Sept – Corinphila Netherlands Corinphila Veilingen, Mortelmolen 3, 1185 XV Amstelveen, The Netherlands www.corinphila-veilingen.nl 19 Sept – Baldwins 399 Strand, London WC2R 0LX baldwins.co 19–20, 23–28 Sept – Heinrich Köhler Hasengartenstrasse 25, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany heinrich-koehler.de 22 Sept – Provincial Benson Parish Hall, Sunnyside, Benson, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 6LZ provincialphilatelics.co.uk 24 Sept – Philangles Carson House, 44 Legh Street, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 1UJ philangles.co.uk 24 Sept – Spink 15 Abchurch Lane,…

This month’s edition of the magazine contains details of the Coin of the Year awards, which were announced at the ANA World’s Fair of Money. From all the coins issued in 2023, finalists were selected for ten different categories, before the winning coins and overall Coin of the Year were declared. Among the categories being considered were best silver, gold, crown, circulating and bi-metallic coins. Other categories up for grabs were most artistic, most innovative and most inspirational coins. Finally, there was an award for best contemporary coin and one for most historically significant coin. The winners included a coin featuring an allegory of Peace from Canada, one illustrating a neutron star from Austria, a coin in the shape of a macaron from France and one called ‘Courage to Be’…

The Royal Australian Mint has announced that its mint gallery and coin shop located at Deakin, Canberra, have now reopened. For more information, please see their website (www.ramint.gov.au). Two of Stack’s Bowers Galleries leaders, Ronald J Gillio and Christine Karstedt, have been inducted into the PCGS CoinFacts Coin Dealer Hall of Fame. This group honours coin dealers past and present who have shaped the coin hobby through their dedication, expertise, innovation and commitment. Additionally, the company won six 2024 Numismatic Literary Guild Awards at the ANA World’s Fair of Money. The awards recognise contributions across various types of media. Coins have been found alongside the remains of two more victims of the Pompeii eruption of AD 79. The latest discovery of a man and a woman were found in a…

This year’s edition of the ANA World’s Fair of Money held in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois, was special for me in many ways. The ANA show is the highlight of the numismatic year in the United States and has been so for decades. I was able to attend my first ANA convention in my home state of Florida in 1974. The 2024 ANA convention marked the 50th show in a row I have been able to attend. It is a record I hope to extend for many years to come. The ANA World’s Fair of Money has evolved a great deal over the decades, but it is still the one show that everyone in the business feels they should attend each year. This includes dealers and collectors from around the world.…

The origins of the ‘Ceres’ design – the representation of a goddess of harvest created during the years of the Second Republic of 1849–51 – were previously explored with the first stamps of France (see Stamp Collector, July 2024). For comparison, we now turn from the depiction of Ceres on the stamps by Jacques-Jean Barre, general engraver of the Paris mint, to the coin versions by Eugène-André Oudiné (1810–87). Oudiné’s portrait of Ceres first appeared on the French franc in 1849. But the original of his nicely decorated female head was a bronze medal engraved in 1845 (Figure 1). His effigy of the Republic is represented by a young woman, turned to the left. She wears a pearl necklace, with her forehead encircled by a headband bearing the word ‘CONCOR(DE)’,…

The next Kettering Stamp Fair is taking place on 5 October. Stamps, collections, covers, postal history and accessories will be on offer at the event. Additionally, as this is the society’s silver jubilee year, the event includes the second silver jubilee sweepstake draw. Running from 10am–4pm, the fair, with free entry and free parking, is being held at the Ise Lodge Community Centre, St Vincent’s Avenue, Kettering NN15 5DR. The opening, in-person event of the new season has been announced by the Royal Philatelic Society London at 15 Abchurch Lane. At 1pm on 12 September, by Gracious Permission of His Majesty The King, Rod Vousden FRPSL, who is acting keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, will present a West Africa display of the Gambia, Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.…

Sir Rowland Hill is most often portrayed as the man behind the basic concepts of the modern postal service and inseparable from the invention of the world’s first postage stamp. It is easy to assume he was well respected by all and had an uninterrupted career at the General Post Office. However, that was not the case. Sorting through a remainder album, which contained an assortment of circulated covers and cards from early Queen Victoria through to King George VI, a lettersheet emerged (Figure 1). Sent from the General Post Office, dated 21 December 1846, it is clearly signed by Rowland Hill. The letter reads: ‘Sir, I have great pleasure in complying with your request and am, Sir, Your obedient Servant.’ Whilst the contents have no postal relevance, which would…

SOLD FOR £1,703 Spanish Andorra, 1935–45 definitives, MNH (with certificate), only one value shown SOLD FOR £284 Belgium, 1867 1f purple Leopold I with French cancellation, rare (with certificate) SOLD FOR £182 New Zealand, 1908 cover to Christchurch franked 1d ‘King Edward VII Land’, cancelled British Antarctic Expedition SOLD FOR £560 Great Britain, 1884 £1 Queen Victoria brown-lilac (SG 185), three imperial crowns watermark, cancelled SOLD FOR £389 France, 2006 Flying Machines sheetlet, MNH, variety shifted perforation SOLD FOR £419 Spain, 1935 International Reply Coupon of 80 céntesimos, cancelled Barcelona SOLD FOR £155 Hong Kong, 1863 96c olive-bistre (SG 18) and 96c brownish grey (SG 19), crown CC watermark, used SOLD FOR £274 Russian Levant, 1863–65 6k blue, used SOLD FOR £312 Germany (Federal Republic), 1951 Post Horn definitives (with…

Active dealer and international exhibitor Bill Barrell has recently purchased an exceptional collection of 1840 1d blacks from plates 1a to 11. Before we hear a bit more about them, we asked Bill a general question. HOW IS THE CURRENT GB MARKET? We at Bill Barrell Ltd find the GB market very strong, particularly in fine/fine-plus items dating from pre-1901. Interesting and clean GB postal history, from c.1580 Corsini mail (Figure 1) to modern commercial mail, finds a strong demand, particularly Queen Victoria, the Seahorse issue and usages from the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. With respect to stamps, again pre-1901 is very strong, both line-engraved and surface-printed issues, mint and used, multiples, varieties, proofs, exhibition items, Mulreadys, including the adverts, rarities, telegraphs and much more…

Palaeoanthropology (or paleoanthropology), also referred to as human palaeontology, is an interdisciplinary branch of anthropology concerned with the origins and development of early humans or hominids. In other words, it is a science about human origin and evolution based on fossils record, primitive (flint or stone) tools, artefacts and settlement locations. Palaeoanthropology studies the prehistoric ancestors of humankind – the hominids. Scientists who study these fossil hominids are called palaeoanthropologists (Figure 1). Do not mistake palaeoanthropology for archaeology and anthropology. Archaeology is the science that explores human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture, while anthropology is the science that studies human behaviour and societies in the past and present. In the field, palaeoanthropologists discover physical remains and other fossils using painstaking procedures similar to those archaeologists use…

INCORPORATING COIN COLLECTOR ON SALE 11 OCTOBER Philatelic Firsts EUROPE’S FIRST POSTAL NETWORK How to Collect Bhutan DISCOVER THIS REMOTE HIMALAYAN KINGDOM THROUGH ITS STAMPS Postal History THE STORY OF ROYAL MAIL’S MAIL HOLDING FACILITIES Ancient Coins YOUR INTRODUCTION TO THE COINAGE OF EMPEROR CLAUDIUS II The stotin and sokol AN UNREALISED EASTERN EUROPEAN CURRENCY AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS OR DIRECT FROM WWW.ALLABOUTSTAMPS.CO.UK…

Bicorporates are composite animals with one head and two bodies. Unlike other famous composite creatures, such as sphinxes, sirens, chimaeras, etc., there was either never a single myth about how bicorporates came about or it has been forgotten over the millennia. WHAT IS A BICORPORATE? The term bicorporate, according to the Danish art historian Vilhelm Slomann (1885–1962) in his 1967 book, Bicorporates: Studies in Revivals and Migrations of Art Motifs, is simply descriptive and derived from the vocabulary of heraldry. Slomann said that the first known bicorporate appeared on a Mesopotamian cylinder seal from roughly the first half of the third millennium BC. They emerged in Aegean Greek, Etruscan and Roman art as well as in pre-Islamic Syria and Iran and various other locations. In the mediaeval period, Slomann explained…