Innehållsförteckning för August 2025 från Stamp Collector

Over the course of 175 years, Winterthur, not far from Zurich, has developed from a small village with barely 14,000 inhabitants into the sixth largest city in Switzerland. Early archaeological finds date back to the Bronze Age, and the Roman settlement of Vitudurum was located nearby. Today’s name first appears in written form in a document from 919, when the Duchy of Swabia under Duke Burchard II secured its territorial claims against King Rudolf II of Upper Burgundy at the Battle of Winterthur. As the capital of the Counts of Kyburg, Winterthur was given the two lions as heraldic animals (Winthi and Thuri), which have been documented in the town seal since the 13th century. The motif first appeared on stamps on 1 December 1928 in the 10th issue of…

Among the select number of documents that shaped 19th-century postal systems, few are as unassuming in appearance yet as monumental in influence as the Universal Postal Union’s Circular No. 45, issued from Bern on 8 February 1879 (Figure 1). Neatly printed on cream-coloured paper with three coloured boxes in the size and colour of the uniform stamps – blue, red and green – it resembles a printer’s sample sheet more than a revolution in international communications. Yet, to philatelists, this notice represents the start of uniformity of postal colour and, in effect, a universal language for stamps. Officially titled ‘Annexe à la Circulaire du Bureau International’, this document was no mere bureaucratic suggestion. It was a directive to the world’s postal authorities – mandating the standardisation of postage stamp colours…

This is the final article in a series taking a very brief look at mail from the World War II period that illustrates the conditions of the time, with the main focus being on the effects of the war as seen by the civilian population of Britain. It will reference several miscellaneous topics, including the end of the war. NATIONAL SLOGANS As would be expected during wartime, patriotic propaganda slogans were employed in great profusion. (Ironically, the one best known nowadays – ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’, recently revived in meme form – was planned but never actually used at the time.) These found their way onto mail, and earlier articles in this series have mentioned a number in passing, either added by the sender or in the form of…

BUY AND SELL ON DECAMPE, MORE THAN 80 MILLION COLLECTABLES ARE WAITING FOR YOU!…

The paper money story of Zimbabwe starts early in British colonial times when the territory was chartered in 1889 to the British South Africa Company led by Cecil Rhodes. Paper money first appeared in 1896 when the Standard Bank of South Africa issued £1, £5 and £10 notes from its new office in Salisbury (now Harare). Ten shilling-notes followed in 1920. Four other banks joined Standard, and theirs was the only paper money until 1938, when the newly established Southern Rhodesia Currency Board took over. All these early commercial bank issues are rare today (Figure 1). COLONY OF SOUTHERN RHODESIA The colony of Southern Rhodesia was formally established in 1923 to take over from the British South Africa Company, and once its Currency Board was set up, new notes were…

Anniversary of Royal Observatory, Greenwich A new brilliant uncirculated £2 coin from the Royal Mint celebrates the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Dedicated to discovery and exploration, the Royal Observatory, has played a crucial role in ‘perfecting the art of navigation’ and accurate timekeeping. The reverse features an intricate design by Henry Gray, which depicts two key scientific elements that have contributed to some of the historic discoveries made by the Royal Observatory – the Prime Meridian and a 24-hour dial representing the Shepherd Gate Clock. Running from pole to pole, the Prime Meridian covers 20,000km and separates the eastern and western hemispheres. It passes through eight countries and crosses three continents, and for nearly two thirds of its length, it passes over the sea. Any north–south line…

Stampex plans The Philatelic Traders’ Society have released details of their plans for this year’s Stampex, being held at the Business Design Centre in London from 22–25 October. Now in its 69th year, there will be free entry on all four days with no need to pre-register or book tickets. Once again, Stampex is being sponsored by Spink, and the show offers the chance to meet 60-plus PTS members face to face. Other highlights of the show include a World of Rare Stamps Experience, Court of Honour, in-person meetings, youth activities, Display Your Way and partner events in London. Display Your Way, which is an innovative approach to encourage collectors to develop and show their collections to inspire others, is being launched in early July, and for those of you…

BUY AND SELL ON DECAMPE, MORE THAN 80 MILLION COLLECTABLES ARE WAITING FOR YOU!…

In the 1970s, I spent my summers in the south of France, and in the evenings, I remember tuning in to Radio Andorra on medium wave to enjoy the music. This classic radio station targeted listeners in France during the daytime and in Spain in the evenings. Radio Andorra was a commercial station offering popular music and advertisements for products and services of interest to listeners in the two countries. The station was closed down in 1981, and today, the building once housing the station has been turned into a radio museum. It was depicted on a stamp issued in 2010. My interest in Andorra was aroused, and I began adding Andorran stamps to my collection. Way back in the 1970s, I was never able to visit the tiny country…

CINDERELLAS French dealer promotion It is not an uncommon occurrence that stamp dealers have had poster stamps printed to advertise their business activities, writes Christer Brunström. When leafing through one of my albums, I spotted quite an interesting label that looks very much like a rather valuable French 50-franc airmail stamp released in 1936, which depicted an airplane flying over the French capital. This Cinderella stamp was produced by Édouard Berck, who had a large stamp shop at No. 6, Place de la Madeleine in Paris. I remember visiting his shop on a couple of occasions in the 1980s, but I found his pricing to be on the high side. He was born in Constantinople in 1915 as Édouard Onnik Beurekdjian and came to France in the late 1930s. He…

COTY nominations announced After a lengthy nomination process that started in January, the final nominations for the 2025 Coin of the Year awards have now been announced. An initial 550 coins were submitted for nomination, and these have now been narrowed down to the COTY 100, which contains 100 2024-dated coins from 38 countries, representing the output of 35 mints and central banks. This selection features 10 coins in 10 specific categories. Voting has already begun from a panel of over 100 judges, who are casting ballots to select one winning coin in each category. A second round of voting by that same expert panel will then choose one of those 10 category winners as the overall Coin of the Year. The categories are: Most Historically Significant Coin; Best Contemporary…

Among several highlights of the Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s ancient, British and world coin auction on 9 July is an 1860 American gold $2½ from the Charlotte Mint (Figure 1). Charlotte Mint gold coins are some of the most desired items in numismatics today, ranging from scarce to extremely rare. Of the Charlotte Liberty Head quarter eagles, this coin is one of the scarcer dates. Featuring the Liberty Head and graded AU 58 by PCGS, the coin shows red toning and lustre across its surfaces. One of only 7,469 pieces struck, this is an extremely uncommon item, with just four recorded finer in the PCGS census. It has an estimate of £5,000–£7,000. The first United States branch mint, the Charlotte Mint was in Charlotte, NC, and specialised in gold coinage (Figure…

ISLE OF MAN Travel posters A new stamp set featuring original travel posters was released by the Isle of Man Post Office on 29 May. The Isle of Man has long been a holiday destination, and its rich tourism heritage is captured in this set of six stamps using digitised versions of original travel posters that once adorned railway stations, ferry terminals and travel agencies. Each poster reflects the vibrancy and allure of the Isle of Man’s golden age of tourism. The early to mid-20th century marked a boom in British domestic travel, with the Isle of Man emerging as a premier resort. At a time when international travel remained out of reach for many, the island’s picturesque landscapes, sandy beaches and unique attractions made it a top choice for…

The early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II may have resulted in few commemorative issues, but collectors of definitives were certainly kept busy. In the previous two articles, we have looked at the low and high values that were issued for the reign, featuring the Dorothy Wilding portrait of the Queen. In 1958 came something different, stamps specifically designed for the regions of the United Kingdom, namely Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, and the Isle of Man (at this juncture, there were no separate stamps for England). The idea of such ‘Regional’ stamps was not new. Suggestions for specific issues had been put forward by Guernsey, Northern Island and the Isle of Man going as far back as 1935, but all had…

Early Falkland cover The sale of the Sir Geoffrey Palmer collection of Falkland Islands and dependencies was held by Siegel in New York on 18 June. A key item from the sale was the earliest recorded cover with the 1879 4d grey black first issue, with only five other examples recorded (lot 1006). The stamp, attached to a mourning cover sent to Norfolk in England, had a huge top-left corner margin and was cancelled by a barred ‘FI’ oval cancel and tied by a ‘Falkland Islands AP 6 1880’ double-circle datestamp. There were red London (22 May) transit and Norwich (23 May 23) arrival backstamps. This major rarity exceeded its estimate of $7,500–$10,000 to sell for $13,000. SOLD FOR £9,635 Rare Malta village cancellation On 3 June, Grosvenor held the…

The future is unknown and mainly not determinable. The past is not. Often it is lost or misrepresented by those with authority and power, with a British example being the history woven by those who avidly supported the Tudor royal dynasty in the 16th century. But all is not lost, for other views are later considered, agreed or rejected. It is thankful that the postal service developed when it did to bring about communication, later enhanced to the point of instant real-time speech and image that we now have. What can be next? If you knew, then you could begin a change that would ensure ‘your name liveth forever’. The English village with the interesting and charming name of Pucklechurch is 7.4 miles east-north-east of the city of Bristol. The…

In line with agreements regarding the planned post-World War II dismantling of the Japanese Empire reached by the Allies at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Japan would be forced to relinquish control of all the territories it had conquered during the war or annexed prior to the outbreak of hostilities (including Korea). Korea would be divided at the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation: the northern zone would be occupied by Soviet troops, the southern by US forces. The division would eventually lead to the establishment of two separate Korean governments, one in the north and one in the south, and ultimately to the Korean War in 1950. While the Red Army entered Pyongyang on 24 August 1945, American troops did not reach Korea until 8 September 1945.…

ON SALE 8 AUGUST The Beginning of Philately WHEN STAMP COLLECTING BEGAN Collect by Theme TOP TEN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES  Collecting GB GB COMMEMORATIVES OF THE 1960S Emergency Money and Tickets from the Anglo-Boer War  EXPLORING THE EMERGENCY MONEY PRODUCED BY BOTH SIDES DURING THE WAR A–Z of Coins ‘U’ IS FOR UNUSUAL AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS OR DIRECT FROM https://ccgb.mymagazinesub.co.uk/…

A coins, medals, militaria and banknotes auction was conducted by Warwick & Warwick on 18 June. The joint highest selling item of the auction was an 1826 crown proof (FDC), which achieved a hammer price of £10,500 (lot 390). The obverse showed an uncrowned portrait of King George IV facing to the left by William Wyon. On the reverse, a crowned, garnished shield of arms with crest was centrally placed, which had a legend around and a banner below. SOLD FOR £10,500 NAC held the sale of the ‘Sicilian Scholar’s Collection: Coins of the Kingdom of Sicily from the Arab Conquest to the Angevins’ and coins and medals from Italian and foreign mints on 10 June. One of the highlights was a rare double papal ducat of Pope Paul II…

Once upon a time, collecting phonecards was considered a smart investment. Back in the 1990s, telcos across Europe flooded the market with limited-edition cards – every sport, city and cartoon character had its own plastic square. Prices shot up, conventions boomed and catalogues struggled to keep up. But eventually, reality caught up. Too many editions, too little meaning. Today, those once-prized cards sit in shoeboxes, worth little more than their printing cost. Stamp collectors know the feeling. Countries like Mongolia, Grenada and Liberia churned out endless philatelic ‘masterpieces’ in the same era – Elvis stamps, Disney stamps, even space exploration themes. They were colourful, shiny and utterly disconnected from actual postal use. And they all had one thing in common: no one really wanted them a decade later. Then there…