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Collectors Weekly

The world’s first adhesive postage stamp was the Penny Black, printed for the British postal service by an American named Jacob Perkins on May 6, 1840. Two days later, a blue two-penny or “Tuppeny blue” stamp came off the Perkins, Bacon & Co. press. Both stamps featured an engraved portrait of Queen Victoria, as would the Penny Red, which replaced the Penny Black in 1841. 

Now you might think the Penny Black would be worth a small fortune, but more than 68 million imperforate versions of the stamp were printed, and it’s estimated some 21 billion Penny Reds were produced, none of which were perforated before 1854. If you want rare, go for the Tuppeny blue—only six-and-a-half million of those beauties were printed.

Thanks to their ubiquity, Penny Blacks and Reds are relatively affordable. Less attainable are stamps such as the 1918 Inverted Jenny, a 24-cent U.S. stamp depicting a Curtiss JN...

For many philatelists, these stamps are impossible Holy Grails. More attainable are the countless pieces of postage from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, and China. Each piece of postage produced by these nations tells a story about their unique histories.

Collectors of U.S. stamps might try for commemorative and special issue stamps, such as a set of all four horizontal Zeppelin stamps, printed between 1930 and 1933, or the set of 10 National Park stamps issued in 1934. Definitives, or regular issue stamps, are also popular—many bear portraits of presidents from Washington to Kennedy, while others depict the likenesses of scientists (Albert Einstein), architects (Frank Lloyd Wright), and playwrights (Eugene O’Neill).

Formal portraits of royalty grace most British stamps, but the imagery gets more picturesque as one moves away from the country’s main islands to current territories such as Gibraltar and former ones like Malta. The rise and fall of the Third Reich can be followed on German stamps, which are littered with swastikas before and during World War II. French stamps frequently honor intellectuals and art expositions, such as the one in 1925 that gave rise to the term Art Deco, while Australian stamps naturally feature numerous depictions of indigenous animals such as the kangaroo and platypus.

Chinese stamps are also steeped in their country’s history. Pre-Mao-era stamps reveal the hyperinflation of the early 1930s, as seen in the 500-yuan stamps of that period. During the Mao era itself, the chairman’s smiling face, as well as compositions celebrating the country’s military might, were common, but there were also stamps meant to encourage exercise, such as the series of 40 stamps printed in 1952, when millions listened to, and exercised along with, a daily radio program promoting fitness.

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Top eBay Auctions

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Great Britain 1882 Victorian 1840 Penny Black Plate 6, Block Of (4) On Piece (royal Cert.) Rare! (m1719)Switzerland Zu#1s Used Zurich Certificate Cv Chf 20,000 ($21,000) Red CancelDealer's Stock Page Of Columbians, Mostly Nh To $5 Scott 245. Cat $14,760Denmark 1851 2 Rbs Blue Thiele Print (1) Vfu $2000Us Stamp:#292 $1 Black 1898 Trans-missGb 1913 Qv 1841 1d Black Plate 11 Lettered If Four Margins Matched With 1d RedRyukyu Islands, Complete Second Revenue Set, Scott R9-16, Mint, No Gum As IssuedRussia- Ussr. 1939. Mi. # 681 Iu. 1840 2d Blue Pair Plate 1 Lettered Na-nb (sg 5) Very Fine Used With Orange/red1913 Russia Stamp1934-vasenko-sc#c51a -perf.14-size 33*36mm-cv-$3,500 (kazan Stamped)The Living Treasures Of Asia 23 Karat Gold Stamp Collection Complete 30 StampsSg121, Scarce 2s Brown, Good Used. Cat Nystamps Portugal Large Old Stamp Collection Album Page $65001880 Rare 2/- Brown Sg121 Fine Used Sg Cat Us Stamp:#o69 $5 Green 1873 State Official Used Stamp $13,000 Rare!+certificateQueen Victoria 10p Embossed Pair 1848 Sg 57 Scott 6 Rare Uk Great BritainUs Stamp:#j58 50c Carmine Lake 10p.1914 Postage Due Mh/og $12,500 Rare!+certifiNystamps Us Stamp Scott 101 Mint With Gum $145001850-1852 France Stamps Lot, Very Rare Items, Cv $7500.00, No Reserve PriceUs/ww, Excellent Selection Of Stamps, Seals, Labels, & Others In StockpagesUnited States Imperf 5c Sc 1. Used. Scott $1200.Ckstamps : Us Stamps Scott#244 $4 Crimson Lake 1893 Columbian Used 2013 Cv$1,200Us Stamp:#263 $5 Dark Green Marshall 1894 Mh/og Stamp $4,500Russian Empire. Kingdom Of Poland. 1860. Mi. # 1, Mint.1840 1d Intense Black Pair Lettered Ni - Nj (sg 1) Full Margins Very Fine UsedUs Stamp:#2 10c Black Washington Imperf 1847 Used Stamp Red Grid CancelGb 1866 Scilly Islands 1d Red Tied Horiz Oval 610 With 'scilly' Cds On ReverseUnited States Pictorial 90c Sc 132. Hinged. Scott $3750.1935 Russia,sc C58-67,mi 499-508,mnh,famous Cheluskin Rescue Fantastic Centered!Group Of Early Mint Classics Including Scott 15, 68, 120, 150, 152. Cat $18,800Us Sc#459 Xf Lh Og Scarce Fresh&brite 2c Imperf Coil Pair W/certificate 1914-Russia 1858 Sc 4/mi 4 Coat Of Arms, Watermark Shift, RareGreat Britain 1840 2d Blue (sg 5) Red Maltese Cross, '4' Margins Fine (m1502)Nystamps Us Stamp Scott 421 Mint Og $400 FranklinUs Stamp:#16 10c Green Type Iv 1857-61 Imperf. Used Stamp $1,650 + CertificateUnited States Franklin 50c Sc 440. Never Hinged. Scott $1175.*540 Top Pb Of 50,nh!, Scott $1,585.00, Low Opening Bid $299.00United States Marshall $5 Sc 263. Never Hinged. Scott $15000.Us, Great Britain, Excellent Selection Of Stamps Mounted On Pages/stockpagesRussia- Ussr. 1947. Mi. # 682 Ii A, Variety..Great Britain 1929 Puc Ckstamps: Us Stamps Scott#c15 $2.60 Graf Zeppelin Airmail 1930 Mint Hr Og Cv$575Csa #3 Unused 2c GreenUs Stamp:#534b 2c (vii) 1918-20 Imperf Offset Stamp Used + Certificate $1,250Unused $3 1893 Columbian Exposition Stamp #243. Xf1852-1880 France Classic Stamps Lot, Mint And Used, Astronomic Catalogue ValueRussia , 1935 , Very Scarce Stamps Ex Set , Tscheljuskin , Mh / Mnh 803-34 832c Prexie Plate Blocks Complete Mint NhNystamps Us Stamp Scott 404 Mint Og $7251948 Thin Robes Authority "imprint" Block Of "4" SuperbRw2 1935 Federal Duck Stamp Print By Frank Benson Scarce Print No ReserveNystamps France Mint Stamp & Proof Collection With Nh 1885 Sw/13 London Cancels On Cover Regd India 2d Lilac & 5d Dull Green C.1901 Registered #78 Austrian Cover With Scott #89 & 2- #98 Dec. 23 Look! (rm114)2002 France Yv# 3461a, "the Kiss" Klimt Stamp Without Value, Cv $ 6500.00Us Stamp:#2 10c Black Washington Imperf 1847 Used Stamp

Recent News: Stamps

Source: Google News

Stamp collecting big business in Asia
BBC News, May 20th

Stamp collecting may be an age old hobby, but at the elite end of the market it is big business. And it is getting bigger in the Asian region as more investors look for alternative places to preserve their wealth. Rare stamp experts, the UK-based...Read more

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With The Stamp Collector, illustrated by François Thisdale, Lanthier has succeeded in overcoming these challenges. In measured, precise prose, Lanthier tells the story of a Chinese boy who discovers a discarded postage stamp and realizes he is...Read more

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NORTH ADAMS -- True to their motto, Northern Berkshire letter carriers would not stop for Saturday's rainy weather, and the area's residents showed their generosity as the 22nd annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive gathered more than 23,000 pounds of...Read more

Lucas Johnny a collector as rare as his stamps from pen pal days
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MIRI: It was the trend of pen pal letter-writing in yesteryears that gave local antique collector Lucas Johnny a boost to continue with his hobby of collecting stamps since his childhood days. He started on stamps since he was seven years old in 1953...Read more

Letters carriers collect food for Stamp Out Hunger
WLBZ-TV, May 11th

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- People here in Maine donated generously to the nation's largest single-day food drive. It was the 21st annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Letter carriers collected non-perishable food items left on doorsteps across...Read more

Stanley Gibbons boosted by rise in stamp collecting
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Stanley Gibbons, the stamp and rare coin dealer formed in 1856, has reported a 12 per cent rise in first-quarter revenues as more people across the world have turned to stamp collecting. The group, whose shares are traded on the Alternative Investment...Read more

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