Stamp

Before the start of the 15th century, letters were used for communications and carried personally by messengers, mostly in the circles of the nobility and government. It was during this time when the modern Post Office that people know today started to bloom. Drafting and sending letters then was reserved to the elite and nobility since they were the ones who could compose and write letters. So if one takes a good look at the surviving letters from this period, it becomes apparant that most of these correspondences were done by merchants, clergy and nobility.

Stamp collecting is considered by some a ‘dying hobby’, but did you know that there’s real money in stamp collecting? Just recently, it was reported that a stamp enthusiast from Canada revealed that he has in his possession a rare stamp, one that has not even been seen in stamp auctions - a two cent large ‘Queen Victoria on laid paper’. According to experienced collectors, this item can fetch as much as $1 million. Now, who can say that stamp collecting is a boring and worthless activity?

Speculation on Stamps

Stamp collectors may recall the interesting history chapter of August 18, 1966, when the ‘England winners’ World Cup 4d stamp reprints went on sale. It may be surprising to learn that while more than 150 million copies of the original stamp were printed, only 12 million copies of the second printing were issued at the post offices. When this fact became known to the public, speculation ran riot.

The use of modern postal system in Korea started on a rough spot complete with arson and an armed conflict. Right now, stamp collectors love the stamps that come out of Korea, but only few people know the real story behind the stamps and what happened in 19th century Korea, a time when an official stamp system was about to be started.

It is rather unusual that one of the worlds’ greatest engineering marvel - the Panama Canal - came into existence with the help of some small pieces of adhesive papers. In truth, it was not just some mere pieces but rather postage stamps made during the period. Originally, the plan in the construction of the navigational link to connect the Caribbean Sea towards the Pacific Ocean was not in the Panama area, rather it was in Nicaragua. This is the story of how the diversion came to be.

Angus McDonagh became an overnight celebrity in England after revealing that over the years he has designed about 50 humorous stamps portraying himself - with a Santa Claus beard or a beret hat - and sent hundreds of letters. Only one letter was returned.

Some people collect stamps, and some make them. The former is a legitimate hobby, but the latter is not only illegal, but in this case - somewhat funny. 

The kids of today may not have known the importance of postage stamps while others may not even know what they really are. That is particularly true since in this day and age, postage stamps have lessened in number and usage. In addition, mails are often done electronically, by means of emails in computers. However, it does not mean that we should not appreciate the importance of postage stamps. Remember, these pieces of adhesive paper have mostly travelled far through cities, states and countries just to make messages reach their destinations.

Postcards introduced in Austria during the year 1870 were just plain in nature. These were illustrative in nature and for the purpose of advertising, originally sold with pre-printed stamps, however their popularity and use were very limited then.

It was in the year 1894 when postcards portraying certain pictures became known, but those were not easily accepted. These postcards were mostly images of city and seaside wonders, while themes and subjects were not common earlier on.

Certain issues in China have brought forth a highly prized stamp. Though this was found to be bogus 130 years ago, it was still considered a piece worthy of a space in a 19^th-century collector’s album.
Many collectors during the early 19^th century found Album Weeds as a convenient reference in the study of philatelic forgeries. This book published in the year 1882 was authored by Reverend Robert Brisco Earée and was considered as an authority in the study of forged stamps.

The making of Fakes and Forgeries is an activity that has been in existence since the early years of philately. It is done in order to defraud or deceive others in assuming that those forgeries and fakes are the authentic items. In the study of stamps known as Philately, this activity is very common thus learning to identify the authenticity of stamps from the fake is considered an interesting and important challenge.

Definition of Terms:

To best understand this article, definition of terms related to the study are: