Starting this thread in a practically unused forum,I hope it will give easy access to all who are interested. I know that there were similar threads before,but I did not want to dig and search. I myself will show my favourites one by one. Today I start with Bahawalpur Michel/Scott 2-15,18-21 from 1948. Bahawalpur was an Emirate in todays Pakistan.From 1945 till 1949 Bahawalpur issued 57 stamps.S.G. lists another set of 17,overprints on stamps of India.But its legitimacy is in dispute. Most stamps of Bawalpur are rare in genuinely used condition. 2-6,12-4 the Emir of Bahawalpur 7 tombs of the ruling family,8 mosque 9 Fort Derawar,10 Palace of Light 11 Palace of Light 15 present and former emirs. For me probably the most exotic stamp I have. 18-21 later in 1948 the Rupee-values were re-issued in different colours.These are much more affordable,than the th earliar set.
Very attractive stamps, Werner. Great centering and well defined colors, you are obviously a discriminating collector when it comes to condition. Your new scanner is working well. Don
Werner's attempt to revitalize an inactive forum is a good first effort in my opinion. The Exchange needs a forum where members can show their favorite stamps without the post getting buried by other unrelated posts. The stamps and covers need not be rare or exceptional in any way, just favorites. Exchange moderators, how about changing the title of this forum or creating a new one for showing one's favorite stamps and covers. Don
Hello Werner, a great start, I only have a copy of the 1948-04-01 - 10 Rupee red on black (3 rulers) from Bahawalpur and the 4 anna Sadiq-Garh Mosque from the same issue date in my UK collection. Regards, James
Two extraordinary stamps: Latvia Mi./Sc.1-2,issued Dec.18th,1918 The front-sides look ordinary,but the backsides ! Both stamps,I think this is unique,were printed on the back of german military maps. Would be nice to have bigger units. Other stamps of Latvia were printed on the backs of half-finished banknotes.
Don, it took me a while to understand,what american dealers meant with descriptions like fine,very fine,x-fine etc.Centering is not much of an issue in Germany and the other countries of Europe,as far as I know.Centering maybe a problem with some older stamps,like Victorians.But as long as the perfs. stay clear of the design,it is O.K. In Germany mint n.h. is wanted and c.d.s. cancellations,where you can read place and date.
Interesting observation on the differences in collecting tastes. I often forget that standards differ from country to country. Faults (tears, thins, missing or short perfs, hinge remnants, poor centering, heavy cancels, creases) on stamps are a big deal in the U.S. There are so many potential faults it is sometimes difficult to find a stamp without one of them. I like those Latvian stamps. They are excellent examples of what makes collecting interesting. Don
Bhutan Mi.557-63,Sc.152-152F,Apr.15th,1973 I have a tecnical problem to insert a picture (Bhutan 120001.jpg) of the full set.But I hope, a click will show it. Here now a picture of the top-value: Normally I would not like stamps like that. I would regard it as a set to milk collectors.And sure it was,like so many stamps of Bhutan. But this set is very,very special. First it is,as far as I know,the only set of stamps worldwide of Phonographic Records.I never tried to play them,because you would need a spezial player to do so. But what is really fascinating,is the interest of collectors to get this set.There are many collectors who look for oddly shaped stamps and other unusual items. This big demand has made the set pretty expensive.Michel 2003 lists it at € 400.-, Scott 2009 at $ 400.-. You have to look around for quite a while,to find another set of the last 50 years,what has gained so much.(There are some,but those were never sold freely,when issued.)
Hello Werner, all I can ask is would they be postally useable? What is the diameter of the disc's? I would ask similar questions to an item trawled from the web this morning, posted on stampboards.com by Tonga2. Copied below: On 20 March, 2014, Austria issued the world's first stamp printed on porcelain. It was issued in a small cardboard holder With a face value of 5.90 euros, 150,000 of the porcelain stamps were issued The following information came from the Austrian Philatelic Bureau website:- "Brief description of the product Perfectly formed, timelessly beautiful and made by hand - so, the world-famous Viennese Augarten porcelain for almost 300 years. Exquisite COFFEE and tea service, stylish vases and lamps as well as artful figures delight collectors and aesthetes alike - over generations. The precious porcelain with the distinctive blue shield as signing is also used in the service of the Republic of Austria: whether as a service in the Hofburg and the Federal Chancellery or as a special gift on high state official occasions. For the series "Classic brand" now an extraordinary stamp made of porcelain was created, decorated with the "Viennese Rose". From the naturalistic bouquets of Baroque to neo-classical floral ornaments, to the playful rose motifs of the Biedermeier: The rose represents in 1718, one of the main motives of the Viennese porcelain painters since the founding of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory represents the famous "Viennese Rose" goes on drafts of the imperial manufactory 1740 back. 1924 Edwin adapted Breideneichen, longtime workshops Head of the Department of Painting, the subject of the Vienna Purple Rose and adapted them to the taste of his time - the Art Nouveau style. There was a stylized rose bloom, exactly applied brush strokes and subtle shades with a brush conferred a simple and delicate elegance; she became the most sought after designs of the manufactory. Today, the range of classic "Viennese decor" includes a wide variety of porcelain objects and enjoys great popularity at home and abroad. For the production of a stamp made of porcelain both its own process as well as a special tool needed to be developed, because only then the production of the relatively large number of brands could be overcome in the given time. Since the usual molds of plaster only about thirty times can be used, the stamps were not made by casting with casting material, but with a more solid form ("rotational mass" or "press material") is pressed. Subsequently, the sheets were baked in the porcelain so-called first firing at 960 degrees Celsius for 24 hours, then glazed and again cured at even higher temperature. In the Augarten porcelain manufactory, the workpieces are always painted by hand. That would not have been possible in a particular case because of the high support and the lack of time. Therefore, the most expensive and highest quality printing method was used: the screen printing. To ensure color fastness and contrast this special stamp made of porcelain, the colors were eventually "burned" at 820 degrees Celsius." So, the production took place by the use of a special solid molding form which allowed for greater usability. The porcelain mass was pressed in the form and then baked for 24 hours at 960 degree. Then glazed and cured at even higher temperature and thus made the stamp unbreakable. In the Augarten porcelain manufactory normally all products are hand painted but in this case and because of the quantity they decided to use silk printing. The stamp size is 35 x 35 mm and the thickness is about 3 mm so I wonder how it would go on a real circulated letter through the post? Regards, James.
Hello all, I know that this is slightly off theme, these unusual? holographic stamps were issued in 2008, the first for the 125th anniversary of Thai postal services. The central stamp is a holographic reproduction of the 1883 - 1 Solot stamp.
Hello James, I think the Bhutan discs could be used quite easily.They have a paper-backing and I frankly don´t know,whether one would have to peel the paper in order to use them.Scott calls them self-adhesive.So I guess they are.I will not give it a try ! The small discs have a diameter of 69 mm, the big ones 99 mm.(Scott claims 100 mm) Somewhere I have a letter with a 3-D stamp from Bhutan,but where ? But perhaps you´ll like this letter: The Austria porcelain stamp: Another confirmation,that I did the right thing, when I ended my Austria-collection with the change from the Schilling to the Euro.
Here one of my alltime favourites: Liechtenstein Minnesänger (Codex Manesse) Unfortunately my scanner cannot show the gold-colour of these stamps properly.It is more a brown-yellow,than gold. 1st series May 30th,1961 Mi.406,407,Sc.359,361 Mi.408,409,Sc.363,365 Mi.410,Sc.368 2nd series,Dec.6th,1963,Mi.420,421,Sc.360,362 Mi.422,423,Sc.364,367 3rd series,Dec.5th,1963 Mi.433,434,Sc.381,382 Mi.435,436,Sc.383,384 4th series,Aug.27th,1970 Mi.Bl.8 (527-30) Sc.471 The Codex Manesse is a book with popular songs and miniatures from the 14th century.
Hello Werner, a beautiful set of stamps. You make me quite jealous, they would fit nicely in my Costumes and Uniforms theme. Regards, James.
A very attractive set of stamps! Love the one where the young woman? is being ratcheted up in a basket.
It´s the other way around ! The lady winds up Herrn Kristian von Hamle.Possibly her husband was on a cruzade or some other heroic enter- tainment.And she wanted to listen to the singer on close range.
The last two sets and the souvenir sheet are not costly at all.All three are offered at € 5.50.The first set is € 5.-.So all quite affordable.
This set I like very much,because of it´s vivid colours and well done protraits of King Ludwig III. The set exists perforated (1914) and imperforated (1920).The early prints (Peace-Prints) show deeper colours and are printed finer.But,alas, the Peace-Prints are about twenty times more expensive,than the War-Prints. The set was overprinted in 1919/1920 with "Volksstaat Bayern" for the short-lived communist government. The second overprints,a few months later,read "Freistaat Bayern".Still the official title of Bavaria today. A small part of the Saargebiet (Saar Territory) belonged to Bavaria.So there the above set,but perforated,was sold with the overprint "SARRE". A very expensive set.Four values were not sold over the counter,but were "given" to "special private people".From these the 20 Mark stamp is the rarest and most expensive stamp of all german terrytories.Only 16 were made,what is strange as there were 20 stamps in a sheet. Michel cat.price:€ 150.000.-.
On Nov.1st,1906 the K.u.K. Military Post in Bosnia-Hercegovina issued this set of regulars: I am not sure if this really the first large size scenic regular set worldwide,but there was never a better one. The set exists with a wide range of different perforations from 6 1/2(!) to 13 1/2 and mixed perfs as well. In 1910 (aug.18th) the set was reissued in commemoration of the 80th birthday of Emperor Franz Josef with1830-1910 added. Here the 5.- K.-value: On June 1st,1912 three additional value to the 1906 set were issued: (shown in the following post)
