Proud collector of first-day covers
KUANTAN: First-day covers to commemorate the country’s National Day anniversary were once deemed rare items among collectors.
However, these days, with the Internet playing an indispensable role in society, collectors can easily surf websites offering these “hot” items and get their hands on the elusive National Day anniversary first-day covers for the right price.
Businessman Kent Koh, 33, an avid stamp and first-day cover collector, is the proud owner of a National Day anniversary collection, which includes covers from the first and 25th anniversary.
The father of one, who started the hobby when he was 15, said he was lucky when a collector was willing to sell the items 10 years ago.
He described the two covers as precious among his 300-odd first day cover collection.
“The first anniversary cover was issued on Aug 31, 1958, with the postage stamp depicting Merdeka Stadium, while the 25th anniversary cover was issued on Aug 31, 1982 with an image of Dataran Merdeka in 1957 and 1982.
“The other Malaysia-themed covers include the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 with a picture of the Parliament building.
“Nowadays, it is a bit difficult to get hold of the first-day National Day anniversary covers as people will be only interested to strike a deal if they have extra covers and are prepared to exchange or sell them.
“I managed to get mine after negotiating with several collectors,” he said at his home here yesterday.