Stamp collecting: The king of hobbies
STAMP collecting is often called the “king of hobbies and the hobby of kings”, and for good reason.
Some of the finest collections in the world were formed by royalty and the collection belonging to King Charles of England is among the finest.
The earliest stamps usually depicted the face or profile of the monarch on the throne and perhaps that spurred interest, besides the fact that stamps issued by every country over the years display their culture, products and achievements, making stamps of great interest to leaders and their citizens.
The first stamp, issued in May 1840, is the renowned Penny Black of Great Britain. Before that time, only those with substantial means and status could send a letter, which had to be paid for in cash in advance or paid by the receiver upon delivery.
But the creation of the stamp made it possible for anyone to do so, which was the beginning of mass communication, kick-starting a process that advanced human development as never before, and continues to do so today even though communication is mostly digital since the advent of email around 1982.
One can imagine the joy of receiving a letter in those early years and the fascination with the stamp affixed that made it possible, and stamp collecting quickly became a popular pastime as more countries adopted the idea of producing stamps.
Initially, it was used stamps that had done postal service that were collected, but it quickly spread to unused, or mint examples. Later, the interest spread to collecting not just the stamp but intact, original covers or letters and the variety of postmarks, which today is called postal history.
Stamp dealers soon arose to meet the growing interest. Particularly in Europe and colder climate countries in the Northern Hemisphere, where one was virtually trapped indoors for months, most people cultivated hobbies, with stamps becoming one of the favourite pastimes of adults and children alike.
Even though we live in a fast-changing world, stamp collecting has endured although the interest has been moving towards pre-1960s material, when stamps were, in most cases, issued for postal purposes and the collector was a secondary consideration.
From around the mid-1960s, postal authorities recognised the income potential that collectors presented and much that flowed in increasing volumes and frequency post-1965 were issued to exploit that market.
For example, in 1953 Great Britain issued a set of four commemorative stamps for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The next commemorative issue, a set of three stamps, was produced for the 1957 World Scout Jubilee Jamboree, a gap of just over four years. The gap allowed ample time for almost any collector, even with modest means, to complete the 1953 issue before having to tackle the next.
Stamp collecting was affordable. By 1965, Great Britain had increased its output of commemorative stamps to nine issues, and it continued up to recent times when Royal Mail issued 15 commemorative sets last year, more than an issue a month.
Serious collectors saw the writing on the wall years ago and the face of philately changed dramatically, particularly due to the proliferation of new issues, which became a worldwide phenomenon.
Two of the most common philatelic fallacies that exist are first, that the Penny Black is the world’s rarest and most expensive stamp, and second, that age equates to value.
The fact is the Penny Black is the world’s first stamp and a fine used example can be purchased for around R6 500 whereas a good mint example sells for about R40 000. The stamp will continue to increase in value over time, but many stamps issued shortly thereafter are far less expensive.
For example, the 1864 to 1879 Penny Reds, mint examples sell for R700, while a fine used can be purchased for as little as R10. Age makes a difference only for a scarce stamp, whereas common stamps remain cheap indefinitely.
Stamp values depend on supply and demand. Lower values were frequently used for postcards, or normal internal mail items and are, therefore, far more freely available than the higher values, which would be used for postage on heavier parcels.
It is also far more affordable to purchase quantities of lower values but less so for higher values. In mint and used stamps with higher face values (from 10s or £1 and upwards) are more valuable than stamps with face values between ½d to 1s.
Usually, mint stamps are priced higher than used, but there are exceptions to the rule.
Another example is the India 1948 1st Anniversary of Independence set. A mint set would cost around R2 000, while used would sell at about R750, with the R10 high value carrying 90% of the value in both cases. The same set overprinted SERVICE (for official use) is extremely scarce, with the R10 value being rare and seldom available at any price.
Joseph has been in the philatelic trade for more than 50 years. His father was a stamp dealer before him, from 1961 to 1998. He joined him in business at the end of 1972 and they ran one the largest private stamp dealerships outside the US, in Carlton Centre, Johannesburg, from 1971 to 1988. Joseph went on to start his own business, Philatelic Friends, in August 1988. At the end of 2022, he relocated to KwaZulu-Natal and recently launched the monthly Natal Stamp Fair.