Collecting
PNG stamps in demand among philatelists-around the world.
Time travel, detective work and undiscovered treasures. Just another day in the life of international postagestamp dealer Glen Stephens. Stephens belongs to an enthusiastic group of collectors that ranks postage stamps from Papua New Guinea among the world’s best and most interesting.
“PNG has the most popular stamps of all the Pacific Islands and that appeal is global,” he says
For more than 35 years, the Sydneybased philatelist has scoured the globe for collectible stamps, and regards those from PNG as a “true window into the nation’s history, geography and rich culture.”
The stamps and envelopes also reflect the country’s challenges, development and individuality.
“Many collectors are drawn to a series first issued in the early 1930s that broke away from the traditional practice of featuring monarchs on stamps,” says Stephens.
“Instead, these issues were based on original photographs and lithographs showing traditional village scenes, wildlife and everyday citizens.”
Such stamps became, in effect, time capsules of PNG life that were sent around the world and in the process transformed local identities into national icons.
On one stamp, we meet Steve, the younger son of a successful businessman, operating a sawmill and trucking business at Hanuabada. Another set features Sergeant Major Simoi from Kiwai Island, the first local policeman to reach the rank of warrant officer.
Post PNG is committed to maintaining the quality of its stamps and says the world’s
finest designers and painters create them. The national mail operator describes their miniature works of art as “vibrant, colorful and authentic in detail”.
But it’s more than the artwork that makes PNG stamps interesting. Early postal authorities provided few written details for their stamp issues. As a result, philatelists devoted to PNG have formed an international community of historical sleuths that searches for the missing background and exchanges information.
“For example, most collectors of German stamps are interested in PNG because Deutsch-Neuguinea was, of course, once a German colony,” says Stephens.
In fact, stamps graphically record PNG’s transition from colony to independence
Captured German stamps overprinted by the Australians in World War 2 have sold for more than PGK100,000 each.
in 1975. The so-called “hobby of kings” documents the conflicts and political intrigues along the way as Germany, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan and Indonesia occupied or controlled territory on the islands of New Guinea.
As one country or administration took over from another, it sometimes reused existing stocks of stamps and overprinted them with new postal charges or words showing who was now in charge.
Collectors have long valued many of these items, and captured German stamps overprinted by the Australians in World War 2 have sold for more than PGK100,000 each.
Such sales are part of the allure for philatelists like Stephens, who’s discovered treasures in the most unlikely places.
“The one that takes the cake is a 1933 First Flight cover with an amazing history from the Wahgi River Valley in the Western Highlands,” he says. “The illustrated cover was sent by the region’s first airmail and signed by the pilot. I found the item in a carton of junk and sold it to a client for PGK3000.”
But despite the widespread appeal of PNG stamps, Stephens advises new collectors to be cautious if they’re looking only for an investment.
“You need many years of experience in collecting and sound advice from experts,” he says. “Seek expert advice and buy material from reputable sources that is guaranteed in writing to be genuine. Online sellers, in particular, can be a very dubious source for the rarer PNG stamps.”