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AMAZING PHILATELIC
FACTS
Some interesting facts about certain stamps and some lucky
collectors. Always keep your eyes open for these! |
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THE FIRST STAMP EVER |
SINGLE MOST VALUABLE STAMP |
 The
very first postage stamp ever was the "Penny Black" issued
in England in 1840. The idea of using a stamp, stuck on a
letter, to indicate that postage had been paid before the
letter was mailed was a new one. Before this, postage was
paid by the person who received a letter, not paid by the
person who sent it. More than 68 million of these were
printed, but in those days people didn't know that stamps
would be highly sought after. This is a stamp any collector
would be proud of having. |
 Made
in limited quantities in 1856 for use on local newspapers,
there is only one known specimen to still exist. It features
a ship, printed in black ink on magenta colored paper, along
with the Latin motto "Damus Petimus Que Vicissim" or,
translated, "We give and expect in return". The stamp's
country of issue and value surround the ship design. This
specimen was found in 1873, by then 12-year-old Vernon
Vaughan in the Guyanese town of Demerara. He sold the stamp
for two shillings, the equivalent of no more than $2.50. The
current owner of the stamp, who is serving a thirty-year
jail sentence, purchased it in 1980 for the sum of $935,000. |
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US 24 CENT "JENNY" |
THE FIRST TWO U.S. STAMPS |
 Occasionaly
mistakes are made when stamps are printed, and this makes
them valuable to collectors. In 1918 the US issued its first
airmail stamp, known as the 24 cent "Jenny", after the plane
it pictured. A Washington DC collector bought a sheet with
100 of these stamps for his collection. As he walked away he
noticed that every airplane in the sheet was upside down.
The post office quickly destroyed the others and thus only
100 is in existence. Today one of the stamps value is more
than $150,000. |
 The
first two US stamps were issued on 1 July 1847 featuring
Benjamin Franklin (their first postmaster) and George
Washington. Today an unused 5-cent Franklin stamp is worth
more than $6,000. The 10-cent Washington stamp in unused
condition is worth more than $23,000. |
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STAMP ISSUERS |
6 POSTMARKS |
 More
than 200 countries or territories issue stamps and that
amounts to more than 7000 new stamps each year. This will
keep you busy for a very long time. |
 In
1982 the US Postal Service printed stamps showing the bird
and flower of each state. A sheet without perforations was
discovered and it was later sold $35,750. |
