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Specimen Stamp
A specimen stamp is a postage stamp or postal stationery indicium sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries. The usual method of invalidating the stamps is either overprinting in ink or perforating the word ''Specimen'' across the stamp and where English is not the common language, the words ''Muestra'' (Spanish), ''Monster'' (Dutch), ''Muster'' (German) or ''Образец'' (Russian, 'Obrasetz') have been used instead. History Specimen stamps have been in use since the earliest issues and in 1840 examples of the Penny Black, Two penny blue and the Mulready Letter Sheet were sent to all British postmasters. These stamps were not marked in any way, but when the first British one shilling stamp was produced in 1847, examples sent to postmasters were marked with the word ''Specimen'' in order to prevent their postal use. Since 1879, members of the Universal Postal Union have supplied stamps to each oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philatelic
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums. Etymology The word "philately" is the English transliteration of the French "", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864. Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the previous six or seven years and a better name was required for the new hobby than ''timbromanie'' (roughly "stamp quest"), which was disliked.Williams, L.N. & M. ''Fundamentals of Philately''. State College: The American Philatelic Society, 1971, p.20. The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily", and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as ''philately'' gained acceptance during the 1860s. Herpin took the Greek root word Ï ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crawford Medal
:::''See also'' Crawford Award for fantasy novels. :::''See also'' Max Crawford Medal Australian academic award. The Crawford Medal is a vermeil medal awarded by the Royal Philatelic Society London for the most valuable and original contribution to the study and knowledge of philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ... published in book form during the relevant period. The medal is named after James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford, who by the time of his death in 1913 had amassed the greatest philatelic library of his time. Other society medals The society also awards these silver medals: *The Tilleard Medal for the best large display of any aspect of philately given by one, or not more than two, Fellows or Members during the relevant period. *The Lee Medal for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Samuel (philatelist)
Marcus Francis Javier Samuel (6 November 1904 – 16 October 1997)"Marcus Samuel FRPSL, 1904-1997" by Gerald Davis in ''The London Philatelist'', Vol.106, No.1251, December 1997.Introduction to the catalogue of the sale of the Marcus Samuel Revenue Collection by Gerald Davis (philatelist), Gerald Davis, Spink Auctions, London, 2005, p. 3. was a distinguished British philatelist who was an expert on the specimen stamps and revenue stamps of Britain and the British Commonwealth. He was a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London. Early life Samuel began collecting specimen stamps in 1924 when his father acquired a collection which contained many specimens. He was allowed to keep the specimens in return for removing the other stamps from the album. He subsequently formed a comprehensive collection of specimen stamps at a time when few other collectors were interested in them. Dealers were pleased to sell him their unwanted stamps and one was quoted as saying ''"The trouble with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Philatelic Society London
The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its headquarters in the City of London. History The society was founded on 10 April 1869 at a meeting at 93 Great Russell Street in the rooms of the stamp dealer J.C. Wilson. The first officers elected were the president, Sir Daniel Cooper, the vice-president, Frederick A. Philbrick, and the secretary, W. Dudley Atlee. The committee comprised Edward Loines Pemberton, Charles W. Viner, Thomas F. Erskine, Joseph Speranza, and W. E. Hayns. Permission to use the prefix "Royal" was granted by King Edward VII in November 1906. Prince George, the Duke of York (future George V), was an enthusiastic stamp collector. He served as honorary vice-president of the society from 1893 to 1910. His father, King Edward VII, had a large stamp collection t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De La Rue
De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printed products) for central banks and currency issuing authorities. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Thomas de la Rue, who moved from Guernsey to London in 1821 and set up in business as a 'Leghorn' straw hat maker, then as a stationer and printer. In 1831 he secured his business a Royal Warrant to produce playing cards. In 1855 it started printing postage stamps and in 1860 banknotes. The company's first banknotes were made for Mauritius. In 1896, the family partnership was converted into a private company. In 1921, the de la Rue family sold their interests. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1947. Then called ''Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited'', it changed its nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Easton (philatelist)
John Easton (16 February 1895Bateman, Robert. ''Stamp Collectors' Who's Who''. London: Stanley Gibbons Ltd., 1960, p.32. – 1967) was a printer and philatelic author who signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1960. Works Easton wrote ''The De La Rue History of British and Foreign Postage Stamps 1855-1901'' for which he received the Crawford Medal from the Royal Philatelic Society London in 1958, and with Arnold M. Strange he edited ''Perkins Bacon Records'' based on the work of Percy de Worms. The London printing works of De La Rue were destroyed on the night of 29 December 1940 during a World War II air raid. The Day Books and Correspondence Books of the firm survived however and after the war the Royal Philatelic Society London was granted access to the records in order to compile a philatelic history of the first fifty years of De La Rue. John Easton, with assistance from the firm, converted those records into ''The De la Rue History of British and Foreign Post ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pattern Coin
A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike (using metals of lower value to test out the dies), to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin collectors collect and study pattern coins because of their historical importance. Many of the world's most valuable coins are pattern coins; nearly 25 of the pieces listed in ''100 Greatest US Coins'' are pattern coins. English patterns The first English coin that can be identified with certainty is a groat, originally worth fourpence. This piece, an example of which was illustrated and sold in the Dodsley Cuff sale of the mid-19th century, had crowns in place of the usual three pellets in each quarter of the reverse. Patterns are particularly identifiable and exist in larger numbers from the reign of Elizabeth I onwards. The experimental base metal issues of all coinage prior to the mid-18th century have been well preserved. Boulton's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Specimen Banknote
A specimen banknote is printed generally in very limited quantities for distribution to central banks to aid in the recognition of banknotes from a country other than their own. In some cases, specimen banknotes are printed in less limited quantities distributed to commercial banks, or even to commercial enterprises and the public at large in order to familiarize users about new designs. In addition, specimen banknotes are sold in some countries to collectors (often in special commemorative folders or albums). They have also been distributed by banknote printers (such as the American Bank Note Company) as examples of their craftsmanship. Occasionally, specimen banknotes are distributed as gifts to dignitaries or to employees of central banks, often in special presentation albums. To avoid use of specimen banknotes as legal tender notes, the banknotes are deformed, typically by being overprinted and/or punched (perfin) with an inscription such as "SPECIMEN", "SPECIMEN NO VALUE" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Reply Coupon
An international reply coupon (IRC) is a coupon that can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage for an unregistered priority airmail letter of up to twenty grams sent to another Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country. IRCs are accepted by all UPU member countries. UPU member postal services are obliged to exchange an IRC for postage, but are not obliged to sell them. The purpose of the IRC is to allow a person to send someone in another country a letter, along with the cost of postage for a reply. If the addressee is within the same country, there is no need for an IRC because a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) or return postcard will suffice; but if the addressee is in another country an IRC removes the necessity of acquiring foreign postage or sending appropriate currency. Description International reply coupons (in French, ''Coupons-Reponse Internationaux'') are printed in blue ink on paper that has the letters "UPU" in l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revenue Stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things. Typically, businesses purchase the stamps from the government (thereby paying the tax), and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale, or in the case of documents, as part of filling out the form. Revenue stamps often look very similar to postage stamps, and in some countries and time periods it has been possible to use postage stamps for revenue purposes, and vice versa. Some countries also issued dual-purpose postage and revenue stamps. Description Revenue stamps are stamps used to designate collected taxes and fees. They are issued by governments, national and local, and by official bodies of various kinds. They take many forms and may be gummed and ungummed, perforated or imperforat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the International Bureau (IB). It also oversees the Telematics and Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives. Each member agrees to the same terms for conducting international postal duties. The UPU's headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland. History Bilateral treaties Before the establishment of the UPU, every pair of countries that exchanged mail had to negotiate a postal treaty with each other. In the absence of a treaty providing for direct delivery of letters, mail had to be forwarded through an intermediate country. Postal arrangements were complex and overlapping. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
