by Norman A. Rubin

Created on: February 02, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2010

Stamp Corner - Oddities

(Stamp collecting has been around for over 150 years and is often called the "King of Hobbies". From stamps we can learn of history of newly founded nations some of these stamps are of great value, both historical and with monetary value..)

A good case in point is the first stamp issue of Israel. Before May 1948 Palestine was governed by the British Mandate until the United Nations decided that the country should be divided into a Jewish and Arab State. So on May 14th, 1948, the State of Israel came into being.

When the first stamps came out the name of the new country had not been decided. So the writing on top of the stamps just says Doar Ivri', meaning Hebrew Post'.

Although these stamps were on sale until April 1950, the first stamps of Israel soon became so popular that they are now quite scarce and are much sought after by collectors.

*

Before Australia was discovered, people thought a black swan was impossible as a pig with wings. You can imagine, then, the surprise of the early explorers in Australia when they found that among all the other curious animals a bird there was a black swan.

The black swan was adopted by the colony of Western Australia as its symbol. So when the colony began to issue postage stamps they put the swan on design.

In this issue, however, one of the most famous mistakes in philatelic history was made. This mistake is known as the inverted' swan' because the picture of the swan was printed upside down.

What happened was that separate designs were used for the frame and the swan in the center and was used for both a four penny and a shilling stamp. While the craftsman was transferring the design to the plates he turned one frame upside down.

The mistake was soon discovered, but some stamps had already been sold. It took a long time for collectors to find out what had happened. Later the inverted swan' stamp became a valuable collector's item.

*

Off course you know where the Panama Canal is located. And, off course you know when the canal was opened (1914). But if it had not been for a stamp the canal might never have been built in Panama at all; it might have been built in Nicaragua.

In 1902 the government of Columbia refused the US offer to build the canal in Panama, which was under their rule. However the Nicaraguans were trying to persuade the Americans to build the canal in their country, but the idea was pushed aside as engineers considered the country as volcanic, which could destroy a canal.

During

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>