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1954 North Borneo 30c - Plate variety

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There aren't many varieties in this series but the few that were listed truly are gems when found. A short visit to Amcorp Mall today yielded an unexpected find - a plate variety of the 30c stamp. The 30c stamp was printed with a 200 screen (I am not sure of what the 'unit'), and another plate, which is the variety, was printed with a 250 screen giving it a supposedly finer look as the dots were smaller.  250 screen (Left); 200 screen (right) Stanley Gibbons describe that in the coarse 200 screen, dots can be seen as regular patterns while in the finer 250 screen, dots are hardly seen. The white lines surrounding '30 CENTS' were also less distinct in the 250 screen.  200 screen, with visible dots. 250 screen; dots are hardly visible Some additional observational notes: a. QEII portrait is seemingly sharper in 200-screen than the smooth-appearing one in the 250-screen plate. b. 'SULUK CRAFT/ LAHAD DATU' inscription in the 250-screen appears thicker than in th

Stamps bought at PSM Stamp Fair 2023

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Philatelic Society Malaysia (PSM) organized a two-day stamp fair on the 9th and 10th of December in conjunction with Pos Malaysia's Stamp Week. To be honest, it has been quite a while since local collectors had any chance of attending a stamp fair as it was the first ever program organized this year.  On day 1. Upon entering the venue hall, immediately I was greeted with a scary sight as all dealers' tables were already filled with patrons selecting picks of the day.  Quickly, I went to Mr. Eric's table for loose stamps with interesting postmarks - my only intention for every stamp fair. Bought a few and moved to Mr. Richard Thio's table. He had much more duplicates. Although it was priced at SGD, his conversion rates are SGD1 = MYR2.  Next was Pos Malaysia's booth as I realized the stamps were selling like hot cakes.  The stamp issue on conjunction with Stamp Week 2023. Lakes in Malaysia. Three denominations: 50sen, 60sen, and RM1.30 Everyone was already busy makin

A mint banteng is a nice banteng

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In one of my earlier posts, I wrote on the 20 CENTS overprint varieties on the 1909 North Borneo 18c stamp that features the banteng.  One with a stamp catalogue that lists North Borneo would be surprised to find that among all the low value denominations, why would this specific 18c stamp commands such a high catalogue value?  Short answer : No one uses it.  Or rather, there was no use of it. The 18c denomination was withdrawn in the very same month that it was issued as there were no postal requirements of it.  "It is believed that 50,000 18c stamps were printed and of these 5,000 had been sold, 5,000 were retained at Sandakan, and 40,000 were returned to London" [1]. This explain the scarcity of the 18c stamp.  On the catalogue value of the 18c stamp, one could very clearly that the difference is day and night. Here are some snippets,  SG Simplified, 2014 Scott, 2017 ISC, 2018 Of course, catalogue values are just numbers and do not necessarily reflect on current market pri

Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany - Part 1

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At the end of World War II, the victors took administrative control over Germany after the fall of the Third Reich. The eastern zone of Germany under Soviet rule was then known as SBZ, which stood for Sowjetische Besatzungszone. Naturally, stamps to be used within this zone were overprinted.  MiNr. 182-197, overprinted 'SOWJETISCHE BESATZUNGS ZONE'. MiNr. 943-958, without the overprint These stamps remain a good starting point for collectors and enthusiasts if they wish to set foot into collecting stamps in the area of post-war occupation. Mint sets come relatively cheap, at times even cheaper than its used counterparts.  I always have a thing for stamps printed in smaller formats, 20mm x 25mm is the sweet spot to look exceptionally good in 1200dpi scans. Recently I have gone busy sorting from boxes of used stamps again, if I hadn't mention it in earlier posts. The frequency of finding these SBZ stamps is testament to how many they were printed and how easily they could be

Shades of Labuan Stamps: 1894-1896 24c Pale Mauve vs Dull Lilac

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Distinguishing between two shades of very old stamps could be challenging considering that colors may have oxidized or even bleached.  In this update, we are covering the stamps of Labuan, to be technically correct, stamps of North Borneo overprinted with 'LABUAN'. Specifically, shade varieties of the 24c stamp (1894-1896). The shade listed on ISC are Pale Mauve (ISC#61) and Dull Lilac (ISC#62).  Finding the difference is confusing since both are almost identical - that is until we involve a similar stamp but was issued on 1897, 24c Grey-Lilac (ISC#85).  Comparing with ISC#85 makes it much easier since it only exists as a shade of lilac, not very far off from dull lilac. Here are the enlarged scans for a closer look.  Pretty straightforward, right? Thank you for dropping by! 

Various postmarks on North Borneo 15c stamps

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 Just a small snippet of some QE II definitive series, specifically the 15c bearing some postmarks.  Thank you anyway for dropping by although this is just a small update!

Selangor Diamond of Bars

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One interesting bar obliterator seen and used in Selangor in the late 19th century is the 9-bar diamond obliterator. The usage of this obliterator, as recorded by Proud, was seen in Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, Kuala Kubu, and Rawang at different periods.    Kuala Kubu (11.12.1890); Kuala Lumpur (18.8.1891- 14.4.1893); Klang (15.3.1892-6.1.1894); Kajang (18.4.1896-23.6.1896); Rawang (not recorded).  One question that I pondered, since all of these towns had the same obliterator ordered on 20.5.1890, did it mean that it was all produced the same way? I have tried measuring the dimensions, and it seemed that each one is similar except for Kajang K1, which had longer bars at each ends. Selangor 1892, 5c blue, ISC#54 bearing the diamond of bars.  Straits Settlements 1894, 8c Ultramarine, ISC#100. Here, the bars at each end appear longer and rather rounded, which corresponds to Kajang Proud K1.  Selangor 1893, 1c green, ISC#51 also with Kajang K1  Regardless of its specific locality, h