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Kudat postal cover

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I always refuse to believe that there will not be a single Sabah cover in a box full of Johor and Perak covers (this dealer had 3 boxes of them; I am very sure each box contains at least 1,000 covers). Turns out, I was right! There is one, though torn at the lower left corner, it is still a happy find.  After almost 2 years of not going to Amcorp Mall, I was greeted with a few good finds. Perhaps this is also the Devil's temptation luring me to return again the subsequent week.  This is a fairly normal cover with a 75c stamp that accurately pays for both the 20g mail + registered post charges. Two KUDAT/ SABAH single-ring circular datestamps (c.d.s); one defaces the 75c stamp and the other ties the KUDAT registered label.  The back of the cover shows three c.d.s.: postal counter KUDAT/SABAH dated 19 Feb 1975, transit KOTA KINABALU/SABAH dated 20 Feb 1975, and the arrival PENANG/R4 dated 21 Feb 1975. One could only dream of such efficiency today. It's always a pleasant fin...
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Sabah Registered Mail with missing A in KINAB_LU cds

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Here's a good find that has been sitting in the bought-but-not-sorted pile. A letter franked with a block of six 20c stamp tied with LAHAD DATU/SABAH single ring c.d.s. dated 20NOV87 sent to Kuala Lumpur. There is a faint rectangular box cancel 'LAHAD DATU' in violet in the bottom of the letter. Although this was a commercial registered mail, you have got to appreciate the clear cancel strike. Rates: 20c for surface mail within 20g + $1.00 for registration fee. It gets interesting on the back of envelope - multiple transit postal markings.  LAHAD DATU/ SABAH K2 - 20NOV87 KOTA KINABALU/ SABAH * - 22 NO 87 KUALA LUMPUR - 23 NOV 87 KEPONG/ KUALA LUMPUR - 24 NOV 87 If examined closely, you will notice that KINABALU is missing the letter 'A'. What could have caused the missing alphabet?
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Registered cover - Keningau

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A recent acquisition of a registered mail sent from Keningau, Sabah.  I always loved registered handstamps - that is one more element that 'decorates' a cover. The cover was uprated with additional $1.50 for the purpose of express mail. On the cover, the red express mail label was conveniently placed underneath the postage stamps and were tied altogether with a KENINGAU/SABAH circular datestamp.  On the back of the cover, a transit datestamp of KOTA KINABALU/ SABAH, then PUSAT POSLAJU/W.P., and finally the arrival datestamp at Kuala Lumpur.  I have recently bought covers in bulk but have not gone through them in detail. I hope to update again cover by cover.  Thanks again for dropping by!
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A cover befitting of the "Beautiful City" Elopura

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Historically, William Burgess Pryer founded 'Elopura' (modern day Sandakan) in 1879. When Kampung German, a European settlement established by William Clarke Cowie was razed to the ground from an accidental fire, Pryer took action. However, instead of rebuilding Kampung German, Pryer moved it closer to the harbour and renamed the settlement as Elopura. Elopura means 'beautiful city' (Elok is Malay for fine; pura is Sanskrit for city).  Although today it is mostly referred to as Sandakan alone, modern day Elopura retained its existence in name as a state constituency of the Sandakan parliamentary constituency.  A very recent acquisition of this interesting registered cover addressed to the Ministry of Education in Kuala Lumpur.  What makes it interesting is the usage of the ELOPURA SANDAKAN/ SABAH cancellation.  The registered label also displays "ELOPURA/ SANDAKAN" handstamp in blue.  On the back of the cover, there is a perfect strike of the Elopura cancel on...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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