myStampJourney

Perforations are holes punched between stamps to ease separation. Apart from its prime purpose, perforations exist in different shapes, which are made such to further counter irresponsible efforts of forging stamps. Varieties in perforation are commonly due to a change of the perforation gauges in the production process, change in manufacturer of the perforating equipment, and even the use of faulty perforation pins.  "The punch sets used on the perforating machines were subject to powerful forces. This factor, allied to the design problem experienced in the first two years of operation made breakages inevitable." The above is an excerpt from Stamp Perforation: The Somerset House Years 1848 to 1880, Ch. 21, p. 206. by Ray Simpson and Peter Sargent.  Regardless of the reason behind the birth of these varieties, the effort to discover, learn, and collect these irregularities have gathered quite a serious following as these minute differences may sometimes be the only factor det...

Machin stamps were first issued in 5th June 1967, named after the sculptor, Arnold Machin, who designed the portrait of the Queen used on Great Britain stamps. For starters, almost all Machin  stamp has a similar design (with exception to the large ones) - an approximate dimension of 2.5cm x 2cm with the portrait of the Queen in the centre of the stamp and the stamp denomination located on the lower left corner. They are small, colorful, and page full of them looks stunning.  Machin stamps are extensive, and overwhelmingly challenging to complete due to its large definitive series and a plethora (an understatement, of course) of varieties. Collecting them on a serious note takes utmost attention to detail because the slightest absence of a dot makes all the difference. We shall look into this later on as a missing dot is also a known variety for some denominations.  In the past week I took the opportunity to look through a small kiloware that I had bought a year ago, with...

Stamp collecting is revered as the king of hobbies, and coincidentally, also a hobby of kings (just like numismatics). A better term that intimately encapsulates this relationship is known as philately, which is defined as the study of postage stamps and its postal history. It is essentially the knowledge that comes along with collecting that has earned philately its recognition as the king of hobbies. The latter title, on the other hand, is attributed to how only the wealthy could afford the most premium pieces.  The first step in venturing into this hobby for many today usually begins with a clueless inheritance, which may end in two ways: an instant lookout for prospective buyers for a quick buck or embarking in a dangerously expansive and expensive journey of collecting, possibly hoarding stamps. The rationale in philately extends from the innocently simplistic admiration of a stamp's mere design to the very much complex research process that scrutinizes even the slightest deta...

It's red and it's huge. It produces one of the largest flowers on earth. The Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that grows and blooms in ever so mysterious ways only noticeable when it emerges from the host plant. Growing up, I have always wanted to see one in person and I was lucky enough to see several flowers and buds on several occasions. To that, the most common question would be very closely related to its pungency. Note that I have only seen flowers of R. keithii , I do not think that they are pungent nor smell like rotten flesh at all. Perhaps, only a little when standing very closely.  The Rafflesia was also seen on Malaysia's state definitives issued in 1979. The 1 cent stamp depicts R. hasseltii, another species that is found in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Borneo.  An upper right corner block of 20 with margins Blocks of 4 featuring all states. Note that the top right block is of a different design, which was used in the Kuala Lumpur (one of the Federal Territo...

In 1971, a set of Butterfly themed stamps were issued in each state replacing the use of the former Orchids definitive stamps.  These stamps were initially printed by Bradbury Wilkinson, and designed by Victor Whiteley. Later on, a change in printing contract in 1977 meant that subsequent prints were handled by Harrisons and Sons Limited, for a limited period. Differences are subtle, however, distinguishing them is manageable since both Bradbury Wilkinson and Harrison had different printing approaches.  At times, the color of the right column is a giveaway, which in the case for the 2c and 5c denomination, Harrison and Sons print has a light blue colored column instead of white.  Harrison and Sons on the left, Bradbury Wilkinson on the right. Harrison and Sons on the left, Bradbury Wilkinson on the right. As for the 10c denomination, another noticeable feature is that the black veins seen on the wings of the butterfly of the Harrison and Sons print were more prominent. Ha...

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Although this year's festive season would be celebrated quite differently considering that the pandemic is still around, I hope everyone out there adheres to the standard operating procedures set. After all, it is always a priority to keep all our loved ones safe.  Celebrating the Year of the Ox this year, I thought it would be great to showcase the main character itself portrayed in North Borneo stamps, which first appeared in the 1909 definitives in both denominations of 8 cents and 18 cents; inclusively, an 20 cents overprint in red of the latter.  1909-1922 ISC147 8c Lake  1909-1922 ISC151 18c Blue-green (Left) 1909 ISC153 20c on 18c  (Right) 1925-1928 ISC251 20c on 18c  (Left) 1945 ISC284 1c Green & red-brown (Mid) 1947 ISC299 1c Green & red-brown (Right) 1941 ISC282 1c Green & red-brown ovpt 'WAR TAX' 1950 ISC324 5c Violet  1954 ISC340 Reddish-violet 1961 ISC360 Brown & grey-green 1961 ISC365 Emerald ...

Established by the British Government in 1896, the Federated Malay States (FMS) comprised of four independent Malay states: Selangor, Negri Sembilan (Negeri Sembilan), Pahang, and Perak with Kuala Lumpur as the designated administrative capital. The flag of the FMS consisted of stripes of white, red, yellow, and black from top to bottom - in the same order as mentioned - with a leaping Malayan Tiger in the middle. The stripes represented all the states of FMS.  The reason of merging these four protected states mostly, if not, majorly gravitate around the need to secure, safeguard, and strengthen commercial interests. Local administrators strongly opted for the establishment of FMS since their economic motives could be quickly realized. Going deeper into this subject would result in writing (and ranting) more hence let me just quote a few references used at the end of this post.  Flag of the FMS This article will feature just the earlier issues (1891 or 1892) of leaping tigers ...