myStampJourney

With the plethora of shades and possibilities of changelings, the BMA series overprinted on stamps of Straits Settlements is a favourite that stands really close to heart. Previously, I have covered on shades of the 10c, however, that remains a tip of the ever-so colorful iceberg.  15c Ultramarine (R) on substitute paper The shades of this denomination is a spectrum from blue to ultramarine - a lot less scarier than that of 10c's. For this, I am referring to the shades listed on both ISC catalogue and KGVI Postage Stamp catalogue by Murray Payne referred to as ISC and CW accordingly.  Although both catalogues do list the same shades, there are certain shades notably 'Bright Blue', 'Dull Ultramarine', and 'Steel Blue' that were not mentioned in the one of the other catalogue.  According to the comparison between these two catalogues, it is safe to assume that Ultramarine and Bright Ultramarine are of the same shade, in reference to the 'spectrum' with

A postal cancellation, by all means - inclusive of the not-very fancied scribblings of a pen cancel, marks the expiration of a postage stamps validity. In that journey from a sender to a postal worker, and finally the recipient, an envelope will be struck at least once. Be it a handstamp or an electronically printed slogan, the varieties that lies in decades of postal history makes it ever-so collectable. These variations are due to improvements of the existing handstamp, or in the case of emergencies or shortages, are of the postmasters' creativity. Errors and oddities such as misspelling of names, reversed or wrong dates, and faulty handstamps also make up a part of the fun especially to avid marcophilatelists (from the term, marcophily : the study of postmarks). But let us leave this to another article another day.  As someone who is relatively new - which I measure this with a rubric of knowledge and number of references), I have always fancied clear postmarks. When it comes to

Straying further from my main areas of interest, Romania has stamps of great varieties, especially that of the early periods. This ignites a sudden and quite an impulsive week-long worth of sorting.  Early hypothesis: A high probability that I might venture just ever-so slightly into completing this current period of Romania (just the lower CV sets so I don't exhaust all my 'stamp allowance'). Various shades, however, not discounting the fact that these variations could be attributed to environmental exposure and toning of paper. A Specialized catalogue lists Sc266 with 6 shades, Sc270 with 3 shades, while Sc267 with 2 shades varieties. Reiterating the fact that Romania is an odd area/country in my areas of interest, I decided to store them on printed album pages instead of the usual black stock pages.  King Carol I 1890 and 1891 King Carol I 1893-1898 King Carol I 1900-1903 King Carol I 1908-1918, 1909-1918 King Ferdinand 1920-1926 King Ferdinand 1920-1926 With regards to

The first issue features the Art of Making Traditional Kuih (Seni Pembuatan Kuih Traditional) and some favorites many Malaysians have fond memories of, perhaps still manage to sneak a bite or two of these local delicacies as we speak.  In similar fashion of how stamps of 2020-2021 were released, the stamp sheet of this issue includes stamps printed in se-tenant pairs (30sen-30sen & RM1.50-RM1.50), which I strongly hope this pattern continues on for the most obvious reason: affordability. However, it was somewhat odd seeing such a wide gap between the denominations. Perhaps, this is done so to give postcrossers a wider range of stamps to stick onto postcards.  Back to the stamps, the pair in 30 sen features Kuih Akok and Kuih Bakar Stamp sheet of 10 pairs, 5 pairs on each side The pair in RM1.50 features Kuih Kapit and Kuih Jala . The miniature sheet, with the denomination of RM5.00 is equally interesting, featuring Kuih Bahulu .  With still a lot of excitement upon getting the fi

Forgot that I had this in my album, but this North Borneo stamp had an interesting rectangular handstamp in violet that was partly on the stamp. It was no doubt 'KIMANIS' but since I could not make out what the second word was, I am inclining towards 'KIMANIS Estate'.  North Borneo 1909 4 cents scarlet, ISC144 As usual in every attempt to obtain as much information from a scan, this was processed in RetroReveal.  Upside down, 'KIMANIS E'. It looked like an 'L' but there were indeed three strokes which makes it an 'E'. If it were an 'L', perhaps it could also be narrowed to 'KIMANIS LTD' For a clearer view If you noticed, surrounding the word 'KIMANIS' is another faint rectangle around it besides the double-barred rectangle that makes the frame of the handstamp. I think this might have been imprinted on the handstamp during inking when hit hard - one could always hear how hard handstamps are struck on letters in the post of

Numerals, or better known as 'numbers in rosettes' remain one of the more extensively printed stamps throughout the German Empire, in fact it is present in such an excess that mint sheets are still commonly found.  I am in the process of sorting and scanning some of these, and thought it would be great for a short write-up. At the moment I have quite a few of 3pfg stamp that has these flaws.  This is the normal 3pfg stamp, MiNr. 338. Plate flaws exists when a specific set of stamps are printed in an amount so excessive that flaws arise through all the wear and tear throughout the printing process. Depending on the catalogue referred, only major errors are documented while minor flaws and print defects are often excluded.  In this scan, the stamp in the middle is the unflawed normal stamp. The stamp on the left (1) has a flaw where the line/dash has merged with the upper right horn ornament. Stamp on the right (2) has a minor line break. (1) Enlarged. Notice that the line has me