myStampJourney

Apart from the shade varieties of the 2c (orange and orange yellow) and 6c (slate-grey and slate), another interesting variety of these two stamps is white forehead.  It is believed that the white forehead is due to plate wear, which is consistent to overall look on the stamps where all with such varieties are stamps from worn plates (speckled, cracking, and inconsistent inking) when compared to the normal ones.  CW32a, White forehead variety CW32, Normal 2c Used CW32a CW35, Normal 6c CW35b, White forehead Used CW35b Cropped and zoomed-in for comparison. The stamp on the right also shows some extent of ink fading out, a consequence of a worn plate. Notice that the right stamp has a wider white forehead. I wonder if does get any wider than that.  Take a quick look at your stamps, now! Hopefully this will spark more interest in collecting Malaya BMA stamps. Thank you for dropping by!

Early methods of defacing stamps of Straits Settlements largely comprised of obliterators such the famous octagonal obliterator (B109 - Malacca; B172 - Singapore; and B147 - Penang), duplex killer cancels, and dumb type obliterators.  This brief update is on circular bar cancels, which its recorded usage is seen in Singapore between 1872-1874 and 1879-1880.  Singapore, Proud K11 Singapore, Proud K17 To be frank, it is almost impossible to tell between K11 and K17 as both consists of 12 bars and are of equal dimensions. The only difference is usage period.  1868 2c Brown, ISC11, Watermark Crown CC with Proud K11 1868 6c Dull lilac, ISC13, Watermark Crown CC with Proud K11 1867 24c Blue-green, ISC16, Watermark Crown CC with Proud K11 In these three stamps, it is K11 since it corresponds to the period, which I think is only possible way to distinguish between these two. In what was recorded by Proud, K11 seemed slightly thicker than K17. However, this is also very subjective since the thi

The 1909-1922 series of North Borneo stamps featured intricate and beautifully engraved subjects. Interesting enough, the 18c stamp that featured a banteng (Tembadau in the local language) were withdrawn in the same month that it was issued for provisional use. Why, you ask? There were simply no postal requirements for it.  Left: 1909 (July), 18c, ISC#151 Right: 1909 (September), 18c surcharged with 20c, ISC#153 "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]. The numbers here speak for scarcity of mint and postally used 18c stamps. Defaced 18c stamps are usually CTOs. And it is logical to expect that a large number of these values were CTOs instead of bearing circular date stamps, since there were no postal requirements for it.  Those that were returned to London were surcharged 20 CENTS by Waterlow & Sons, Ltd. Additionally, it was also believed that, theoretic

Sungei Ujong is one of the original 'states' of Negri Sembilan (Negeri Sembilan). Long ago, Negri Sembilan is a confederation consisting of nine chiefdoms ( luak or luhak, in Malay), in which its formation dates back to the 18th century. The nine chiefdoms are Sungei Ujong, Jelebu, Johol, Jelai, Rembau, Ulu Pahang, Naning, Klang, and Segamat.  The origin of the name, Sungei Ujong, dates back even earlier to the 14th century when it was referred to as Sang Hyang Hujung in ancient Javanese records. In retrospect, Sungei Ujong is old - very, very old.  Sungei Ujong stamps are uncommon, especially the earlier issues. The last three issues before it was annexed to Negeri Sembilan in 1895 were much cheaper compared to previous issues.  1891-1894 The leaping tiger stamp issued in Sungei Ujong has a shared design since it used a common key plate with stamps used in other Federated Malay States: Pahang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Perak.  1894. Stamps were surcharged with 1 CENT a

Among all the themes depicted in Malaysia's philatelic issues, the Malaysian currency is a popular choice. Anything related to banknotes or coins is a sure hit since it also attracts the bigger numismatics community.  I still remembered that these two issues: 2010 Malaysian Currency and 2012 2nd Series of Malaysian Currency , are uncommon. They are in no way, scarce, but they are uncommon in a sense that they rarely surface in the marketplace. Every single time it comes out, they don't come cheap.  This post covers my recent acquisition.  2010 Malaysian Currency 2012 2nd Series of Malaysian Currency I was finally able to get a set myself this year. There were offers previously but I held back from buying. It's only a good and satisfying buy when bought at a bargain.  After a few months, these stamps surfaced again. They were in full sheet format - and cheap! Nothing beats looking at these stamps in a full sheet format. The best part is not paying a fortune for them, and to

Labuan is an island off the coasts of Sabah (then, known as North Borneo). Though small in size, it is in fact the first (earlier than North Borneo and Sarawak) to have a proper post office in the mid 1800s.  Labuan joined the Universal Postal Union on 16 April 1877 while British North Borneo joined on 1 January 1891. Concurrently, upon joining the Universal Postal Union, Labuan also adopted the postage rates of Straits Settlements as well as stamps of Straits Settlements by purchasing it from Singapore until it issued its own in 1879.  The postage stamps, prior to datestamps, were cancelled with dumb-type obliterators such that was used in Straits Settlements. The first two obliterators are round dumb-types while the third, which is also the last before the usage of datestamps, is a 9-bar obliterator.  I have not been the biggest fan of bar cancels prior to recent years since they are challenging to identify, especially for a beginner like me. It became easier now with a reference boo

Shortly after the war, the British Military Administration (BMA) was established in 1945 in North Borneo to oversee state operations as the interim administrator. The following year on 26th June 1946, the British North Borneo Company cedes North Borneo and Labuan to Britain.  Philatelical-ly speaking, this meant another change to the BMA overprints on North Borneo stamps.  In the revised overprint, the Royal Cypher was portrayed while the words 'The State Of' and "British Protectorate' were obliterated since effectively North Borneo was a Crown Colony Two bars on the top obliterates the wording, hence, only showing North Borneo. 1947 North Borneo ISC299 1 cent Green & Red-brown. Interestingly, the overprints are not always consistently struck on the same area. Shifts to the bars are likely to occur and becomes another trait to look for.  Here are some examples (even the first picture above did not have a perfect strike): Slight shift, however, still covering what i