The Formosa 1888 Horse and Dragon issues of the 20 cash Green and 20 cash Carmine stamps in complete unmounted mint sheets of 25 were both sold in Phila China’s auction held on 28 August 2010 for a record HK$10,120,000.

While the Carmine exists in 2 sheets, there is only one Green in existence.

The sheets are in the private collection of Woo Loyuan and offered for the first time in over 30 years.

Christmas Island issued a set of four stamps and a miniature sheet featuring Andrew’s Frigatebird on 17 August 2010.

The Royal Mail wants to do away with its postmen who are prone to annoying things like striking by creating stamps that are more intelligent than they are. Not really – it’s a way for stamp collectors to head into the exciting world of the 21st century where you’re a mug if you seem to think you can have fun on anything that doesn’t have a screen.

Read full story.

Returns on investing in stamps – even the rarest – can be little or nothing, despite some dealers’ claims

Excellent article from The Guardian on collecting stamps for investment or pleasure.

Full story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/aug/07/stamps-gibbons-harmers-investment

Considered one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century, Winslow Homer is being honored on a U.S. commemorative postage stamp.

The new 44-cent stamp was dedicated here at the American Philatelic Society StampShow 2010, the largest annual postage stamp show held in the United States. It is the ninth issuance in the American Treasures series and features Boys in a Pasture, an 1874 oil-on-canvas painting by Homer. The painting is part of the Hayden Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.

“The American Treasures stamps are amazing works of art, and today, we are very pleased to honor Winslow Homer and add one of his impressive paintings to this series,” said U.S. Postal Service Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President Ross Philo, who served as the dedicating official. “Indeed, it’s been said that Winslow Homer did for the United States what the French Impressionists did for Europe. He showed the beauty of a place and the people who lived there. His body of work continues to shine as a legacy to our great and beautiful nation.”

A 1897 cover was sold in InterAsia Auctions 1 August 2010 Sale 14 for HK$2,990,000.

Known as the E.L. Mondon corner envelope card, it was used to Chinkiang, China bearing a pair of large figures surcharge 1½mm. setting on Dowager 1st printing 2c. on 2ca. green.

This is the only recorded example of the “Emerald Lady” on cover and the only recorded example of the “Emerald Lady” multiple.

Many scams were reported worldwide and stamp collectors were also spared the scams either. Shown below is a charity sheet that is reported to be a bogus issued by a company in Belgium.

There’s a possibility there are other stamps and sheets so beware.

Get the full story in the September’s issue of Scott Stamp Monthly.

Pitcairn Islands issued a set of 4 stamps featuring coral reef fish on 23 June 2010.

Also available are a mini sheet containing 2 sets, 1 mini sheet with 4 sets, first day covers and maximum cards.

The fishes shown are:
Lemonpeel Angelfish / Centropyge flavissima
Smith’s Butterflyfish / Chaetodon smithi
Flame Angelfish / Centropyge loricula
Lined Butterflyfish / Chaetodon lineolatus

I have added a gallery to display philatelic rarities. The plan is to add a new rarity each day.

Click here to view the gallery.

This beautiful set of stamps and first day cover will certainly delught cat lovers and cat stamp collectors.

Cute and cuddly is the theme of these tropical cats of Vanuatu.  Cats come in many colours in Vanuatu and are as lovable and popular as any of the cousins the world over. The lush backdrop of tropical flowers adds to the appeal of the stamps.

Date of issue: 14 July 2010, designed by Denise Durkin of New Zealand,

The Falkland Islands released a set of 4 stamps and miniature sheet featuring petrels and shearwaters on July 6.

Birds featured:
27p – Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
70p – White-chinned Petrel Procellaria a aequinoctialis
95p – Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus
£1.15 – Greater Shearwater Puffinus gravis

Singapore will be issuing a set of six stamps and a miniature sheet on 4 August 2010 to commemorate the nation’s National Day on 9 August.

The values are 1st Local, 2nd Local, 55¢, 65¢, 80¢, $1.10. The miniature sheet have a stamp of $2 value.

The designs:
1st Local : Bowyer Block at Singapore General Hospital
2nd Local : College of Medicine Building
55¢ : Command House
65¢ : Chinese High School Clock Tower
80¢ : Raffles College
$1.10 : Tan Teck Guan Building

First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony of the Sunday Funnies 44-cent Commemorative First-Class stamps will be held at The Ohio State University,
Performance Hall at the Ohio Union on Friday 16 July 2010. The event is free and open to the public.

The Sunday Funnies pane of 20 stamps honors five of the nation’s most beloved comic strips: Archie, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes.

Stamp forums have been added to this site. All of you are invited to use it to interact and learn from other collectors.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Forum link at the top menu of this site or directly via http://www.jodarl.com/blog/forum/.

In trying to keep it simple, only a few forums are created. I feel this will be easier for users to browse the topics. Please let me know your thoughts.

The Royal Mail will be issuing a set of 10 stamps on 27 July 2010 to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is the second in a series of three issues, the first was released in 2009.

Also to be released on the same date will be a retail booklet  containing 4 Machin 1st class definitives and the Rowing and Table Tennis Olympic stamps.

To be released on 7 July 2010 is set of 3 stamps and miniature sheet by Niue. It looks similar to the set and miniature sheet to be issued by New Zealand Post also on 7 July. Both these two issues are designed by Stamps & Collectables Business of New Zealand Post.

The die-cut miniature depicts the Hypolimnas antilope.

Come July 7, New Zealand Post will be issuing the 81st annual Children’s Health stamps.

The die-cut miniature sheet takes the shape of a monarch butterfly.  The 50c + 10c surcharge (pictured left) shows the boulder copper (Lycaena boldenarum) is issued in self-adhesive format and the gummed version is only available in the miature sheet.

The Pan-American inverts were the first bi-colored postage stamps produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the first invert postage errors issued by the Post Office since the 1869’s.

The 1c Pan-American Inverts were found in at least four different post offices around the country. Approximately 600 to 700 are known, including thirteen blocks of four, a block of six and a block of 20, some of which may have been broken into singles. This is the only example with an imprint or a plate number contained in our records.

Sold by Robert A. Siegel Auctions Galleries on 19 June 2010 for US$145,000.

Fans of Fullmetal Alchemist and thematic collectors should be delighted with this sheet released by Japan Post on June 14.

The 10 stamps, each of 80Yen face value, depicts ten characters from the series that first appeared in 2001. The characters appearing on the stamps are: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Liza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang, Shaomei, Mae Chan, Ling Yao, Lenfant, Bell Rock Uinryi and Den.

Singapore Living Earth Book
Normala Mohd.Noor

Kiribati Fish 16v overprinted SPECIMEN
Richard Lim

Singapore 2006 X-Men The Movie MyStamp sheets
Glauber Silmott
Larry Holly
Razali

Worldwide stamp mixture (50’s)
Derek Mifsud
Baiju
Davide Massone
Pedro Martel
Paulo

The Shanghai Philatelic Corporation, with approval from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and the China Post Group, has officially issued a set of pure silver commemorative stamps for the China Pavilion.

The stamps are made from .999 pure silver, and four different weights are available: 88 grams, 188 grams, 388 grams, and 688 grams. The number produced for each weight is restricted to 20,000, 10,000, 6,000 and 2,010, respectively.

Shanghai Chang Yu Investment Company, a licensed retailer of Expo souvenirs, is the chief distributor of the stamps.

The face of the stamp shows the China Pavilion and the reverse side has a lily designs with the Expo theme “Better City, Better Life” in Chinese and English.

One of Great Britain’s greatest philatelic rarity, the 1904 Edward II 6d Pale dull purple with I.R. Official overprint was sold for £400, announced Stanley Gibbons.

The stamp was issued on 14 March 1904 and was withdrawn almost immediately after an official order to stop using official stamps. Only 19 sheets of these stamps were produced and believed destroyed.

Other known examples of this stamp in existence can be found in the Royal Collection and one or two museums such as the National Postal Museum.

Picture: Copyright John Hedgecoe/TopFoto

John Hedgecoe, whose photograph of the Queen was used to design the image that appears on stamps of Great Britain and many other countries have died 3 June 2010.

The profile shot of the Queen, shown above, was used by Arnold Machin to make a plaster cast, was then re-photographed by Hedgecoe and used for the stamp image design.

This photograph is believed to be the most reproduced worldwide and used on over 200 billion stamps.

Source: Amateur Photographer

One of Russian philately great rarities will be offered in an an auction by Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers to be held 9-10 June 2010 in New York City.

The 1875 Russian 20 kopek blue error stamp has a doubled center. It is the only known example and is estimated to be worth $150,000.

A stamp to commemorate Erano G. Manalo, the executive minister of Iglesia ni Cristo who died 31 August 2009, was quickly sold out even before the official launching ceremony on 23 April 2010.

A second printing of 100,000 was quickly released on 28 April 2010. This second print have the year 2009 moved to right under the 7. In the original print, the 2009 was on the left under the P of the country’s name. To cater to the demand, a third printing of 100,000 was ordered and released 11 May 2010.

This third printing have the country’s name and value in black instead of brown as in the two previous printings and the year moved back to the lefft.

First day covers were available for all three printings in the same design.

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As a melting pot where east meets west and tradition blends with modernity, Hong Kong has many streets of individual character.

Hongkong Post will release a set of 6 stamps on 24 June 2010 containing snapshots that give a sense of nostalgia to Hong Kong people.

When the New Zealand Maori rugby team played their first ever game and won, they set the standard for all the games to follow. They also established a playing culture and style for which they have since become famous, in New Zealand and around the world.

Date of Issue: 9 June 2010.
Denominations: 50c, $1.80.
Stamps designed by: Len Hetet

Read full details and story.