Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
What do you think is the most beautiful stamp in the world?
It could be a beautiful because of its artistic design or beautiful engraving. It could be beautiful because it commemorates a special event. It could be beautiful because it has special meaning to you.
I look forward to hearing what you all think.
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
Hi Kelly,
Generally speaking it could be almost any engraved stamp. But the most beautiful .... hmmm that is more difficult. I will have to go look.
This is a tough one!
Kathy
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Hi Kathy
Yup, that's the plan - make it tough so that everyone will have to think about it!
I'm hoping everyone who comes to the board will put their two cents worth in about what they think is the most beautiful stamp in the world. And if you guys can't think of just one - well, post several times and put in however many you want to make up your idea of the most beautiful stamp(s).
Looking forward to hearing from everyone!
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
Well Kelly, seeing that I'm Canadian Eh!, I love the 50¢ Bluenose for the design, detail and the sense of power.
Wiggy
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Hi guys,
Mine is definetely Slania's 1000th stamp for Sweden, which can be seen at:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~pkv/slania/slania1000.htm
Best regards,
Rob.
Login to Like
this post
Hi everyone -
For me - the most beautiful stamp is the Nova Scotia 1853 issue of Queen Victoria, 1d. Absolutely stunning! 
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
A recent stamp that I really like is a Canadian 48 cent stamp, the year of the horse. It took me four days to come up with this answer!
Login to Like
this post
Hi all,
I'm stilling trying to decide
Yes, Kelly, Queen Victoria is a very beautiful lady!
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
Hi Australia of course....."Creatures of the Night" miniature sheet 1990's vintage.It glows in the dark...what more do you want? It even feels nice.
Login to Like
this post
Hi everyone. I would have to say Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police souvenir sheet - Scott #1737b. A close second would be the Canadian Year of the Horse souvenir sheet. But....I'm Canadian and love our stamps
Login to Like
this post
Wow - I didn't realize there were so many of us here who are Canadians.
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
Well, looks like its taken about 6 weeks to made a decision.
After changing my mind many times. I cannot get Scott #759 out of my mind.
It's an engraved replica of the Prater Ferris wheel released in 1966 commorating the opening of the Prater(park)Vienna, to the public by Emperor Joseph II, celebrating the 200th anniversay.
You have to see the stamp in the real to enjoy its beauty. Scott catalog does it no justice. The engraving is so neat to touch.
The detail is excellent. I can feel the motion of the wheel as it travels around the axis, feel the soft gentle breeze on my face. Here the sound of the crowd from below. It is most definitely is a mini artpiece.
How's that for an vivid imagination!
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
Hi Kathy,
The way you describe it makes me want to see it.
I don't have Scott and also wonder what country it is from, is this an US stamp?
Looking forward to your answer before asking my dealer for a scan ;-)
Regards,
Rob.
Login to Like
this post
Rob:
It is not US. Scott 759US is Mesa Verde 4c. Part of the US National Park Issue of 1934. Some very nice stamps in their own right, however.
Login to Like
this post
Hi Rob, and all.
How dumb of me to forget the country. It's Austria.
Unfortunately, I do not have a scanner. Maybe I can get a ditigal picture of it and attempt to get it on line that way.
Happy Father's Day to all you Stamporama Dad's
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
I think the most beautiful U.S. Stamp can be catagorized by half century. I believe the second half of the nineteenth century is probably the Vanguard( Cattle in a Storm) from a painting by MacWhirter. The first half of the twentieth century is, I believe Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco by C.F. Matthews. The second half of the 20th century I think is the Princess Grace Commenorative. So far in the 21st century I think it is the Louis and Clark comemorative , not the portraits but the picture of the explorers with the background of area they found.
Login to Like
this post
I think the most beautiful U.S. Stamp can be catigoized by half century. I believe the second half of the nineteenth century is probably the Vanguard( Cattle in a Storm) from a painting by MacWhirter. The first half of the twentieth century is, I believe Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco by C.F. Matthews. The second half of the 20th century I think is the Princess Grace Commenorative. So far in the 21st century I think it is the Louis and Clark comemorative , not the portraits but the picture of the explorers with the background of area they found.
Login to Like
this post
Robert Charles Judson and Bob Ingraham obviously see the world in the same light. Of all the stamps in the world, the one I would most like to have is "Cattle in a Storm":
I've even considered trying to save enough money to buy a decent copy, but I'm not sure I'll live that long. The 2004 classic lists a mint, hinged copy at US $1250, and a used copy at US $600. A mint never-hinged copy catalogues at US $3,000.
Bob
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Dear Bob,
In a weak mommentseveral years ago I purchased `Cattle in a storm'. I have never regretted it. I also bought 400, in a weak momment. These two stamps are the most beautiful in my collection. A couple of years ago I received a check for $1500 and purchased the Zeplins. But the other two stamps are still my favorite. I started collectin when I was six but because I could not afford a loose leaf album, I lost interest when I was about 14. When I could afford it, I contacted my mother to get my old album. Unfortunatly she had given it away. It broke my heart and for the next almost 30 years, I mourned it. One day I got the urge to buy an album so I would not have to start again. I found one the had been `raped' of its good stamps. I started again about 7 years ago. Even started a Stamp Club that went for three years and then evaporated. I have forgiven my mother at last for I have an album far supperior to the one I had dreamed of in my youth. I have discovered that the key to collecting is to collect what you like and let the devil take the rest. Good talking with you. Bert.
Login to Like
this post
To: Robert Judson,
Dear Robert, I can't get to you directly, so drop me a line at dani20@juno.com if you're into the U.S.Classics.
Dan Cohen
Login to Like
this post
05:03:05am
Hi everyone!
When reading through your comments, it seems like there is no real "most beautiful" stamp in the world; I would say "there are many extremely beautiful" stamps around the world and everyone of us has its favorite one depending on ones taste for any topics represented on the stamps.
Daniel.
Login to Like
this post
Here are two of my favorites:
US Scott #292 - 
US Scott #3943 - 
Login to Like
this post
10:15:18am
This has always been my Favorite, wish I could find one at a reasonable price
New South Wales Scott #B2
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
This image does not do this issue justice, but is among one of my favorites: The King George V Silver Jubilee series.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Well - I have another opinion for what is it worth, and it is the 1st United States Waterfowl Stamp, the Mallards by J.N. "Ding" Darling - RW1, issued in 1934. This issue energized a whole new spectrum of stamp collecting which flooded over into all of the States and many foreign countries. There are literally thousands of stamps that have been generated as a result. They encompass a whole spectrum of wildlife stamps from ducks, turkeys, bear, woodcock, to deer and many more. Ding's insight was amazing and carries on today, 79 years later. The RW1 ranges in price from $50 to $500 depending on condition, but the are many other wildlife stamps that range in the $1,000's. I am not sure there is any other stamp that generated such a revolution of stamps. The 1934 stamp is quite plain in perspective of today's issues, but for what it represents, it is beautiful, and I would vote for it to be the ultimate winner in this debate. Here it is !!!!!
Login to Like
this post
10:08:21pm
Wow - it's so good to see this thread still alive after all these years. I had forgotten I posted this. Makes me nostalgic for a few people who are no longer here at SOR.
Let's hear from some others - what are your favourites?
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
The U.S. Overrun Nations set (Scott 909-921). My favorite is the Czechoslovakia stamp (Sc 910) because I collect Czech related material but, really, any of them are magnificent.
Login to Like
this post
01:12:52pm
Here are one of my 2 favourite stamp blocks I've got in my US collection.
Login to Like
this post
Due to the fact I collect space covers and autographs, I think the United States Scott C-76 is a great stamp as the printing plates which printed the stamps were made from a master die which flew to the moon.
Login to Like
this post
Kelly I love your choice, here is my copy:
HOWEVER, my favorite is the $4 US Columbian of 1892:
primarily due to it's rareness and engraving............Perry
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
My favourite stamp changes regularly, but this one has been top of the list on more than one occasion !
Login to Like
this post
10:58:26pm
I'd love to be able to choose one of the nearly 500 color/value different Machins, but that would be like favoring one child over another.
I do love this Hawaiian issue, both for the years I spent at sea and the time I was stationed on the Friendly Hawaiian Islands.
But close seconds are these two Norwegian issues for Spitsbergen that evoke the desolate spirit of the Arctic so well, much like the almost mystic words of Robert W. Service;
" .... There are strange things done 'neath the midnight sun,
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their tales
That can make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
When I cremated Sam McGee. ....".
Again reminding me of the year I lived above the Arctic Circle, where is only snows once a year, three weeks in the late Fall, after which there is no more moisture in the air.
Then here is this recent busy Aussie favorite that brings back memories of the VW Transporter deluxe that I modified in 1963 for comfortable camping and the trips I took both in that Gray Ghost and
later adventures with my wife and later the first of out children, in two other Red VW campers,
at the beach.
Picking just one stampis impossible
Login to Like
this post
Bobby,
That B2 is a beauty,but this color scheme has always been a favorite of mine.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
03:38:28pm
Unless that engine is going in a push configuration, the propeller blade is curved wrong.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
A stamp publication (now gone, I think) used to have a column/page on "errors in stamp design". This one would have been perfeck for that. (We had/have a children's book "Nobody's Perfeck". Great concept for kids struggling with not fitting in.)
Roger
Login to Like
this post
Roger, those design errors were featured in Scott's Stamp Monthly; i don't know if it's been carried over since its incorporation into Linn's.
Login to Like
this post
I agree that picking the most beautiful stamp is meaningless, and very personal. So I will just say that I have always been partial to this stamp, as much for its simple design beauty as for the fact that it was a gift from my father. France C15.
rrr...
Login to Like
this post
I agree that choosing a favorite stamp is like choosing your favorite child, but usually my favorite stamp is whichever one that I am looking at when going through the albums. Shown here is one of the most colorful of stamps, that ranks high on my list, the rare Payette issue from KUT, thought to be the only one ever scanned.
Mike
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Mike
Sitting here reading my 1000 page manual how to scan stamps so they show the correct colour
lee
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
AAAHH Lee,
Just pretend you're one of the "guys" and throw that manual away. Real "guys" don't ask directions or read manuals.
Mike
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
...we just keep making the same stupid mistakes...
John Derry
Login to Like
this post
04:24:40pm
rrraphy,you have here quite an expensive stamp! This stamp cost a lot of money here in France!Nice one!
Login to Like
this post
Will give this some serious consideration but it´s a difficult one. Sooo many beautiful stamps
Login to Like
this post
LB1, your Machin is definitely up there in my favs, but Charlie's "at the beach stamp" is at the top also.
Regards ... Tim
Login to Like
this post
After doing some serious consideration I ended up on either this stamp. It is from French Southern and Antarctic Territories, issued in 1979 and commemorates the Challenger Expedition´s visit to Crozet and Kerguelen Islands.
Else it must be this from the same area, issued in 1985 to commemorate the visit of the frigate "La Novara" at St. Paul (after J. Noel).
But I cannot choose between those 2 beauties 
Login to Like
this post
I have to go with anything on this page:
http://www.larsdog.com/stamps/pages/P3.htm
Only 10 years after the Civil War and all done in one color. Very impressive!
If I had to pick ONE, I'd say PR76.
Login to Like
this post
I also have an eye on this beauty..
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Very nice, Ross!
Saleem, I think Sweden 2517 is a better Garbo stamp.
Monaco 1851 is a better Grace Kelly than US 2749. The US just doesn't have the best engravers any more.
Lars
Login to Like
this post
I think the Canadian Dark Blue - Blue Nose has to be at the top of the list.
5 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
I could not agree more about the Bluenose being #1. It has been rated as such in Canada. My kids have been working on the Bluenose project as a Scout Fundraiser for some time. Pictures are available here, including the work in progress and site visits:
http://s796.photobucket.com/user/penny-auction-stamps/library/Scout%20Bluenose%20Fundraiser
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
For me the most beautiful stamp in the world has to be this one ...
Pretty surprised that no one mentioned the 1929 PUC before
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
At the risk of repeating myself (this appeared on another website last year, under another of my aliases), may I tell this story, which certainly warrants 'most beautiful stamp' for its subject, which is this one:
Around twenty years ago, my new girlfriend innocently asked to borrow my 'favourite stamp'. I had no idea what she was getting at, and after very little thought offered the above. A couple of weeks later it was my birthday and, amid candles in a darkened room, I was confronted by the most splendid and substantial birthday cake, on which was illustrated in beautiful detail and colour this very stamp!
There were no digital cameras in those days and I have no picture, alas. It seemed a shame to cut into such a wonderful object, but the cake was all too soon gone. The girlfriend, I am happy to say, remains after all these years. Truly the most beautiful stamp!
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
I particularly like the older engraved stamps. Just looking at the stamps that I have, this is one of my favs:
Regards ... Tim.
Login to Like
this post
Tim, that is a beautiful stamp. What's her royal highness holding?
Login to Like
this post
Sorry, Ernieinjax, you aren't allowed to ask that question. Several years ago I took out a patent on it, "What in God's name is Princess Elizabeth holding!?" (I bet you didn't know that questions could be patented. Now you do! 
)
Seriously, I have wondered about that object since I first purchased a copy of the stamp years and years ago. I even asked the Queen if she knew. I had been an official photographer for the Royal Visit to Prince George, BC, in 1994. I made an enlargement of this photo...
and sent it to her, along with a letter asking if she knew what she had been holding in the portrait used for the stamp. I doubt that the Queen ever saw the photograph or the letter, but I did get a nice reply from the the Assistant to the Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, who said that he would make enquiries about the stamp. That was the last I heard about it. Since then, I've thought about some serious research on the subject, but, well, I haven't! Perhaps someone in Stamporama would be interested in pursuing the answer.
I've looked at the stamp in detail, and my best guess is that Princess Elizabeth is holding her favourite zucchini squash.
Bob
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Bob,
I laughed out loud when I read that last sentence. Now that you mention it, it does look quite veggie like. Maybe a bit more like an eggplant.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
11:14:51pm
I'm still amazed that this thread is still growing 13 years after I posted the question
And my response remains the same - I think I originally posted my copy of Nova Scotia 1 pence Queen Victoria that Perry posted but since it's no longer on the board here, I'll have to scan it again and put my copy up. Although you guys also know I'm rather partial to the Nova Scotia shilling stamp - the holy grail of any Nova Scotia collection 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
To me the most beautiful stamp in the world is a stamp that is not intricately engraved or full of minute details. Some may even say it is a mundane stamp but for me it is very special.
1. it is an ambiguous design. Officially called "flying dove" I cannot help but see an angry bat in it as well.
2. It is a nice example of Jugendstil / Art Deco design by a remarkable designer called Chris Lebeau, who also made beautiful vases, stained glass windows etc.
3. this is one of the first stamps from my collection. I remember finding envelopes with this stamps at my grandparents' attic when I was about 8 or 9 years old and had just started collecting stamps. Together with my grandfather I soaked them off and it did not matter there were fifty of them. They were in my collection and I was proud to have them.
Much later I found out about the designer who was a very intriguing guy. He was an anarchist and refused to design stamps with the queen on them. He was also responsible for the famous dove before star of david stamp that created a diplomatic row with Hitler's third Reich. The flying dove stamps were used during the war to replace the existing definitives with the queen, which was ironic given the designer's anti-German position. In 1943 he was arrested for helping Jewish people hide and he tragically died just one month before the end of the war in Dachau.
Anyway, this is the stamp:
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
@Tim, I found the portrait the Newfoundland Elizabeth stamp is based on. I showed it to a couple friends without mentioning my own opinion, and we all agree about what it looks like she's holding, though we do think it could just be pareidolia. I won't share what we think until you've looked for yourself.
Click here for the original portrait.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
07:54:25am
Looks like an out-of-focus animal of sorts. Maybe a dog or cat? Perhaps an animal of the stuffed variety?
Login to Like
this post
07:59:10am
It's Pookie!
Login to Like
this post
Actually, we think it's Charlotte.
Login to Like
this post
08:40:13am
OK. So who (or what) is Pookie? and Charlotte? A little clarity please for us poor colonials without a clue. (still looks like a dog to me)
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
There's a note on the original photo that says she's holding a toy
Login to Like
this post
According to the research of
Thomas F. Nemec, Ph.D. (Professor Thomas F. Nemec, Ph.d served as secretary of the St. John's Philatelic Society for twelve years)
From a photograph of “H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth of York†at age six years (later Queen Elizabeth II), holding a teddy bear. This was the first likeness of the Princess on any postage stamp. Robson Lowe, the philatelist, says “this was for some years one of the most popular stamps in the worldâ€
Login to Like
this post
I saw that note, but believe it to be incorrect. I'm still waiting for Tim and don't want to influence his guess, but when I first saw it I thought of a specific kind of thing. When I asked others what they saw, without mentioning what I thought it was, they all said the same thing. There is a big clue showing from between her fingers. Subsequently, I found another contemporary picture of HRH with one of these things and it was very clearly one of these things, and the thing in the second picture was named Charlotte. The two photographs were taken by the same photographer, though that may not mean much since he was the royal photographer and probably took every early picture of her.
Here is the article with a picture of HRH and Charlotte.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
Nope. Bob is correct she's holding a zucchini squash. 
Login to Like
this post
Looks to me to be a baby seal, but it could equally be a dead rat or gopher.
Vic
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Looks like a seal to me as well; but a Steiff one of course.
Login to Like
this post
Mine is a toss-up between the 50 cents Bluenose and this Officially Sealed stamp.
Chimo
Bujutsu
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Just a note about that 1s Nova Scotia stamp. Did you kow there is a watermark variety listed in Scott (6i) that is even rarer than the stamp itself? I believe the watermark says T. H. Saunders
Login to Like
this post
Jansimon
Your stamp is nice
but the dove on mine is nicer
Login to Like
this post
Both have extremely tiny heads for their body size, along with broken necks.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
I still say the US Revenue Persian Rugs (Ross provided an example a few years ago) are the best multicolor engraved stamps. For monochromatic engraved stamps, the Bluenose and the Trans-Mississippi issues are good. As far a best modern in US stamps, I will go with the Exploring Space press sheet.
Lars
Login to Like
this post
Hi Nelson,
Isn't that the SOE forgery?
Login to Like
this post
I have many stamps that I consider beautiful, but the one stamp that comes to mind of being beautiful is the young head of Queen Victoria on the Penny Black of 1840; here is one of 2 I have in my collection.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
"Isn't that the SOE forgery?"
Yes, or better known as the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" & "The Baker Street Irregulars"
Login to Like
this post
Login to Like
this post
Apologies if you know this already, but just in case, here is the lowdown on the 'SOE forgery' referred to above. It is a quotation from the source mentioned at the end.
22. The Dutch ‘Seagull’ Forgery
The British also counterfeited the stamps of the occupied Netherlands. I first wrote about this operation in ‘Those Doughty Dutch Decoys,’ The American Philatelist, October 1970.
The British forgery of the Netherlands 1935 1½ cent slate ‘seagull’ stamp was produced in sheets of 20 (5x4). The round head and point eye of the seagull (really a carrier pigeon) and the short height of the letters are similar to those in the redesigned series of 1941 (Mi.380-391), which does not contain a 1½ cent item.
The time of production of this forgery is not definitely known, but is surely between April and November 1941: the redesigned series of Dutch stamps did not come into existence until April, and the quality of the work is too poor to attribute it to PWE’s Ellic Howe, who began his work in November. The most probable originator is Section D. A.J. Pekelharing, whose article ‘British ‘propaganda’ forgery of World War II - The 1½ cent ‘Lebeau’’, is translated in The Cinderella Philatelist, October 1986, page 78, speculates that the British assumed that the 1½ cent would also be reissued in the new design, and mistakenly adopted the new design.
from Herbert A. Friedman, Propaganda and Espionage Philately - an extended article available in its entirety on the inter,s entirety on the internet at www.psywar.co.uk/stamps
(Modified by Moderator on 2015-06-09 04:01:23)
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
MY choice for most beautiful stamp is the one Bobby uses as his avatar....except without the center inverted;
AWESOME
Randy
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Thank you Guthrum for explaining the SOE forgery to those who did not know about it. A few remarks though:
the bird on the design is a dove and is known as such ("vliegende duif" = flying dove) in the Netherlands. Michel also calls it a dove, but in the American philatelic world they call it a seagull. Probably the confusion is caused by the fact that Lebeau made a series of airmail stamps in 1921 that did show seagulls. At some point this ended up in the Scott catalogue and ever since then this error is repeated.
Some have suggested that the forgery was intentionally wrong and poorly made because of the socalled "Englandspiel", a controversial and complex game of deception at which the English secret service used the amateurish Dutch intelligence service to feed the Germans false information. An operation that meant many Dutch spies were purposely handed over to German Gestapo / SD and executed when their usefulness ended. Part of that plan was that the "spies" were ill-prepared and given things that would easily give them away once they were dropped in occupied territory. For instance, they had silver dimes with them, that had been withdrawn and replaced with zinc coins. The same might be the case with stamps. The 1 1/2 cents grey was out of print in 1941, and were never issued in sheetlets of 5 x 4, so anyone carrying such stamps would have drawn some attention...
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Hmmm...I don't know. Could it have something to do with St Stephen maybe?
Login to Like
this post
The most beautiful stamp in the world is the last one I added to my collection and therefore changes daily and even , on occasion, every minute or so.
Jack
Login to Like
this post
"Wow - it's so good to see this thread still alive after all these years."
Coming up on 14 years; don't stop now.
I loved this stamp when I first saw it, and it always comes to mind whenever the subject of beautiful stamps comes up.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
"This image does not do this issue justice, but is among one of my favorites: The King George V Silver Jubilee series."
Here you go, Peter. Better?
Login to Like
this post
02:08:57pm
Ok guys - Here's a tough question.
What do you think is the most beautiful stamp in the world?
It could be a beautiful because of its artistic design or beautiful engraving. It could be beautiful because it commemorates a special event. It could be beautiful because it has special meaning to you.
I look forward to hearing what you all think.
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
09:30:40pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Kelly,
Generally speaking it could be almost any engraved stamp. But the most beautiful .... hmmm that is more difficult. I will have to go look.
This is a tough one!
Kathy
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
12:49:30pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Kathy
Yup, that's the plan - make it tough so that everyone will have to think about it!
I'm hoping everyone who comes to the board will put their two cents worth in about what they think is the most beautiful stamp in the world. And if you guys can't think of just one - well, post several times and put in however many you want to make up your idea of the most beautiful stamp(s).
Looking forward to hearing from everyone!
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Well Kelly, seeing that I'm Canadian Eh!, I love the 50¢ Bluenose for the design, detail and the sense of power.
Wiggy
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
03:49:30am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi guys,
Mine is definetely Slania's 1000th stamp for Sweden, which can be seen at:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~pkv/slania/slania1000.htm
Best regards,
Rob.
Login to Like
this post
05:46:11pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi everyone -
For me - the most beautiful stamp is the Nova Scotia 1853 issue of Queen Victoria, 1d. Absolutely stunning!
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
10:57:44pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
A recent stamp that I really like is a Canadian 48 cent stamp, the year of the horse. It took me four days to come up with this answer!
Login to Like
this post
02:15:20pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi all,
I'm stilling trying to decide
Yes, Kelly, Queen Victoria is a very beautiful lady!
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
08:58:31am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Australia of course....."Creatures of the Night" miniature sheet 1990's vintage.It glows in the dark...what more do you want? It even feels nice.
Login to Like
this post
03:18:38am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi everyone. I would have to say Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police souvenir sheet - Scott #1737b. A close second would be the Canadian Year of the Horse souvenir sheet. But....I'm Canadian and love our stamps
Login to Like
this post
12:44:17pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Wow - I didn't realize there were so many of us here who are Canadians.
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
06:11:32pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Well, looks like its taken about 6 weeks to made a decision.
After changing my mind many times. I cannot get Scott #759 out of my mind.
It's an engraved replica of the Prater Ferris wheel released in 1966 commorating the opening of the Prater(park)Vienna, to the public by Emperor Joseph II, celebrating the 200th anniversay.
You have to see the stamp in the real to enjoy its beauty. Scott catalog does it no justice. The engraving is so neat to touch.
The detail is excellent. I can feel the motion of the wheel as it travels around the axis, feel the soft gentle breeze on my face. Here the sound of the crowd from below. It is most definitely is a mini artpiece.
How's that for an vivid imagination!
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
03:50:31am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Kathy,
The way you describe it makes me want to see it.
I don't have Scott and also wonder what country it is from, is this an US stamp?
Looking forward to your answer before asking my dealer for a scan ;-)
Regards,
Rob.
Login to Like
this post
10:54:31pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Rob:
It is not US. Scott 759US is Mesa Verde 4c. Part of the US National Park Issue of 1934. Some very nice stamps in their own right, however.
Login to Like
this post
11:35:18pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Rob, and all.
How dumb of me to forget the country. It's Austria.
Unfortunately, I do not have a scanner. Maybe I can get a ditigal picture of it and attempt to get it on line that way.
Happy Father's Day to all you Stamporama Dad's
Kathy
Login to Like
this post
03:39:26pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I think the most beautiful U.S. Stamp can be catagorized by half century. I believe the second half of the nineteenth century is probably the Vanguard( Cattle in a Storm) from a painting by MacWhirter. The first half of the twentieth century is, I believe Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco by C.F. Matthews. The second half of the 20th century I think is the Princess Grace Commenorative. So far in the 21st century I think it is the Louis and Clark comemorative , not the portraits but the picture of the explorers with the background of area they found.
Login to Like
this post
03:40:20pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I think the most beautiful U.S. Stamp can be catigoized by half century. I believe the second half of the nineteenth century is probably the Vanguard( Cattle in a Storm) from a painting by MacWhirter. The first half of the twentieth century is, I believe Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco by C.F. Matthews. The second half of the 20th century I think is the Princess Grace Commenorative. So far in the 21st century I think it is the Louis and Clark comemorative , not the portraits but the picture of the explorers with the background of area they found.
Login to Like
this post
05:47:08pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Robert Charles Judson and Bob Ingraham obviously see the world in the same light. Of all the stamps in the world, the one I would most like to have is "Cattle in a Storm":
I've even considered trying to save enough money to buy a decent copy, but I'm not sure I'll live that long. The 2004 classic lists a mint, hinged copy at US $1250, and a used copy at US $600. A mint never-hinged copy catalogues at US $3,000.
Bob
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
07:11:51am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Dear Bob,
In a weak mommentseveral years ago I purchased `Cattle in a storm'. I have never regretted it. I also bought 400, in a weak momment. These two stamps are the most beautiful in my collection. A couple of years ago I received a check for $1500 and purchased the Zeplins. But the other two stamps are still my favorite. I started collectin when I was six but because I could not afford a loose leaf album, I lost interest when I was about 14. When I could afford it, I contacted my mother to get my old album. Unfortunatly she had given it away. It broke my heart and for the next almost 30 years, I mourned it. One day I got the urge to buy an album so I would not have to start again. I found one the had been `raped' of its good stamps. I started again about 7 years ago. Even started a Stamp Club that went for three years and then evaporated. I have forgiven my mother at last for I have an album far supperior to the one I had dreamed of in my youth. I have discovered that the key to collecting is to collect what you like and let the devil take the rest. Good talking with you. Bert.
Login to Like
this post
11:18:53pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
To: Robert Judson,
Dear Robert, I can't get to you directly, so drop me a line at dani20@juno.com if you're into the U.S.Classics.
Dan Cohen
Login to Like
this post
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi.
03 Jul 2013
05:03:05am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi everyone!
When reading through your comments, it seems like there is no real "most beautiful" stamp in the world; I would say "there are many extremely beautiful" stamps around the world and everyone of us has its favorite one depending on ones taste for any topics represented on the stamps.
Daniel.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Here are two of my favorites:
US Scott #292 -
US Scott #3943 -
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
03 Jul 2013
10:15:18am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
This has always been my Favorite, wish I could find one at a reasonable price
New South Wales Scott #B2
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
11:33:59am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
This image does not do this issue justice, but is among one of my favorites: The King George V Silver Jubilee series.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Well - I have another opinion for what is it worth, and it is the 1st United States Waterfowl Stamp, the Mallards by J.N. "Ding" Darling - RW1, issued in 1934. This issue energized a whole new spectrum of stamp collecting which flooded over into all of the States and many foreign countries. There are literally thousands of stamps that have been generated as a result. They encompass a whole spectrum of wildlife stamps from ducks, turkeys, bear, woodcock, to deer and many more. Ding's insight was amazing and carries on today, 79 years later. The RW1 ranges in price from $50 to $500 depending on condition, but the are many other wildlife stamps that range in the $1,000's. I am not sure there is any other stamp that generated such a revolution of stamps. The 1934 stamp is quite plain in perspective of today's issues, but for what it represents, it is beautiful, and I would vote for it to be the ultimate winner in this debate. Here it is !!!!!
Login to Like
this post
A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
03 Jul 2013
10:08:21pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Wow - it's so good to see this thread still alive after all these years. I had forgotten I posted this. Makes me nostalgic for a few people who are no longer here at SOR.
Let's hear from some others - what are your favourites?
Kelly
Login to Like
this post
11:26:06pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
The U.S. Overrun Nations set (Scott 909-921). My favorite is the Czechoslovakia stamp (Sc 910) because I collect Czech related material but, really, any of them are magnificent.
Login to Like
this post
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi.
04 Jul 2013
01:12:52pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Here are one of my 2 favourite stamp blocks I've got in my US collection.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Due to the fact I collect space covers and autographs, I think the United States Scott C-76 is a great stamp as the printing plates which printed the stamps were made from a master die which flew to the moon.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Kelly I love your choice, here is my copy:
HOWEVER, my favorite is the $4 US Columbian of 1892:
primarily due to it's rareness and engraving............Perry
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
My favourite stamp changes regularly, but this one has been top of the list on more than one occasion !
Login to Like
this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
04 Jul 2013
10:58:26pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I'd love to be able to choose one of the nearly 500 color/value different Machins, but that would be like favoring one child over another.
I do love this Hawaiian issue, both for the years I spent at sea and the time I was stationed on the Friendly Hawaiian Islands.
But close seconds are these two Norwegian issues for Spitsbergen that evoke the desolate spirit of the Arctic so well, much like the almost mystic words of Robert W. Service;
" .... There are strange things done 'neath the midnight sun,
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their tales
That can make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
When I cremated Sam McGee. ....".
Again reminding me of the year I lived above the Arctic Circle, where is only snows once a year, three weeks in the late Fall, after which there is no more moisture in the air.
Then here is this recent busy Aussie favorite that brings back memories of the VW Transporter deluxe that I modified in 1963 for comfortable camping and the trips I took both in that Gray Ghost and
later adventures with my wife and later the first of out children, in two other Red VW campers,
at the beach.
Picking just one stampis impossible
Login to Like
this post
To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
05 Jul 2013
12:27:12pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Bobby,
That B2 is a beauty,but this color scheme has always been a favorite of mine.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
05 Jul 2013
03:38:28pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Unless that engine is going in a push configuration, the propeller blade is curved wrong.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
A stamp publication (now gone, I think) used to have a column/page on "errors in stamp design". This one would have been perfeck for that. (We had/have a children's book "Nobody's Perfeck". Great concept for kids struggling with not fitting in.)
Roger
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Roger, those design errors were featured in Scott's Stamp Monthly; i don't know if it's been carried over since its incorporation into Linn's.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I agree that picking the most beautiful stamp is meaningless, and very personal. So I will just say that I have always been partial to this stamp, as much for its simple design beauty as for the fact that it was a gift from my father. France C15.
rrr...
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I agree that choosing a favorite stamp is like choosing your favorite child, but usually my favorite stamp is whichever one that I am looking at when going through the albums. Shown here is one of the most colorful of stamps, that ranks high on my list, the rare Payette issue from KUT, thought to be the only one ever scanned.
Mike
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Mike
Sitting here reading my 1000 page manual how to scan stamps so they show the correct colour
lee
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
AAAHH Lee,
Just pretend you're one of the "guys" and throw that manual away. Real "guys" don't ask directions or read manuals.
Mike
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
07 Jul 2013
09:16:19pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
...we just keep making the same stupid mistakes...
John Derry
Login to Like
this post
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi.
08 Jul 2013
04:24:40pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
rrraphy,you have here quite an expensive stamp! This stamp cost a lot of money here in France!Nice one!
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Will give this some serious consideration but it´s a difficult one. Sooo many beautiful stamps
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
LB1, your Machin is definitely up there in my favs, but Charlie's "at the beach stamp" is at the top also.
Regards ... Tim
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
After doing some serious consideration I ended up on either this stamp. It is from French Southern and Antarctic Territories, issued in 1979 and commemorates the Challenger Expedition´s visit to Crozet and Kerguelen Islands.
Else it must be this from the same area, issued in 1985 to commemorate the visit of the frigate "La Novara" at St. Paul (after J. Noel).
But I cannot choose between those 2 beauties
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I have to go with anything on this page:
http://www.larsdog.com/stamps/pages/P3.htm
Only 10 years after the Civil War and all done in one color. Very impressive!
If I had to pick ONE, I'd say PR76.
Login to Like
this post
To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
17 Jul 2013
02:40:51pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I also have an eye on this beauty..
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Very nice, Ross!
Saleem, I think Sweden 2517 is a better Garbo stamp.
Monaco 1851 is a better Grace Kelly than US 2749. The US just doesn't have the best engravers any more.
Lars
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I think the Canadian Dark Blue - Blue Nose has to be at the top of the list.
5 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I could not agree more about the Bluenose being #1. It has been rated as such in Canada. My kids have been working on the Bluenose project as a Scout Fundraiser for some time. Pictures are available here, including the work in progress and site visits:
http://s796.photobucket.com/user/penny-auction-stamps/library/Scout%20Bluenose%20Fundraiser
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
For me the most beautiful stamp in the world has to be this one ...
Pretty surprised that no one mentioned the 1929 PUC before
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
At the risk of repeating myself (this appeared on another website last year, under another of my aliases), may I tell this story, which certainly warrants 'most beautiful stamp' for its subject, which is this one:
Around twenty years ago, my new girlfriend innocently asked to borrow my 'favourite stamp'. I had no idea what she was getting at, and after very little thought offered the above. A couple of weeks later it was my birthday and, amid candles in a darkened room, I was confronted by the most splendid and substantial birthday cake, on which was illustrated in beautiful detail and colour this very stamp!
There were no digital cameras in those days and I have no picture, alas. It seemed a shame to cut into such a wonderful object, but the cake was all too soon gone. The girlfriend, I am happy to say, remains after all these years. Truly the most beautiful stamp!
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I particularly like the older engraved stamps. Just looking at the stamps that I have, this is one of my favs:
Regards ... Tim.
Login to Like
this post
09:29:39pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Tim, that is a beautiful stamp. What's her royal highness holding?
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Sorry, Ernieinjax, you aren't allowed to ask that question. Several years ago I took out a patent on it, "What in God's name is Princess Elizabeth holding!?" (I bet you didn't know that questions could be patented. Now you do! )
Seriously, I have wondered about that object since I first purchased a copy of the stamp years and years ago. I even asked the Queen if she knew. I had been an official photographer for the Royal Visit to Prince George, BC, in 1994. I made an enlargement of this photo...
and sent it to her, along with a letter asking if she knew what she had been holding in the portrait used for the stamp. I doubt that the Queen ever saw the photograph or the letter, but I did get a nice reply from the the Assistant to the Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection, who said that he would make enquiries about the stamp. That was the last I heard about it. Since then, I've thought about some serious research on the subject, but, well, I haven't! Perhaps someone in Stamporama would be interested in pursuing the answer.
I've looked at the stamp in detail, and my best guess is that Princess Elizabeth is holding her favourite zucchini squash.
Bob
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
10:34:13pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Bob,
I laughed out loud when I read that last sentence. Now that you mention it, it does look quite veggie like. Maybe a bit more like an eggplant.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
04 Jun 2015
11:14:51pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I'm still amazed that this thread is still growing 13 years after I posted the question
And my response remains the same - I think I originally posted my copy of Nova Scotia 1 pence Queen Victoria that Perry posted but since it's no longer on the board here, I'll have to scan it again and put my copy up. Although you guys also know I'm rather partial to the Nova Scotia shilling stamp - the holy grail of any Nova Scotia collection
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
To me the most beautiful stamp in the world is a stamp that is not intricately engraved or full of minute details. Some may even say it is a mundane stamp but for me it is very special.
1. it is an ambiguous design. Officially called "flying dove" I cannot help but see an angry bat in it as well.
2. It is a nice example of Jugendstil / Art Deco design by a remarkable designer called Chris Lebeau, who also made beautiful vases, stained glass windows etc.
3. this is one of the first stamps from my collection. I remember finding envelopes with this stamps at my grandparents' attic when I was about 8 or 9 years old and had just started collecting stamps. Together with my grandfather I soaked them off and it did not matter there were fifty of them. They were in my collection and I was proud to have them.
Much later I found out about the designer who was a very intriguing guy. He was an anarchist and refused to design stamps with the queen on them. He was also responsible for the famous dove before star of david stamp that created a diplomatic row with Hitler's third Reich. The flying dove stamps were used during the war to replace the existing definitives with the queen, which was ironic given the designer's anti-German position. In 1943 he was arrested for helping Jewish people hide and he tragically died just one month before the end of the war in Dachau.
Anyway, this is the stamp:
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
@Tim, I found the portrait the Newfoundland Elizabeth stamp is based on. I showed it to a couple friends without mentioning my own opinion, and we all agree about what it looks like she's holding, though we do think it could just be pareidolia. I won't share what we think until you've looked for yourself.
Click here for the original portrait.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
05 Jun 2015
07:54:25am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Looks like an out-of-focus animal of sorts. Maybe a dog or cat? Perhaps an animal of the stuffed variety?
Login to Like
this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
05 Jun 2015
07:59:10am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
It's Pookie!
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Actually, we think it's Charlotte.
Login to Like
this post
They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
05 Jun 2015
08:40:13am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
OK. So who (or what) is Pookie? and Charlotte? A little clarity please for us poor colonials without a clue. (still looks like a dog to me)
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
11:16:17am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
There's a note on the original photo that says she's holding a toy
Login to Like
this post
11:28:30am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
According to the research of
Thomas F. Nemec, Ph.D. (Professor Thomas F. Nemec, Ph.d served as secretary of the St. John's Philatelic Society for twelve years)
From a photograph of “H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth of York†at age six years (later Queen Elizabeth II), holding a teddy bear. This was the first likeness of the Princess on any postage stamp. Robson Lowe, the philatelist, says “this was for some years one of the most popular stamps in the worldâ€
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I saw that note, but believe it to be incorrect. I'm still waiting for Tim and don't want to influence his guess, but when I first saw it I thought of a specific kind of thing. When I asked others what they saw, without mentioning what I thought it was, they all said the same thing. There is a big clue showing from between her fingers. Subsequently, I found another contemporary picture of HRH with one of these things and it was very clearly one of these things, and the thing in the second picture was named Charlotte. The two photographs were taken by the same photographer, though that may not mean much since he was the royal photographer and probably took every early picture of her.
Here is the article with a picture of HRH and Charlotte.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
11:41:38am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Nope. Bob is correct she's holding a zucchini squash.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Looks to me to be a baby seal, but it could equally be a dead rat or gopher.
Vic
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Looks like a seal to me as well; but a Steiff one of course.
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Mine is a toss-up between the 50 cents Bluenose and this Officially Sealed stamp.
Chimo
Bujutsu
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
03:37:20pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Just a note about that 1s Nova Scotia stamp. Did you kow there is a watermark variety listed in Scott (6i) that is even rarer than the stamp itself? I believe the watermark says T. H. Saunders
Login to Like
this post
04:23:19pm
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Jansimon
Your stamp is nice
but the dove on mine is nicer
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Both have extremely tiny heads for their body size, along with broken necks.
Chris
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I still say the US Revenue Persian Rugs (Ross provided an example a few years ago) are the best multicolor engraved stamps. For monochromatic engraved stamps, the Bluenose and the Trans-Mississippi issues are good. As far a best modern in US stamps, I will go with the Exploring Space press sheet.
Lars
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hi Nelson,
Isn't that the SOE forgery?
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
I have many stamps that I consider beautiful, but the one stamp that comes to mind of being beautiful is the young head of Queen Victoria on the Penny Black of 1840; here is one of 2 I have in my collection.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
07:47:36am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
"Isn't that the SOE forgery?"
Yes, or better known as the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" & "The Baker Street Irregulars"
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Apologies if you know this already, but just in case, here is the lowdown on the 'SOE forgery' referred to above. It is a quotation from the source mentioned at the end.
22. The Dutch ‘Seagull’ Forgery
The British also counterfeited the stamps of the occupied Netherlands. I first wrote about this operation in ‘Those Doughty Dutch Decoys,’ The American Philatelist, October 1970.
The British forgery of the Netherlands 1935 1½ cent slate ‘seagull’ stamp was produced in sheets of 20 (5x4). The round head and point eye of the seagull (really a carrier pigeon) and the short height of the letters are similar to those in the redesigned series of 1941 (Mi.380-391), which does not contain a 1½ cent item.
The time of production of this forgery is not definitely known, but is surely between April and November 1941: the redesigned series of Dutch stamps did not come into existence until April, and the quality of the work is too poor to attribute it to PWE’s Ellic Howe, who began his work in November. The most probable originator is Section D. A.J. Pekelharing, whose article ‘British ‘propaganda’ forgery of World War II - The 1½ cent ‘Lebeau’’, is translated in The Cinderella Philatelist, October 1986, page 78, speculates that the British assumed that the 1½ cent would also be reissued in the new design, and mistakenly adopted the new design.
from Herbert A. Friedman, Propaganda and Espionage Philately - an extended article available in its entirety on the inter,s entirety on the internet at www.psywar.co.uk/stamps
(Modified by Moderator on 2015-06-09 04:01:23)
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
MY choice for most beautiful stamp is the one Bobby uses as his avatar....except without the center inverted;
AWESOME
Randy
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Thank you Guthrum for explaining the SOE forgery to those who did not know about it. A few remarks though:
the bird on the design is a dove and is known as such ("vliegende duif" = flying dove) in the Netherlands. Michel also calls it a dove, but in the American philatelic world they call it a seagull. Probably the confusion is caused by the fact that Lebeau made a series of airmail stamps in 1921 that did show seagulls. At some point this ended up in the Scott catalogue and ever since then this error is repeated.
Some have suggested that the forgery was intentionally wrong and poorly made because of the socalled "Englandspiel", a controversial and complex game of deception at which the English secret service used the amateurish Dutch intelligence service to feed the Germans false information. An operation that meant many Dutch spies were purposely handed over to German Gestapo / SD and executed when their usefulness ended. Part of that plan was that the "spies" were ill-prepared and given things that would easily give them away once they were dropped in occupied territory. For instance, they had silver dimes with them, that had been withdrawn and replaced with zinc coins. The same might be the case with stamps. The 1 1/2 cents grey was out of print in 1941, and were never issued in sheetlets of 5 x 4, so anyone carrying such stamps would have drawn some attention...
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
Hmmm...I don't know. Could it have something to do with St Stephen maybe?
Login to Like
this post
02:12:55am
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
The most beautiful stamp in the world is the last one I added to my collection and therefore changes daily and even , on occasion, every minute or so.
Jack
Login to Like
this post
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
"Wow - it's so good to see this thread still alive after all these years."
Coming up on 14 years; don't stop now.
I loved this stamp when I first saw it, and it always comes to mind whenever the subject of beautiful stamps comes up.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: The Most Beautiful Stamp In The World!
"This image does not do this issue justice, but is among one of my favorites: The King George V Silver Jubilee series."
Here you go, Peter. Better?
Login to Like
this post