Talk:Postage stamp

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Contents

[edit] External links

ADDITION OF EXTERNAL LINKS TO THE MAIN ARTICLE: If you want to add an External link to the main article, then place a link to it here on the discussion page under a seperatly created section so that we can discuss it. This page is prone to atrracting External Links, and the rules of wikipedia state that only those links that ADD VALUE to the article should be included. However, we recognise that some people who can add a lot of value to the article also want to add their favourite link, which can on occasions have high commercial content. So, create a discussion here first, and lets go from there! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ww2censor (talk • contribs) 17:15, 12 May 2007 (UTC).


Something that I'd like to see is an explanation of why some people (in Britain at least) collect used boring, common postage stamps for charity; surely they have no value for collectors? 212.219.56.214 08:30, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

I would assume that they are exported. They will then become 'foreign' and therefore exotic and valuable ? If it's less obvious it might be notable, but might be better on a stamp collecting, charities or fund raising page, since it's not intrinsic to stamps themselves ?--195.137.93.171 (talk) 03:28, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

-- Should the Stanley Gibbons references be on here? It seems a bit spammy considering the IP that added them is really mail.stanleygibbons.co.uk. A.Kurtz 14:08, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

-- If there is anything on my site at www.devoted.to/stamps that can be used on Wiki please feel free to use it as you see fit. Anything else I can help with especially regarding GB postal history leave me a message and I will try to sort it out --user:Tallanent

I think something should be on this page to distinguish between postage stamps and things like meter labels, PC Postage and computer vended postage but do not know how it should be gone about. --user:Daniel C. Boyer

"Certain U.S. stamps without the country name

This is restricted to the U.S. Pilgrim Tercentenary stamps, the only U.S. stamps without a country designation. --Daniel C. Boyer

or with a letter for a face value are restricted to use in domestic mail. " Non-denominated stamps have been issued by other countries too, such as Britain. So I am going to revise it. --user:Daniel C. Boyer

What about the British "E" stamp? This is certainly accepted for use in the international mails. --Daniel C. Boyer

Some mention might be made that stamps have at times been made of materials other than paper, such as the U.S. plastic stamp, stamps that have been made out of foil, and the controversial East German stamp made entirely out of a synethetic material (controversial because it does not accept a cancellation, there is no good way to affix it to an envelope, etc.). (Who can find out more info about this?) --user:Daniel C. Boyer

Mention cinderellas? --user:Daniel C. Boyer

Maybe you could enlighten us yourself - that link takes us to the fairytale !--195.137.93.171 (talk) 03:30, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Care should be taken to distinguish when and if definitions of "express" and "special delivery" stamps are written that while in many countries the definition is the same in the United States there is a definite difference between "Express Mail" and the (now defunct) "Special Delivery." --Daniel C. Boyer

"the numerous early issues of China and Japan that confound new collectors unfamiliar with oriental scripts": this is not an example of what is discussed earlier in the sentence! Re-editing. --Daniel C. Boyer

I don't think Liechtenstein (not Lichtenstein, that's a pop-art painter) is a good example of "excessive" stamp production. There are many better examples, such as most island nations, that produce more stamps than reasonably needed (Pitcairn is a nice one). I would also immediately think of the emirates before they became united, and Eq. Guinee - or are these considered to be cinderellas?

My note on the USPO issuing Parcel Post Postage Due stamps may be too U.S.-centric. Are there any other countries that are examples? Someone might want to revise. --Daniel C. Boyer

Similar comments may apply to "special handling". --Daniel C. Boyer
not really, as long as equal weight is given to peculiarities in other countries when they arise. -Ec


What do people think about moving the early history of the postage stamp to Penny Black? -- Tarquin 08:18 Aug 7, 2002 (PDT)

Too specific. How would you handle the Chalmers/Hill controversy? or some other early attempts that could have easily qualified as the first stamp. Still the Penny Black and Rowland Hill are important enough to merit articles of their own. Ec

Where would be the best place (maybe another article) to talk about innovation in methods of selling, such as dispensing stamps by ATM? I am going to include it under "types of stamps" now, but this might not be the best way to go. --Daniel C. Boyer

Another article is probably the right way to go with this. Ec

Mention of "encased postage"? --user:Daniel C. Boyer

More generally: stamps used as currency such as the late tsarist issue of Russie, some of which were printed on cardboard. Ec.

Test stamps? --Daniel C. Boyer

Yes, I'll add a sentence . Eclecticology

[edit] wood stamp

there was also a stamp made out of thinly sliced wood. google it - Omegatron 19:47, Oct 11, 2004 (UTC)

http://www.swisspost.ch/SiteOnLine/EN/Accueil/1,1727,18202,00.html

[edit] Stamp Guidelines

I'm trying to find the guidelines/requirements for the choice of what is depicted on U.S. Postage stamps - I'm having trouble finding the information, but I seem to remember there being a specific set of standards. One was that if a person is used, the person must be dead.

[edit] help needed

Found the following page Wine post. I wikified it and tried to verify on google, it came back as a match, but could someone of a Philatelic disposition take a look and check it out, maybe put a link to it in the right place so as it becomes less of an orphan? ta Sabine's Sunbird 06:05, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Where are they made?


[edit] image at the top of the page

With the number of PD images that should be around (there are plently of 100 year old stamps) do we really need to use a fair use image?Geni 14:34, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "circular (such as the stamps of New Zealand)"

no. i live in new zealand and the stamps are not circular. Plough | talk to me 11:08, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

New Zealand has been issueing round Kiwi stamps from 1988. Of course the rest of their stamps are not circular but round kiwi stamps have been issued. Including those in minisheets.--PremKudvaTalk 09:46, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Should ephilately be here?

Do you want to make an entry? You could make a seperate entry too if you wanted and link it here. Oh please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date.--PremKudvaTalk 06:06, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Stamps and Legal Tender

I seem to recall learning in school that stamps are legal tender in their countries of issue and can technically be used the same as coins and notes for payment of debts, especially where payment to government bodies are concerned. I don't know if this is true, but do any of you stamp experts? Are there any law experts here who can verify or falsify this? --InformationalAnarchist Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 14:54:04 (UTC) (Edited anonymously because I can't remember my identification password)

I've never heard this and have seen numerous businesses specifically state stamps are not acceptable as payment. I think I might even have seen the government say this. --Lukobe 17:11, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
Let's see:
Yes, legal tender
http://www.igpc.net/collectors.html
No, not legal tender
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_330.html
http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week-of-Mon-20050613/036589.html
This is hardly definitive, but I tend to think they are probably not legal tender... --Lukobe 17:16, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Types of stamps" section still stubby

We need to do some more work on the section "Types of stamps". I have no idea what many of these strange terms mean. :=) -- 201.78.233.162 23:14, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Most of the type *should* link to articles that go into more depth, but each should have one sentence of explanation. They should probably be separated by "purpose" vs "form", since one could have a commemorative postage due coil stamp for instance. :-) Stan 06:33, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Links Edit

I went through the external links and removed any spam / off topic links and removed the spam banner from the top. I also added a link to the APS and BNAPS Home page.

James A.O.B. 00:56, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Improperly stamped mail

What happens if you mail something to Canada and accidentally use a US stamp does it still go or are you just screwed over? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Krakko (talk • contribs) 15:54, February 14, 2007

Your question is not clear. If you are in the US and use a US stamp for something going abroad, but it is unstamped or under-stamped, it will usually be returned to you for the additional postage. However, you want to send something to Canada but from where? If not from the US, it will usually be marked for postage due and the recipient may have to pay depending on the diligence of Canada Post in collecting foreign taxe. Hope that helps you. ww2censor 23:36, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

To Canada from Canada... and I can't sign my posts right now because my tilda key is actually not working, Thanks - Krakko
The international agreement is that you *must* use the stamps of the country you're sending from, and the destination country accepts the mail, assuming that the from-country has satisfied itself on the amount and type of postage used. Stan 03:07, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Canada Post's current regulation are that unfranked or under-franked mail is returned to the sender for the fee, but if there is no return address it is forwarded to the sender who must pay the full fee plus an administrative charge. Check out this page. Your US stamp used within Canada is effectively unpaid because the US stamp has no value there. BTW you can write your signature in longhand! Cheers ww2censor 04:17, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History Section?

Why is there no History section? What are the origins of the postage stamp? Astadt 19:15, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

There is now, but it still need some expansion as does the whole article. It is the lead article for the topic so should be comprehensive is all aspects. If you can contribute please do so. The "Dispensing" section needs quite a bit of work to bring it into balance. Cheers ww2censor 20:37, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
I know that there is a gentleman from Dundee, UK who invented the adhesive postage stamp. I have a picture of his head stone but can't seem to find him online 86.160.147.136 (talk) 16:10, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
Do you mean James Chalmers? Lovrenc Košir is also attributed with inventing the postage stamps, but Rowland Hill is mentioned as the person who introduced stamps. The sources for who actually inverted postage stamp seems somewhat of a problem and no one source seems to reliably verify who was the first person. Hope that helps. Cheers ww2censor (talk) 16:25, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] No country name on GB stamps

Does anyone have more, referenced information on UK not needing to print country of origin to add to the history section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.6.14.171 (talk) 15:53, August 9, 2007

It is not a matter of not needing to print the name of the country on the stamp and the edit you made stating that the name was not required because they were the first country is misleading at best. You should read Penny Black to see that there was no name because of a design decision to base the stamp design on a portrait of Queen Victoria and that decision to not include the name continues to this day, though there have apparently been some stamps that have dropping the monarch's head from GB stamps. I don't have any good sources to point you to. It was just a design decision that no one objected to and was well established when the UPU was founded in 1874. ww2censor 21:52, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
Of course, there's not much reason to go to the expense of including a country name if you're the only country issuing stamps, so no great surprise that it didn't occur to anybody in 1840. I'm pretty sure there's now a UPU regulation that requires every country to include its name in Latin letters, GB being allowed as the sole exception in recognition of its pioneering role, but a quick scan of my library doesn't turn an explicit reference to it, and the UPU website is mystifying. I probably read it in Linn's at some point... Stan 23:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
As Stan says I think there was no reason for them to add the country at that time but I too was certain it is now a recognised omission. I can't find any info either! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.6.14.171 (talk) (18:25, August 11, 2007)
Regardless, it's still an interesting and little-known fact that the UK is the only country that does not put its name on its stamps, and is a worthy addition to the article. I've attended to that now. -- JackofOz 02:19, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I would like to add site on the postage stamps external links.

Hi, good day!

I would like to add this site (www.2-clicks-stamps. com (blacklisted)) on the list of external links on postage stamps article. This site talks everything about stamps. And i believe its necessary to include this because of its contents which will help stamps collector (novice and professionals) educate themselves. And since its a directory site, they will find it very useful and appropriate as external link.--Melvinthegreat 08:53, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

A directory of stamp collector's site (www.2-clicks-stamps. com (blacklisted)) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.107.63.48 (talk) (21:57, August 16, 2007)
You have already been told why you cannot add this site to any external links on Wikipedia articles. Read the posts on your talk page. Thank youww2censor 02:45, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
This site is more accurate(and updated regularly) than the first external link which is "Joseph Luft's Philatelic Resources on the Web (While this is one of the largest philatelic links web sites it has not been updated since January 2003, many links are broken.)" They have the same function and purpose.124.107.63.48 06:52, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Stamps used to seal legal documents ?

Does anyone know of the history of using stamps as a seal for legal documents ? I think it was because they cost money, and could then make a contract binding, since even a written contract is not binding until something of value has been exchanged (called a 'consideration'). I've just come across it at the start of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' Series 3 Episode 3 (1972) - 'The Money Programme', but there ought to be a more definitive reference than that ! --195.137.93.171 (talk) 03:42, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Lovrenc Košir

Dr. Velimir Sokol, one of the founders of the Croatian state's PTT museum in Zagreb, is a postal historian who has examined the question of Lovrenc Košir's role in inventing the postage stamp. Driven by historical facts, he concluded that the introduction of stamps into postal communications belongs absolutely to the Englishman, Rowland Hill. In 1979, under the decision of the Philatelists' Union of Slovenia, Lovrenc Košir is no longer accorded that recognition.[1]

Sokol's articles on Košir: "Has Lovrenc Košir proved to be the maker of the postage stamp concept?" (1962) and "The fortunes and misfortunes of Lovrenc Košir" (1979) are said to resemble good crime novels. Sokol's other monographs include "450 years of post in Zagreb, 1529-1979" (1979); "Hundred years of telephony in Croatia, 1881-1981" (1981); "Professional couriers in the Dubrovnik Republic" (1968), and "Place and role of postal history in historical science" (1974).

It appears that Košir's role in the history of postage stamps is highly controversial. The sentences in our article lack supporting documentation and if that is not forthcoming, they should be removed.Fconaway (talk) 05:05, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

  1. ^ Dunja Majnaric Radoševic, "Some Examples of Research in the Museum of Post and Telecommunication in Zagreb", CECOMM 2004, Bern/Switzerland.
Ken Lawrence's "Before the Penny Black" [1], part 7, discusses all this. I think we have enough material to split off into a subarticle on the invention of the postage stamp, mentioning all the claimants. The main article should stick to the basics, and Košir is not part of that. Stan (talk) 13:01, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
I whacked the para. Stan (talk) 13:12, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] List of martial arts on stamps

As to the reason given for reverting "no personal website links" - I did not link to a "personal web site" as claimed. Firstly, the site belongs to the United States Judo Association. More importantly, Wikipedia defines a "Personal web page" to be "World Wide Web pages created by an individual to contain content of a personal nature."

The page I linked to is not of a personal nature. It is a list of martial arts stamps that is no different in nature from the following lists on that page (except that it is an external link rather than an internal link):

--David Broadfoot (talk) 07:09, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Then why does it look like a personal webpage of Ronald Allan Charles? The contact information [2] is only to him not for the United States Judo Association and there seems to be no official status to the page. Most society webpages have some sort of identifier on them and I don't see any such identity on the page you linked to. ww2censor (talk) 17:53, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
Yes, that's true, but you only commented on a small part of my note, ignoring all that came after the words "More importantly". Wikipedia doesn't say you shouldn't link to sites that are owned or run by a "person" (i.e. linked sites are not required to be managed by corporations/governments/associations/etc) - it only asks that you avoid linking to "personal web pages", which it defines.
Also, the whole issue of not being allowed to link to "personal web pages" (item #12 on the Wikipedia:External_links#Links_normally_to_be_avoided) is invalid here, because (a) such links are not banned, they are merely "Links normally to be avoided"; and, more importantly, (b) the list is overridden by the lead sentence "Except for a link to a page that is the subject of the article" - that page is solely about the subject of this article, so the list is not relevant. --David Broadfoot (talk) 10:48, 18 February 2008 (UTC)