In Depth Look at Valuable Stamps

Mauritius is known for having issued the most famous and sought-after stamps in the world, highly prized by collectors. The Mauritius ‘Post Office’ stamps rank amongst the most notable and important of all philatelic rarities, read the story behind these stamps ..

Jacob Perkins & The Perkins Bacon Cancelled Handstamps. The story behind them and the new discovery by Empire Philatelists

A look at the Cape of Good Hope's postal history, the post office stones, the famous Cape Triangular stamp and its connection with the birth of Stanley Gibbons as a stamp dealer

Stamps don’t pluck themselves out of thin air. Before being issued and distributed for postage, they first have to be designed and proofed. This means that a printer has to create a trial run of prints as an example of what the final stamp will look like, so that they can be given the final go-ahead.

One thing philatelists learn quickly on the job is that no stamp is perfect. Not only do the individual stamps we handle come in varying conditions, but most stamps issued throughout history have variations involving printing errors. These errors are what makes philately so interesting, and also what can make certain stamps so valuable.

Rocket mail. No, this isn’t the name of a fancy new email service. Rather, ‘rocket mail’ is the term used to describe any attempt to deliver mail via a rocket or projectile.

The British Commonwealth has produced many valuable stamps over the years. Some, obviously, are more valuable than others, with rarity usually being the most important factor in deciding just how much a stamp is worth.

The stamp was issued to prepay mail carried by the steamer LADY MCLEOD which plied between Port of Spain and San Fernando.

Due to its high value, there was little genuine postal demand for the 5/- value, therefore the majority were fiscally used