(Page 19) Autumn 2011 Newsletter
WHAT HAVE I GOT?
Minou Button
I will not deny it, I am very excited. Some years ago, we bought some stamps rue du Midi in Brussels, which is a well-known haunt for philatelists, and I knew there was an oddity amongst them.
I am referring to the 10c carmine Mols, illustrating the Stanley Falls, with the manual Elisabethville surcharge of 1923.
However, I had misfiled it, and looked and looked and did not find it. Luckily, I, virtuously, did some sorting recently and I have found it, in my files; in the wrong place of course. This stamp is mint with an inverted surcharge and has a sheet number in the corner margin. Now I have to look carefully at the comma placement (very important) and the colour of the ink (also important), and full of pitfalls. It is not in the catalogues. The back is interesting too.
As I was placing the stamp carefully in the right place, I noticed that I had another oddity. Wow ! This one is a double surcharge of the same stamp.
For comparison I include a similar stamp with a normal hand surcharge.
As serendipity would have it I went and looked on www.delcampe.be and such a stamp as my first stamp was up for sale. It was 19 € on 7 October 2011 and the next day 69 €, but alas it now seems to have been withdrawn.
There is however a downside- I believe there are forgeries.
NEVADA BROTHEL TRANSACTION TAX
Sandra Poole
Well, it seemed feasible enough- if users of illegal drugs were taxed by around 20 US states, why not brothel users? So I was pretty pleased when the following brothel tax stamps came my way. I was given them at my last Cinderella Stamp Club meeting and the generous donor explained that brothels were legal in Nevada. The client had to pay a tax and was then given a receipt with stamp affixed.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of objections from puritans and in order to placate them , certain areas of the lady’s body were made a little less obvious.
One CSC member was so incensed, he produced his own tax stamp for letters!
When I got home, I read the two articles on the back of the sheet and I reproduce part of them below.
Carson City, April 1. State Treasurer Foster A. Prylle announced that the brothel transaction tax enacted last fall by the Nevada State Legislature will go into effect today. The tax is assessed at the rate of $5 per $100, and applies to all transactions in Nevada’s legally tolerated houses of prostitution…Evidence of payment of the tax will be in the form of adhesive stamps which must be affixed to the receipts…. The stamp, designed by P. Wosson-Davril of the State Architect’s Office, depicts Francesco da Goya’s painting of the Duchess of Alba reclining in the nude.
20 Years On: It was agreed at a meeting held on 1 April to adapt the stamp’s design to conform (to the puritans’ request)….reasoning: the design should not titillate, nor should it appeal to stamp collectors who might otherwise stimulate its circulation.
Well, you will all have noticed the date and no doubt, recognised other clues in the text and therefore realised all this is a load of baloney. But is it, in fact, so far-fetched? According to Wikipedia, Nevada is the only US state to allow some legal prostitution in the form of licensed brothels. Brothels and prostitutes have to pay federal income tax and local fees, however there is no actual state income tax in Nevada, although ‘in 2005, brothel owners lobbied to be taxed in order to increase the legitimacy of the business, but the legislature declined’. We can only hope that if a state income tax is ever introduced, the payment will be via a stamp affixed to an official receipt!
MALTESE BUSES- END OF AN ERA
Les Sutton
End of an era is how the MALTA POST describes the introduction of a replacement fleet of buses being released on to the Malta highways. A set of twenty stamps depicting the outgoing models in their route colours with destination on the left upper edge. Value on the lower right hand corner. Each stamp depicts the route bus against a typical local background.
MEETING REPORTS
150th Anniversary of the First Greek Stamp.
Over thirty members and visitors attended the special meeting on 28 October that Adrian Ritoridis arranged to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first Greek stamp, which portrayed the head of Hermes, a design that spanned 25 years. Dr John Kane, visiting speaker and a specialist in this field, gave an interesting and learned talk entitled ‘The Large Hermes Heads of Greece’, pointing out the different shades, gums, papers and processes that distinguished the various printings. Members enjoyed wine and Greek food, which Adrian had prepared himself, whilst viewing Dr. Kane’s fine and informative display of these early issues. (see also Winter 2011 Newsletter).
From Anthony Virvilis, (President of the Hellenic Philatelic Federation): On behalf of the Hellenic Philatelic Federation and the Greek philatelists in general, I would like to convey to you our heartfelt greetings on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Greek stamps you are today celebrating in the premises of the Nottinghamshire Philatelic Society. Stamps reflect the past and the present of a country. Philatelists of today are dealing with the past whereas philatelists of tomorrow shall deal with the present. The first Greek stamp is considered one of the finest stamps of 19th century for its finesse and artistic design. At the same time, it is also considered as the most difficult to classify. Thus the great interest of philatelists worldwide Greece in its 180 years as a sovereign free state, apart from the two world wars, has seen internal insurrections, dictatorships, civil wars and many other mishaps as well as its territorial expansion. All these are represented in its stamps and its rich postal history. That is why Greece shall always be at the forefront of the philatelic interest of the international philatelic community. Allow me to wish you a very pleasant evening and let yourselves indulge in the modern history of our country through its stamps.
Dr John Kane (right) with Adrian Ritoridis and President Douglas Harvey (left)
Belgian Philatelic Study Circle’s annual conference at the Royal Beach Hotel in Portsmouth on 2nd to 4th September 2011 : Bryan and Minou Button.
Like every year, we attended the meeting of the Belgian Philatelic Study Circle, and like every year it was interesting, learned and specialized.
It started with an update of the series of definitive stamps featuring birds by the Belgian artist Andrė Buzin covering the period from 2005 to 2011 which was displayed by Graham Harvey - and very handsome they were. Apparently it is possible to obtain an A4 print, on stamp paper, of the different birds on stamps issued over the last 25 years. Sunday labels and some of their idiosyncrasies were covered by Tom Pring - a study in progress of the green 5 cent stamps left us in utter amazement at his commitment to detail. Postal history of precursors of the area which is now Belgium and of Belgian covers by Miller McGrath, a newcomer to Belgian stamps, but certainly not to philately, was very wide ranging. German cancellations of Germania overprinted Belgïe during World War II by Jean-Claude Porignon showed us how this tricky period of Belgian history is slowly coming into its own. Mike Brindle gave us Mainly Black, a study of black colour and its many hues which was a novel take on some Belgian stamps, aided and abetted by a few samples of an earlier study of Czechoslovakian stamps on the same subject. He showed that a comparison of Stanley Gibbons and the COB descriptions of the stamp colours were different. This is a subject dear to Bryan.
The display of first stamps of Leopold I on covers by Reg Harrison was breathtaking, and we finally got to see a stamp with the elusive red Guillochin mark. To round it all off, we had Railway stamps with the Nord Belge cancellation given by Tony Geake. As every presentation given by him, it was low key but vast in its knowledge. The auction had over 270 items of which more than half were sold. We fell by the wayside. Nineteen people attended the annual dinner of which ten were philatelists.
Judging and Exhibiting Seminar : Adrian Ritoridis.
On Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of October, I attended a seminar on exhibiting and judging, hosted by the Kent Federation of Philatelic Societies. The first day focused on the FIP regulations on exhibiting and the criteria used to judge exhibits. Brian Trotter and Chris King, current president and vice president respectively, of the Royal Philatelic Society, ran this session, which involved determining the ‘philatelic importance’ of an exhibit; the treatment of the material; the exhibitor’s knowledge, research and personal study; condition; rarity and presentation. It was a fascinating session, not least because we got to see material belonging to the two presenters which have garnered large golds at international level. The first day ended at four-thirty, followed by moistening the gums and sharing philatelic experiences with new friends at the hotel bar and, later that evening, over dinner. The second day was run by Francis Kiddle, who looked deeper into judging the philatelic knowledge, either implicit or explicit, in an exhibitor’s display. In the afternoon, we put what we learnt to the test as we had to pass judgment on each other’s exhibits. Six exhibits were chosen to be put up, and we had to use the same criteria as judges at federation or national level. This was perhaps the most interesting aspect of the seminar, as we had the chance to reach our own verdict, discuss it and then compare it to the feedback provided by the three organisers. Overall, this was an excellent event, well worth the long drive down from Nottingham. The three organisers did a terrific job in providing a fascinating and interactive workshop, which was an ideal starting point for anyone interested in moving forward with exhibiting and judging. Coffee, tea, biscuits and sandwiches were plentiful and we lacked for nothing. Most importantly, we made many new friends and we agreed to meet in the not too distant future. The next step now is a day seminar to be held at Stampex in September 2012. I, for one, cannot wait.
MISCELLANY
I’ll Drink to That : Steve Speak
I’m not a big fan of Royal Mail’s many issues, but one favourite is the 2003 Europe set depicting British Pub Signs (SG 2392/16). What a shame the ‘Penny Black’ sign didn’t feature as, according to Google, there are eight pubs named after the iconic stamp. Perhaps as a Society, we should organise a Penny Black pub crawl beginning, of course, at Sir Rowland Hill’s birthplace, Kidderminster, then alphabetically, Bicester, Cheadle, Hume, Leatherhead, Ludlow, Northwich, Sheffield and Stockton-on-Tees. We could follow this up with a visit to the Penny Black pub in Edinburgh, or a meal in London at the Penny Black restaurant in Chelsea. If you fancy even further afield, there’s the Penny Black restaurant in Rochester, Michigan, USA. But if one Penny Black isn’t enough for you, there’s the Penny Black Bar in Mailbox, a restaurant complex in Birmingham. Cheers!
You Reply: Antoine Vassallo, Secretary of the Gozo P.S. and a major contributor to its excellent newsletter, sent me the following email a couple of months ago.This was in reply to my query in the winter newsletter regarding letter boxes in Malta. ‘Malta Post actually has no intention of changing from the traditional letterboxes. In fact, there was a substantial effort a couple of years back to ‘upgrade’ them by giving them a good lick of paint etc. A few months ago, there has been a decision to even go back to an old style of colour scheme for logos etc. What you saw are ‘additions’, which although serving as letterboxes were decided upon a few years ago to aid their employees. (I understand after Union pressure and Health & Safety Regulations) The letter deliverers can put there a part of their load during their rounds’.
The day following the receipt of this email, I picked up some covers that I had purchased a couple of months or so previously at the ABPS Stamp Exhibition at Sheffield. I had bought them from the Stanley Gibbons table and they were all addressed to one of the stamp competitions that they run in their monthly magazine. One particular cover that interested me still had the letter enclosed (a competition entry for January ) and who was the sender? Well, believe it or not, but it is absolutely true, the sender was Antoine Vassallo, the same person who sent me the above email! (Incidentally, all the other covers were empty!). But, as they say, fact is stranger than fiction! (S.P.)
Freepost: David Shipstone.
We are all used, now, to receiving stamped mail with the stamps uncancelled and unscrupulous people, so I am told, soak the stamps off and use them again. This results in a form of Freepost at second hand, for the unscrupulous, in which the stamp would at least have been properly purchased by someone initially. However, the Post Office would appear, now, to be extending its largesse. Two weeks ago I received a letter, properly bar-coded but with no postmark, no sign whatever that it had ever had a stamp affixed and with no surcharge. So this really was Freepost.
Eric Croft sent the following, taken- with permission- from the newsletter of the London & Provincial Stamp Club:
From the Treasurer (Paul Fox)- Subscription Increase. A decision was taken at the Club’s AGM in May to increase the annual subscription rate from £5 to £8 with effect from 1 January 2011. A number of members have queried why this increase is necessary when the Club had just over £21,000 in the bank and on deposit at the end of 2009. This article explains the rationale behind the subscription increase. The bank balance held with Alliance & Leicester (£6523 at end of 2009) is there to cover ongoing operational activities of the Club, such as payments due to sales packet vendors, regular suppliers and possible short term contingencies. This money is not meant to subsidise Club losses. The balance of funds available to the Club (£15000 with the Coventry BS at end 2009) represents cash built up over nearly 60 years, since the Club’s inception. These funds could be used to subsidise losses, but it would not be considered prudent to do so on an ongoing basis. They could better be used, were the need to arise, to purchase a piece of equipment for the Club, such as a photocopier, So, are future losses likely and how might they be funded? When the 2009 result of a profit of just £382, well below the previous 5- year average, was calculated it was decided to review income and expenditure to see whether the Club might be moving into a loss-making situation. Since the last subscription increase from £3 to £5 on 1 January 2005, certain costs have increased substantially, such as room hire, postage and printing. Interest earned on deposits has also reduced. For 2010, we expect a slightly better result than 2009, partly due to lower negotiated room hire charges. But for 2011 onwards we cannot guarantee to be able to contain costs. In order to protect the Club from cost increases in 2011 and beyond, various options were considered, including increasing sales commission on packet sales (currently 8%) and auction sales (currently 12.5%), but in the end subscriptions were felt to be the best vehicle to increase income and secure the long-term financial health of the Club. An increase of £3 in the subscription rate should generate an extra £900 per annum, enough to cover likely increased costs, and at the same time protect the funds on deposit at the Coventry Building Society for future contingencies. Your committee hopes that members will still find the Club very good value at the increased annual subscription rate of £8, both in its own right and when compared to other philatelic clubs.
(I hope you are not getting any ideas, Eric!!. I would just like to know what they intend to do with the £21,000 just sitting in a deposit account, losing value all the time as a result of rising inflation.- Ed.)
A philatelist who had been buying rather more stamps than he could pay for, wrote to one of his long-suffering dealers: ‘I would like to inform you that, in view of my present inability to meet all my debts, I have devised a fool-proof method of ensuring that all my debtors get a little. Once a month, I place my current bills in an old hat. I then pick 3 of them, which I pay. In view of your rather curt letter, I beg to inform you, that next month, your bill will not be put in the hat.’ (Somehow, I don’t think this would work with Ebay! -Ed.)
DISCLAIMER: While every care is taken during the production of this newsletter, neither the editor nor the Society officers can accept any liability for views, opinions or unintentional publication errors that may occur.