Some of this stuff may not be mine. Where this is the case, I'll supply a link to an appropriate site.
Time for something different, nothing to do with TV, nothing to do with music. This is a hobby I got into at about the age of twelve. I was able to buy stamps from Boots the Chemist. At that time I liked the look of them even if I'd never come across the term, "Trucial States". The stamps were from; Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Nowadays, they (and a couple of others) are known as the United Arab Emirates. Nowadays they are given short shrift my stamp collectors for whatever reason but they did get me interested in the hobby.
But, less of the history lesson.
What follows is a list of the type of stamp that I do not like for some reason or other. It is not an exhaustive list and it is in no particular order. And it is my choice. I know some will not agree but to each his or her own.
First up is the over-printed stamp. This is just bastardising the original. It adds nothing to the stamp design in any way although it does fulfil the requirement that is is tied to the history of the country.
This is an Austrian stamp from 1919. The original was just a plain, red stamp but as Europe came out of the first world war some things changed.
Next up is a combo - obliteration/over-print.
Another Austrian stamp, this one from 1945. It doesn't matter what you think of Herr Hitler. I understand that at the end of the war money was tight all around and many countries used what they had. Again nothing added to the design by this amendment to the stamp. The original was just his head and the country. This bit of the blog might hit the censors. Some sites won't let you post his head whether you are a rabid Nazi or talking about postage stamps.
Then we have se-tenant stamps, in this case a strip of 5 from Great Britain. This is half of the set from 2016. Can't put my finger on what is wrong, I could easily separate the stamps if I wanted but that is not how they are printed. I possibly could have gone to our local post office and bought 10 individual stamps.
Another philatelic thing I am not keen on is the miniature sheet stamp. These, in this case, are stamps printed together in a sheet format. These are often quite attractive but these stamps are often, but not always, available singly. maybe I'm just being overly picky. Here is an example, again from Great Britain in 2016.
Next up is another from Austria (sorry Austria Post). Talk about pushing the boundaries? In 2004, Austria Post released the following which was a first in combining postage stamps with real crystals. There are two stamps - one is a rock with embedded crystals, the other is a swan with several embedded crystals. Another combo. In this case a miniature sheet with stamps that are very unlikely to ever appear on an envelope. I'll bet you can find used copies on e-bay or somewhere else but I would expect them to be very rare and possibly not with all crystals still attached. I may not like the stamps but Swarovski World in the Austrian Tirol is well worth a visit.
Where to next? You won't be surprised if I say Austria. This next stamp is from 2006 and takes the form of a piece of embroidery. Now before you get the impression that AP are a bunch of weirdos, other postal administrations have had there shot at selling "odd" stamps to the public. Did you know, for example that you can buy stamps printed in colour changing in? Or stamps with writing on that you need a magnifying glass to read? Or stamps made from toilet tissue (unused)? Or stamps made from old post office uniforms?
Again, it is a nice enough stamp, it just falls into the weird category.
This next one is literally, out of this world. Also out of Austria. This stamp contains 0.03g of meteor dust. Another from 2006. Not sure why AP thought it would be a good idea, unless they are just trying out something new, something not done before. A bit like the scratch-and-sniff stamps of other Postal Authorities. Anyway, here it is.
Next up is a brace of football themed stamps. The first one is of Andi Herzog taking a shot at goal. As you tilt the stamp, you can see an action shot. The right hand of the stamp show the goalkeeper in action. This is what is termed a lenticular stamp. From 1997 or 1998. I might have to video this one to show the effect better.
The second one is from 2008 and is a polyurethane stamp to represent a football. Just odd. BTW, it isn't black and white. My scanner never picked up of the touches of red on the ball.
Another in my longish list of don't likes are labels and ATM "stamps". These really are scraping the barrel. Whatever country issues them. In this case, it's Deutsche Post from Germany. Again, my cheapo scanner picks this up as B&W although it is a pale green. From the 1980s in this case.
Another odd-ball type stamp is that which includes holograms. Not sure whether they are required as part of the design or whether they are added as a security feature. Another from Germany in 1999.
Next on my increasing list are self-adhesives. Now you might think that this is a health and safety issue with SARS-Cov-1. But, no, these type of stamps have been around since the mid 60s when more humid countries tried to find a way to stop their stamps all sticking together. Being self adhesive also led to a load of strangely cut stamps. Things in the shape of bananas and the like. Yeuch! Just in case you think I'm now having a go at Germany. Not at all. Real stamp on the left, the other thing, on the right. From 2010.
And don't get me started on Disney/Hollywood etc. Spurious connections if any. I firmly believe that stamps should be relevant to the country issuing them. In this case from GB in 2015 self-adhesives, miniature sheet and Star Wars.
So that's it. Just some examples of stamps that come into my possession. Bought because they are part of the set, or needed to complete. Doesn't mean I like them.
I haven't posted any stamp on stamp designs yet but I could have. I don't like them either. For many reasons.
As usual, feel free to add your thoughts whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.
