Stamp Magazine

24 Sep 2014

Mail Rail - Rediscovering London’s Old Post Office Railway

London’s Old Post Office Railway

The streets of London are always filled with buses, cars and people busy with their daily transactions. The cityscape has changed through the years, with new and modern buildings and vehicles that continue to amaze both the visitors and London residents alike. But beneath the capital’s streets is a 6-mile tunnel that plays host to an almost-forgotten mode of transportation - the London Post Office Railway, or affectionately called the Mail Rail. Erected more than a century ago by an act of the Parliament, the Mail Rail was primarily used to carry almost 12 million postal items starting from White Chapel in the East End to Paddington in the West.

Getting ready for tourists

The train was just one of the dozen trains in the tube platform but this one was special, and in a... Read More

Stamp, British Postal History, Mail Rail

4 Sep 2014

Inverted Jenny - The Story Behind a Rare Find

Postage stamps aren’t just items you place on envelopes so that these can be air-mailed to choice destinations and recipients. Stamps are also treasures that can be collected and used to tell a story or explain a country’s history. Take the case of the popular ‘Inverted Jenny’ stamp, also known as Jenny Invert and Upside Down Jenny. This is one stamp that tells a loaded story, a story that has been told and retold, each retelling adding to its charm and overall value. This stamp is now considered the most famous (and sought-after) stamp in American philately and for all the right reasons. The stamp has been sold and resold for large sums of money, including the block of four ‘Jenny’ stamps that sold for US $2.7 million in 2005! This stamp is rare, treasured and valuable, but how... Read More

Stamp, Postal History, Inverted Jenny

23 Aug 2014

Carpatho-Ukraine Stamps Printed Between 1939 & 1945

Carpatho-Ukraine was once part of the Hapsburg Empire, not under the control of Russia as some might think. This region that also includes Transcarpathia and Ruthenia was under the direct control of the Hapsburg Empire, and as such used stamps that were issued and used in Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Here’s a look at the popular stamp issues used in the area.

National Assembly Issues made available in Khust

In time for the planned First Carpatho-Ukrainian National Assembly in Khust, the government decided to design a stamp that will commemorate the event. Before the actual assembly, the famed 3-koruny blue stamp that showed the church of Yasinia was distribuited. The design of the stamp that showed the Church of the Ascension was actually a re-engraving and... Read More

Stamp, Postal History

21 Aug 2014

German Occupation Stamps - Learning European History through Stamps

In 1941 Germany led by Adolf Hitler took control of Ukraine. At first the Germans were considered by some Western Ukrainians to have come to liberate Ukraine, but the bloody rule of Germany changed that perception soon enough and the locals turned against the German occupation. Though they took control of the region, the German forces did not initiate moves to tap into the people’s anger against the Stalin-led government. What the Germans did was to retain the collective-farming system, they sent people to work in Germany, worked towards the de-population of the country and worse, started the systematic killings of the Jewish population. The war was then concentrated on the eastern front where Nazi Germany suffered the maximum loss. On the Ukrainian side loss of life reached 1.4... Read More

Stamp, Postal History, Occupation Stamps