Big Blue 1840-1940 Stamp blog

And all this time I thought only fowl were "plucked."

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/04/chad-closer-look.html

The 1922 eighteen stamp first issue for Chad consisted of an overprint ("TCHAD"), and typographic "types" of the 1907-17 Middle Congo issue (actually up to 1922). By "types", we mean a change in color. In this case, the 10c is deep green & gray green for Chad, while the Middle Congo 10c stamps (issued in 1922) are carmine & blue, and deep green & blue green respectively.

What does that mean for the collector? Well, it means it would be much more difficult to counterfeit these overprinted stamps. Simply adding a forgery overprint to Middle Congo stamps will not work. The color scheme for Chad stamps has also been changed. !! And this color change is true for other French colonies that are overprinted as well.

Interested? - check it out.

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/05/china-junk-issues-of-1913-1915-1923.html

Confused by the subtle differences for the China "Junk" Issues of 1913, 1915 & 1923?

I gathered all the signs and present them - some that are not even listed listed by Scott.

Check it out.

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/05/china-reaping-rice-stamps-of-1913-1915.html

The differences between the Junk, Reaper, and Hall of Classics three issues (1913, 1915-19, 1923) can be subtle. These iconic stamps of the Republic of China, the first regular issues for the Republic, deserve a close look, as, in my view, the issues are some of the most beautiful, ever. !!!

This part will cover the middle denomination (15c, 16c, 20c, 30c, 50c, 13c) "Reaping Rice" design stamps.

If anything, the Reaper stamps have even more subtle differences than the "Junk" stamps, especially between the 1913 London Issue and the 1915-19 First Peking Issue. But, as is true of the "Junk" stamps, the 1923 re-engraved Reaper stamps have many more obvious differences.

I have made some 53 scans of the Reaper stamps for this post, and will cover each denomination. True, the signs for each denomination are the same for every denomination, but practice (especially with my cancelled stamps with some faults) makes perfect!

Interested! Check out the link. !!

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/06/china-1888-1929-closer-look.html

Classical China (1878-1949) is a tough country for the WW collector.

I can't think of any other country where it is so difficult to obtain material (even inexpensive material), and dealers almost always have little stock, as it goes out the door as soon as it comes in.

I did join the China Stamp Society, and they do hold auctions for their members. But there are no bargains at their auctions because one is competing against other enthusiastic China collectors.

So, even though I have a high interest in obtaining classical China, I've not come very far. A happy problem for us WW collectors is there is always other countries to collect, often with abundant material available and bargains to be had. So I circle back to China only occasionally, get frustrated with lack of buying opportunities, and move on again to another county.

Be that as it may, I thought I would do a broad (but limited in depth) review of the classical stamps of China. The review will give short shrift to the early (and expensive) issues, as I simply do not have material. But there is still much to talk about.

Madbaker - hope all is well with you. 

Get China Stamp Society Specialized Catalog to 1949 - H. James Maxwell Editor (My copy was published 2012)

It is available at the China Stamp Society website - there is a discount I believe if you are a member, but it is worth obtaining even if one is not a member.

It covers all of the overprints -  indispensable!!

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/06/chile-1910-issues-closer-look.html

This is the third "closer look" post for the stamps of classical era Chile.

The first two posts....
A beginner's guide to Chile's 1853-1865 issues
Chile 1867-1909 - a closer look

This third emission frankly serves as an excuse for me to show off the 1910 issue commemorating the centenary of independence for Chile. This gorgeous bi-color fifteen stamp issue (Scott 83-97) was produced by the American Bank Note Company of New York.

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-obscure-1921-issues-of-western.html

The Obscure 1921 Issues of "Western Hungary" (Lajtabansag)

Attached like an afterthought at the end of Scott's Hungary catalogue pages is "Western Hungary" - little known and even less loved.

My "Hungary - BOB, Occupation" post at least showed examples of the occupation issues of Hungary (Arad, Debrecen, Transylvania, Baranya, Temesvar, Banat, Bacska, Szeged).

But nary a mention of "Western Hungary". And no spaces in Big Blue for them either.

But truth be told I love obscure "countries". :-)

So let's review a little history of this short-lived "country", and how it came to be in 1921 (with 97 stamps issued)......

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/09/colombia-1859-1870-closer-look.html

Colombia.

Consider all the countries in South America, and their philatelic output.

Then consider Colombia.

Calling it a philatelic challenge doesn't approach doing justice for the WW collector.

It is like hiking the hills near my hometown in Oregon, and then climbing the North Sister.

Consider...

A lithographic printing process for many/most issues throughout the classical era, with the attendant unauthorized reprints and forgeries....

Information about reprints/forgeries scattered throughout obscure philatelic literature and forgotten, with little access for today's Internet oriented collector....

The SCADTA issue air post stamps...

And then there are all the Colombian States issues...

Overwhelming.

So what is the WW classical era collector to do?

Well, as best I can, I will try to muddle through part of the challenge with some planned three posts devoted to, at least, the classical era regular issues.

At least, I do have some information about reprints and forgeries gleaned from catalogues and my philatelic library. And there are some internet resources.

Let's begin...

1859-1870 - a closer look

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/09/colombia-1871-1883-closer-look.html

This blog post will look at the 1871-1883 era. All the issues are lithographic, and therefore counterfeits and reprints are still a concern.

But a vexing issue for the collector are the designs which often are quite similar. The "Coat of Arms" design continues to be a common motif. We will try to point out the differences.

Considering the many variations found for each issue during the classical era, Colombia is a fascinating country for philatelists. And the cataIogue values tend to be modest. I suspect, unlike many European countries, there are still many unexplored avenues open to today's collector.

"Portuguese Guinea 1881 Scott 6 200r orange"
Triple play: Forged Stamp, Overprint, Cancel

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-certs-are-back-and-reality-bites.html

Two years ago I published a post under the title Bad Certs - Part A, in which was shown a group of stamps that returned bad news: namely the Certs revealed forgeries and other shenanigans.

Well, I have more from the cache to show today.

There was a bit of confusion with the title of my original post. I've changed the title to reflect that these are not literally "Bad Certs", but rather the underlying stamps are "bad".

What I said in my original post....

"For the WW collector, there is much to be learned from Bad Certs.

I have a dealer acquaintance, very ethical, who sends away for many certs. He is rewarded with many good ones, but the bad ones (and the stamps) are pulled, and put into a reference folder. At times he sells the folder, having no further need of it, and that is how I acquired a cache of bad certs, with the accompanied stamps.

Let's pick over the Cert rejects, and see what lessons can be learned..."

Ha-Ha, thanks cjd.  

I was referring to the run of George V & George VI stamp issues for the British colonies/protectorates with their visages of said monarch, while other countries, such as France, at least tried to show local flavor/scenes during the era. 

OTOH, there is much I love about classical British Colonial/Protectorate stamps: the Victorian era, the Chalons, the Australian colonies, to name a few. 

bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/2020/11/colombian-states-antioquia.html

How can one tell that one is in the (exciting to me!) philatelic backwaters of the hobby? Perhaps an unconventional way is comparing the Scott 1840-1940 classic catalogue over the years. I believe Scott began replacing black & white stamp illustrations around 2004. By 2011, it was rare to find a black & white stamp illustration, because they had been replaced with colored ones. Yet, with the Colombian States, the 2011 catalogue still had 51 B&W illustrations - Wow! My 2020 Classic catalogue now has none - finally. !!

If you enjoy exploring the backwaters of an interesting era, then the Colombian States offer much!

From my original Colombian States post...

"The United States of Colombia (1862-85) consisted of nine original States: Antioquia, Bolivar, Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Panama, Santander, Cauca*, Magdalena*, and Tolima. Naturally, all of them issued stamps as early as 1863. After a new constitution was adopted in 1886, the States became Departments, losing their sovereignty. But the Departments retained some rights, including issuing stamps as late as 1904. It should be noted that Panama left the Republic in 1903.
* Cauca and Magdalena did issue "stamps", but they are not presently listed in Scott."

I thought we would revisit these Colombian States.

This is actually a big topic. I will illustrate some (what I have) of the stamp issues from each State/Department. To make it manageable, I will publish several posts.

First up: Antioquia