Now don’t get me wrong here, I LOVE all kinds of stamps and I don’t NEED a gimmicky piece of post to catch my eye. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the more ehhh… special kind of issues that tend to find their way in to print. Some of them tend to have a very bittersweet life among collectors which I’ve noticed seems to swing to the extremes of being a specialty interest with some and a rather sketchy dislike akin to the weird uncle no one really likes and always shows up at the family reunions even when he’s never been invited. But why?!? Why such polarization?!?
I for one adore how creative and out of the ordinary these issues tend to be. In the name of sharing my love of oddness I’ll throw out a few examples that pop in mind when I think on the topic. So this is by no means a definitive source about these misfit elves of philately but rather a small introduction to the creative spark of artists that serve the stamp collecting sphere.
The Record Series Of Bhutan
In what is probably one of the most inventive and fun issues created so far we have the Bhutanese record series.
When these first came out in 1972 they largely were ignored as trashy or gimmicky. Very much like the mass produced stamps from the middle east at the time which were garish and specifically created to pander to the larger body of collectors. They were so ignored that they didn’t even show up in any stamp catalogs, at least that I’ve found, until the early 1990’s and even then they were pretty decently priced for a harder to source country. And then someone spilled the beans! What was once considered tacky was now an interesting novelty and the demand rose. Tho it’s wasn’t a hand over fist tug of war between sellers and buyers it was and still is a bit of a task to find any of them at a budget friendly price. Bhutan is one of those smaller countries that doesn’t issue large amounts of stamps even for something as original as the record series so while they pop up on Ebay quite often you’ll want to wait for a price you are alright with instead of just jumping on the first seller you find.
Oh! And what does a stamp that doubles as a record sound like? Well, actually VERY good to be honest. They play at 33 1/3 on standard players and quality is, I’d say, comparable to any other record of the time. Don’t believe me? Then have a listen!
Ain’t no party like a Eyjafjallajokull party cause a Eyjafjallajokull party don’t stop
In 2010 the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted causing massive commerce and air travel disruption as well as rather horrible atmospheric issues for those living….well, pretty much in all of Iceland. People even claimed to have had ashfall as far away as Newfoundland and Russia. So what does a government do when its populace is menaced by the ground cracking open to reveal an fresh new hell realm of despair and terror? Why, they make a stamp. Duh! And I, for one, am glad they did. This set is in my collection and I consider it a bit of a jewel in the crown for it’s interesting nature.
Notice those odd splotches of black in the stamps? Kind of looks like someone doesn’t know how to use a scanner and the light was a little too reflective? Well it’s not the scanner but the stamp itself. You see, when these were being printed those splotches were included for a very special ink which was made by mixing ash from the volcano’s eruption in to the printing ink itself. So that reflection is the slight grit of several microns of volcanic ash embedded in to the stamp itself during printing. So while it might not be a very photogenic stamp it looks very nice in person and the ability to hold a tiny bit of a famous epic volcano in your palm is impressive to say the least.
Peranakan Museum is just too amazing for its own good
The Peranakan museum of Singapore is one of the most lauded museums focused on specific cultural/group identity. The Peranakans are the traders and travelers who came in to Singapore from surrounding Asia creating their own culture that stressed color and art as a huge part of daily life. So to celebrate the stunning collection of the Peranakan museum it wasn’t much of a surprise that they’d choose one of their most beloved pieces. This is an ancient hand sewn belt purse painstakingly created by tens of thousands of glass beads in a dazzlingly colorful dragon and deer motif. It was turned in to a souvenir sheet with the stamp at the middle being created by beads hand glued to the paper. Yep, that’s right: Someone sat and glued each bead on the middle stamp one by one in to the design, line after line, just so you can enjoy a bit of ancient art in your own home.
It’s limited release as well as owners not wanting to resell have let to prices going for between 100$ to about 300$ish price range. And while I don’t see them actually sell for that I also don’t see many come on the market. So until we have sellers willing to lower prices and/or people become aware that this beauty is even a thing then it’s probably going to be a while until I or my collecting buddies will get a copy. Although if anyone out there has a used copy….might be willing to bargain with ya?
Of course there’s many other interesting unconventional issues out there but to be honest I’m…..too tired to go any further on this for the night. I’m sure I’ll do updates as I learn about and come across others so keep yours eyes peeled! Please don’t hesitate to tell me of any that you’ve found or heard of yourself.
The Stamp Corner 