Are Stamps From These Countries Actual Postage??

OK folks, I have a question that I can't seem to find a simple answer for.

I recently got back into stamps (I have a lot of hobbies… one will grab all my attention for a while, then it goes into hibernation and another takes over) and while looking over my collection, started to think about certain issues. I am starting to think perhaps some of them are not actual postage. Now that I am a bit more "seasoned", this bothers me. Sure, I like the topics and designs, but if they are not real postage, then why did I pay what I consider a premium when they were issued? There is a place for topicals, but I'm not into paying money for something that isn't what it pretends to be…

So here is the question: ARE STAMPS FROM THESE COUNTRIES ACTUAL POSTAGE, OR SIMPLY CINDERELLAS?

1. Anguilla
2. Antiqua & Barbuda
3. Cayman Islands
4. Comm. of Dominica
5. Gambia
6. Gibraltar
7. Grenada
8. Guyana
9. Isle of Man
10. Maldaves
11. Marshall Islands
12. Mozambique
13. Monaco
14. Mongolia
15. Niger
16. Pitcairn Islands
17. Rep. du Tchad
18. Rep. Mali
19. Solomon Islands
20. St Vincent

I'd appreciate any help with this list. I tried looking up a few online, but couldn't get a simple YES or NO answer.

Nells
I read your list and all these countries issue genuine postage stamps. Stamps that are really use for postage. Someone just have to look in a catalogue, if you find it there, it's not a bogus stamp or a cinderella. I understand catalogues are expensive but someone can always borrow them at the local library or consult them on the spot. A catalogue give most informations needed. Even an outdated catalogue is useful and can be obtain at a cheaper price. Daniel

They are real countries with real postage stamps, not Cinderellas, IMHO.
Therein lies a deeper question though -- many of the stamps are not primarily used as postage. Poor countries with lots of tourists, such as in the Caribbean Islands take good advantage of stamp hungry tourists and other who may have fond memories of the islands. Which brings up the whole matter of "canceled to order" (CTO) stamps. Others on the site know much more than me about the process, and I look forward to their replies.
Stamps from my beloved Austria, which I collect, sometimes show up canceled lightly on the corner with the gum still intact -- An obvious CTO warning sign, so I suspect private businesses are also CTO sources.
Some collectors keep such stamps on paper, just to prove that they were postally used. I have some Burundy stamps from correspondence -- I will not soak them.

If you're interested in a list of those "countries" that do not issue stamps for postal use or are just a "fictional" entity that prints stamps for unsuspecting collectors, here's a link that gives a wealth of information on so-called "bogus issues" which are stamps not issued or intended for postal use. It's a good resource, if you have questions on some oddities that always seem to come about every so often:

http://www.iswsc.org/iswsc_identbogus.html

wt1
Yes, good ressource. Allot of these I never heard before.

Mongolia is one of the countries I collect and it is not a source of "fake" or Cinderella stamps.

In reviewing the original list of countries provided above, I thought this cancel from the Marshall Islands might be interesting to prove their use of postage stamps:

I've got real used (=not CTO) stamps from most of these with the exception of Marshall Islands; and I'm quite sure it too exist real used in some quantities.

OK, here is an example I am not so sure about:



Somehow this strikes me as an issue not intended as actual postage.

I sometimes wonder (perhaps foolishly) in some circumstances why countries will publish stamps on a topic so foreign to the experience of its citizens.

A lot of the stamps from some of these countries we're never intended for postage, but for collectors. A collector from Zimbabwe (I think, or some other African country) said that many of the stamps being produced were never seen in Zimbabwe, but went straight to the collectors market. Probably being printed abroad, the chance is big they never touched the soil of Zimbabwe.

The fact that some countries produce stamps that
may not receive postal duty should be of no concern
to collectors, providing you approach the situation
with an open mind.

The true collector will collect whatever he or she likes
there are no restrictions to what someone decides to collect.

The true philatelist will be able to discern the
stamps that will qualify for his/her discipline.
That will become part of the study.

There is ample room for all in the spectrum.

Rod222, I see what you are saying, and I agree people should collect whatever they want to collect, for whatever reasons they may have. Do what makes you happy.

BUT, when a stamp is sold at a premium to collectors, but has no postal validity at all, it seems like a bit of a ripoff for a pretty piece of paper. I would think that instead it would sell for very little when new.

Again, to each his (or her) own. But I would like a better understanding of the postal status of these items in my collection.

Curiosity killed the collector, you know!

Collectors are certainly cool cats.

I get your drift, Nells,
and, to a point I agree with you,
but the coloured labels I recall, that were marketed by
Coles, or Embassy were a couple of pennies anyhows.

Kids and youngsters were not out of pocket
in my opinion.
True, I have seen a repected philatelist nearly get
sucked into a minisheet of genuine "personal" stamps
that had a thematic attached ($15)
We often see experienced collector fall for
expensive forgeries.

I think the coloured labels served a purpose,
kids loved them, and started them off on perhaps
a life long obsession.

Modern day (and some doubtful Disney stamps)
on todays market are more sinister.

I see kids even today buy sparkling nonsense labels
from boot sales and flea markets,
kids all go through these "stick in a book" fad
why not have some "nearly stamps" to get 'em started?

Ah yes, the sticker fad! I think I still have some up in the attic from the 1980s! Even today, my niece likes them. Maybe I should give her my CTOs! ;-)