Value Of Japanese "Officially Sealed" Stamps?

I found a few of these in a miscellaneous lot. While the Scott U.S. Specialized catalog lists Officially Sealed stamps for the U.S., Scott does not appear to list these for Japan either in the regular volume or in the Classic Specialized. What catalogs (if any) list them and at what values unused?

The only information I've been able to find online is that there were apparently 3 different types.

Thanks.

A site dedicaded to post office seals of the world. There is a mention of a catalog "Official Seals of the World" by Jim Drummond. If you click "Japan" on the list of countries to the left there is infos about your seal.

http://www.poseal.com/

Daniel

Yvert lists these same basic designs as:

Yv#1 1885 perf 9, brown, mint and used both at 23.--

Yv#2 1888 perf 13.5, brown-yellow, mint and used both at 1.55
Yv#2a dark brown, mint and used both at 2.30

2005 pricing...no mention of perf 12 or control numbers.

What is confusing about the listing is that the listing for #2 says (roughly translated) "same basic type, with a legend of Department of Communications of Japan" -- which implies that the statement on #1 says something else.

[edit: to clean up the code for the Euro symbol, which worked in the Preview pane, but not on posting.]

Thanks for the information. No winning the lottery this time.

"You can't win if you don't play."

Where OX's are concerned, winning the lottery often involves finding them tied on cover.

Cjd: The statement on that first stamp design is "General Post Office of Japan".

According to the Shimomura revenue catalog, there are 4 design types for official seals for international mail. (There's a whole 'nother series of stamps, probably about a dozen different design types, written in Japanese only, for domestic mail. They look nothing like the international ones.)

Within the design type you show, Shimomura lists 5 different stamps. I believe yours is #102 (although it looks to me like there's a typo that calls it #101 again, but that's the stamp preceding it in the catalog), which has thicker (or bolder) kanji (characters) immediately above and below the chrysanthemum symbol in the middle of the stamp.

I'm using the 2003 catalog, and in there it's valued at ¥500, but if it's like the other Japanese catalogs I use, that means maybe ~$2.50, probably in a little crisper condition than this one.

The one to keep an eye out for is the one mentioned by Cjd. If it looks like yours but says "General Post Office of Japan" instead, then that one catalogs for ¥3000. (Still not a lottery winner, but better.)

Hope that's helpful!

-- Dave

Dave, is it easy to summarize the perf options listed in Shimomura?

Yvert pictures the second design right at the top of the Retour listings, without a label or reference that it is, in fact, the second design. Thanks for the clarification on the notation on the first issue.

Cjd: The quick summary of the perf options of this design type is either 9-1/2, 10, or 10-1/2.

Are you trying to id some? Feel free to send me scans (email address is in profile) and I can take a look. Shimomura also shows very small design differences among 3 different stamps that would appear at first blush to look the same.

-- Dave

I allowed myself to let the Shimomura fall off of my must-buy list, and I think I should put it back on the list.

I only have a few of these seals. I tried to find the example I posted here in the last several months, and I must not have included 'Japan' in the filename, because I didn't immediately find it on the site......at the risk of duplication, here it is again:



Obviously, this one could spend a little time in a bath.

I believe this one might be #105, although a portion of the design area that shows a design difference (it's fly-specking, really) is a bit obscured by the paper adhesion in the upper-left corner.

That said, the 3 stamps listed that are flyspeck cousins all catalog for ¥100 yen unused, so there's no gold nugget (or lottery ticket!) buried in correctly discerning one from the other.

You might see what others think, but I find the Shimomura catalog a challenge to use. I even read some Japanese, and can usually translate a listing (or else I ask Tonymac for help!), and some of the differences Shimomura lists are hard for me to figure out. So don't beat yourself up too hard about not having the catalog. (And there's a newer edition than the 2003 one I have -- I haven't been able to put my hands on it yet.)

Also, I've seen people (dealers, especially) who get their hands on the Japan specialized (JSCA catalog), which is also not very English-friendly, and make the wrong identification because they don't understand the "except" character, or the "without" character, or the "not" character, and come to the exactly opposite conclusion from the one they should be coming to! (I've done it myself, especially early on, and learned my lesson.) I think the same risk is inherent in using the Shimomura. [end of soapbox rant ;-) ]

-- Dave

I think you just saved me some money and some aggravation. It's back on the 'someday' list.

I'm kind of hoping the most recent edition might be better, because I believe it's been picked up by a philatelic publisher. If it's been at all re-designed, it would be a step in the right direction. Even the 2003 version I have looks like it was laid out on a Japanese word-processor. And I purchased it directly from Mr. Shimomura in Japan at that time. I could be wrong, but I believe he may have passed, and that a company has picked up the mantle. I'd love to get my hands on it to see, but haven't been able to track one down yet.

I think Nigel (who posts on here from time to time) has the most recent Barefoot volume that covers Japan. Sometimes they're able to hit the nail right on the head.

Also, this site is quite helpful, although they don't cover postal seals, as far as I could tell, and don't go into as much detail as the catalog does:

http://eng.ssjp.dk/rev/eng/rev/overviewrev.html

I have toyed with the idea of building a little identifier site myself, but it's currently on that "someday" list ...


-- Dave

That site is what put the Shimomura on the back burner for me. There is always room for more information, but that site is a fine placeholder for me, for now.

That's very well said. I agree with you entirely.