Firstly I will clarify the history, since although you have found it yourself other readers of this thread may not have. When Indonesia became Independent from the Netherlands in 1949 it was as a federation of Java, Sumatra, South Borneo, the Celebes, the Molukus, Papua (and several etcs). The South Molukus objected and the following year declared UDI.
They issued stamps, which were overprints on Indonesian stamps.These are very scarce.
(Please note I do not collect Indonesia so to illustrate this reply I have taken images from the Web.)
A tiny number of these stamps were used for postal purposes in the South Molukus. They are the Holy Grail of Molukus collectors.
Indonesia immediately sent in troops. The leadership of the Molukus who survived/escaped went into exile. There they issued stamps, as do most Governments in Exile. The point is partly to raise money and partly to raise awareness. They probably (most GiEs do) promised that when the Molukus became independent they would legitimise the stamps amd make them current tender. So YeaPolska's
approval crowd saying, yes, these were unofficial, but who knows what will happen, subtly implying that they may receive official status one day so NOW is the time to buy them whilst being wildly over-optimistic, were not necessarily being dishonest. In Yorkshire they were of course more realistic; this is an approval booklet of South Molukus material - note the warning on the front:
These stamps include all the 'usual suspects' - McArthur/UN/UPU and various assorted beasts, which are common as muck. But the 'red map' issue, for example is rarely seen, and certainly not cheap:
The stamp issuing died out after a few years, but the unsold issues occasionally get dusted off and overprinted as a revival e.g.
Furthermore a few years ago when a Papuan Independence group wanted to issue similar propaganda stamps the Republic of the South Molukus in Exile (which still exists to this day, although they change their name periodically) gave them some of theirs to overprint.
None of these are common.
So to answer your question of what to do with these stamps - well, collect them! A full collection of the 'easy' ones, with just one example from each of the scarce sets would probably get you a decent prize in a Cinderella exhibition.
Or a collection of these could be contrasted with a collection of the issues put out by the Indonesian provisional government when they were fighting for independence from the Netherlands in the late 1940s.
Or start a collection of stamps issued by Governments in Exile around the world.
Just don't pay too much for them and remember that they will never appear in stamp catalogues. Unless they win, of course ....
Posted 02/01/2014 6:23 pm
