TomSwift - no joke.
First, the Alaska Cruise stamps were a special issue by
Canada Post. They were only sold on a certain Alaska cruise and a very limited print run. This was a first foray into personalized stamps. The idea was that you could take a picture of yourself, etc on the cruise and then apply that picture (not sure how difficult the process) to the stamps and use them to send mail.
A sheet (mint) costs between $45 - 75 on
ebay last I checked. I had one from a while back and sold it for $48.
The other personalized stamps have had many series. The newest ones are easy for anyone. Just send money and a picture to
Canada Post and they will put it on a sheet of stamps and send it back (cost is more than face value of course).
The early ones (the ones that go for high $ amounts) are the ones where you were given a stamp with a frame only. You had to mail a picture you wanted on the stamp and they would send you back labels to stick onto the frame.
These personalized stamps (used) are not that easy to find, and yes they might be a goldfish, but usually people.
I agree that I have no interest in stamps with strangers on them, however, I found one in a lot and sold it for good $. So no joke - however probably a very limited market. Mine had 3 bidders.
Posted 08/09/2014 6:00 pm
