Collecting Unissued Stamps

Catalogs very rarely list unissued stamps, and I have not really considered pursuing these as part of a collection.

I don't consider my stamp collection as an investment (I think a stamp collection is a lot like a boat). I collect for the history and story of each stamp, so unissued stamps seem like a logical addition.

So, I guess I am just looking for other's opinions and insights.

If you love history, you might want to explore the next level of collecting -- postal history collecting -- the stamp is used to convey communications from point A-to point B at a given Rate, at a given period of time. Or, depending on the period you collect (i.e.) you may want to explore the history behind the stamps' engravers and printers. There are foreign rates to explore or specialities like Air Mails, Postage Due usages or Special Delivery.


I'm not sure about your quote, however there are specialized catalogs out there that list almost anything printed in the last 200+ years. (This is a great place to get guidance in that arena.)

But I'm not sure if the above helps.
Hal

I think it is a great sideline collection. Bolivia has a nine-stamp set for the Guaqui-La Paz railroad that went unissued. Here is the high value:



Haiti did not issue this 1914 stamp, ostensibly because a large number of them were stolen:



Scott used to list this as #226, and if you look today, you'll see that there is a gap in numbering where this set would appear. Yet the Classic includes a note about them.

This is one of a number of unissued airmails for Andorra:



You'll find that you have to define for yourself what went unissued, and what was purely speculative. The Andorra set might have been meant for a route to Barcelona.

Newfoundland has the great Wayzata airmail:



Go for it.

The Michel catalog lists many unissued stamps along with some background information. Some very interesting spice for your collection

Gibbons sometimes lists, and sometimes prices, unissued stamps. This one from Cochin State in India



is listed, in a footnote, and priced.

It's not clear why it wasn't issued. It did appear with a surcharge



(SG 122)

and it also appeared overprinted for Official use



so it wasn't the vile colour that caused the Cochin authorities to withhold the stamp. It's all a dark mystery.

Many Cinderella buffs include these in their collections. I have a few which seemed to have found me rather than vice-versa.

The small print run of the top example was, in the end, never used as it was decided not to issue stamps at that time. The value is in potatoes.

The second one is mentioned in Gibbons catalogue as being unissued. Britannia and all that !






Here are some of the other designs that were produced for Tristan. Later, these and a few others were produced as labels for Exhibitions or Anniversaries.



The stamps below were overprinted for use in Metz after the liberation of France during WWII but not sanctioned by the Postal Authorities.





Londonbus1

https://www.linns.com/news/postal-u...i-colle.html

The above Linn's article makes no mention of possible U.S. unissued stamps. I do not collect them, but in trying to create a personal list of all existing U.S. stamps, I was surprised at the many missing Scott numbers for stamps that were announced, Scott numbers assigned, but were never issued. So far, I have found 88 missing Scott numbers for unissued U.S. stamps. Does anyone have a photo or know the subject of any unissued U.S. stamp listed on my following new page?

https://www.folklib.net/fdc/us-stam...issued.shtml
Announced U.S. Stamps which were never issued

PostalCardCachet,

A missing Scott number is not proof of an unissued stamp.
Scott is an independent entity from the USPS and Scott has renumbered stamps from time to time, assigned blocks of number for ongoing definitive series which eventually overfilled or underfilled, etc.

To explain some of your list ... Scott 520, 521, and 522 used to be what we now call C1, C2, and C3. In 1930, many of the special purpose stamps got separated out and these three became 1300, 1301, and 1302. In 1940, the alphabetic prefixes were introduced and they became C1, C2, and C3. Thus the 520-522 gap is caused by an abandonment caused by the renumbering of the first three airmails. Here is a scan from the 1925 Scott worldwide catalog:



So there has been a LOT of reshuffling of Scott numbers prior to 1950. What we now call Scott U.S. number 1 & 2 were still numbers 28 and 29 until the mid-1940s (sometime between 1943 and 1949).

Bottom line: be cautious about numbering gaps in the Scott catalog representing unissued stamps.

The Canal Zone prepared the Arms of Panama stamp series but only issued the first two (1c and 2c) in February 1924.



The 5c to 1b were prepared but not issued following abrogation of the Taft Agreement which had required the Canal Zone to use overprinted stamps of Panama.



Accordingly, all Panama stamps overprinted "CANAL ZONE" were withdrawn from sale June 30, 1924 and were no longer valid for postage after Aug 31, 1924.

Today, the seven unissued stamps are quite valuable - $350 each for unused.

I just recently discovered a set of these while merging in an Andora remnant collection into my main set. I couldn't find them anywhere (in any Scott WW catalog). Google to the rescue! Searching for "Sobre Taxa"and likely Andorra brought up the info I needed. Still not sure what I want to do with these as it doesn't seem right to add a page to my album for these.

Andorra: They look like they would make a wonderful add-in page with enough room for "the story" about them.

Several Malaya States stamps were unissued due to the Japanese occupation. Most if not all exist with occupation overprints, however quantities were found that had never received overprints. One example is shown below; never issued without Japanese overprint.

@John Becker: "a missing Scott number is not proof of an unissued stamp." Very true. I commented recently in the Dead Countries - Lost Nations thread that Scott deleted some stamps from Portuguese India's listings in the late 1950s because somebody at Scott felt those deleted items did not exist. In face, most of them were issued and used.

Hi Steve,
No doubt I could have made a more lengthy statement as each catalog number change has its own story. I thought I would de-bunk three gaps to show the possibilities for the others. Sufficient to say, Scott has made a lot of numbering changes over the years, so that one needs have have a significant run of catalogs to chronicle their numbering history before making "lists" of this nature from a current catalog. And to realize that Scott does not have coverage of most foreign areas at such an in-depth specialized level.

Can unissued stamps be considered legitimate if they were not officially released by the government post office?

Jogil- I don't think so. They are not postage stamps, and I am not sure why some are mentioned and priced as footnotes in various catalogs. Scott also mentions some. My interpretation of this thread is that the question is around collectability and not so much legitimacy.