My First Stamp From The Land Of The Quetzal

All this time I have been thinking that I have stamps from Guatemala.
So I went to put this stamp in with the others, only to find there were no others. So this is my first stamp from Guatemala and another country crossed of the OFEC list. That's the trouble with collecting coins too, turns out it's Guatemala coins that I have.
I don't have a catalogue out from the library at the moment to cover "G", so any info would be great.


Steve

Ah Yes Guatemalan coffee..i will have some real Quetzals..the saucy little bird for ya !!

Scott #C786 15c in 1995

Thanks for the info Warrehouse.

Phil, I would join you in a cup of Guatemalian coffee, but I don't think we could fit. LOL

Steve

Sorry I didnt read..Hey it appreciated to 25 cents catalog in the 2008 scott !!

There are 10 stamps in this particular coffee issue of 1984. Eight of them are "normal" size (approx 1.625" x 1.25") stamps in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12 and 25 centavos. There are also 2 very rare and very large perforated stamps that measure 86mm x 112mm (approx. 3.25 inches x 4.5 inches) in denominations of 25 and 30 centavos. Scott retails these at $110.00 and $140.00 respectively.

Postal trivia: There were 6 stamps to a sheet and these huge stamps were rejected by the public. Even though very few were printed the PO had difficulty selling them. I have only ever seen one that was used. It appears that the majority of these may have ended up in the hands of dealers in South America. I was tracking these 2 stamps about 2 years ago on ebay and noticed that at least 4 out of 5 sold were from 2 or 3 dealers in Argentina. The story gets longer but I'll stop here.





G

Opps, No 30 centavo stamp photo. I must have missed something in the photo upload. I'll try again for the 30 centavo giant.

Only 5 thousand of each of the 2 big coffee stamps were printed..i picked up my two for forty bucks...

I have two of each, the first pair came with a complete MNH set of all 10 stamps for $75 in 1996. The second pair cost me $30 in 2005 from one of the Argentinian dealers. When I was tracking them 2 years ago they averaged $60 for both. Recent tracking reveals prices on ebay have risen somewhat but I don't check very often anymore to see if prices are consistent. "Buy it now" prices have been as high as $495.00. That's absurd!

quigngt - I haven't welcomed you to the family, so

It's good to have someone actually from Guatemala with us!