I Found This Stamp In An Old Book :) I Dont Collect Us, But It Looks Good

Robi13,

I'm reaching a little bit on the images in the stamp here, so bear with me, but I thought you might enjoy the stamp more if you had a guess on the history. Telstar 1 was the first satellite to transmit phone, fax, and television around the world. The satellite was launched in 1962 and stopped functioning in February of 1963 (the same year as Kennedy's death). He is shown on the phone presumably talking directly with someone in Rwanda. The satellite was not in a geosynchronous orbit, so it passed over the entire globe in a little over 2.5 hours. As I understand it, most ground stations could track the satellite for about 20 minutes. This means that Rwanda would have had a shorter window when the satellite was in view of both the United States and Rwanda, so this would likely have been a short phone call (if it ever occurred).

The image of the satellite is definitely not Telstar 1 itself, but it might be an artist's conception based on a view of the satellite with its propulsion module attached (http://www.britannica.com/topic/Tel...s-satellite) and a dash of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 thrown in.

I'm a beginner who inherited a stamp collection with these types of stamps in it and I really like trying to track down the story behind the stamp. For my collection, I hope to write this kind of thing down (speculative or not, but well documented when it can be) into a series of web pages that can be put on a DVD along with the collection so that future generations can find a way to enjoy these stamps when they realize that what they have really done is inherited from a sticky paper collector instead of an investor.

Even if the sordid reality is that Rwanda was so short on cash that exporting stamps (!) actually helped the economy, the stamps need to appeal to the presumptive buyer. Thus, some kernel of truth had to be mixed in. If you have a space bent and are interested in this kind of worthless stamp (these can be bought for next to nothing as you would expect) you might want to look at the emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates as they did a bunch of space related stuff with pretty decent images. Of course, it is just sticky paper of no value, but it might be fun to examine! As a young kid in the 1970s, these stamps made my day.

WAW that is interesting, thanks a lot

Robi13 strongly reminds me of another person we had posting a while back.

Also as a young kid in the 1970's these stamps interested me greatly, and if not for them I venture to guess would there be nearly as many collectors today... serious or otherwise.

Colorful, interesting, cheap, readily accessible. Priceless in retrospect!

Growing up the "Stamp Lady" at the Red Barn Flea Market in Bradenton, Florida had a 20 gallon fish tank loaded half full of these stamps. 40 for a dollar. I would sit there for an hour foraging for 40 or 80 stamps that piqued my interest every other weekend or so. In hindsight, the philatelic enjoyment I get today is due to those early experiences... though I am more serious and no longer collect that material.

Wallpaper is right, but some of the most beautiful wallpaper on the planet!

Thanks Rwanda and Emirates and... And Robi13! Also bfishburne great story!