The Common And The Obscure

Plenty of forum member collect worldwide, or USA, Canada, etc. But what's the most obscure philatelic subject/country/issue/thing you keep up personally, or have heard of another person collecting?

Soviet stamps with raster varieties.

I collect the following pretty obscure areas; 'smallest US post offices', 'tiny covers', plate number singles on HPO covers, and US post office seals.
Don

Monty Wedd Philatelic Cartoons
Bumbunga
Burelage
Clipperton Islands
Cricket on stamps
Czernawoda
Dummy stamps

Just about all of them.

And most of them aren't even considered "stamps."

Jim

Federal, state, and local billiards tax stamps.

Modern US errors...

Also I'm focusing on every Scott Specialized listed (major and minor) space stamp in all listed formats.

My most recent acquisition is a 1570a with a full horizontal gutter between. I think I am in my own world with this. It's needle after needle, but what I have enjoyed most is meeting and talking to a ton of people trying to track down obscurities.

What I have realized is that modern rarities/scarcities are way harder than classics to find. The hunt is awesome.

Part of me thinks you are having fun with us, but another very real part of my brain tells me that this is quite possibly real. The gov't (federal, state, and local) would tax air and sunshine if they could.

Mine is not nearly as obscure as others here, but for the sake of participation: I collect Troy, NY philatelic history.

It's called income tax.

US Patent license, Copyright & Royalty Fee Stamps

I collect postal history written in constructed languages like Volapük and Bolak.

Volapük:



Bolak:

Postally used, non-FDC Bhutan 3-D stamps, for one area.

Duplicate US certificates of mailing.

US COD Change Forms.

There are other areas of interest, but unlike those listed above I own none of these, I won't list them as I guess I am not yet "collecting" them.

Die/Knife mismatches

Normally there is a one-to-one match between an envelope's knife and the die used to print it. There are a few exceptions, however. The latest UPSS catalog identifies 23 of them. I have 9 of the 23 and suspect there are others yet undiscovered.

Not having fun with you at all. Here are some from Eric Jackson's site:
https://www.ericjackson.com/rsubpro...Group=&Cond=

https://www.ericjackson.com/rsubpro...Group=&Cond=

Encased postage stamps.

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!!!! Who'da thunk it?