Pushing 330,000 All Different Worldwide Stamps In One Collection .

Flightie Bee ---- The rule to follow for stamp color's is to use the color that the main philatelic society of that country uses . Not use a color they use in Asia for a Budestist {sp} monks garb for a stamp color .Scott catalog has 11 different color/shades listings for this stamp .

floortrader. If a stamp has as a different shade, does it count towards the total of different stamps? My vote is that is does, but what do you think?

Stampdragon ----- This is a question that has been fought over since 1890's . It was first made a big issue in France between members of the philatelic community of Paris .

There is no one answer .

For myself ,I do keep and mount different shades ,who in this community wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars on research material for a complete library of specialised catalogs and research papers for each country so you can know what is collectible. I mount it and leave it to the next generation to spend the research time and money.

In general, I would say "yes it does" the exception would be for stamps that are obviously faded by exposure to light, but I would agree that could be difficult to determine.

Agree caution needs to be taken especially with faded stamps by sunlight or hot water to change the color . It happens but hard to avoid it when reviewing which to add to a collection .

Some nice postally used examples there for Straits Settlements. It would be fun to see what kind of cover the 96 cent one would have been used for.

The 96c with Crown CA watermark was issued in July, 1888.

If Robson Lowe can be believed (or, more accurately, if I'm interpreting him correctly) around the time the stamp was issued, a one-ounce letter to London via Brindisi would be 12 annas, or about 75 cents, so add in registration, or maybe a little more weight, and you'd get there.

It looks like rates were reduced in 1891, and then again with Penny Postage at the end of the decade. This one looks to have been canceled in between - 1896, perhaps?

Some people might wonder if the violet oval is a revenue cancel, but I'm pretty sure it is a security feature added by the sender. I didn't try to decipher it.

Looking for SG#71 on cover might confirm or contradict the above.

floortrader, I know you have mentioned this before, but what year do you cut off at?

LANDOQUAKES ---- My collections ends at 1970 ,that is my cut-off for buying material .

As I written before ,i usually buy one or two specialty lots to expand my worldwide collection ,each one takes a week to included it into my collection ,pages printed and material written up or just mounted .

After winning those at auction ,then I enjoy buying a "junk lot " something to sort and see what I can add to my collection or place in extra albums ,this junk lot is just fun for 2 or 3 months of entertainment . Until the next auction . So two or three hundred dollars for fun and relaxation is not bad for 3 months .
Stamps all my life has been a way to relax and be by myself after handling all the other issues .

I do mount some of the better stuff that goes after the 1970's if they come for free in those junk lots and will print up the album page to add to my binders . But that is not material that I reach out to buy ,I guess it is not correct to say it comes for FREE , but it is material not planned for .