Need Help Info On Republic Du Mali Mushroom Stamps 1996

Hello,

This is my first post in the Stamp Community forums. I have recently gotten interested in collecting stamps from Republic du Mali from 1996 that have mushroom illustrations on them. I have purchased and framed a few off of that auction site that starts with an "E". I can find any information online about them. When I search I only find information on the history of the country. I would like to also know how many different stamps they made with mushrooms, which years, why they are illustrating mushrooms, and so on. Does this information exist anywhere? Thank you for your help!!!

The American Topical Association is the place for you to go. https://americantopical.org/Checklist
They have checklists on just about anything you can think of!


Peter

This site shows many Mali mushroom stamps:

https://www.davidmoore.org.uk/Fungi...Stamps07.htm

There is also an online catalogue (not mentionable here) that shows 99 Mali mushroom stamps.

Did you consider going to the source? Mali Post? https://laposte.ml/
Stampworld.com (search Mali, 1996) shows the entire issue, but I doubt you'll find a real write-up anywhere that comprehensively answers your questions because... well, it's Mali, and west African countries of 20m people don't get a lot of philatelic attention.

As to why Mali issued stamps with illustrations of mushrooms, it's because, like many other countries, the design of the stamps issued in its name reflects the commercial arrangements it has made with printers. The printers will produce material that they think will find a thematic niche within stamp collecting. Like the majority of the stamps produced for most former French colonies over the last fifty-sixty years, they will have had little or no genuine use in Mali itself. Notable exceptions to this are the stamps of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which have genuine local themes.

Thank you all for your help with this topic. Researching this more might be a bad thing. You all are showing me even more mushroom stamps that I now need to find for sale. LOL. Thank you again!!!

@ geoffHa I was wondering why some of the mushrooms on the Mali stamps aren't actually found in Mali.

@JimT09,

GeoffHa answered precisely that question. The stamps are targeted at thematic collectors. They have no relation to the issuing country. There is hardly an internal market for those stamps. The issuing country has no objective other than to receive hard currency from foreign thematic collectors.

These countries issue lots of stamps that have very limited use. They, commonly, are referred to as wallpapers.

If what is shown on the stamp can be found in the issuing country, it, likely, is a coincidence.

I saw African stamps with Pandas, African inland countries with sea fish, and Arab Emirate stamps with nude paintings, so, to earn money from stamp collectors anything goes.

As for the original question, classic_paper mentioned stampworld, which shows 57 mushroom stamps since 1996.

It is very questionable the Arab Enirate issued or even commissioned the printer with the printing of those stamps depicting nude paintings.
One thing is a country issuing wallpapers to part thematic collectors with their money, another thing is an organisation 'issuing' bogus stamps using a territory's name.

I don't know how to determine what is wallpaper and what is bogus.
Does UPU have a list of bogus stamps?
Another criterion is to see which of the suspected stamps are included in Scott/SG/stampworld.

Is the US in the business of printing "Wallpaper"?

Rob Roy- just a few thoughts of mine about what stamps are considered "wallpaper." Remember, these are just 1 man's opinions.

In most cases, the topic of wallpaper sets do not relate directly to the country of issue. Sets appear "long" but the denominations often do not conform naturally to a "definitive" set that covers multiple extant rates for that country. Likewise, many of the sets are issued in sheetlet format, with each stamp within the sheetlet being of a different design. Within these sheetlets, multiple stamps will be of the same denomination, which is unusual for definitives. Many wallpaper sets will have one or several souvenir sheets issued with designs different from the main sets.

Wallpaper issues follow a pattern- the country of issue will produce MANY of these sets, not just 2 or 3, and this issuing policy may last over many years. They are generally well designed, colorful, and well-produced. Stamps issued for actual use in the country are usually simpler in design and formats, and reflect local interest. Here are some of the most common topics issued as wallpaper, though of course some stamps are issued for these topics as a legitimate part of a various nations stamp program.

Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Animals
Jazz Musicians
World War II related
Olympics
Anniversaries and Events, especially when unrelated to the country
Movies and Movie Stars
Birds
Butterflies
Boats and Ships
Beatles, John Lennon
Elvis Presley
Michael Jackson
British Royal family, especially Princess Di
Mushrooms and Fungi
Marylin Monroe
Spacecraft and Space Achievements
Disney
Cats and Dogs
Pandas
JFK
I Love Lucy
Millenium (although many countries issued copious Millenium stamps, including the USA)
Pope, Vatican related
Flowers, especially Orchids
Aviation, Flights, Airplanes, and Dirigibles
Trains, Locomotives
Soccer, World Cup
Yachting, America's Cup
Classic Art, Paintings
Fish
Shells
Shakespeare
Nobel Prizes
Scouting

Actually, I did see normal definitive sets with the same FV, even here in Israel.
Second, I saw issuing of the same FV with different colors, like in the Machin series.
Last, the non-denominated stamps have been known to include series of different designs.
So in this 1 person's opinion, among the many signs of wallpaperism, the same FV is the less obvious sign.

You sited a few examples. I know of a few more (Cook, Aitutaki, Penrhyn). But they are certainly not the norm for normal issues, and no one really thinks Israel is an issuer of wallpaper.

I just meant that among the obvious wallpaper signs, the same denomination is more prevalent among legit stamps too.