William and Kate Royal Stamps - It's all about the hats

Catherine Middleton can be seen wearing two different hats in the border of this Isle of Man souvenir sheet issued shortly after the announcement was made of the royal engagement.

While all eyes and television cameras were on Catherine Middleton as she walked down the aisle wearing a designer ivory gown with an eight-foot train, it was hard to miss the sea of hats worn by guests at the April 29 royal wedding in Westminster Abbey.

An Associated Press story from London began: "It's all about the dress – and the hats.

"Floppy, feathered, bold and expensive – hats were in full force Friday as guests streamed into Westminster Abbey for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding."

Hats also can be seen in full force on many stamps commemorating the engagement of Catherine and William.

In fact, a hint of the hats to come are found on the first souvenir sheet announcing the engagement. The Isle of Man issued this sheet Nov. 26, 2010, just 10 days after the Nov. 16 engagement announcement. While the two £1.50 stamps in the sheet reproduce black-and-white photographs of Prince William, the selvage shows a montage of color photographs, including two of Catherine wearing hats.

In the center of the sheet, she is wearing a black wide-brimmed hat while attending an Oct. 23, 2010, wedding in Cheltenham, England. The United Kingdom web site of the fashion magazine Marie Claire reported, "Her wide brimmed hat wasn't perhaps the best choice for a windy day, but Kate simply giggled and held tight when the wind threatened to dislodge her headgear."

Catherine Middleton wore a black-and-white feathered hat created by Philip Treacy to the 2008 ceremony in which Prince William was installed in the Most Noble Order of the Garter. The hat is shown on a souvenir sheet from Canouan, an island of the St. Vincent-Grenadines.

Another photograph shown on the Manx sheet pictures a feathery creation by Irish designer Philip Treacy, which Catherine sported at a 2006 wedding.

London milliner Treacy also designed more than 30 of the hats worn by guests at the recent royal wedding. In addition, his creations can be seen on a 65-penny stamp in Great Britain's 2001 Hats set and on a €0.82 stamp in Ireland's 2010 Irish Fashion Designers set.

Sierra Leone and Union Island also issued Royal Engagement stamps showing Catherine in this feathery hat by Treacy.

The hat worn by Catherine Middleton on this stamp from Antigua and Barbuda has made at least two public appearances: Catherine wore it to a wedding and her mother wore it to the races at Ascot.

The previously mentioned broad-brimmed hat, though, is perhaps the most popular on the Royal Engagement stamps.

At last count, it appeared on stamps of Antigua & Barbuda, Bequia, Guyana, Liberia, Micronesia, Mustique, Nevis, St. Kitts and St. Vincent-Grenadines. (Bequia and Mustique are islands of the St. Vincent-Grenadines. Other such islands that issued Royal Engagement stamps include Canouan, Myreau and Union Island.)

Catherine Middleton chose a fur hat for warmth while attending the Cheltenham races in 2006. The Cook Islands is among the postal administrations showing her in this mink hat.

The $3 stamp from Nevis is from an unusual souvenir sheet issued Dec. 10.

The sheet contains four stamps inside a perforated circle. The center stamp also is circular, surrounded by the other three stamps. One of these reproduces a photograph of Catherine in another Treacy hat. This black hat with a heart-shaped loop was part of Catherine's attire at Prince William's 2006 graduation from Sandhurst Military Academy. For other glimpses of this hat, see stamps of Canouan, Guyana, Mustique and Sierra Leone.

Catherine chose another Treacy hat for the June 16, 2008, ceremony in which Queen Elizabeth II appointed Prince William a knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, a chivalry order that dates back to 1348. The black-and-white feathered hat tops Catherine's head on stamps of Canouan, Montserrat and Myreau.

In 2007, Catherine Middleton wore a beret to the Cheltenham races. On a stamp from The Gambia, a photograph from this event is superimposed on a photograph of Big Ben at night.

A stamp from Penrhyn depicts her in a black hat at a wedding in 2005, while stamps of Antigua and Barbuda, Canouan, Grenada and Mustique show her in a white straw hat with lavender feather flowers at a wedding in 2009. Her mother, Carole Middleton, later borrowed the white hat for the races at Ascot.

On less formal occasions, Catherine has adopted styles of other countries: a French beret, Russian fur hat and a leather Australian bush hat. So far, the last-mentioned hat has only made one stamp appearance, on a $225 stamp from Guyana. Although this denomination seems extraordinarily high, it is the equivalent of $1.10 in United States currency.

The "something borrowed" worn by Catherine Middleton during her April 29 wedding to Prince William was a Cartier-made tiara loaned by Queen Elizabeth II. A stamp from Australia shows a photograph from the ceremony.

The mink fur hat helped keep her warm at the Cheltenham Festival Races on March 17, 2006. Scenes from that day are captured on photographs reproduced on stamps of the Cook Islands and Grenada-Grenadines.

The following year (2007), Catherine selected a chocolate-color beret for the same event. On a 40-dalasy stamp from The Gambia, Catherine and beret are pictured in the foreground with Big Ben at night in the background. Stamps of Aitutaki, Grenada-Grenadines, Liberia, St. Kitts and Union Island also depict the beret.

No doubt, many more stamps will show Catherine and her headwear, particularly the tiara she wore during the wedding ceremony. In fact, just a few days after the wedding, Australia Post issued a stamp reproducing a photograph taken during the ceremony with the prince in uniform and the new Duchess of Cambridge in her gown and tiara. Loaned to Middleton by Queen Elizabeth, the tiara was made by Cartier in 1936.

Go to www.boscastlesupplies to get stamp supplies for your collection - quality stamp albums and stockbooks - we ship worldwide with great oprices and service

Source: linns.com

Stanley Gibbons is Selling a Single and very Rare Canadian Stamp for £110,000

If you can spare the cash here's the Stanley Gibbons sales pitch - I suppose if I were a billionaire then I'd buy it in a flash!
In fact, just 28  Commonwealth stamps are catalogued at over £100,000 at the moment. Just 28  stamps from 109 stamp issuing countries or regions across 160 years since 1847, and some of those are  errors rather than basic stamps.

We have only  handled five of these items in the last 30 years. Due to the nature of the  market it is very rare that we are able to offer you a Commonwealth stamp of such magnitude.

But, let me tell you about one  particular Commonwealth stamp that you have the chance to own...

The stamp is available  to buy for £110,000. At that price and coming from Stanley Gibbons, you know immediately that it is  very rare and very special. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. The  stamp in question has not been on our books for over 30 years.

With only about  50 unused examples known to exist (10 of which are in horizontal pairs), its  scarcity and desirability is easily explained.

The stamp is one  of the first postage stamps issued by Canada. Three different  denominations were printed: a 3d (showing a beaver), a 6d (portraying Albert the  Prince Consort) and a 12d (showing the head of Queen Victoria).

The last stamp, a  black stamp, was given the denomination of 12d rather than 1s because a  shilling had different significance in various parts of North   America at the time. The inscription of 'TWELVE PENCE' on the  stamps ensured that there was no misunderstanding of their value.

There was not a  great need for the 12d stamp because so few people would send a letter that  required such a high value stamp. Consequently, the printers supplied only a  small number of the 12d.

They were not  even issued to every post office in Canada and they did not prove to be  popular with the public. In the few years they were available, only 1450 were  sold and the remaining 49,550 were withdrawn and destroyed.

Interestingly,  the value of this stamp was known to the earliest collectors as it featured in  the world's first printed catalogue - Alfred Potiquet's in 1862. The  stamps soon started changing hands for over £1 - a princely sum in those days.

In a book simply  called 'Famous Stamps' published in  1946 the price of the stamp was quoted as £750. Just over 60 years later and we  have just one available for you for £110,000.

The Canada 12d is  indeed a famous and very beautiful stamp. There are a couple of stories that  have earned it its place in stamp collecting folklore. Rather embarrassingly,  here at Stanley Gibbons, we may have  played our part in that folklore.

Hugh Jefferies,  editor of Gibbons Stamp Monthly, was telling me a story this week about our possible  role in making the one of Canada's  greatest rarities that little bit rarer...

One summer's day  early in the 20th century, a dealer had five examples of the stamp  laid out in front of him on a table. Unfortunately, with the window already  open, a colleague opened the office door creating a draught that swept the  prized rarities off the table into the street.

The common belief  is that this street was the Strand in London  and that the dealer in question was Stanley Gibbons. Unfortunately (especially  for the staff involved), none of the specimens was ever recovered.

Just imagine five  of these stamps floating down the Strand on a  breeze today. I think it's fair to say that the entire staff would be out  chasing after them! You'll be pleased to know that such an event couldn't occur  today.

Another dealer (not  Stanley Gibbons this time) allegedly  bought several specimens from a fine collection only to put them in an envelope  for safekeeping and subsequently throw the envelope into the wastepaper basket  - again, diminishing supply.

These losses simply  served to make the 12d black even more sought after. Now is your chance to secure  one, before this example disappears for another generation.

This is the  first Canada  12d black that we have been able to offer for over 30 years.

It is only fair  that last word on the stamp goes to our Director of Philately (and Commonwealth  specialist), Dr Philip Kinns who is  very proud to offer such a magnificent rarity:

"This is (and always has been) a very  valuable stamp. In January, Spink Shreve sold an 'unmounted' example with large  margins, promoted as the finest single known (which is a matter of opinion) for  $483K at auction."

All of a sudden, £110,000 seems like a good price for  it.

You can own this  famous rarity today. You will be securing a stamp with a great history and  provenance and one that has shown an astounding growth in value.

And remember,  this is the only single stamp we have in stock priced at over £100,000.

Need the perfect archival place to store your Rare Stamps - check out www.boscastlesupplies.com

US Postal Service Issues Semi Postal Animal Stamps That Benefit Endangered Species Protection

Now you can help protect endangered species while you mail in your rent. Or your electricity bill. Or when you are paying just about anything thanks to the United States Postal Service, which has debuted a special set of stamps the sale of which benefits several eNGOs dedicated to species protection.   

                      

In the first run 5 million stamps will be printed, and if enough demand is established, more will be made. The stamps, know collectively as the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamps, will be sold at an 11 cent premium and the money raised will go to African Elephant Conservation Fund, Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, Great Ape Conservation Fund, Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund and Marine Turtle Conservation Fund.

You can preorder the stamps at usps.com/shop, which have an illustration of a tiger cub by artist Nancy Stahl. Other designs will follow, including a rhinoceros, a tiger, a gorilla, Asian and African elephants and a marine turtle.

According to USPS, this is only the third time that it has issued a semipostal stamp. The others are for:

Breast Cancer Research, 1998-current. Net proceeds of more than $74.1 million to date have gone to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
Heroes of 2001, 2002-2004. Net proceeds of $10.5 million went to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. No longer available.

Stop Family Violence, 2003-2006. Net proceeds of $3.1 million went to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. No longer available.

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