WSC 2004, Hans C. Andersen & NUS Stamps Sheets

Personally I prefer to collect used stamps instead of unused stamps, for the simple reason that the postmarks and cancellations on the used stamps add to the fun of stamp collecting.

There are times when I do collect unused stamps, and that includes presentation packs as well as stamp sheets. Presentation packs, like used stamps, also add to the fun of stamp collecting because there are more information presented in the package. For the same reason, miniature sheets are also interesting. For large stamp sheets, the interesting information is the details of the printer..etc etc.

To illustrate the point, here's three pictures of NUS stamp sheet, World Stamp Competition 2004 sheet, and the Hans C Andersen miniature. For the NUS sheet, the details of the printer, the 5 colour proof dots..etc could be found by the side of the sheet.

For the WSC 2004 sheet, the background of the sheet featured the stamps from the mid-60s, superimposed with a merlion picture at the upper right.

For Hans C Andersen, the background has the same theme as the 4 stamps, with wordings that describe the occasion (i.e. 200th Anniversary Celebration), and that adds to the fun when one looks at these stamps.

All in all, stamps collecting is fun, not just because we are hoarding little piles of tiny papers, but because of the history and culture embedded in these papers that describe the world we lived in, often times stretching our imagination to times before our birth. Isn't that fun enough?

Some Singapore Frama Stamps

Not sure if any of you still remember that SingPost used to issue dinosaurs theme frama stamps? I was sorting through some stamps and found two of them. I am sure there are more than just these 2 in the set of frama. Afternote: I replaced the original 2 pictures with a clearer one.

SingPost has issued a number of frama stamps over the years. We used to have frama stamps with tree designs that we can 'buy' from POSB ATM machines. Pity I didn't keep any of these sheets. There were also frama stamps with just 3 Merlion heads or the word 'Singapore' repeatedly printed on them.

The more common ones recently are the rectangular frama stamps with Singapore skyline or the Merlion designs.

The two framas below have the codes of S258 and S275. I've never figured out what exactly do these codes represent. Quite frankly, there is not much philately literature on Singapore frama stamps (or at least I couldn't find them). I used to dislike frama stamps simply because you cannot wash them off the envelopes. Keeping them together with the envelope seems to be the only option.

Stamps for the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore is hosting the First Formula 1 Night Race, and there is even a stamp issue celebrating it!

Wow!... the issue will be released on th 26th Sep. The issue is a se-tenant strip of two $2 stamps, and there are 10 stamps per sheet. For those buying the presentation pack, it costs $5.85. The First Day cover will cost $4.90. The stamp designs featured a bright line silhouette of a race car, with the Singapore Skyline decorating the background of one stamp, and the checker flag for the other stamp.

I don't have the stamps (yet), and thus for those interested to take a look, you could visit the SingPost vpost site.

December 2008 - Yes I got the presentation pack, and here's it. Apologies for the poor resolution photo.

Flora & Fauna 2007 Definitives from SingPost

I've recently obtained the collector's sheet for the 6th June 2007 'Flora & Fauna' definitives. Here's a picture of the definitive set.

The values of the stamps are: Flowers: 1st Local, 2nd Local,
Birds: 5 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents, 45 cents, 50 cents, 55 cents, 65 cents, 80 cents,
Animals (civet cat, monkey, pangolin, and squirrel): $1.10, $2, $5 and $10.

The entire set cost over $20, which is primarily because of the $10 stamp inside the definitive set. I used to not buy such sets because the $10 stamp was considered 'more expensive', and end up years later I have to auction for these stamps when I get older. Here's a photo of one of the other definitive sets, some of which I bought from online auctions (i.e. the definitive set concerning tourism).

History of the Postal Codes in Singapore

With advancement of the postal system and increase in postal addresses, Singapore had changed the postal system over the years. The postal code system is critical for fast sorting of mails, which is why during festivities, the postal operator will often remind people to put the correct postal codes, e.g. a reminder in the form of postal cancellation "Use the Correct Postal Code".

Back in 1950, Singapore only used a 2 digit postal codes to denote the 28 postal districts. This remained until 1979, when a 4 digits postal code system was introduced. The postal districts remained, with the 2 digits of the postal districts forming the first part of the 4 digits system, and the other half (i.e. remaining 2 digits) denoted the new postal sectors. As a result of the postal districts system, many properties in Singapore continued to be characterised by their original postal districts, and some districts obviously fetched a higher price compared to others. An example to illustrate this change: a housing with a previous district code of 09 could have a postal code of 0928 after the changed, i.e. the housing is located within postal sector 28. Housing in district 9 can fetch a very good price!

In September 1995, the 4 digits system was deemed as inefficient to allow for faster sorting of mails and packets. Thus a 6 digits system was introduced. The postal district part was dropped, and the postal sector part remained to form the first half of the 6 digits system. Using the previous example, the new postal code could be 280112. A '0' was added to the postal sector in cases of public housing. In cases when the building is commercial or industrial, another number would replace the '0'. For example, Ngee Ann City in Singapore has a postal code of 238872, a '8' instead of a '0'.

In cases of public housing (i.e. HDB flats), the last 3 digits are typically the housing block number. So if you lived in blk 112, then number 112 would form the last 3 digits under the new postal system. The current system seems alright to cope with the new demand of postal letters sorting. Looking at the years difference between past changes (1950 - 1979 = 29 years & 1979 - 1995 = 16 years) , and it has been 13 years since the last change, I do wonder how long can the system cope before we need to enlarge it to a 8 digits system.

Korean Stamps & Online Games

Firstly, my apologies for the content of this post since this post has nothing to do with Singapore related stamps.

Nonetheless I find these stamps interesting personally because of their theme: Online Games. These stamps are from S. Korea, a country well known for their online games industry, and featured online games of Korean origins like Maplestory and Ragnarok Online. It is quite remarkable how online games have now find a place among philately, together with other themes like Olympics and heritage related events. Perhaps this is an interesting way of getting young Koreans to cultivate an interest in stamp collecting.

Well, this also shows the maturity of a growing industry, when these online games could get featured in this 2006 Korean Stamp Pack.

Universal Postal Union & Singapore

According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) website, Singapore has been re-elected to be a member of the 40 members strong Postal Operations Council. This may be somewhat dry for some stamp collectors, but I feel that it forms part of our postal history and is worth a mention. The election is part of the 2008 UPU Congress recently held in Geneva.

Singapore has been a member of the UPU for the longest time, and we have some old stamps (some before independence - 1965) from back then.

For those who are interested, UPU is a specialised agency under the United Nations, formed in 1874, that deals with postal matters for the member countries of UN. The headquarters is at Berne, and here's a postcard of the place.