Information
Stamps announced from “Middle Earth”
The first Hobbit Stamp to be revealed by New Zealand Post
New Zealand Post has given film buffs and stamp collectors an unexpected treat by revealing one of its new ‘Hobbit’ stamps ahead of the issue’s official 1st November release date.
Featuring Bilbo Baggins, the 70c stamp is part of a larger set issued to coincide with Sir Peter Jackson’s brand new ‘Hobbit’ movies. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is the first film in the trilogy and is due to hit the big screens in the UK in December.
With interest in the Oscar-winning director’s latest Tolkien adaptation already mounting, this sneak preview has done much to whet the appetite of collectors everywhere – but who’s on the other stamps remains a closely guarded secret.
Following ‘The Lord of the Rings’ success
Of course, this isn’t the first time New Zealand Post has issued Tolkien stamps in conjunction with a movie blockbuster. Between 2001-2003, they produced a range of commemorative stamp issues featuring various ‘Lord of the Rings’ characters including Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir and Legolas. That trilogy was also filmed entirely on location in New Zealand.
Commemorative coins for the new ‘Hobbit’ trilogy will be issued by New Zealand Post at a later date. The second film, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” will follow in December 2013, with the final film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” earmarked for release in July 2014.
Dwarves or elves?
So which other Middle Earth favourites would you like to see on the new stamps?
Letter from the Moon – how Neil Armstrong posted a letter from the Moon
It was with great sadness that the world heard that one of its heroes had passed away on 25th August.
America’s greatest astronaut, Neil Armstrong
Of course, we all know the story of how Neil Armstrong landed on the moon but so many of us know about how he sent the first ever “moon letter” and started a new collecting craze in the USA.
Shrouded in Secrecy
Under great secrecy in case the mission went wrong, the US Postal Service prepared a 10 cent Stamp to celebrate the United States winning the race to the moon.
However, what made this stamp unique was the fact that Armstrong and his co-astronaut ”Buzz” Aldrin took with them on their historic journey not just the die that would make the stamp’s printing plates but also a special ‘Moon letter’ bearing a die proof of the stamp itself. The plan was that the letter would be personally postmarked by Armstrong and Aldrin while they were on the Moon.
The 10 Cent Moon landing stamp of 1969
The stamp itself had been designed by Paul Calle, a well-known and respected designer from Connecticut. “It quickly became obvious that the first step on the Moon was the most dramatic moment and with that final sketch we knew we had our design!”
Paul Calle with his historic Moon landing design
Calle’s main problem however, was envisaging what the moon would actually look like. The artist took a chance and showed the module’s tripod foot making a very faint imprint. Fortunately, that turned out to be exactly right.
In Violation of Federal Law
Although some collectors questioned whether the stamp violated federal law by using a living person’s picture, it was argued that though his features were completely hidden by a space suit, it could have been none other than Neil Armstrong.
On 20th July, the lunar module Eagle landed on the Moon. As the world watched on, Commander Armstrong sent the good news from 235,000 miles away: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
Back home in Connecticut, Paul Calle recalls how he “sat glued to the television set.” “Fortunately, when Armstrong took that first step, it was perfect,” he said. “Just as I envisioned on the stamp.”
The First Ever “Moon Letter”
Aldrin later joined Armstrong on the Moon’s surface. As it turned out, the two astronauts didn’t have time to postmark the “Moon letter.” So the envelope and its die proof actually were given the “MOON LANDING/USA/JUL/20/1969” hand stamp during the return journey.
Nevertheless, the Moon letter had travelled more than a half-million miles, a lot lot further than any other piece of post had ever travelled. On their return home, the letter underwent a decontamination period at Houston, along with the astronauts themselves. All were quarantined for 18 days.
Decontaminated before production
The die was also processed for decontamination before it was sent to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where the process of preparing the plates for stamp production began promptly.
Because of its larger size – it was 50 percent larger than conventional U.S. commemoratives – the stamp was produced in sheets of 128 rather than 200 subjects. A total of 152,364,800 stamps were printed and distributed.
The stamp inspired great interest among first day cover collectors. Within three weeks after the 9th July initial announcement, there had been 500,000 requests for First Day Covers, which would bear not only the 9th September Washington, D.C., date stamp but also a replica of the July 20 “MOON LANDING USA” date stamp that the astronauts applied to their very own Moon letter.
Nearly 9 million First Day Covers
The final tally of first day covers was a phenomenal 8,743,070, a figure that nearly trebled the previous high of three million. In comparison, even the Elvis Presley commemorative stamp of 8th January 1993, one of the most popular stamps in history, received only 4,451,718 official Memphis, Tennessee, first day of issue postmarks.
Given the historical significance of this story, it is fitting that stamps and coins will be among the key tributes issued to commemorate the greatest of American Heroes.
The Olympic Legacy – a collector’s Games…
A new Royal Mail Stamp for every Gold Medal Winner
– just one of the moments that made the Olympics a collector’s Games
23 million of us watched with a touch of sadness as the Olympic Flame was extinguished on Sunday night. As the flame died away, a giant Phoenix rose above the cauldron almost asking the question of what legacy will rise from the ashes of this great event.
Of course, there has been much coverage of how the Olympics will leave a sporting legacy for the United Kingdom but what of its collecting legacy?
January 1999 – an event that changed coin collecting forever
In January 1999 an event changed the coin collecting market forever – in the United States the first State Quarter was issued. It marked the beginning of a 50 coin programme that placed a quarter for every US State into circulation. Average annual quarter mintages reached 3.5 billion pieces – 135% more than the previous average pointing to the vast numbers of coins being collected out of circulation.
The legacy has been at the heart of a revitalised United States numismatic market that continues to see new mintages – often as high as 500,000 – repeatedly oversubscribed and a continued strengthening of the secondary market.
Our “State Quarter Moment”
The Olympics has provided the UK with its own State Quarter moment through the 29 Olympic Sports 50 pence coins, which have been released into circulation. Not even the Royal Mint would suggest that the Olympic 50p coins have had the same impact as the US State Quarters but over the weeks leading up to and during the Games, they have seen increasing popular interest amongst the man, woman and child on the street.
The Royal Mint 50p Collection.
Previously few people took more than a passing glimpse at their change (even though a number of different £2, £1 and 50p designs exist) but suddenly you see children begging parents of “that 50p”; waitresses wanting to swap the coins in their tips; people turning to social media to requests swaps of their duplicated coins.
The collecting fever that so often has been seen in the playgrounds of the country for Pokemon cards or Panini World Cup stickers is being repeated across the country, not just amongst kids but by adults of all ages.
With the success of the Games, the upcoming Paralympic frenzy and the increasing rarity of the circulating Olympic 50 pence coins, the collecting fervour of the British nation looks set to continue.
“We’re going to be on a stamp tomorrow”
If the 50 pence series started to capture a nation in the lead up to the Games, nothing compares to the excitement that Royal Mail’s Olympic offering has provided.
The stamp that got Kat Copeland & Sophie Hosking so excited straight after winning gold.
When almost the first thing an Olympian says on winning a gold medal is “We’re going to be on a stamp tomorrow”, you know that Royal Mail’s decision to issue Gold Medal winners stamps is a good one. Well that is exactly what Kat Copeland said to her Double Skulls partner, Sophie Hosking just moments after completing their epic Gold Medal winning competition.
And what a collection of stamps Royal Mail has gone on to produce, featuring all 29 Gold Medals and 42 Olympians, in a massive logistical feat each stamp was available the very next day from 500 Post Offices across the country.
Royal Mail successfully engaged a nation, with athletes being presented with blow ups of their stamps during TV interviews and the national newspapers providing consistent coverage.
The result has been a series of stamps that has seen more interest from the public than anything else since the very first stamps of Queen Elizabeth II – something that is beyond most of the population’s living memory.
So what of the legacy?
The Games have created thousands of new collectors. Some will stop but many others will continue. Some already are, choosing to select some of the more limited edition coins and stamps available to celebrate the Games.
Whatever their choice, those people who have stepped into the world of coins or stamps, perhaps for the first time, own a collectable for the future.
In years to come, children and grandchildren will look, touch and feel that moment when Great Britain held the Olympic Games. It will be the closest they get to being able to share the sense of achievement we have all felt over the last two weeks – a true sense of Great Britishness.
As such they create the sort of emotional value that so often forms the basis of a longer term physical value. Today’s mementos of a magnificent Games will represent a moment of history for future generations. By the time Britain hosts the Games again these will be the stuff of the Antiques Roadshow.
A Legacy for sport – we all hope so. A Legacy for collecting – without doubt.
For more information or to buy Olympic Stamps and Coins, click here