FIRST ISSUES COLLECTORS CLUB

(FICC)

 

 

APS AFFILLIATE #232

WWW.FIRSTISSUES.ORG

 

 

 

The First Issues Collectors Club promotes the collection of the first postage stamps issued by any nation, province, city or other entity that has, at any time, issued postage stamps.  We also facilitate the exchange of information about these issues among stamp collectors.

 

 

Nearly every First Issues collection includes the first postage stamp ever issued, commonly called the Penny Black.

 

 

 

 

 

Some FICC members have a Penny Black with their initials shown as the sheet position.  This occurs in the stamp below from Row T, Column B belonging to Tim Balm, FICC #91.

 

 

 

 

Great Britain Sc#1, SG#1, Mi#1, Yvert#1

Issued May, 1840

Bearing a nice, red Maltese Cross cancel

 

 

Some FICC members define a “First Issue” to be:

 

The country’s first chronologically issued stamp

 

 

Dahomey Sc#8, Yvert#1

25c black on rose paper: issued 1899

 

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Denmark Sc#2, AFA#1

4 R.B.S. brown issued April, 1851

 

Other FICC members define a “First Issue” to be:

 

A country’s #1 stamp listed by the catalog of their choice

 

 

Dahomey Sc#1 (Yvert#2)

1c black on lilac-blue paper issued in 1901

 

óóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóó

 

Denmark Sc#1 (AFA#2)

2 R.B.S. blue issued May, 1851

 

And other FICC members define a “First Issue” to be:

 

A country’s entire first issue set

 

Ukraine Sc#1-5, Mi#1-5

Entire First Set issued July, 1918

 

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Tokelau Sc#1-3, SG#1-3

Entire First Set issued June, 1948

 

Several FICC members include the First Issue after:

 

Any major change(s) in government

 

Text Box:

 

                                                                           

 

 

Text Box:        Nigeria Sc#1, SG#1

British Colony: issued 1914

 

 

 

                                                     Nigeria Sc#97, SG#85

Text Box:                                                 Federation: issued Oct, 1960

 

 

                                                                      

 

 

 

                                                                                            Nigeria Sc#150, SG#138

                                                                                           Republic: issued Oct, 1963

 

Many First Issues have two or more varieties.  The varieties can include differences in perforation, differences in color, or some other feature.

 

 

                             Tonga SG#1/Sc#1a                    Tonga SG#1b/Sc#1

                            Perforated 12.5x12.5                   Perforated 12x11.5

                                    Issued 1886                                 Issued 1887

 

óóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóó

 

 

 

               Togo Mi#1/Sc#1             Togo Mi#1b/Sc#1a           Togo Mi#1c/Sc#1b

                   Dark Brown                    Yellow Brown                  Reddish Brown

                   Issued 1897                       Issued 1897                       Issued 1897

 

Many FICC members collect each country’s airmail First Issue, semi-postal First Issue, and other non-definitive First Issues.

World’s Firsts are the first stamp in each of these categories that was produced worldwide.  For example:

·       the World’s First definitive stamp was issued by Great Britain,

·       the World’s First semi-postal stamp was issued by New South Wales, and

·       the World’s First registered letter stamp was issued by Italy, et cetera.

 

New South Wales Sc#B1, SG#287c

World’s First Semi-Postal stamp: issued 1897

 

 

Victoria Sc#F1, SG#34

World’s First Registered Letter stamp: issued 1854

 

 

Commercially used covers with First Issues are scarce and highly prized.

 

 

 

 

Great Britain – Offices in Levant Sc#1; British Levant SG#1

A folded letter sent from Stamboul to Lyon on 9 November 1886
franked with a 40-paras First Issue

Has an “S” killer cancel (on stamp) and a BPO Constantinople S CDS.

A Paris transit cancel (12 November 1886) is also on the front
and a Lyon receiving cancel (13 November 1886) is on the back.

 

 

Less scarce covers include Souvenir Covers and First Day Covers (FDCs).

 

 

 

Tokelau Sc#1-3, SG#1-3

A Souvenir FDC sent from Nukunono (one of the three Tokelau Islands)
 to Pandura, Ceylon on 22 June 1948 (first day of issue)
franked with the entire First Issue set: Sc#1-3, SG#1-3

This cover was sent through the postal stream
as it also has a transit cancel (28 August 1948)
when re-directed from Pandura to Sigiri.

 

Some First Issues are for mail carriage to/from an area where regular postal service is not provided.  These stamps are typically called “Locals” and are not generally listed in major catalogs like Scott and Stanley Gibbons.

 

Shown below is a cover from Rattlesnake Island in Lake Erie off the shore of Port Clinton, Ohio, USA.  The local Rattlesnake Island stamp is applied and canceled on the lower left corner.  Postage for national service is also required for delivery to the final destination.

 

 

 

Rattlesnake Island #1 (2nd printing)

Used for local carriage from Rattlesnake Island to Port Clinton, Ohio, USA.

 

 

Forgeries and counterfeits of First Issues are abundant.  The FICC Newsletter helps members know how to identify the following forgeries.

 

                                            Russia – Army of the North Sc#1

 

                                       Genuine                                       Forgery

 

 

                                                               Tibet Sc#1

 

                                     Genuine                                           Forgery

 

Most issues of the FICC Newsletter share information on how to detect fakes and forgeries.  In 2005, forgery identification was discussed for…

·       Bremen Sc#1 (V13, N1),

·       Benin Sc#1 (V13, N2),

·       French Congo overprints on Sc#1-13 (V13 N3), and

·       Fernando Po Sc#1 (V13, N4)

 

Prices cover a wide range from the inexpensive to issues of great rarity.

 

 

Alfred Reichle (FICC #202) identified 750 First Issues that meet his collecting interest.  He discussed the distribution of prices for those first issues in a recent article in the July 2005 FICC Newsletter.

 

 

The following table was excerpted from that article.

 

Table 1
Average Prices of First Issues, Mint and Used, by Price Range
(based on values in the 2004 Scott Catalog and on the FICC web listing of October, 2004)

 

Mint

Used

Price Range (US$)

Number of Stamps

Average Price (US$)

Number of Stamps

Average Price (US$)

$0.20 - $0.45

177

$0.25

187

$0.25

$0.50 - $0.95

74

$0.69

69

$0.68

$1.00 - $2.45

92

$1.56

65

$1.34

$2.50 - $4.95

76

$3.45

74

$3.47

$5.00 - $9.95

37

$5.83

45

$6.96

$10.00 - $49.95

92

$25.00

106

$24.00

$50.00 - $499.00

116

$199.00

115

$175.00

$500 - $4,999

62

$1,764

51

$1,344

$5,000 - $99,999

22

$14,400

10

$18,000

$100,000.00 +

2

$800,000

2

$375,000

 

 

 

 

 

Total

750

$2792

724

$1352

 

 

For Mr. Reichle, there are 456 mint and 440 used First Issues with a catalogue value under $10.00 (US$).  Some are easy to find; others are difficult.

 

 

·       Do you enjoy collecting Worldwide Stamps but dislike all the new issues every year?

 

·       Do you want to learn more about stamps, geography and history?

 

·       Do you like the idea of connecting a country’s history with the postage stamps?

 

 

If you answered YES to these questions, the fascinating and challenging specialty of collecting First Issues of the world may be what you are seeking.

 

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The front page from a sample FICC Newsletter, First Issues, is shown in the next frame.

 

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If you’d like to join FICC, please see the information on the bottom of the last page.

 

 

 

 

This page reserved for a copy of the V13N4 newsletter front page.

 

FIRST ISSUES COLLECTORS CLUB

APS AFFILLIATE #232

WWW.FIRSTISSUES.ORG

 

 

Formed:

1990  (David Olson, Founder)

Officers:

·        Bob Sylvester, President

·        Tim Balm, Vice President

·        Kurt Streepy, Secretary / Treasurer

·        Tim Balm, Auction Manager

·        Tim Balm, Newsletter/Journal Editor

·        Jesper Andersen, Webmaster

Membership:

96 members:  Spanning from the USA across the globe to Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom

Member Benefits:

·        Four Newsletters/Bulletins per year – called First Issues

·        Four Auctions each year

·        Website discussion

·        Free “catalog” or “checklist” (available on the web site)

·        Free opinions on genuine/forgery status of First Issues (no certificates)

 

 

For information on membership, contact

Kurt Streepy
PO Box 288
Clear Creek, IN     47426-0288
USA

or contact him through our web site at www.firstissues.org