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

óóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóó

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

óóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóó

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

Nigeria Sc#1, SG#1

British Colony: issued 1914

Nigeria Sc#97, SG#85

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