Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

How many of you collect stamps of Micronations or other "self-declared" states?

Examples being:

Principality of Hutt River,
Republic of Molossia,
Principality of Sealand,
Principality of Seborga,
Kingdom of Calsahara,
Principality of Greifenberg
and even my own Principality of Lichtenberg

I find these stamps so interesting, I understand they are worthless but at least for Lichtenberg's stamps the amount of artistic care that goes into them are what I love.

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Maximilian von Lichtenberg
Sovereign Prince of Lichtenberg
http://polichtenberg.com/

I wrote about these a few years back -- FAR better produced and designed than many mainline postal administrations!

Glen

http://www.glenstephens.com/snaugust06.html

Glen,

I remember seeing the Gay Kingdom's stamps a while back, I think the design is great on them. I think Micronations put a lot of thought into their stamps, maybe more than the "real countries".

Here is a example of Lichtenberg's first stamp release.

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Maximilian von Lichtenberg
Sovereign Prince of Lichtenberg
http://polichtenberg.com/

Another good reason to have kids. I can just imagine a daughter coming along and saying "Daddy, can you establish a micro-nation and declare yourself the King, so I can be a real Princess?"

(I'm sure Prince Lichtenberg is a benevolent type of monarch who recognizes the casual nature of Stampboards )

There is a thread running about self-declared republics, its was started by a member who gave an in-depth travelogue of their visit to the SMOM -- Sovereign Order of Malta. Another thread covers FDCs/commercial covers of the Trucial States, which are usually tarred-and-feathered as 'wallpaper'.

Its not that hard to design and print quality stamps, if the bureaucracy chose to put their minds to it, talented people are out there. Too bad we're treated to so much rubbish nowadays from a lot of countries.

_________________
Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

Not heard of this "country" before. Found this on the web, written by Max, himself:

"Lichtenberg is self-proclaimed country and we have existed since Summer 2010, we however we released our first issue of stamps yesterday. The First Issue of the Series 2012 which includes two stamps, one definitive issue which is a red .90hl stamp and a special stamp Winter 2012, which is part of a special series which will include all the seasons. Our stamps are designed by one of our citizens Count Johann von Lupro and a printed in Berlin.

The Definitive .90hl Stamp has a unlimited run, however the first 15 sheets will be sold as first runs and will not be broken up, no more will be produced until the first 15 sheets are sold, this is in place to build up our postal service. The Winter 2012 Stamp is a limited edition stamp, and only 18 sheets will ever be produced and only 15 sold to the general public. We only sell the sheets because we don’t want to break them up (however, you can do as you please). Don’t worry; future single stamps will be available in the future."

Max, can you let us know what the currency is?

Sir Phrag de Stamphingea

Well, they have MUCH more thought than Malta's modern stamps:



Most are simply photos or paintings with ''MALTA €......'' added on them.

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My wantlist for Malta Revenues

Whoever "designed" those Malta stamps, I'll do the job for half whatever they were paid.

Any of those on the stamps the one that had its "little accident" in Italy?

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

They were 'designed' by Daniel Mangani in 2008. Similar sets showing ships were issued in 2009 (designer - Fabio Aguis) and 2011 (various designers). None of these stamps show the Costa Concordia.

P.S. If you are shocked by this don't look at Malta's 2009 definitive available here.

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My wantlist for Malta Revenues

Hello "Prince" of Lichtenberg
Your stamp designs are great. About 55 years ago, a good friend and myself started printing very basic stamps for a 'country' called UBB-GUINEA LAND as children keen on stamp collecting.

Unfortunately we did not have today's sophisticated printing facilities, so we drew the stamps on thin paper and perforated them by hand.

Your story of the stamps brought it to my mind.
Thanks
ALAN

I'll add to the list of these states with the Republic of Raoul's stamp issues.

The Website. http://www.angelfire.com/country/raoul/stamps.htm

One of the safe stamps from 1991.





I don't have any of the stamps but wouldn't mind making a collection of them.

Phrag,

My countries currency is the Lichtenberger Krone which is divided into 100 Heller.
1.00 Krone = 1.32 USD

However for obvious reasons we use the US Dollar for trade. Our stamps are sold at Krone value for US dollar.

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Maximilian von Lichtenberg
Sovereign Prince of Lichtenberg
http://polichtenberg.com/

I will end up with some Hutt River in my kangaroo thematic collection.

I also collect unofficial issues within my Greater New Guinea collecting area, such as Maluku Selatan, Organisasi Papua Merdeka overprints, etc.

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A man might as well marry ... if he finds a good wife he will be happy ... if not, he will become a philosopher.
Collecting Greater New Guinea & Macropods (Kangaroos & Wallabies).

Well, if you want to throw money away to a fraudster...

There is no Republic of Raoul, and Raoul Island has no permanent resident population to self-declare a "republic", "kingdom", "independent state" or anything else.

Do a little bit of googling with the addresses given on the (fake) Raoul website. You'll find they trace to Bruce Grenville, a self-described "anarchist" who has created, mainly for the purposes of stamp-like label sales, numerous fake and non-existent countries.

These days, mostly flogging them off through fake websites, and through NZ's trademe auction site (user id's spameater and amon1). Previously on ebay as user inyotef, before getting thrown off for defrauding too many customers.

Checking the trademe listings, you'll see he admits to having been thrown out of Auckland philatelic societies, exhibitions etc, and regularly disses collectors, dealers etc who've stood up to his fraudulent activities.

If you really like these kind of labels, why settle for someone else's designs? Head down to your local Office Depot, buy a supply of gummed paper. Flog favourite pictures from some internet site, use gimp (or photoshop) to add a country name and (suitably high-valued) denominations. Print, and perforate with a sewing machine (or don't bother. "Imperforate variety".)

Then list on ebay, and enjoy the money from doofus collectors rolling into your bank account. Think you'll agree, that's much more fun than paying someone else for their "self-declared states".

I feel this is a bit rude, if It was directed at me. Much like your own hobby of stamp collecting running a country is a hobby for me and many others who do not exist to "scam" people.

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Maximilian von Lichtenberg
Sovereign Prince of Lichtenberg
http://polichtenberg.com/

I think you mean Bruce HENDERSON?

Biggles - can you fix that silly image please - save into your own photobucket and do not post kitsch 3rd party links that clearly do not work.

You aren't running a country. You're running a web site. (I assume only one web site of this type; the person I referred to in my previous post runs many). And the primary content of the web site is the stamp-like label sales page, the goal of which is to make money by deceiving stamp collectors. That crosses the line from a legitimate hobby into scamming.

Such activities should be treated with the same disdain by the philatelic community as every other stamp fake, forgery, illegal issue and so on.

No. I mean Bruce Grenville. You can find a (probably self-written) bio on wikipedia.

Actually if you care to learn about us, our website has only existed since last week because people kept asking to purchase our stamp and this was easier than constantly sending invoices. We are not trying to scam anyone.

Lichtenberg has existed since the Summer of 2010, we have a large offline presence, More so than most micronations. Our decision to sell stamps was only decided in the couple of months. So before you decide to attack us maybe get to know us?

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Maximilian von Lichtenberg
Sovereign Prince of Lichtenberg
http://polichtenberg.com/

Trust me when you have been around the stamp business as long as I have you'll learn a few things about the hobby.

One of them is that Bruce HENDERSON is whom you are really referring to IMHO.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/wi/inyotef/

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=19187

The other is that anyone producing Cinderella stamps and openly selling them is not necessarily "scamming anyone" as you allege about another member.

For someone new with 3 posts under your belt, your entry here has been less than auspicious.

Don't stay on that path, or you may not get to 10.

Admin

Grenville/Henderson may go by several names. Grenville seems to be his currently prefered name.

I agree, producing cinderella labels and marketing them as such is not scamming anyone.

Marketing them as postage stamps is.

Hutt River:

This article appeared in a West Australian newspaper during this week. The important question - did the Prince claim through Medicare??

There are so many self-declared states that a list would be very long, but I'd like to add some anyway.
Sealand (North Sea)
Seborga (Italy)
Bumbunga, Rainbow Creek (Australia)
Cabinda (Angola)
Somaliland, Puntland, Maakhir (Somalia).

Is self-declared supposed to refer to a single persons' declaration (Hutt River for example) or a group of people (Padania)?

What about the huge collecting area of the Cunning Articifer Discworld Stamps. great fun.

Yes, the Discworld stamps are great! They are especially nice if you've had the good fortune to have read the novels of this quirky world.

In particular, let me urge all philatelists to read the one with a light-hearted spoof on philately: "Going Postal", by Terry Pratchett.

Going Postal is Terry Pratchett's 33rd Discworld novel, released in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, Going Postal is divided into chapters, a feature previously seen only in Pratchett's children's books and the Science of Discworld series. These chapters begin with a synopsis of philosophical themes, in a similar manner to some Victorian novels and, notably, to Jules Verne stories. The title refers to both the contents of the novel, as well as to the term 'going postal'.

The book was on the shortlist for both the Nebula and Locus Awards for Best (Fantasy) Novel. It would also have been shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, except that Pratchett withdrew it, as he felt stress over the award would mar his enjoyment of the Worldcon. This was the first time Pratchett had been shortlisted for either award.

Only downside to collecting these beauties are the rather high prices the cunning shop charges! Almost as expensive as collecting a "real" country!

Visit their website here to see stamps on offer: http://www.discworldemporium.com/discworld-stamps

Here are a few of Ankh Morpork's stamps. The "Penny Black" (middle row, left stamp) shows Lord Vetinari, the Machiavellian dictator of the city-state.

You're a bit confused their mate. Microstate nonsenee fantasy stuff is not the same as Somaliland and Puntland which are real de facto but unrecognized countries from whence you can actually mail a letter. The Cabinda stamps are propaganda issues and Seborga, Hutt River, etc. are for the tourist trade.

None of the self declared micro states have achieved much in the way of standing. Unrecognized secessionist entities that control more than their backyard are anothe rmatter. There are also legitimate and also unreocgnized government in exile stamps. For my money, the microstate and fantasy has no value unless it is vintage 19th century or has histroical significance like the Azad Hind or Vlasov issues.

I have a collection of stamps from these countries
Occussi Ambeno
Nevu
West Antartica
Kemp Land
Upper Yafa
Chyan and of course my favourite (Taniquah)

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I collect Malta, Ireland, Malta, Tristan da Cunha, Malta, various Pacific Islands, Malta, New Zealand, Malta, Australia and Malta.

If there weren't people who collected them, they wouldn't be issued.
Occussi-Ambeno appears in one of my CD catalogues, but I am still missing quite a few scans.
Ralph

Those of us who issue such stamps for our self-declared lands don't really care whether folks collect them or not (contrary to popular belief.)

We issue stamps so that our citizens can use these on their internal mail. And also external mail, often.

But we still try to do nice designs, and make attractive stamps for any prospective collectors. Some of us issuers claim that the First World Post Offices could learn a lot from our moderate issuing policy!

Having its own stamps defines a "name" as being a "country", be that virtual or real.

Countries invented and used in novels (such as Lilliput and Brobdinag - Jonathan Swift) or Narnia (C.S. Lewis) or The Shire, Numenor, and Gondor (J.R.R. Tolkien) are to many folks just as real as some seldom-heard land such as Burkina Faso or Mongolia.

Since Occussi-Ambeno has been issuing stamps since its independence in 1968, and has had a lot of media exposure since then, I suggest it definitely deserves the title of a "regular Fifth-World country."

http://okusi1.tripod.com/

I am happy to trade stamps from Occussi-Ambeno with others who enjoy these cinderellas.


1992 Year of the Horse set.

Bruce,
The big drawback is that there is a lot of documentation on these issues so that people will know just what there is available.
This is one of the reasons that I started issuing my CD catalogues, and had previously been in contact with you concerning the stamps of Occussi Ambeno, so that I could have scans of them all for my catalogue. Unfortunately your website mentioned does not show all the scans, and even when I contact yiou, I could not get any further.
By the way, although the stamps you show have a 2002 imprint you date them as 1992 in the detailing.
Regards
Ralph

Sorry, my mistake! They are 2002.

Send me a list of those stamps you need scans of, and I can supply.

"Moscow News", Russia, 1996 -
article about Occussi-Ambeno and its stamps.

Nice article in Russian newspaper in 1996.

If you're fluent in Russian and want to see a larger version, click here:
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r48 ... s-1996.jpg


Occussi-Ambeno 2006 $50 gold coin.

When I started off the Sultanate of Occussi-Ambeno back in 1968, my ambitions were just to issue stamps and covers.

I never dreamed that later my country would have its own GOLD COIN! But this happened in 2006, courtesy of a nice coin dealer in Madrid, who kept part of the mintage as his commission.

Bruce,
Please send me yuor email, so that I can send you direct.
Ralph

There is a big difference though between unrecognized governments and fantasy issues. The former could and do carry the mail, the latter never will and thus cannot be postage stamps.

If the Timorese government had any brains (not likely since they are too busy going after each other) it would sue to stop the hijacking of one of its territorial names and would maybe win, since an unrecognized government likely cannot defend a lawsuit. Normally this won't happen if an actual secessionist movement is behind the stamps as it would indicate some sort of recognition albeit negative, but a fantasy government using the name of a real place is at risk legally.

I doubt they will bother to sue, as they are too busy collecting O-A stamps!


Occussi-Ambeno 1997 set
celebrating Johan Gutenberg,
who many claim invented the
art of letterpress printing with
movable type.

This stamp set was printed by his process, often called typography.

[quote="Panterra"]I doubt they will bother to sue, as they are too busy collecting O-A stamps!

Good point! Were you able to ever get any form of recognition for OA?

I am interested because of legal practice focuses on unrecognized governments.

I represent several.

We have been recognised by many micronations of the Fifth World.

And by the German Democratic Republic (DDR), sadly no longer extant.

A small kingdom in the hinterland of Annam, on the border between North Vietnam and Laos, is the Kingdom of All the Sedang.

The country has issued stamps since 1888.

Here is the 2003 set, honouring Friedensreich Hundertwasser, prominent Austrian artist:


Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1928 - 2000.

And here is the set from the World War II era, when the evil Japanese Empire conquered the country, and overprinted the 1934 definitive stamps:


Note that several values have the overprint inverted.
Possibly a philatelist or two among the Jap officers who
supervised the overprinting?

Fifth World is largely (but not always) rubbish in my opinion but the GDR sounds interesting, few people realize that the GDR like Taiwan today was a very large and powerful unrecognized country.

DDR did very amazing stamps too! One perk of recognition was being added to their FDC list, so I got all their new issues on cover!

The story of the so-called "Sedang stamps" was written long ago. In fact no "Sedang stamps" were printed in Indochina; the Japanese overprint issue is a fantasy; only mint and CTO "stamps" exist, all have been boycotted by serious collectors.

You bought the "stamps" from their Canadian webpage, diddn't you?

Every collector has their preferences. I "boycott" the stamps of USA, Grenada, Pitcairn Island, and Equatorial Guinea (among others.) You can feel free to boycott those of Sedang if you so choose.


Sedang 1995 Cats set.

But I guarantee a collection of Sedang will look MUCH more interesting than any of those obscure lands mentioned above!

Many cinderella collectors have always been charmed by the unusual stamps of Sedang. And will doubtless continue to be in the years to come.

Not authoritative, but to flesh this out a bit

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Collecting Mongolia; Thailand; Indo-China; Mourning Covers; OHMS.
My online 'store': http://stampsfromaethelwulf.blogspot.com/

Yes, Wikipedia as always provides a mass of useful information!


Sedang FDC of the Hundertwasser set,
postmarked at Pelei Agna.

The stamps of Sedang have yet to be published in a catalogue but I'm sure such a catalogue will be a real treat!

Here are some of their other issues:


SEDANG STAMPS:
1989 Centenary issue (not the full set);
1990 Penny Black sesqui; King Marie David $2.50;
2000 New Millennium;
75 math Save the labrador dogs from extinction.

Bruce,

I can produce a CD Catalogue of Sedang, and any other of your issue you are interested in on the same lines as that of OA.

Ralph

Panterra, I respect whatever you collect!

But if you think that

then you ARE simply naive and wrong!

Sedang's second issue,
the 1889 definitive, printed in Paris.
& the 2000 Mushroom stamp.

Sedang's early stamps were once plentiful, but now fetch quite high prices whenever they are offered.

More recent issues are more thematic in nature.

Sedang's 2000 set
honouring film pioneer Leni Riefenstahl.

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (1902 – 2003) was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), a documentary film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich, along with her personal association with Adolf Hitler, destroyed her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arrested but released without any charges.

Triumph of the Will gave Riefenstahl instant and lasting international fame, as well as infamy. Although she directed only eight films, just two of which received significant coverage outside of Germany, Riefenstahl was widely known all her life. The propaganda value of her films made during the 1930s repels most modern commentators, but many film histories cite the aesthetics as outstanding. The Economist wrote that Triumph of the Will "sealed her reputation as the greatest female filmmaker of the 20th century".

In the 1970s, Riefenstahl published her still photography of the Nuba tribes in Sudan in several books such as The Last of the Nuba. She was active up until her death and also published marine life stills and released the marine-based film Impressionen unter Wasser in 2002.

After her death, the Associated Press described Riefenstahl as an "acclaimed pioneer of film and photographic techniques". Der Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin noted, "Leni Riefenstahl conquered new ground in the cinema". The BBC said her documentaries "were hailed as groundbreaking film-making, pioneering techniques involving cranes, tracking rails, and many cameras working at the same time".

Sedang issued these two stamps in 2000 featuring scenes of Leni scuba-diving.

Taniquah 2011 Lawrie Walker's Birthday set & FDC.

I really like the stamps of Taniquah ! Here is one of their more recent issues.

The small Pacific island Kingdom of Taniquah issued this attractive set of four stamps to celebrate the 70th Birthday of the Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Mr Lawrie Walker, on 1st April 2011.

Here is the full set of four mint, plus an unaddressed First Day Cover with a "Paquebot" marking that Taniquah applies to most of its mail.

The FDC has the celebratory text embossed in gold.

About the Right Hon. Mr Lawrie Walker:

He was born in Northcote in 1941, moved to Christchurch in 1949, to Whanganui in 1954, back to Auckland (Mt Roskill) in 1959, to Birkenhead 1966, Parnell in 1971, to Takapuna in 1973, to Mt Eden in 1988 & 2005, Ellerslie in 1999 & 2008, and Te Atatu South in 2000.

He studied at Northcote, East Christchurch, Shirley, Whanganui Boys & Northcote College, then Auckland University and AIT, eventually securing Professional qualifications in three disciplines. He has experience in Civil Engineering and Law.

For a time he was active in several Service Organisations and Professional bodies.

Employed first in Shoe manufacturing (Morrow Taylor), Building (Keith Hay Ltd), Timber & Building supply (Carter Holt Harvey), then into Hardware/Home lines (Briscoes) then into Export trades.
First Wool & related products (E Lichtenstein & Co), then Merchandising (Overseas Trading Corp) then jointly founded Export of Building Supplies, etc (Intracor) & also involved in Meat trade (domestic & integrated Export products).

A quiet achiever, skilled in administration & management, with some great experiences in manufacturing & selling.

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For more information on Taniquah, see their website, http://taniquah.googlepages.com

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