Hobbies And Interests
Organization
The American Philatelic Society (APS) is an organization devoted to the study and collection of stamps and postal history. The APS has nearly 44,000 members worldwide and is the largest non-profit society in the world for stamp collectors. The organization was founded in 1886 and has been promoting the hobby of stamp collecting and offering services to those interested in philately ever since.
Hottest Seller
Elvis Presley was known as "The King," and his stamp is also known as the king of all stamps. In 1993 the U.S. Postal Service sold the most popular stamp of all time. The 29-cent Elvis Presley stamp featured a pink background and a painted image of The King leaning into a microphone in what appeared to be his Viva Las Vegas era body.
The Elvis stamp sold 120 million units and became the U.S. Postal Service's biggest seller of all time. Many people who were not stamp collectors but were lifetime fans of the late singer bought them by the sheet.
Popularity
Collecting stamps may not seem like the most exciting hobby to a lot of people, but the numbers say otherwise. Stamp collecting is a hobby enjoyed by more than 20 million people in the United States alone. In many parts of the world the hobby is equally as popular. Some countries even release special decorative or topical stamps that are intended primarily for collectors to buy in order to make profits for the country's postal service.
Most Valuable Stamp
The governor of Mauritius Island in the Indian Ocean issued the British Colony's first stamp in 1847. The two-pence stamp was printed incorrectly with the words "post office" along the side rather than the intended "post paid." Before the error was realized, there had been approximately 200 of the stamps made.
A set of two of these original stamps appeared together on a cover in 1993 where they sold for $3.8 million. This was the highest price ever paid for a stamp or any postal item. In the past the stamp had been valued at $600,000 or more, depending on condition.
Unique Collectable Stamps
The stamp-collecting world has many unique stamps that are considered highly sought-after by collectors. In addition to the very rare and expensive stamps that are unobtainable by most collectors, there are a number of other desirable stamps that are enjoyed for their individuality.
In 1973 Bhutan, a nation in the Himalayas, released a stamp that not only looked like a vinyl record, but it would play on a record player, too. The songs recorded on the stamps were native folk songs.
The United States sold a 10-cent airmail stamp in 1969 that was literally made on the moon. The Apollo 11 astronauts pulled an impression of the moon during their 1969 moonwalk to use in the design of the stamp.
A 1965 five-shilling stamp from The Bahamas depicts the Sea Floor Post Office, which was literally a post office located in a scientific facility under the ocean near the island nation.