You Know I'm Right: The Wonderful World of Philately

My regular readers (both of them) always look forward to fall: football, colorful leaves, and the celebration of October as National Stamp Collecting Month. As I begin my 65th (more or less) year of collecting stamps, I can assure you that the time you have spent with your stamp collection was time well spent. I am sorry to report that I have yet to come across a British Guiana 1856 1 cent magenta (only one is known to exist), a Swedish three skilling banco yellow error (only one known), nor a U.S. 1918 24 cent inverted Jenny error (there was only one sheet of 100 issued of which only one is still out there somewhere, the rest being in known collections), but I have gained a wealth of knowledge and pleasure from my stamps.

In case you missed it (which is why I am here), 2022 has offered the biggest piece of philatelic news since the erroneous issue of the aforementioned inverted Jenny! Less than a week after the Ukraine was invaded by the Russians, the country’s national post office authority (Ukrposhta if it ever comes up in conversation) sponsored a contest to design a postage stamp to illustrate the determination of the Ukrainians to defend their country. More than 500 designs were submitted by the public and the winner depicted the Russian warship Moskva from the vantage point of Snake Island. You will recall that Snake Island is a strategic outpost then held by Ukraine. When the Russians demanded the garrison’s immediate surrender, the Ukrainian soldiers reportedly responded, "Go (you know what) yourself." The stamp that was selected depicted a Snake Island soldier raising his middle finger to a silhouette of the Russian ship Moskva in the background. These stamps sold out immediately.

Moskva, was subsequently sunk by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile and Snake Island retaken by Ukraine. Ukrposhta immediately issued a revised version of the stamp with only the soldier looking out to where the ship had been, with the English word "Done." Don’t you love this stuff? The stamps continue to arrive as the war progresses. Another stamp depicts the iconic image of a captured disabled Russian tank being towed by a Ukrainian farm tractor with the caption also in English, "Good evening, we are from the Ukraine." It was reported in the Wall Street Journal that there is a stamp in the works that shows the damaged bridge linking the unlawfully annexed Crimea with Russia.

Postage stamps have been used as a propaganda tool by nations since the first postage stamp was issued by the United Kingdom in 1840 depicting the image of Queen Victoria. (Interestingly, copies of this stamp are not rare as they were printed for years in massive quantities. The first U.S. stamp, issued in 1847, is not particularly rare either but it will cost you a lot more.) Although many nations have issued stamps supporting the Ukraine in the war, the United States Postal System (USPS) has not done so. It seems to me that the USPS is reluctant to issue any stamps that might be in any way controversial. For instance nearly every country in the world has issued a stamp supporting the COVID-19 caregivers. I wonder why we have not.

There are as many ways to collect stamps as there are collectors. Should you wish to join the ranks, it is a very easy and inexpensive way to enjoy the cold Ohio winter months indoors. Whatever time and money you spend will pay you back, not in monetary gain (trust me on that one), but in hours of pleasure and learning. You know I’m right.

Don R. Haven is a retired Naval Officer, retired high school teacher, part-time South Carolina resident, and full time American. He can be reached at donrichardhaven@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: You Know I'm Right: The Wonderful World of Philately