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All these news stories, and others, can be read in full in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter

NEWS extracts  

Happy Birthday stamps for Her Majesty

FROM Princess to Monarch, Royal Mail celebrates the 80th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with eight warm and informal photographic portraits taken throughout her life.

The stamps will be issued on April 18, three days before the Queen’s birthday, and feature smiling images of Her Majesty drawn from thousands of archive photographs ...

Jersey/New Zealand silver tribute

SILVER also features in the stamps issued jointly by Jersey and New Zealand marking HM The Queen's 80th birthday, shown here in the miniature sheet. The embossed frame around the Queen is 99% pure silver. The issue was produced by French printers Cartor and will be released on April 21.

Nordfrim buys two billion stamps

IN acquiring Filatelia International from George Katz the Danish firm Nordfrim has gained a stock of around two billion stamps. Erling Daugaard (pictured), owner of Nordfrim, and George Katz finalised the deal on February 28 2006 after months of negotiations ...

ABPS relaunches dealer patron scheme

THE Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS) is inviting the philatelic trade to join it in supporting youth philately by becoming a 'dealer patron' in 2006.

All of the money received through this scheme will go directly to support the work of The Stamp Active Network/National Youth Stamp Group ... Cheques should be sent to ABPS, 3 Longfellow Road, Banbury, OX16 9LB.

Philatex plans 2010 curtain-raiser

PHILATEX has announced its intention to stage a two-day stamp fair in London on Thursday and Friday May 6 and 7 2010, just before London 2010 - Festival of Stamps opens at the BDC ...

SG profits up 65% to £2.8m

STANLEY Gibbons has returned a pre-tax profit of £2,819,000 for the year ending December 31 2005. This was achieved on increased sales of £13,675,000, which were up by 36% on 2004. The profit represents a leap of 65.4% over the 2004 return and will allow a final dividend of 3p per share for the year ...

British 2007 programme outlined

BRITISH special stamp programme for 2007 has been announced by Royal Mail - dates and subjects are provisional:

January - The Beatles; February - Astronomy; March - Science and Industry, Abolition of the Slave Trade; April - Sea Animals; May - Beside the Seaside; June - 40th Anniversary of the Machin; July - British Grand Prix, Scouts Centenary; September - Military Uniforms; November - Christmas.

Brunel exhibition tours south-west England

UNVEILED at Spring Stampex, a touring exhibition 'Brunel Speeding the Mail' is a graphic display celebrating the four major areas of the work of the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose birth bicentenary was marked by a set of stamps on February 23 2006. It has been assembled by The British Postal Museum & Archive.

The four aspects are the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western Railway, the Great Ships, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Each theme is illustrated by stamp artwork commissioned by Royal Mail since 1969, much of which has never been seen before ...

Single Winter Olympics Gold for Australia

AUSTRALIA Post had only one Winter Olympics Gold Medal winner to commemorate - Dale Begg-Smith who won the Men's Moguls in the Freestyle Skiing. His 50c stamp was issued within hours of the Gold Medal ceremony in sheetlets of ten.

AP will doubtless have been a lot busier during the Commonwealth Games!

Also this month  

'London 2010 - Festival of Stamps' launched.

Plans for London's next international stamp exhibition are announced.

Spring Stampex defies wintry weather

Photos and comments.

Banishing philately's elephants by Patricia Barrett

PHILATELY is big business. Stamps sold to collectors generate over US$2 billion per year for the world ’ s posts. Add in secondary market philatelic sales (stamps that postal administrations have sold and distributed to wholesalers, collectors, retail dealers, and auctioneers), and the total market volume is estimated at $6 to $10 billion per year ... the business of philately faces several threats to its collective bottom line ... It ’ s like the expression 'an elephant in the room' - where something major is going on, it's on everyone's mind, and is impossible to ignore. But nobody talks about the 'elephant' because nobody knows what to do about it.

In our case, we face a roomful of elephants ...

Read this thought-provoking article in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

Buchanan Street Stamps invests in the future as it celebrates quarter-century

A Glasgow institution, justly renowned amongst philatelists and autograph collectors, Buchanan Street Stamps opened for business in a first floor office at 205 Buchanan Street just over 25 years ago - on March 3 1981.

Over the last quarter of a century it has seen interest in stamp collecting soar alongside the value of rare stamps ...

Read this entire article in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

Far East Affairs by Peter McBride

Startling improvement at Hong Kong Stampex

OVERSEAS dealers who attended Hong Kong Stampex, the three-day annual exhibition (February 3 to 5 2006) organised by the Hong Kong Philatelic Society, returned home with lighter bags and healthier bank balances. And what a pleasure it is to be able to write a positive and optimistic report after a series of poorly run and badly attended exhibitions.

Read this entire report in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

All these news stories, and others, can be read in full in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter

Regulars

Around the Rooms:

Stamp auction previews and reviews.

Back Stamps:

What was in the ‘Philatelic Exporter’ this month in 1954, 1960, 1979, 1986, and 1990.

Crime Corner:

As thefts at fairs and exhibitions are on the increase, why not consider a CCTV recording system? more>>

Forthcoming Auctions:

Public stamp auctions in April and May 2006.

New Issues:

New stamp issues from around the world.

People:

What’s happening in your life - tell the editor!

Trade Diary:

What's on in the UK and overseas.

Your Letters

Have you got a view to express about any aspect of the postage stamp trade?

From our contributors

Albert Boerma - Europe:

AIJP: POs should pay for publicity

Otto Hornung - In My View:

Stampex and Philatex reports.

Liz McKernan - Postcard World:

A Winner for McGill

David Rennie - New Books:

All reviewed in the April 2006 Philatelic Exporter.

James Skinner - Great Britain:

Dreamtime more>>

Les Winick - USA:

Prospecting for customers more>>