FEATURES

Among the first stamp issues the British "Penny Black" (1840), Canton Zurich's "digit on net background" (1843), Canton Basel's "Basler Taubchen" (1845), Bavaria's "Schwarzer Einser" Digit (1849) and the Saxon's "Sachsen-Dreier" (1850).

Dr. John Edward Gray claimed to be the first collector of stamps. Among the famous stamp collectors are the English Royal family, which has very much world rarities especially from the former colonies. The collections of King Farouk of Egypt, of Czar Nikolaus III of Russia, and King Carol of Romania were also well known.

The first association for stamp collectors was founded 1856 in the USA named the "Omnibusclub" and the first pure "Stamp Association" was founded in 1866. The first German stamp association was 1869 founded in Heidelberg: "Süddeutsche Philatelistenverein", while the first stamp magazine was "The Monthly Advertiser" which was born in 12/15/1862 in Liverpool.

"Black Penny"
(1840)

Zürich Nr. 1

Digit on net
(1843)

"Basler Täubchen"
(1845)

"Schwarzer Einser"
(1849)

"Sachsen-Dreier"
(1850)

In Japan, the first stamps appeared in April 1871 (31 years after the "Benny Black"), when four designs of stamps known as telegram stamps were issued. During the 132 years since the birth of the standard Japanese stamps, various kinds of "special stamps" mark anniversaries or cooperation in instruction and publicity for national events. They present the country's scenery, flora and fauna, culture, arts and crafts. The design of newer stamps also changed to fit the times. These changes present a history of postal services, reflect the changes in society and presents an evolution in the Japanese stamp industry.

The design of the stamps is thought to have been taken from the 'dragon' which appeared on the Taisei administration monetary bill used at the time.
The printed area is a square with a side length of 19.5 millimeters. They are the smallest Japanese stamps. They were printed on extremely thick Japanese paper and had neither perforations nor glue.
There were four types available, each with a different denomination. The unit of currency at the time was the mon, and the face values were 48 mon, 100 mon, 200 mon and 500 mon.
These stamps are called the 'Dragon mon stamps.'

In 1871 new currency regulations were proclaimed. These regulations revised the unit of currency that had been used up to that time, making 1 ryo equal to 1 yen and 100 mon equal to 1 sen.
With this change, the face value of the stamps was revised. The 48 mon stamp became the half-sen stamp, the 100 mon stamp became the 1 sen stamp, the 200 mon stamp became the 2 sen stamp and the 500 mon stamp became the 5 sen stamp. The design of the stamps remained the same as on the Dragon mon stamp and for the first time perforations appeared. Some of the stamps had glue.These stamps are called the 'Dragon sen stamps'.

Since the surface of the printing plates for the Dragon sen stamps had become worn, new printing plates were engraved with a different design and the previous two printing colors were replaced by a single hue.
These are known as the 'Cherry Blossom stamps,' as the flower appears in each of the four corners of the stamp. The imperial chrysanthemum crest and the words 'Postage stamp' also appeared for the first time. All stamps in this issue had perforations and glue.
Starting with this stamp, the imperial chrysanthemum crest appeared on every stamp for a period of approximately 75 years until 1947.

To guarantee the number of stamps issued as well as the face value, a tiny character from the katakana syllabary was included within the printed area.
From February of 1874, stamps were printed on Western paper instead of Japanese paper.
The same katakana character appeared on each of the forty stamps on one sheet. The earlier katakana characters were printed using original plates engraved by a non-government group, and the latter ones were printed using government-engraved plates. In 1875 the katakana characters were eliminated to simplify the engraving process.

With the signing of the Japan and United States of America Mail Exchange Agreement in 1873, Japan began handling overseas mail in 1875. Three stamp types were issued to be used on mail destined for overseas. Each design featured a bird, which led to their popular designation as the 'Bird stamps.'
From these stamps on, all processes, including production of the original plates and printing, were carried out by the government mint.

Postal volume increased year by year. Printing using hand-engraved plates was no longer able to keep pace with the demand for stamps. Under the guidance Edoardo Chiossone, an Italian, who was invited by the mint, stamps were produced using the new method of relief printing.
The stamps are commonly known as the 'Small Coin stamps,' for the picture in the center of the design. These were used for many years, from 1876 to 1899, and were the first stamps to have the words 'Refined edition,' indicating the production method, printed on the bottom of the sheet.

Amb. Moto Nishimura, MA, Ed.D, Vice Dean of Rotary Peace Ambassadors and Hon. Member of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga-Kooringal, RI Dist. 9700. He is a peace educator and a strong advocate for healthy cultural interactions.