product description
Philatelic Curiosities - Whole World 2025/2026
Content:Stamps from all over the world from 1852 up to and including 2025 that are exceptional because of their shape, colour, material, printing, gumming or anything else.
Description:
This third edition of the volume “Philatelic Curiosities” contains a wide array of curiosities. The joy of experimenting shown by postal administrations has continued to grow in the past years – with over 400 new entries, this catalogue offers a true treasure trove of special material features and printing techniques.
While printing and embossing materials, such as metal foil, had its peak during the 1960s, today collectors of unusual materials are more likely to run into synthetics. The standard rectangular, as well as round and plain geometric forms, are among the most frequent shapes and have therefore not been included in this catalogue. In order to be considered an “oddity” by the MICHEL editorial team, an issue must be irregular in shape, such as for instance the self-adhesive stamp in the shape of a rubber duck.
In the area of rare printing processes, we still find screen printing as well as colourless embossing among current novelties. These printing processes are often combined with an unusual substrate, such as porcelain or plastic. In addition, there is an increasing number of embroidered stamps as well as printed wood veneer. By now the creativity regarding stamp designs seems to know almost no bounds: the Faroese issue actually features a piece of fish skin printed with a kind of typography that is rare today.
Innovations in production can be so successful that they become the new standard. The introduction of self-adhesive gum is probably the most significant example of such an innovation. For that reason only self-adhesive stamps that were issued up to 1991 have been included. Technological progress has provided us with several printing processes, each of which has become the standard for specific purposes. We therefore draw the line at 2010 for laser printing and 1990 for thermal printing.
Numerous selection criteria were taken into consideration for this compilation. Since the question whether an issue can be considered an “oddity” is ultimately subjective, however, we want to encourage you to set out on your own journey of discovery that will go beyond the boundaries set here in order to personalize your collection of curiosities even more.
Information:
Edition: 3rd
Pages: 476
Format: Paperback
First Day of Sale: 5 Dezember 2025
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