Philately or Philotely

Most stamp collectors are perhaps familiar with the term philately.  Right at the start, when stamp collecting as a hobby was picking up, there were actually all sorts of terms used.  The term philately was actually invented by a French stamp collector named Herpin.  He used the term in a French magazine and the term stuck with the public and became the widely used term to describe stamp collecting.

The origin of this term comes from the Greek expression philo (I love) and atelos(exempt from tax).  There was actually some discussion and debate on whether the correct term used should have been philotely instead since the name for the hobby was composed of the Greek philo and teli (taxes) and its explanation would be 'love of taxes' or love of stamps used for payment of postage.  But by then, the widely accepted term was already being used all over the world so the term "philately" has remained ever since.

Hemerodromes

In the past, young runners who could run fast were chosen to become messengers.  In ancient Greece, these runners were called Hemerodromes.  They were often able to cover long distances in relatively short time.  The most famous of these Hemerodromes was perhaps the Greek messenger called Marathon.  As most people know, he was the one who covered the distance to Athens in such a short time that he collapsed shortly after delivering his message.

Ever since the written word was used as a form of communication, these messengers were relied upon to carry both good news and bad news.  These messengers were in fact the forebearers of the modern postman though one will probably think of them as atheletes and postman rolled into one!  They often bore light arms with only bare essentials for survival.  Many of them also had to overcome hardships and dangers along the way.  These messengers paved the way for the birth of the postal service that we know of today.

Straits Settlements Stamps - Stamps of India Overprinted

The Straits Settlements was actually a group of territories in Southeast Asia established in 1826 under the British East India Company.  In 1867, it became a crown colony and came under direct British control.  While Indian stamps were used prior to 1867, with the status of it becoming a crown colony, new stamps had to be issued.  In the interim however, stamps of India overprinted with a crown and the stamp value of "cents" instead of "annas" was used. In a sense, these can be considered the first official postage stamps that were distinctively "created" for the Straits Settlements (since the previous stamps used were stamps from India) by overprinting it with the new values.

The set contained a total of 9 stamps with  values of 1 1/2cents, 2 cents, 3 cents, 4 cents, 6 cents, 8 cents, 12 cents, 24 cents and 32 cents).  However, only 5 different Indian stamps were used.  These 5 stamps were the 1/2 anna, 1 anna, 2 annas, 4 annas and 8 annas stamp.  The stamps were differentiated by different coloured ink overprints as well as different values:

•  1/2 anna blue was used for the 1 1/2 cents.
• 1 anna brown was used for the 2 cents, 3 cents and 4 cents
• 2 annas yellow was used for the 6 cents, 8 cents and 32 cents
• 4 annas green was used for the 12 cents
• 8 annas rose was used for the 24 cents 

For the overprints, the colors used were as follows:

• Red for 1 1/2 cents, 2 cents and 12 cents
• Blue for 3 cents and 24 cents
• Black for 4 cents and 32 cents
• Purple for 6 cents
• Green for 8 cents

An example of one of the stamps that I have bought off Ebay showing the 1 1/2 cents stamp(with the overprints in red depicting the crown that sits on Queen Victoria's head and the three half cents value of the stamp) is shown below:

1867 Stamp of India, Overprinted (Perforation 14 and Elephant's Head watermark)

As this overprinting on Indian stamps  was really an interim measure (the new stamps were printed by the end of 1867), not many of these stamps were produced.  An estimate of the printed quantity for the various stamps is shown below:

• 1 1/2 cents - 40,000
• 2 cents - 96,000
• 3 cents - 96,000
• 4 cents - 32,000
• 6 cents - 24,000
• 8 cents - 144,000
• 12 cents - 24,000
• 24 cents - 80,000
• 32 cents - 64,000

The 12 cents and 6 cents are considered rarer and are harder to find.  

It is also not always true that the mint stamp is more expensive than the used stamp.  For example, the 1 1/2 cent stamp was hardly used at all so the used stamp is much more expensive than a mint stamp.  This is one of the reasons that there were actually some amendments made to the 1 1/2 cents during the period of 1867 onwards where the "THREE HALF" was deleted with a "2" written above it.  In the subsequent set of stamps issued, there was also no 1 1/2 cents value stamp anymore.

Singapore Postal Code - Interesting Facts

Singapore's 6 digit postal code has some interesting history and facts. For the uninitiated, a postal code is basically a series of digits or letters that are appended to the address to aid in the sorting out of mail.  In Singapore, the current postal code used is a 6 digit postal code (i.e. all numbers).  I still remember the days when it used to be a 4 digit code which was so much easier to remember.  In actual fact, a quick check on Singapore's postal code history reveals that there were really 3 different postal codes used.

Postal Code formats throughout Singapore's history
1950 - 2 digit postal code
1979 - 4 digit postal code
1995 - 6 digit postal code


To find out the 6 digit postal code of any address in Singapore, you can use Singpost's service here. All you have to do is provide the block number and street name.

Well, Singapore in the 1950s was divided into 28 postal districts.  These 28 postal districts are actually the same as the districts that you will find even today in classified ads for properties. This goes to show how long entrenched the district system really is and it shows how the way postal districts were organised have gone on to influence the way a property is classified today.  For example, the district 9 properties (Orchard Road, Tanglin, Cairnhill) are often the ones that fetch a high price in the property market.

Subsequently, in 1979, the 28 postal districts were further subdivided into sectors, bringing to a total of 81 sectors.  So in the 4 digit postal codes, the first 2 digits still represented the initial postal district (i.e. 1 to 28) and the last 2 digits represented the sector (i.e. 1 to 81).  I guess this method helped in the sorting of mail tremendously since certain postal districts tend to be large.  In fact, there was a stamp issued in Singapore in 1979 to commemorate the introduction of this new 4 digit postal code.

In 1995, the 6 digit code was introduced. The first 2 digits were now the postal sector code (i.e. 1 to 81).  The remaining 4 digits indicated the delivery point. For HDB blocks, the last 3 numbers refer to the block number (e.g. XXX355 for block 355 and XXX089 for block 89).  If there are 2 blocks with the same number in that certain sector, that is where the 3rd digit comes into play.  (E.g. XX1089 and XX2089).

Interestingly, another Singapore stamp was issued in 1995 when the 6 digit postal code was introduced.  In that stamp, the 4 digit postal code shows 1543 meaning that it was in district 15 and sector 43.  That places it in the Katong/Joo Chiat/Amber Road area.  in the stamp, the new 6 digit code for 1543 was translated to 430010 where 43 was the postal sector.  010 is thus the block number or house number.

So it seems that there is some duplication in the way we write addresses on our envelopes in Singapore.  Since the 6 digit postal code can be derived from the block number and street name, I guess your mail will still get to the intended recipient even if you leave it out(?).  Or you could just state the unit number with the postal code without the street name and your mail should reach the correct address. [Warning: This is just my hunch.  Try at your own risk!]