Stamps -> WorldWide
The first Cuba stamps were made available in April of 1855, 15 years after the first postage stamps were printed in Great Britain. Before the advent of the postage stamp in Cuba, letters were often delivered to the addressee requiring him or her to pay the postage. Even though stamps were not yet used, in the early 1800s letters were often marked with a postmark, an ink stamp signifying they had been through the postal system. Many collectors enjoy collecting envelopes and letters marked with these early postmarks as much as they enjoy collecting the stamps.
Some of the postmarks used before and after Cuba stamps were also used could read Mantanza, Esperanza, Puerto Principe, Batabano, Guines and Habana. International mail during the 1830s can often be identified by things like slits in the front of envelope that were placed there so that the letter could be fumigated. Cholera was rampant at the time and no one knew exactly how it was spread—many believed it to be airborne. So letters were taken to disinfectant stations before their departure where either slitting and fumigation, soaking in vinegar or other crude methods were used that were believed to kill dangerous germs.
The earliest Cuba stamps were sometimes placed at the bottom left-hand corner of the envelopes, rather than the upper right as we place stamps today. The stamps and markings decreased on most envelopes shortly after the advent of postage stamps because all postage was prepaid, so there was no need for postage due stamps and markings. Many letters that made it to different countries without postage stamps did so because they were given directly to captains of ships to take with them on their travels.
Collecting Cuba stamps was difficult during the 20th century because of the US embargo against all things Cuban that was put in place in 1963. Cigars, stamps and every product from the island of Cuba could not be imported legally into the United States, because that would mean Cuba profited from the sale, and the US at the time was interested in stripping power from Cuba on the world stage.
It wasn’t until 2001 when the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, declared that used and cancelled Cuba stamps were informational materials and began allowing them to be imported and sold. OFAC also agreed to grant certain licenses to collectors to import new and unused stamps from Cuba as long as they were for personal use and not for resale.
Soon after, used Cuba stamps began being sold and traded among stamp collectors, but because of the long embargo, many collectors have few if any stamps from Cuba. The stamps show the country’s history, and sometimes its rebellion against US power in the world, and can provide an insight to Cuban events and culture. Auctions like eBay are a great place to find Cuban stamps. Most will be cancelled, so ask about the gumming on the back and the general condition of the stamp.
Originally posted 2008-12-12 05:00:51. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Collecting Postage Stamps Many people do not think of collecting postage stamps as a suitable collection, because collecting small sticky images and placing them in plastic sheets in a binder or book does not appear to be the most exciting past time in the world. The truth is, however, that collecting stamps can...... -
History of Postage Stamp Collecting With the creation of the postage stamp came the birth of the concept of postage stamp collecting. This occurred just shortly after the first postage stamps were introduced in the year 1840 by Great Britain. Plilately, the study of postage stamp collecting has been derived from phileo, the Greek word...... -
Benefits of Collecting Old Stamps Collecting old stamps, especially vintage postage stamps can bring great value. Collecting old stamps can be fun and educational, it can be affordable, and it can bring about understanding of history, art, travel and many other areas of culture as well. Here is an explanation of why collecting old stamps...... -
Valuing of Old Postage Stamps If you are interested in collecting stamps, then you probably already realize that stamp collecting is something that can be very valuable for a number of different reasons. Some old postage stamps are valuable simply because they are the only one of their kind, while others are valuable because they...... -
Canceled Postage Stamps Stamps -> United States -> 1901: to Now: Used If you are interested in getting into stamp collecting, but the brand new, mint condition and rare stamps are a little out of your price range, canceled postage stamps make a great alternative. While these are still quite valuable, especially depending......
Related Websites -
The 3 Reasons why Mint Collectible Coins Are Valuable The Sheldon grading scale is by and large the most used grading scale for dealing with collecting coins. The top of the grading scale is reserved for those coins which can hold the status of being in mint state. These coins are the most valuable of all of the coins...... -
Rare Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Ancient Coins -> Persian, Indian, Asian There is something very special about rare coins. No matter where in the world they came from, they usually have a very rich history and collectors will search to the ends of the earth to find that special rare...... -
Top 3 Reasons for Collecting Money Money is something which has been collected almost as soon as it was first brought into existence. While the only people who could afford to collect money in the past were the wealthy, these days it seems that there are more people collecting money than ever before. The reasons for...... -
What You Need to Know About Collecting Paper Currency Collecting money is a past time that many different people find joy in. This is because there are many different kinds of currencies that you can collect. Among the currencies that people like to collect includes paper currency. If you are looking to get started with this kind of currency,...... -
What Makes Coin and Currency More Valuable? There are a lot of people who think that they have a very valuable collection only to find out that the collection is not worth much at all. This can come to a shock to many people when they end up getting their coin and currency collection graded. The problem......
