The promotional blurb reads: "This unique offer of a special issue to commemorate the Coronation, will not only be a wonderful souvenir of this historic event, but will be safe investment and in a few months should appreciate in value."
The complete set of 202 stamps for the 45 Crown Colonies, Dominions Newfoundland and Mandated Territories was 57/d unused or 87/6 used; or buyers could buy blocks of 4 stamps.
My mother had given me her stamp collection many years ago, as I received a huge amount of Mission mail every day, and I simply kept the stamp collection alive and well with those stamps from all over the world.
My own family would know that Boxing Day was the annual stamp day. I'd take over the kitchen table with the year's supply of stamps, sort them and carefully lodge them into the stamp albums, which included one for each of our four children.
The left over stamps were placed into a sealed tin and kept for five years and then shipped to the Australian Baptist Missionary Society (now renamed Global Action). Five years was a good 'stamp time zone' as by that time there would be a very large number of stamps to send off.
Many Mission societies around the world use stamps as a fund-raising mechanism. Stamps are collected, sorted by country and then sold to Stamp Wholesale Connection companies who in turn sell them on or use a third world country to sub-contract the business of separating the stamp and packaging them.
Most supermarkets today still have a stamp section where customers can purchase small packs of used stamps from almost any country in the world. It continues to be a huge world wide business even with emails and social networking. An astonishing number of letters and parcels around the world are posted each day.
This 1937 Royal Stamp promotion also mentioned stamps as an investment. This too is big business. Many investors maintain huge stamp stockpiles. Many smaller investors will collect 'first releases'. Any time you visit a post office you will see new stamp packs for sale in beautifully presented packaging.
There have been many Royal Stamp issues since 1937, and now we're told that Australia is issuing a new Royal Stamp celebrating the engagement of Prince Williams to Kate Middelton.
When we lived at the foot of the Blue Mountains near Sydney in the eighties, neighbourhood friends were serious stamp investment collectors. Their house was burgled and over $20,000 worth of pristine stamps was taken.
My friend told me, that as a result of that burglary, he and his wife and family of four young children reassessed their philosophy of life, and went to Bible College and eventually to the mission field.
They realised that possessions and wealth were of such a fleeting nature, that for them, they sought to make an eternal difference to the spiritual substance of their lives.
I couldn't help thinking that my mother would have really liked that story.
