During the rise of communication by letter, the stamp took center stage
Estampilla is the diminutive of estampa : a reproduction of a photo, a painting or a drawing that, through the press or the die, is transferred from the plate on which it is recorded to a paper.
A sign or a stamp
The first meaning of stamp mentioned in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to a sign that allows the stamping of a document or to the seal that presents the signature and signature of an individual in facsimile .
On the American continent, the idea of a stamp specifically refers to a postal or postage stamp . Also called a stamp or stamp , it is a type of label that works as proof of payment for a shipment made by mail .
Background
Generally the stamp is a square-shaped paper that adheres to the envelope. These stamps emerged in the 19th century from a restructuring of the British postal service promoted by Rowland Hill and James Chalmers .
Until then, postal shipments were paid by the recipient according to the distance traveled. Since the creation of stamps, it was established that it was the sender who paid for shipments according to the weight of the letter or package.
The first stamp in history , known as the Penny Black , was devised by Hill and issued on May 1, 1840 in the United Kingdom . Over time, from the variety of motifs and designs, stamp collecting emerged, known as philately .
stamp collecting
There are people from all over the world interested in collecting stamps; The amount is estimated at more than 200 million, and this number only reflects those who make their activity public in some way. In this immense group of people there are different reasons for pursuing these objects that for others are nothing more than pieces of paper: some do it out of passion, and others for the money they can earn by selling them. And here we enter the field of rare stamps , which represent a much higher profit than the common ones.
This name refers to those that, for certain reasons, exist in a single unit or that are very difficult to obtain; for example, those that have a typographical error or other defect in their design or printing . The maximum quantity in which they are usually found is one hundred, but many of them barely exceed one unit. It is worth mentioning that they exist in almost all countries, so "hunting" for rare stamps is hard work and requires constant attention to international second-hand markets.
Stamps considered rare can cost a fortune
Antiquity, on the other hand, is a factor that can turn any stamp into a rare item desired by collectors. Take for example the Black Penny , issued since 1840; Since it has been discontinued for a long time, this stamp is one of the most valued, not to mention those that have some printing error that makes them unique . Let's not forget another aspect that can affect this assessment: the state of conservation . In other words, if there are a thousand stamps of the same type in circulation, but only two of them are intact, then they are rare.
The price of a rare stamp cannot be calculated by means of a universal equation, but also depends on fashions, on how many people are interested in them at the time someone wants to put them up for sale . Broadly speaking, prices ranging from 10 thousand dollars to over a million have been recorded.