Postage stamps, which were first introduced in Great Britain in 1840, have at times been used as currency. Typically this occurs during coin shortages, when circulating coin disappears from circulation. Unused stamps make easy small change, as they are generally available in quantity, tend to be printed in high quality that is difficult to replicate, and retain a value that can be used for postage. The use of stamps as small change, however, does not come without problems. First, they tend to be quite small, making them quite easy to misplace. Additionally, most stamps feature a layer of gum on the back, which is great when you affix postage to an envelope but turns into a sticky mess when handled often (especially after getting wet). Over time, there have been many solutions suggested, some more successful than others, to make stamps suitable as a replacement for small change.
Before we go into more detail of what exactly constitutes postage stamp currency, I must note instances where what appear to be postage stamps were used, but which were actually something different. For example, revenue stamps are more often used than postage stamps, and were often part of an official issue. One such time was the emergency currency used in the Cagayan province of the Philippines during World War II. These are notes which had revenue stamps applied. In this blog post we will focus on postage stamp issues only, although in a future blog post we may explore other stamp types.
Postage stamp currency can be divided into the following groups (the examples given are not exhaustive):
- Postage stamps used as currency with no changes, whether officially or not (Serbia P-15 to P-21, Ukraine P-7 to P-11, Cyprus 1938 issues)
- Postage stamps applied to a larger piece of paper or cardboard for validation (South Africa / Marshall Hole P-S661 to P-S670)
- Postage stamps reprinted for use as currency (Greece P-313, Russia P-16 to P-23)
- Postage stamps encased, either in plastic or metal (New Caledonia P-28 to P-29, encased postage from the United States, as well as a plethora of French, German and Danish private issues)
- Postage stamp images used on printed notes (Ceylon P-42, select issues of United States Fractional Currency)
Some issues are difficult to place and could be classified under several categories; for example the 1938 Spanish postage and revenue stamp issues, P-96 to P-96N.
As can be seen from the list above people have been quite creative in making small change from stamps in times of need. There are many other issues, but unfortunately, no complete list nor a catalog. In 1970 Albert Pick published a small book in German called “Briefmarkengeld” that listed most of the issues; his list a useful starting point but it is nowhere near complete. The Scott world catalog of postage stamps occasionally notes the use of postage stamps as currency, but more often than not does not make reference to the use of specific issues as currency.
Your author enjoys researching these enigmatic issues and is working on a complete list of postage stamp currency, or at least an attempt to compile such a list I welcome suggestions at [email protected]. Discoveries are waiting, which makes this underrated and underserved area of numismatics so fascinating.
