From June 19, 2009 to January 3, 2010
TRUE OR FALSE
Test your stamp-culture savvy!
- The United Kingdom (UK) is the only country whose postage stamps do not feature the name of the issuing country.
- King Edward VII’s portrait was the only subject on British stamps for 60 years (1840–1900).
- Queen Elizabeth II presented an essay and some stamps to French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a state visit to the United Kingdom.
- In 1904, King George V, then still the Prince of Wales, paid a record £1,450 (about C$2,600) for a Two Pence “Post Office” Mauritius of 1847. A courtier apparently asked him if he had seen that "some damned fool” had paid so much for just one stamp. "Yes," came the reply, "I was that damned fool!"
- One of the most renowned philatelists of his time, the Duke of York succeeded his father as King George V on May 6, 1914.
- Stamps collected by King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II are all mounted in red albums.
- The word “philately,” coined in 1864, comes from the Greek words philos (“lover of”) and ateleia (“exempt from duties and taxes”), as stamps confirm pre-payment of postal fees and exemption from any further charge.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California and former Terminator star, is an avid stamp collector.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, was one of the most famous stamp collectors in the United States. As president, Roosevelt was in a unique position to indulge his love of stamps. One way he did so was to sketch his own design proposals for stamps.
