Collecting Alternative Post Stamps

Much has been written in various club newsletters, about the difficulty of soaking some of New Zealand’s Alternative Post stamps off their envelopes, after they have been cancelled.

One of our members has suggested that the best way to collect these stamps is to cut out a rectangle that includes the cancellation, retaining them on their backing. The stamps can then be displayed in stockbooks or on Hagner sheets.

For many, part of the appeal of collecting AP stamps, is the ‘fun of the chase’. Some have only been available in certain parts of the country, while others have been distributed nationally. Some have had limited print runs, others exist ‘in their millions’.

Frequently, the same design can be found in various denominations, eg 40c, 45c, 50c and 60c or inscribed Kiwi ~ often with two or more sizes of each !

There being no comprehensive catalogue (as far as I know) for AP issues, having the date of posting not only helps to put them in some sort of order, but allows us all to venture into the interesting world of Postal History, without great expense.

We should endeavour to obtain a copy of a each design with a cancel as early as possible in the period where it was first issued, together with examples bearing an additional 5c or 10c stamp, postmarked in the period after a postage rate rise.

• after 5 April 2004, an extra 5c was needed on a 40c stamp
• after 1 June 2007, an extra 5c was needed on a 45c stamp (10c on a 40c)
• from October 2010, an extra 10c was needed on a 50c stamp (15c on a 45c)

Collectors are aided in sorting NZMail stamps, by a series of small code numbers which have been printed at the bottom right of most designs released by NZMail since 2006.

This number can be of great help in confirming subtle changes in design that the collector may not find easy to spot. Compare the two Rotorua stamps below.

Unfortunately NZMail does not always include the code number. When issuing their Kiwi stamps in 2010, they left it off the Milford Sound stamp but seem to have remembered it for Mitre Peak and most of the others.

Many of our members have told us that they stopped collecting NZPost stamps after 2000, claiming that most new issues are for philatelic revenue rather than postal purposes. We have noticed that several of those people now collect Alternative Post issues, possibly because they feel that this is what stamp collecting is all about !


Editors Comments:

Collecting Alternative Post stamps on paper (with a date cancel from the appropriate period of use) seems to be an excellent idea, one which I have adopted for my own collection. I am very grateful to Kiwi members who have put AP stamps on their mail to us, as my own collection would be rather insignificant without them.

A special request – if you use AP stamps on your mail, please write the address down towards the bottom left of the envelope, well away from the rectangular area that the cancel will be put.

         Best wishes          Dave and Jan Butcher