The Rundschau list

Stamps

By john Hunter

THE West German stamp magazine, Michel Rundschau, has released its survey of stamp issues of the world in 1988. This survey is an excel lent indication of the developments in the stamp industry around the world.

Unfortunately the number of stamp issues for 1988 is up on the number of issues in 1987. The number is up from

9107 to 9512 stamps. Stamp collectors were beginning to take heart that the number of issues had begun to fall.

However, the reversed trend seems to indicate that stamp issuing agencies are returning to the high issue rate of 1984 and 1985 when over 10,000 stamps were issued.

When one compares these numbers to 1979 when 7804 stamps were issued it shows that the agencies are out to take as

much money as possible from the collec tor. There is a very limited number of collectors the agencies can squeeze and when they are squeezed too much for the hard earned cent they fall away from stamp collecting in large numbers. This is happening. Rumour has it that 40 per cent of collectors have stopped collecting Australian stamps for the reason that it is getting too expensive. In fact Australia Post is soon to issue a $2O stamp when you consider buying a corner block of 4, a first day cover and stamp pack only the rich can afford the luxury of collect

ing stamps.

In the Pacific it is sad to see that most authorities have increased the number of stamp issues from their 1987 number.

However congratulations must go to the Cook Islands and Tuvalu for a con siderable reduction in their stamp issues.

Further congratulations must go to the Pacific in 1988 as not one agency coun try was included in the world’s fifteen top countries with the largest number of stamp issues.

The two worst countries in the world for the largest number of stamp issues in 1988 were Grenada & Grenadines 385 stamps (284 in 1987), and Guyana 383 stamps (356 in 1987).

Here are the number of stamps issued in the Pacific in 1988 compared to 1987.

The countries are listed in the order of numbers of stamps issued.

The Pacific area has shown, on the whole, considerable restraint in the num ber of new issues. Large number of stamp issues do not mean greater profit.

It usually means less profit as collectors

dump the offending countries.

Post alternative THE British Government is having talks with the Australian transport giant TNT about setting up a rival service to the Royal Mail. The word is the Thatcher Government is looking at plans to break up the Post Office monopoly with a cheap commercial nationwide letter ser vice. D

Chountry

Niuthafo-ou-Is 1987 12

Stamps

1988 8 Kiribati 15 10 Cook Is 10 103

Penrhyn

12 8 Nauru 15 11 Niue 15 15 Tokelau Is 17 12 Aitutaki 16 18

Fiji

19 17 Norfolk Is 19 31 Pitcairn 22 16 New Caledonia 23 22 Papua New Guinea 23 22

French Polynesia

26 27 Vamiatu 25 42 Solomon Is 24 37 Palau 29 54

Tonga

37 21 Samoa 38 21 Micronesia 44 8 New Zealand 51 31 Australia 67 61 Tuvalu 78 169