The hobby of philately is being undermined by postal agencies issuing too many stamps.
“High-value stamps, miniature sheets and innumerable commemorative sets have been issued out of proportion to the need of transmitting letters and this has discouraged collectors from carrying on with their hobby. They feel they are being taken for a ride,” says Alfred Bonnici, president of the Malta Philatelic Society.
“Unfortunately, postal agencies throughout the world, because of privatisation, want to make a profit,” Chev. Dr Bonnici says in his introduction to the Annual Maltex Stamp Exhibition organised by the society.
The exhibition is the highlight of the year for local stamp and postal history collectors. This year the theme is “The Post – Yesterday and Today”, providing a window, through the various displays, into a time when stamps were issued with one purpose: to pay for the cost of transmitting mail.
Under the rule of the Order of the Knights, a charge was levied on the transport of letters to Sicily by boat and then on to their destination by mounted courier.
Later, under the British – who made the post into a very efficient system – letters to the UK were carried by naval ships and to Europe by Italian or French boats.
“With the introduction of stamps, letters began to be pre-paid... the postage paid reflecting the cost of transmission,” writes Dr Bonnici.
Philately was born: people started collecting stamps, often expanding into postal history.
But now, due to the issuing of stamps in unnecessary amounts, a lot of collectors have stopped collecting. “Let us hope the postal authorities are aware of this,” says Dr Bonnici.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Judge Giovanni Bonello, an avid postal history collector, on Thursday at 6pm at the Green Lounge of the Phoenicia Hotel.
A group of members from the UK-based Malta Study Circle will be visiting the island for this year’s Maltex, some of whom will be displaying items from their Malta collections.
The group is led by the Circle’s president, Rodger Evans, and secretary David Crooks. The latter will be on his 50th visit to the island in almost as many years.
A temporary Branch Post Office will be open and mail posted here will receive a special handstamp. Local and foreign dealers will cater for collectors’ needs and offer advice. Stamp tokens will be given to young stamp collectors.
The exhibition will be open to the public from 9am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday and from 9am to noon on Sunday. Admission is free.