October is the philatelic month; National Stamp Collecting Month, World Postcard Day (1st), and World Post Day (9th). Maybe there should be more!

The federal government first taxed playing cards in 1862 to support the Civil War. Except for 11 years (1883-1894), the tax remained in effect until it was repealed in 1965.

Between the Post Office Department and the USPS they have produced six different board games over the years. The first one, “Uncle Sam’s Mail” was released in 1893!

The 15 cent Z grill, Scott #85F, hammered down last month at a Siegel auction for $2.65 million, $1.05 million less than the 1 cent Z grill, Scott #85A There are only two of these to exists, but unlike the 1 cent Z grill, both #85F are available to the public. One stamp makes a million-dollar difference!

Do you know? The country that has issued the fewest stamps is the Ionian Islands. They issued a grand total of 3 stamps in 1859. They were then swallowed up by (ceded to) Greece in 1864 and the stamps were no more.

Did anyone figure out the answer to last month’s did you know? The answer is bundle or bundleware.

In 1893, France issued its first stamps for a single French colony, Obock, with scenes that reflected the colony.

The first postage stamps issued in St. Louis with a first day of issue ceremony were the Louisiane Purchase Exposition Issue (Scott #323-327) on 30 April 1904.

Gary “Geddy” Lee, the lead singer for the rock group Rush, is an avid lifelong stamp collector.

Postal rates are going up again this month. A first class 1oz letter up 2 cents to 68 cents, post cards up 2 cents to 53 cents, but the additional oz rate will again stay pat at 24 cents. At least something didn’t go up!

RW13a, bright rose pink color error, turned out to not be an error at all, but a chemically altered changeling. After several decades and thousands of dollars changing hands, modern technology was finally able to prove that this error never existed. The listing was removed from the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers in 2016.

A French collector coined the term philately, but the word actually comes from the Greek ‘philo’ lover or fond of ‘ateleia’ free of payment or tax. Philotely is actually the more correct rendering.

The “First Day of Issue” cancellation, that we all know today, was first used in 1937. The stamp that received it was the Ordinance of 1787 Sesquicentennial issue.