Welcome to the fascinating world of stamp collecting, ‘The Hobby of Kings and The King of Hobbies!’ Stamp collecting, otherwise known as philately.

The 24 cent Jenny Stamp was created for delivery of mail by air - a new concept in 1918. This is a large sum compared to the 3 cents that it costs for ground delivery.

The rarest stamp in the world is the one cent black on magenta British Guiana stamp of 1856. In 1856 this colony was awaiting a supply of stamps from England but the postmaster could not wait for the delivery of stamps from England and asked the local newspaper to print some 1 and 4 cent stamps. It features a ship, printed in black ink on magenta colored paper, along with the Latin motto "Damus Petimus Que Vicissim" or, translated, "We give and expect in return".

Collecting stamps is one of the oldest hobbies. The stamp collecting hobby crosses all boundaries and genres. There are a lot of hobbies that were created in a single nation, while philately is universal. Collection of postage stamps, not only provides the enjoyment for the philatelists, but also increases their awareness of many historical facts. It is a hobby for both old and young alike.

This issue consisted of a set of stamps picturing a small island, and were released by Seoul in South Korea. The problem centred around the fact that the legal ownership of the island is in dispute. South Koreans claim ownership of the island, which they call Tokto, and ownership is also claimed by Japan, who call it Takeshima.

In 2005, Royal Mail set about designing its traditional Christmas issue, and decided as religion as a subject, for the first time in many years. They decided to use paintings of the Madonna and Child taken from around the world. There was nothing unusual about this, but the 68p value featured an unusual painting produced in India around the early 1600’s. The painting, currently housed in the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay, pictured the Holy Family as Hindus with Tilaka, the traditional forehead markings.