One area of the collecting of Korean stamps that fascinates me is the various errors of Korean stamps. I am wondering if there are many collectors of these Korean errors, and whether it would be useful to establish a discussion group for these errors on the KSS website, or should we just publish articles on these errors and request comments? In any event, it would be very helpful if other readers would write short articles, including images, if possible, about these Korean stamp errors. An example of how an article would look about a Korean stamp error that I believe is very interesting, is discussed in the short article that follows.
The 1901 50 chon Plum Blossom Issue Missing Pink Colour
A very interesting early Korean stamp error is the missing pink colour on the 1900 50 chon Plum Blossom Issue. I have not been able to find very much information about this error. There were at least two different printings of the 50 chon Plum Blossom stamp. Scott gives the catalog numbers to these two printings of 31 and 52, respectively, and states that 31 was issued in 1901 and 52 was issued in 1903. Scott values the first issue mint at $550 and the second issue at mint $400. The Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue (KPSC) gives these two issues the catalog numbers of 24 and R2, and values them at 1,200,000 won (US$1000) and 800,000 won (US670), respectively.
Scott catalog has now listed the missing pink color on the 50 ch on as 31a without a price given for either the used or mint values.
I guess having a look in stamp dealers’ stock books would help a lot, especially the stock of Seoul based dealers. Would be great to know if there are Scott 31a’s in those collections and if so, what the approximate ratio is between the regular 31 and the 31a. Anyone located in/near Seoul who is up for a challenge?
Talking about pricing: what do you think is an acceptable price range for the Scott 31a?
Hi Ivo, I really do not know. I believe these are extremely rare, but there has to be demand. As we know the USA inverted Jenny airmail stamp sells for $100,000’s and it is not that rare, there are a 100 of them. There may not be 100 of these 31a in collector’s hands. The used one sold for about $500 on eBay three years or so ago. But now it is listed, so that could make it more valuable. So the acceptable price is what someone will pay for one. Robert