Old Korea Archives — Page 2 of 3

Korean forgeries (VI): 5 Poon issued July 1895 (1st Printing); 1897 (2nd Printing) etc.

May 27, 2020June 8, 2020 Barry Abbott6811 Comment

The first stamp in this series is the 5 Poon. The stamp is designated Scott #6 and Minkus #3. Black and white images and data are from Brady-Tyler, Zirkel, G. La Francesca and colour images and data are from MikeG Canada (Stampboards), Florian Eichhorn, David Phillips, KSS and other sources.

Beautiful Postal Cards and Postal Covers of Early Korea

May 16, 2020March 28, 2020 Dr. Joel Lee6141 Comment

Some of the rarest examples of postal history of Empire Korea, combining the images of early 20th century Korea on hand-tinted postal cards and a cover demonstrating all the stamps available at the Chemulpo, Korea post office on a single day are that of a correspondence addressed to Mrs. Charlotte K. Ober, University of Washington, […]

Entires with “TAEGEUK” of the 1st and 2nd Issued Sets

April 25, 2020March 28, 2020 Dr. Joel Lee558Leave a Comment

The Gab-sin coup d’etat (甲申政變; 갑신정변) of 4 December 1884 (Lunar calendar 10. 17.), attempted by the reformers at the opening ceremony of the post office, failed. All main figures were killed including Mr. Young-Sik Hong whose constant efforts had led to the issuing of a Royal decree to establish the Department of Post Office […]

Korean forgeries (V): 100 Mon printed 1884 – Never issued

April 22, 2020March 14, 2020 Barry Abbott519Leave a Comment

The fifth stamp in this series is the 100 Mon. As with the 25 and 50 Mon stamps, this rose, white and blue stamp was never issued and therefore any stamp claiming to be postally used has a fake cancellation. The stamp is designated Scott #5 and Minkus #N5. The stamps were produced in 1884. […]

Korean Souvenir Books and Reprints issues of 1903-1906 (Part III: Additional Souvenir Books)

April 4, 2020March 12, 2020 Robert (Bob) Finder7764 Comments

In addition to the early editions souvenir books, different types of souvenir books were issued up until 1938 by the Japanese government and later by the South Korean government. Kerr has the only list of these souvenir books that is known in English and it goes through 1961. On Page 71-2 of his book, he […]

Korean Souvenir Books and Reprints issues of 1903-1906 (Part II: Reprints)

March 4, 2020July 24, 2019 Robert (Bob) Finder625Leave a Comment

The Scott catalogue states that most of the high value Scott numbers 52-54 reprints, the 50 ch, 1 won, and 2 won, with thin, semi-transparent paper, perforation 12 ½, that are in collectors’ collections and on the market today, come from the early souvenir books. Scott values 52-4 at $400, $600, and $875, respectively; but […]

Korean forgeries (IV): 50 Mon unissued (1884)

February 22, 2020April 25, 2020 Barry Abbott609Leave a Comment

The fourth stamp in this series is the 50 Mon. As with the 25 Mon stamp, this green stamp was never issued and therefore any stamp claiming to be used has a fake cancellation. The stamp is designated Scott #4 and Minkus #N4. The stamps were produced in 1884. Black and white images are from […]

Korea’s First Post Office Cancel – Don’t Be Misled!

February 8, 2020December 20, 2019 Helen K. Zirkle805Leave a Comment

In the summer of 1964 I received the following letter from a French gentleman: “Enclosed is $3000.00 plus in Korea No. l’s and 2’s in singles, pairs and combinations. All stamps are tied on piece and with the exception of one or two stamps the condition is very fine or superb. As I do not […]

A “bottle card” (1981)

February 7, 2020January 30, 2020 John E. Strout675Leave a Comment

Fishing has long been important in the Korean and Japanese economies. While coastal fishing was the major source for marine foods in the past, beginning with the first “Five Year Plan” in 1962 Korea has increased its harvest of deep-sea fish by more than twenty-fold.

Korean Souvenir Books and Reprints issues of 1903-1906 (Part I: Introduction)

February 5, 2020July 24, 2019 Robert (Bob) Finder11609 Comments

By writing this article, this author is hoping that it will create interest and more information will be forthcoming from other readers of the Korea Stamp Society (KSS) website. The subject is known by different names. Very little literature has been published, at least in English, about, what Jim Kerr called, in his “Korean Kingdom […]

Two Examples of the Often Faked Cancellations of the First Two Korean Stamps of 1884

January 27, 2020January 28, 2020 Florian Eichhorn8428 Comments

Normally mint stamps are worth more than used stamps. One notable exception to this philatelic rule is the often faked cancellations of Korea’s first two stamps issued in 1884, the 5 and 10 mun values. As these two stamps were used for just a few days because of a riot/revolution that burned down the Korean […]

Korea’s Postal and Communications System (1941)

January 17, 2020January 12, 2020 Major V. Rudolfi (ret.)806Leave a Comment

(This text was originally published in 1941 and republished in KP XI No. 1 (February 1962). It is here being published again for its historical significance.) Only scant remainders enable us today to retrace the origins of the Korean Postal and Communications System. We do know for a fact, however, that the country’s rulers have […]

Korean forgeries (III): 25 Mon unissued (1884)

January 11, 2020April 25, 2020 Barry Abbott7972 Comments

The third stamp in this series is the 25 Mon. This orange stamp was never issued and therefore any stamp claiming to be used has a fake cancellation. The stamp is designated Scott #3 and Minkus #N3. Black and white images are from Brady-Tyler and colour images are from MikeG Canada (Stampboards) and other sources.

Australian missionary postal history shows early links with Korea

December 22, 2019November 30, 2019 James H. Grayson6871 Comment

Abacus Auctions of Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia in its auctions for 30 November to 1 December, 2019 displayed three Korean postcards for sale, two of which are pictoral cards. The pictoral postcards are of a ‘yŏt’ (Korean confection) seller and a view of a city gate in Sŏul, possibly the Great North Gate. The text […]

Korean forgeries (II): 10 Mon issued in 1884

December 9, 2019November 17, 2019 Barry Abbott849Leave a Comment

The second stamp in the series comparing genuine stamps to forgeries is the 10 Mon issued in 1884 – Stanley Gibbons #2; Scott #2; Minkus #2. Again, I am using the Brady-Tyler Handbook and stamp images and references shown on Pages 7 and 8. Colour images are primarily from MikeG, Canada – Stampboards.com. As with […]

Fusan Customs cover Mrs. Appenzeller

December 5, 2019December 4, 2019 James H. Grayson6511 Comment

John Bull Stamp Auctions, Ltd. from Hong Kong has a cover in its “332nd Auction” (5 – 8 December 2019) which was sent in April 1891 from Mrs. Hunt in Fusan (Busan) to Mrs. Appenzeller in Seoul. The cover has a starting price of 1.000.000 HKD, which is approx. 127.500 US dollars or 115.000 EUR.

Andrew B Graham Co. business card shows Korea’s second issue

November 10, 2019October 21, 2019 David Phillips539Leave a Comment

Here is a nice item which is rarely seen. I have often wondered why the second issue of Korea was printed in Washington, DC since the first issue was done in Japan. In any event the stamps were printed by Andrew B Graham Co. a Washington, DC lithographer.

Korean forgeries (I): 5 Mon issued in 1884

October 28, 2019April 25, 2020 Barry Abbott8601 Comment

With the assistance of KSS members and referring to the “Brady-Tyler Handbook of Philatelic Forgeries Korean Empire 1962”, I will post, on a regular basis, examples of Korean Empire genuine stamps and forgeries of those stamps, along with images of the key elements for easy comparison.

Cash-insurance envelopes used in Korea (some backgrounds)

October 19, 2019October 6, 2019 Florian Eichhorn7872 Comments

The insured (declared value) system was introduced in Japan in 1900 for cash/bonds/securities. With the issuance of the special envelopes in 1901, the usage of ordinary envelopes for these valuables became forbidden. In 1910, non-official envelopes became readmitted for items larger than the official envelopes, like jewels, art etc. provided they were in previously unused […]

Japanese machine cancellation for New Year used in Korea (1936-1940)

October 3, 2019October 2, 2019 Kenji Nakano869Leave a Comment

Like elsewhere in imperial Japan and its dependencies, machine cancellations for New Year were used for 1936, 1937, and 1938 (Showa 11, 12 and 13). Shown are postcards in my exhibit “Cancellations of Japanese Offices in Korea (1876-1945)” to JAPEX 2019, scheduled for November 15-17, 2019, in Tokyo. The ones for 1936 and 1937 are […]