What do we know about these North Korean revenue stamps?

A KSS member asks about North Korean revenue stamps: what do we know about these? “A small number of stamps, many duplicates. I do not specifically collect such stamps, but sometimes buy them. Are these stamps all North Korean? I read that there is a catalog of Korean (or North Korean) revenue stamps, but I […]

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Reader’s question: Why are local 1930s revenue stamps never offered “used on document”?

Since first seeing a South Korean revenue stamp in 2010 (when I needed one for a visa document while already in Korea) I have been collecting information about Korean revenue stamps. What is noticeable in my database of 6000+ notes on Korean revenue stamps that some stamps are very easy to collect “used on document” […]

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Revenue stamped document: Masan middle school graduation certificate

From the collection of Joe Ross, well-known amongst revenue stamp collectors as someone with one of the largest revenue stamp collections in the world and author of several revenue stamp catalogues, comes this revenue stamped document from the city of Masan (마산), now part of Changwon (창원시). Unlike with postal documents, revenue documents are usually […]

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The Revenue Stamps of Seoul City (part 3 of 3)

(Part 3 of 3) Like most countries which at one time used revenue stamps, South Korea has a long history of using local revenue stamps. Until the 1970s these local revenue stamps were produced locally, each with a unique design per province or municipality. From 1976 onwards local revenue stamps were produced nationally (with standardized […]

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The Revenue Stamps of Seoul City (part 2 of 3)

(Part 2 of 3) Like most countries which at one time used revenue stamps, South Korea has a long history of using local revenue stamps. Until the 1970s these local revenue stamps were produced locally, each with a unique design per province or municipality. From 1976 onwards local revenue stamps were produced nationally (with standardized […]

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The Revenue Stamps of Seoul City (part 1 of 3)

Like most countries which at one time used revenue stamps, South Korea has a long history of using local revenue stamps. Until the 1970s these local revenue stamps were produced locally, each with a unique design per province or municipality. From 1976 onwards local revenue stamps were produced nationally (with standardized designs) by the national […]

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Examples from the National Archives of Korea (NAK) online database

After learning about the existence of the online database of the National Archives of Korea (NAK) I quickly discovered a treasure trove of documents related to Korean philately. Thousands of documents with listings of stamp values, revenue stamps issues (including local revenue stamps) and meter marks, often even shown with (simple) drawings. And that’s just the […]

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Korean Passport Stamps in U.S. Dollars in Passport

Hasegawa’s new revenue catalogue does not include those stamps issued in the U.S. in U.S. dollars. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate two such stamps, denominated $10, and contained in my own passport that has now expired and has been cancelled. The stamps were used to verify payment of visa fees. One has a serial number, […]

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South Korean Revenue Stamps Issued Under U.S. Military Rule: On Document

I have found the collecting of Korean revenue stamps to be very challenging. Revenue stamps have not been much valued in South Korea, itself, and, until the publication of Stephen Hasegawa’s The Standard Catalogue of Korean Revenue Stamps in 2005, there was not a good resource for identifying Korean revenue stamps. (Hasegawa’s catalogue will be […]

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