Collecting ASFE

 

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Do you collect ASFE?

Peter Valdner (2009, updated)

 

Collecting ASFE (A Stamp From Everywhere) means collecting of (at least) one stamp from each stamp issuing entity. It is a modern way of collecting stamps, formally belonging to the territorial philately. As it is much cheaper and interesting than collecting complete territories or themes, many territorial and/or thematic collectors have started collecting ASFE, too.

ASFE collectors live in many countries of the world, some collections are well advanced. Many ASFE collector live in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is given by historical reasons. First is the number of local issues (revolutionary issues of 1918-19, postage dues and newspaper provisionals, revolutionary issues 1944-45), second enough of professional literature, third specialized stamp clubs.

When we started in 1960` or even earlier, we used our own lists of stamp issuing entities. Everything had changed in 1971, when Filatelistický atlas známkových zemí (FAZZ) by B. Hlinka and J. Mucha introduced a unified ASFE list with 780  stamp issuing entities. It was published in English, too.

 

This book inspired many young people to start collecting ASFE and temporarily interrupted collecting according to names on stamps, as we did until that time. Nowadays, most advanced ASFE collectors care about names on stamps again.

A great merit of this book was it "discovered" entiites, forgotten by stamp catalogues as Chorezm and Buchara. Even the advanced ASFE collectors could find there many useful encyclopedic data.

 

FAZZ introduced a list of 780 ASFE, but ignored especially local issues. Most advanced collectors have ever collected

political development (colony, self administration, independence...),

geographical development (changes usually after wars),

various kinds of issued stamps (postage, telegraphic, telephone, service, franchise, due, etc.)

and, naturally, we have continued collecting local stamps, including Cinderellas.

Jiri Marek published  a set of six Stamp Atlases, where also local stamps and artistamps were shown, in 1996 – 2008. Hence finally  a professional literature for advanced ASFE collectors.

A problem was, how to publish Europe Stamp Atlas. He first published a simplified Europe, then ABC, finally an excellent Balkan Stamp Atlas.

ABC Europe, was similar to FAZZ, but with additional information, omitted by FAZZ.

Unfortunately, ABC Europe did not list locals and artistamps, so it was a temporary step back.

 

Let us have a look what a stamp is.  The definition that it is a piece of paper to be glued on a cover with the purpose to pay for delivery, is not valid any more. Nowadays, stamps, except for a division as postage and non-postal ones, can be sorted per material, purpose, size, look and many similar basic, or no-basic, criteria. For ASFE collecting it is important, if it is a valuable, issued by an authority, entitled to provide PTT services (postal, telephonic, telegraphic), which can be affixed to  a consignment.

The post, as any other service, has developed since 1840, when the first postage stamps were issued. It provides usually also bank services, now. The activities were rationalized, mechanized, automatized and commercialized. ASFE collecting must reflect the changes, but how?

 

Bank services mean checks, invoices, etc. Naturally, they are collectable, but do not belong to philately.

Rationalization introduced for instance stationery cards. They represent issuing entities, but have no adhesive stamps, hence do not belong to ASFE. We can speak about stationery issuing entities, so A Stationery Card from Everywhere can be collected.

 

Stamp booklets are another example for rationalization. Here we can speak about stamp booklets issuing entities. Booklets contain stamps, so they fit to ASFE. Sometimes they are a must, if no single stamps were issued (for instance Idar) or have another name than the contained stamps. Examples are Prune Island and Petit St. Vincent from 1976. Prune Island is special, as it was renamed to Palm Island, so there will be no stamps of Prune island any more.  A Booklet from Everywhere can be collect the same way as ASFE.

 

Mechanization introduced for instance meter stamps, including those printed separately and glued to covers. Official philately accepts them, but frankly, would you prefer a meter stamps to a usual adhesive in your ASFE collection? The exceptions are ASFE, which issued only meter stamps as for instance ICRC, i.e. Red Cross at its HQ in Geneva. The same way as ASFE, also A Meter Stamps from Everywhere can be collected.
 

Automatization and technical progress offer also stamps, printed in vending machines. They show the place of their origin.  It is possible to collect them as A Vending Machine Stamp from Everywhere. They are  rather similar to registration labels, which are not valuables, hence belong to Cinderellas.

Commercialization introduced a flood of picture stamps (in contrast to definitives). They are not necessary for postal services, but what would the thematic collectors collect? So they are accepted by ASFE collectors, too, especially if collecting No. 1, stamps with flags, maps etc. Mini-sheets are a kind of them. Again not necessary, but commercially successful.

MS is a good representative of ASFE, as it contains a stamp. So to have A MS from Everywhere would be attractive. I do not try to persuade anybody to collect them. They are a must only if a stamp issuing entity issued no single stamps. This is based on a principle a name on the item = ASFE.  So far I have identified Iles Eparses de l´Ocean Indien, Anguilla Outer Islands and Remote Islands of the South Atlantic. If you know about other ones, let me know, please.

 

   

 

Already mentioned Petit St. Vincent and Prune Island are also MSs, issued as booklets, too.

  

Precancels, though issued on postage stamps, can be used only locally, so they are locals. So many towns issued them that it is rather impossible to get them all. Nevertheless, to have at least one from every state of USA or a province of Canada should be a must in ASFE collections.

A few words on non-postal stamps. They can be divided to Artistamps and Cinderellas.

Artistamp is a work of art that looks like a postage stamp, but it is not as cannot serve to pay serviced of PTT (post). 

 

 

They belong to a wider group of Cinderellas, which are prints in a size as postage stamps.

Revenue stamps, belonging to Cinderellas, are official valuables. They are usually graphically more sophisticated and harder to counterfeit than postage stamps. They are excellent representatives of countries, but as we collect principally postage stamps, they belong to ASFE collections only in cases, when there were issued no postage stamps, MS, stamp booklets, etc. This is the case of many Indian princely states or provinces of Argentina. Unacceptable is replacing a postage stamp of Mosquito by its revenue stamp and totally crazy is replacing of a postage stamp of the Argentinian province of Cordoba by a revenue stamps of the Spanish town of the same name.

If collecting any stamp from ASFE is for you too simple and you do not like collecting locals and/or  artistamps, what about collecting Nr. 1 Stamp from Everywhere? It is possible, just rather expensive.

 

 

I have a few friends who try to have the original 780 ASFE on covers. It is a mission impossible, but good as an investment.

 

So to sum up - we obviously collect ASFE, including issues of MSs and booklets.

If you collect also entities that have issued stationery cards and/or meter stamps, you do collect postal entities, but they do not belong to ASFE collections.

I had a hope that an Europe Stamp Atlas for addvanced ASFE collectors and a complete Word Stamp ABC for the beginners would be published, but a sad news came in 2015. Author of the Atlases and ABC passed away.

 

What more to write about him?  When we first met, he had just a very moderate ASFE collection. With his tenacity and range of visions (he quickly understood that collecting ASFE according to criteria of FAZZ is not sufficient and that the cup of tea of ASFE collecting are locals and Artistamps) he reached the top of Czech ASFE collectors not only in theoretical, but also in practical way.

He devotedly organized the stamp club, he did not hesitate to visit ASFE collectors in Slovakia. We will miss him very much.
 

So what about the future? The answer is in the article My ASFE Collecting History and Plans. 

Sourcesj Internet a archives of the author

Contact: valdpete@yahoo.com