“Does the philatelic value of a stamp depend upon the size of a country? If so, would stamps of say, Bhutan have any value in the philatelic environment?”

Size of a country I am sure, is of no consequence. Take for example, issues from Tonga, New Zealand, Bhutan as you have suggested and many other smaller countries, they are mostly very beautiful. They are also topical, and hence, I am sure these stamps must be very popular with collectors around the world. At least they are with me. Not being in the philatelic trading business I won’t be able to answer the second part of your question. For a satisfactory answer to this part of your question, you would have to consult professionals in the trade. But, I do believe that the most valuable stamps in the world were issued in very small countries.

On the other hand if by ‘value’ you mean importance, then I can confidently say that Bhutanese stamps must be occupying an important niche in most collections around the world.

Lets now take a look at some of my favorite Bhutanese stamps to see and understand what I really mean. The famous ‘Tankha’ stamps were printed on fabric. Coin shaped stamps are a rarity in most countries The Gold coin stamps were issued to commemorate the 20^th Birthday of the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. Bhutan has also issued stamps in every format. 3D and embossed lovelies were issued many years ago. But, I now believe that have also introduced stamps in the CD format.

Beauty Contests

A young stamp collector from Goa, 15 year old Maria Braganza asked me a very moot question. She said that I must be a thematic collector, and the theme must be Religion. She came to this conclusion because my first post had displayed a miniature sheet depicting the Exposition of St. Francis Xavier. A very observant girl indeed!

Yes, I am a thematic collector. What is my theme – Simple, the theme is stamp collecting and everything associated with it eg stamps, first day covers, miniature sheets, folders etc etc. In other words, you name a philatelic product and either I have it or I’ll try to search for it, if it tickles my sensibilities, and it could be from any part of the world. And it does not matter if it is flowers, butterflies, ships, locomotives and even beauty queens. Yes, Beauty Queens. I have one of ‘Miss World 1963’ from Jamaica. Well that would be a wonderful theme wouldn’t it? Well take alook at Miss World.

Hepney

The other day I was showing my Grandson some stamps when I came across these four miniature ½ penny stamps of South Australia. Yes, S. Australia. For those who don’t know, South Australia with its Capital at Adelaide was one the six British colonies that united in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia. These miniature stamps of Queen Victoria are of the period 1883-1890. The set of four shown here are actually half the displayed size.

Hi!

 I have chosen this particular Miniature Sheet because it’s the oldest one I have. I got it in Panjim, Goa just 15 days after Goa was liberated by the Indian Armed Forces in Dec 1961. I was a cadet then on the training ship the mighty INS Tir. The Mini Sheet depicts the Exposition of St. Francis Xavier in 1952. I believe there are very few of these in circulation. Not even in Portugal.