Shells on Stamps – Page 3

by Tom Walker

Great Britain has not done well in the "Shell Stamp" stakes.  The only realistic shell is Segmentina nitida which appeared in the Endangered Species set of 1998.  Britannia is shown riding in a stylised shell boat (either a cockle or a scallop) is shown on early high value stamps, and a snail can be seen on a Greetings stamp of 1991.  British Islands do much better, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey all issuing more shell stamps than Great Britain.

There is something for everyone in Shell Stamps, from common to rare shells or common to rare stamps (some shell stamps are catalogued at up to £30,000!)  And new issues appear every year, ensuring that you can never "complete" your collection.  You may decide just to collect stamps where the shell forms the major part of the design, or to include stamps even when the mollusc is an incidental part of the design, or is very small and stylised.  Some also attempt to collect all the shells that are shown on stamps - easy for most shells, but try obtaining specimens of Pterynotus lightbourni or Calyptogena magnifica and you may find it difficult or impossible.

REFERENCES

Arakawa, K. Y.  1979.  Shells on Stamps of the World.  Biological Society of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.  234pp.
Eijkenduijn, R.V. and Touw, C.  1994.  Catalogus voor de Malacofilatelist.  De Kreukel, Amsterdam.  146pp with later supplements.
Emmerich, K.  1980.  Shells on Postage Stamps around the World,  Topical Philatelic Publishers, Fullerton, California.  110pp.
Rice, T.  2002.  A Checklist of Mollusks on Postage Stamps, 6th ed.  Of Sea and Shore Publications, Port Gamble, Washington. 90pp.
Walker, T. M.  1995.  Collect Shells on Stamps.  Stanley Gibbons, London. 202pp.
Walker, T. M. http://www.conchology.be/en/shelltopics/stampshome.php (this website shows an illustration of all shell stamps).