1877-99 San Marino in Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Big Blue
Bud's Observations
(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)
Jim's Observations
The Republic of San Marino, all 24 square miles of it, is located on the north-eastern side of the Apennine Mountains on the Italian Peninsula twenty miles from the Adriatic Sea, and surrounded by Italy.
Saint Marinus of Arba founded a church on Monte Titano on September 3, 301, and thereby began the city and state of San Marino.
The Papacy recognized the independence of San Marino in 1631.
The independence was threatened by Napoleon's army in 1797, but Regent Antonio Onofri, through his friendship with Napoleon, was able to protect the Republic.
When Italy unified during the 19th century, Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot, agreed to not incorporate San Marino into the developing Italian state.
Stamps, with the "Coat of Arms" design, were introduced in 1877.
Between 1923 and 1943, the country was under the rule of the Sammarinese Fascist Party (PFS), closely allied with the Mussolini regime.
The 2014 Scott Classic 1840-1940 catalogue has, for San Marino 1877-1940, 345 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 96 are CV <$1-$1+, or 28%. San Marino is somewhat expensive for the WW classical era collector, as one would expect for an attractive "postage stamp" size country situated in Italy and Europe.
When I was much younger, I was fascinated with the "postage stamp" sized countries- Monaco, Liechtenstein, and, of course, San Marino. And it seemed like H.E.Harris knew this also. Glowing approval descriptions had their effect on the young child's imagination, until it became certain that "tiny" and "rare" were interlinked. And, I must admit, the psychology is still there. ;-)
When I was much younger, I was fascinated with the "postage stamp" sized countries- Monaco, Liechtenstein, and, of course, San Marino. And it seemed like H.E.Harris knew this also. Glowing approval descriptions had their effect on the young child's imagination, until it became certain that "tiny" and "rare" were interlinked. And, I must admit, the psychology is still there. ;-)
Big Blue '69, on six pages, has 146 spaces.
Coverage is 42%.
As I mentioned earlier, San Marino stamps can be expensive. And the BB collector is unfortunately not immune. In BB, there are eighteen stamp spaces that are in the "expensive" category ($10+-$30).
And there would have been even more, except for a "trick" I pulled to make the 1877-99 "Numeral" and "Coat of Arms" Issue (eleven spaces) not included. Conventional CV ranges from $11- $19. But they all are also listed in the catalogue as unused "no gum" for under $10. Therefore I am not formally including them in the "expensive" category, although one may still need to pay in that range to obtain a specific stamp.
What about the "Most Expensive" ($35+) category?
Hold on to your hats, because there are nine stamps in that range*.
The 1932 "General Post Office" issue (Scott 134-138) have two stamps @ $190 and $105.
The 1932 "Garibaldi" Issue has Scott 150 5l olive green @ $340!!!!!!
And the 1935 "Statue of Delfico" stamp (Scott 180) 1.75l brown orange is $100.
* These are 2014 Scott catalogue values.
For more on the stamps of San Marino, as well as the BB checklist, check out the link below.
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Supplements
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