Salt Lake Times | 1890-09-01 | Page 6 | Rare Formosa Stamps

ltore Formosa Slumps. Philatelists will bo interested in a certain passage of tho last official report which i8 mado by the British consul at Tamsni, in Formosa. It is to the effect that the supply of the so called Formosa stamps has come to an end, and that accordingly ac-cordingly the value of current stamps must necessarily increase as time goes on. This Formosa stamp is so far a genuine stamp that it was originally produced for postal uses, but, as a matter of fact, tho intention was never carried ont, so it has been impossible to obtain specimens authenticated by a postmark. As philatelists would say, it has never been more than au "essay." However, these stamps were utilized" as railway tickets on tho Formosan government govern-ment railway line, and as fast as used they were destroyed. The supply issued for . this purpose has been exhausted.. When the stamp was first "essayed" it brought as high as sixpence in London, and of late collectors have been paying $3-50 fur single specimens, or mm almost any price can be demanded and will bo paid for ono of these stamps. Certain Mauritius stamps aro exceeding rare, and the stamps of the defunct Gorman principalities are rapidly becoming be-coming scarce. Eugene Fictl in Chicago News.