Zero Cent Stamp

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Zero Cent Stamp

Netherlands 1998 Zero Cent Stamp

Issue date January 1998

Netherlands Post has issued the first Zero Cent Stamp which allowed people to use the stamp on a particular day i.e. the stamp was valid for only one day 29 June 1998. 

In January of 1998, the Dutch PTT distributed their new price list brochure to every household in the Netherlands. On the inside, a sheet with a 0 cent stamp was glued to the back of the price list. It will be valid for one day only 29 June 1998 : when the Dutch PTT Post will be listed at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange for the first time, and the 0 cent stamp could be used as a 80 cent stamp.

The text that accompanied the stamp was: "This stamp is worth 80 cents on the day PTT Post goes to the stock exchange. This little jewel can than be used as a stamp for letters and cards up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands."

Stamps on covers with a recognizable date stamp 29-6-1998, are considered as real used. Many people threw away the brochures. 

So a First day cover cancelled on 29 June 1998 would be the only Last Day Cover on record (The above cover is in my possession )

Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and is for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above-mentioned information/pictures/video.  The FDC is part of my collection.

Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image /    Stamps with Micro text Printing

USA 1998 Red Fox Stamp with hidden image

Issue date 14 August 1998

The red fox ranges more widely than any terrestrial carnivore, spanning most of North America and Eurasia, with several populations in North Africa. 

Red foxes are most commonly a rusty red with white underbelly, black ear tips and legs, and a bushy tail with a distinctive white tip. They eat rodents, insects, fruits, worms, eggs, mice, birds, and other small animals.The red fox is the state land mammal of Mississippi (1997).

“RED FOX” can be found microprinted on a branch at the bottom of the design and “USPS” is microprinted on the splintered end of the limb on which the fox is lying.  and a scrambled indicia image of a fox printed in the lower left corner of the design which is visible using a special decoder lens. 

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Stamps with Hidden image
Stamps with Micro text Printing

Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and are for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above mentioned information/pictures. The pictures have been scanned from my collection.

Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image   

Just back from trip to India..Will be shortly blogging on new acquisitions...

USA  1998 Bright Eyes Pets - Stamps with Hidden Image

Issue date 20 August 1998 

For centuries, people have domesticated animals for a variety of different reasons.  These pets provide both physical and emotional benefits.  Known as "man's best friend," the dog was the first domesticated animal.  The goldfish was the first fish kept as a pet.  A member of the carp family, they were first kept in people's home in China thousands of years ago.  There are more than 500 million domestic cats worldwide, but are most common in the United States and Europe.  Due to its high intelligence level, the parakeet makes a great pet. Although they are not as popular a pet as the dog and cat, the parakeet can be very affectionate.  Hamsters have been a popular pet since the late 1930's.  The tiny rodent is extremely fast and hard to catch, which is why they are generally kept in a cage.

USPS has issued sheet of 20 stamps of 32 cents each with 5 different stamps featuring a Dog, Fish, Cat, Parakeet and a Hamster. These stamps have a hidden image which can only be seen with a special Decoder lens issued by US Postal service in an earlier issue.

Bright Eyes Dog, Hidden Image: Dog bone and dog house

Bright Eyes Fish, Hidden Image: 8 Bubbles

Bright Eyes Cat, Hidden Image: Paw print and mouse

Bright Eyes Parakeet, Hidden Image: Bird cage

Bright Eyes Hamster, Hidden Image:  Exercise wheel 

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Stamps with Hidden image


Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and are for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above mentioned information/pictures. The pictures have been scanned from my collection.

Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image  

USA 1998 Wisconsin Stamp with Hidden Image

Issue date 19 March 1998

America’s 30th state, Wisconsin, has been known for many things. Its name is derived from an Indian word that has several possible meanings, including gathering of waters, wild rice country, and home land. Wisconsin is known as the Badger State – the nickname “badger” was first used for the lead miners who rushed there in the 1820s. The state’s huge output of dairy products has also earned it the nickname “America’s Dairyland.”

Despite its agricultural strength, since World War II, manufacturing has become Wisconsin’s primary source of revenue. It is a leading manufacturer of machinery, electrical components, paper goods, and food products. Wisconsin produces a third of the nation’s cheese and a fourth of its butter. One of our most progressive states, the state motto “Forward” describes its economic, political, social, and educational philosophies.


Wisconsin was first claimed by France, with England taking control after the French and Indian Wars. It became a U.S. territory after the Revolutionary War, and   was part of the Northwest Territory until 1800. Ownership was later transferred to Indiana, Illinois, and then Michigan. Independent territory status came in 1836. The present boundaries and capital, Madison, were established at the time of statehood on May 29, 1848.

Wisconsin, Hidden Image: Badger

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Stamps with Hidden image


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Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image  

USA  1997 Classic Movie Monsters - Stamps with Hidden Image

Issue date 30 September 1997

USPS had issued a set of 5 Stamps commemorating the Classic Movie monsters with a set of hidden images featured on the stamps which can be only viewed using a special Decoder lens issued by the US Postal service in an earlier issue.

Phantom of the Opera
In 1925, American movie-going audiences experienced one of the most horrifying silent films ever created, The Phantom of the Opera. This story of a demented, disfigured organist, who lives in the maze-like tunnels and cellars under the Paris Opera House, was based on a novel by Gaston Leroux.

Wearing a mask, the Phantom wreaks havoc on the opera, strangling a stagehand who has seen him, and sending the theater’s giant chandelier crashing into the audience during a performance. Later he kidnaps a young singer, Christine, with whom he is enamored, and takes her into his subterranean “home.” Before she is rescued, Christine pulls off the Phantom’s mask to reveal a hideous, skull-like face. The Phantom meets his end at the hands of an angry mob, which beats him to death and throws his body in the river Seine.

The man responsible for bringing the Phantom to life was silent actor Lon Chaney. Born to deaf-mute parents, Chaney was a master of pantomime. As the Phantom he gave his greatest performance, eliciting feelings of both terror and pity. Chaney also starred in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), London After Midnight (1927), Tell It to the Marines (1927), While the City Sleeps (1928), and Thunder (1929).

Dracula
In 1931 the movie Dracula, based on the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker, shocked audiences with its tale of Transylvania’s Count Dracula. An undead corpse known as a vampire, Dracula has an insatiable thirst for human blood. To feed his craving, Dracula seeks innocent victims at night, and then drinks their blood. Since sunlight is deadly for vampires, during the day he must take shelter in a coffin.

The man responsible for bringing the ghoulish, yet elegant Count Dracula to life was Bela Lugosi. Well-suited for the part, the Hungarian-born Lugosi was a classically trained actor with a heavy accent. He had also starred in the 1927 Broadway production of Dracula.

Dracula brought Lugosi international fame, and he was subsequently typecast in the genre. He also starred in The Black Cat (1934), Mark of the Vampire (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), and The Ape Man (1943).

Frankenstein
In 1931 the movie Frankenstein made its shocking debut as the first major horror movie with sound. Based on Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, published in 1818, it is the story of Dr. Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a living being from the bodies of the dead. Despite his noble intentions, Frankenstein creates a monster.

Assembled from body parts stolen from graveyards, the monster is brought to life when Frankenstein raises him through a hole in the roof of his laboratory and he is struck by lightning. When the creature is lowered to the floor and begins to move, Dr. Frankenstein cries, “It’s alive!”

Despite his hulking size and revolting appearance, the monster is actually a gentle creature. Although he is responsible for drowning a little girl, the tragedy is due only to his childlike ignorance of the world.

Boris Karloff was the talented actor who brought the monster to life. With a delicacy of expression unexpected from a character so grotesque, his performance inspires feelings of pity and compassion. When the monster meets his end in a burning windmill, the mood is tragic. The role brought Karloff worldwide fame, and launched his 20-year career as the king of horror films.

The Mummy
Released in 1932, The Mummy is the story of a mummified ancient Egyptian high priest – Im-Ho-Tep. Im-Ho-Tep is awakened from centuries of sleep when, despite urgent warnings, the inscription on a scroll found with his body is intoned.

In what has been described as “one of the screen’s most chilling scenes,” Im-Ho-Tep takes the form of a sinister Egyptian, Ardath Bey, and battles British forces for possession of his princess, Anck-es-en-Amon, who has been reincarnated as a beautiful modern-day woman. Once reunited with the princess, Im-Ho-Tep shows her their past lives in the reflection of a pool of water. After wreaking considerable havoc, Im-Ho-Tep is eventually returned to his mummified state.

The Mummy’s eerie presence was brought to life by the unique talents of Boris Karloff.  He began his career on the stage, starred on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), and as Captain Hook in Peter Pan (1950). This versatile actor also made frequent radio and television appearances.

The Wolf Man
In 1941 The Wolf Man frightened audiences with its tale of Larry Talbot, a man who returns to his homeland in Wales and is attacked by a wolf-like creature (played by Bela Lugosi). Talbot survives the attack only to discover that the creature’s bite has turned him into a “lycanthrope” – a man who is involuntarily transformed into a werewolf when the moon is full.

The werewolf is a violent creature who roams the countryside at night attacking human prey. Doomed to a life of misery and mayhem, Talbot is tortured by his dual existence. The werewolf’s rampage is finally put to an end when Talbot’s father slays the creature with his silver-tipped cane. Talbot then peacefully assumes human form.


Lon Chaney, Jr. is the talented actor who so convincingly became the Wolf Man. In fact, the highlight of this film was his on-screen transformation into the werewolf. Requiring many hours of make-up work, this chilling metamorphosis thrilled audiences.

Lon Chaney, Hidden Image: Phantom of the Opera 

Hidden Image: 2 Opera masks

Bella Lugosi as Dracula 

Hidden Image: 3 Bats

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein

Hidden Image: 3 Lightning bolts

Boris Karloff as the Mummy

 Hidden Image: 2 Egyptian deities

Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolfman 

Hidden Image: 2 Howling wolves

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Stamps with Hidden image


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Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image 

USA  1998 US Space Shuttle - Stamps with Hidden Image

  Issue date 09 & 19 November 1998

NASA's space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. 

The final space shuttle mission, STS-135, ended July 21, 2011 when Atlantis rolled to a stop at its home port, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Priority Mail rate stamp $3.20 which features a picture of the Space Shuttle landing was issued on 9 November 1998. A Definitive Express Mail stamp $11.75 featuring a Space Shuttle riding Piggyback on a modified Boeing 747 airplane was also issued on 19 November 1998.

Hidden Image on both the stamps using the USPS stamp decoder: "ENTERPRISE/COLUMBIA/CHALLENGER/ATLANTIS/ ENDEAVOR/DISCOVERY" featuring the names of all the Space Shuttles.

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Stamps with Hidden image


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Stamps with Hidden image - Update

Category - Sight
Subcategory - Stamps with Hidden image

USA 1998 Space Discovery - Stamps with Hidden Images

Issue date 01 October 1998

The U.S. Postal Service issued of a pane of stamps called "Space Discovery" to commemorate Space Exploration. The five 32c -stamp issue pictures the artist's conception of what it would be like to live on another planet, complete with space vehicles, a futuristic space city, and space explorers.

Also the stamps include a hidden image which can be viewed by a Special Stamp Decoder issued by USPS (featured in an earlier post on this blog).

Space City - Hidden Image - Large and small spacecraft
Space Ship landing - Hidden Image - Small spacecraft
Person in space suit - Hidden Image - Small spacecraft
Space ship taking off - Hidden Image - Small spacecraft
Large Domed structure - Hidden Image - Large and small spacecraft

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Stamps with Hidden image

Disclaimer - Information about the stamp issues on this page has been taken from the net and are for informational purposes only. No copyright claim is made for the above mentioned information/pictures.