Collectables

The are a number of items that can accompany the first Merchant Guild stamps in your DW stamp collection.

The Defecated on by Mongeese Cover
Forget that the plural of mongoose is mongooses, and that the correct term is used in Making Money. This is part of the damaged in the post envelope series that were an early GCTS offer. It is addressed the The Occupier, 36 Chitterling Street, Ankh-Morpork and is a mail shot from Corksocks Natty Clothing of Elm Street. The cover bears a Farthing Merchants Guild stamp, and within is a flyer offering a special evening clothing show. The recipient is asked to reply, and another Farthing stamp, for the return card is included. This stamp is overprinted in black with the Ankh Morpork coat of arms between two triangles with a central P.

        

The $5 stamp proof sheets and Covers make a little collection of their own. For the standard proof, featuring three $5 stamps, half of the 500 printed had By appointment included and half had this omitted. The First Artists Proof Sheet features just one stamp, and includes the words Inspect ye well. Wise words as it is this proof sheet which houses the $5 top-hat alternative design. There seems to be two versions of this, one with those words on the left hand side being mirror-imaged. The border art is a continuous line of tracery, and there is a cryptic verse at the bottom. These were not for sale and only given out as prizes. The proof sheet for all five values was on general sale for many years.

        
                 with By Appointment                            without                                                             featuring the sport

 

 There is a Merchants Guild $5 cover, and two Consulate covers; one for the $5 stamp and one for the other four stamps. Do not think you will ever get the cover which featured four sports. There was only one ever produced for collectors.

 


(differences between the colours of the stamps is due to different sources and scanner settings)

This is from the Postcard series that were possible produced in 2005. These postcards are often overlooked by collectors but in fact show the stamps in the highest resolution outside the original artwork files. Click on the postcard to see how good the stamps look. I would take this as the definitive image of the intended appearance of the stamps. There is no lack of clarity in the horizontal lines, yet the background is nicely shaded; the best of both worlds.