Bhutan is a small landlocked country located in the eastern Himalayas bordered

with India , China  and Sikkim . Bhutan remained in isolation till its door to the

outside world opened in the 1960s with the launching of its first five Year Plan, a

process for modernization development in the country. Bhutan has an area of 45,500

 skm.s. or 18,182 smi.s and roughly a population of 800,000 friendly people . 

About Bhutan Stamps -

    With the advent of modern development, a regular and unique postage stamp was

 issued on the 10th of october 1962 valid for both domestic and international use.

 Since then, the stamps of Bhutan has become internationally popular with the issue

of exquisite silk-like stamps (Thanka) and the circular grooved stamps

(Talking) Stamps that played the national anthem and folk songs

on a record player.

The Philately of Bhutan has not only shown a good reputation of the country by

producing attractive postage stamps but also the revenue generation from sales has

significantly contributed in the nations economic development. If you are not a

 collector, now is the time that you become a regular collector of the beautiful

stamps of Bhutan.

    This is very important to understand about the pricing of stamps in the current

stamp catalogs as compared to asking price from stamp dealers or private stamp

owners . It is not only supply  and demand that fuel high prices of stamps , popularity

 of the picture , the actual look of the stamp play a big part of the stamp's worth

such as certain events in history commemorated on the stamp , famous people from

Ghandi to Elvis and of course Princess Di and The Pope . Topical stamps work in this

 same way , some people only collect stamps with one theme like butterflies , flowers ,

 dogs and cats , space , even cartoon characters .  Stamps are only worth what

someone is willing to pay for it , so if you are bidding on a stamp or set of stamps at

auction , know your limit on how much you are willing to spend and dont get carried

 away with the thrill of the bidding. Collecting stamps can become an obsession but as

long as you enjoy the experience of completing aset or year of

issue of these stamps and you really dont care about what they are worth you will do

 just fine . Bhutan stamps are for any collector from serious investor to the novice

collector of the beautiful or unusual .

 

    Bhutan stamps have only been around for about 45 years so they are easy to collect

and the very first sets are not that rare or expensive to obtain for your collection and

they have so many unique issues and beautiful colours and designs that they appeal to

every stamp collector . Bhutan has a wide selection of topics to specialize in , from fauna , flora , people , space , to fine art ; they are constantly

finding new and exciting subject matter to give every collector of stamps an opportunity to find a favorite topic . The Disney issues are very

popular and so are their special first day covers . Right now you can place an order

for the 2008 issue of a one of a kind CD-Rom stamp showing the history of the

monarchy of Bhutan through a documentary on a postage stamp ! How fantastic

 is that ! These are just like the popular record stamps issued in 1973 .

 

     The Philately of Bhutan is mainly doing their best to please the collectors of

stamps , it is rare for the Bhutan stamps being used in country and most letters

mailed from Bhutan are mostly from tourists writing home about their travels in this

 beautiful little kingdom . So its safe to say that up to 70% of all the Bhutan stamps

ever printed and issued are ever used as regular postage and the ones that are , are in

big demand for the rare cancellation marks of the Bhutan Postal Service .

 

     I recommend you give thought to collecting these fantastic stamps of Bhutan and

look forward to each new years issues in future with me . This is a great hobby and a

 perfect collection to grow and manage . There is a big following in Bhutan stamps

 and their popularity is growing all the time . I have been collecting these stamps

for over 35 years when as a young boy , I spotted  some awesome 3D stamps in the

window of a small stamp and coin shop in my hometown , and ever since then , I have

 never been bored with any new issues Bhutan makes available to the collector .

 

     How do I get started collecting Bhutan stamps ? Well Im glad

you asked ! First get a good price guide with lots of pictures of  Bhutan stamps (  find

one on eBay ) so that you can either choose a topic to collect  or something more specialized such as First Day Covers , these are not your every day

letters or even registered mail , they are specially printed envelopes usually having a

nice design or picture of the stamp that is being introduced  or depicting a special

event or anniversary with the dated post mark / cancellation on the exact day it was

 issued and this envelope or "Cover" has the words " first Day of Issue" or " First

Day Cover " on the front , It is also known as a Cachet , these FDC's are highly

 collectable and are few in number of issue making them a highly collectable item.

 

    There are also special overprints and surcharges to collect . The surcharges are an

 overprint that changes the value of the stamp without a new stamp being issued , the

 postal service take existing unused stamps and either hand stamps or runs the sheets

of stamps through a printing machine to add or change the face value of the stamp.

They also print on pre existing stamps additional commemorative words or seals for

example the words " flood relief " or the seal of the olympics or the special helicopter

 airmail overprint .The Bhutan Philately Printers are very good , but they sometimes

make mistakes and Issue stamps with printing errors which are highly valued to some

 collectors , but these are rare and can be very expensive unless you get lucky and

 find these error stamps in lot sales where they may be sold by someone not knowing

what they really have , happened to me ! Most common is an inverted or upside down

 overprint error where the stamp sheet is put through a printing machine backwards

and the new surcharge or special overprint is printed with this error before being

spotted at reissued of these stamps .

 

    Another great thing to collect are the Imperforated Issues , most of these stamps

 are also issued without perforations " little holes around the stamp so you can

seperate them from a sheet " , the Imperf would have to be cut out with shears .

Mostly , the Imperfs are not as numerous as the perforated kind and are much loved

 by collectors because there are no little holes which distract from the beauty of the

sheet or individual stamp , the only Bhutan stamps that are worth more perforated

are the first issue of the Oct. 30th 1967 , 3D space souv. sheets " very rare " and are

the only 3D stamps ever perforated from then on . 

 

    At first , I only collected the Plastic Laminated 3D issues , I thought they were so

neat ! Now I collect just about everything Bhutan has ever issued . Check out my

eBay ME page for a link to everything you could ever  need to know about this

special country of Bhutan , and also on what I collect and my eMail address link ,

so I might give you an idea where to start . *And here is a helpful tip , alot of

europeans spell Bhutan as Bhoutan , so when you do a search , use both spellings and

 you will get another whole listing under Bhoutan stamps that most Bhutan collectors

never find ! That means less people to bid against you or new listings under

Buy It Now are overlooked , I have gotten great deals on Bhoutan stamps that way .

Make sure you know the going price of these stamps before buying , I have seen

Bhutan stamps being offered as being "Rare" but are quite common and others as

being " Proofs " which are actual first printings by the Printers who were hired by

 the Government of Bhutan and are submitted for approval to mass produce . Real

Proofs are very rare , most are one of a kind , all Proofs should come with

certification from the original printers with signed documentation from the printers

 and the recieving authority in Bhutan , ie. signatures , official government rubber

stamps , hand written annotations in margins of stamp sheet and accompanied with

 an " Essay " or drawing of the stamp by the artist commissioned to make the stamp.

Even then you may get a forgery so be careful , these can be sold for thousands of

dollars , so know who you are buying from and request certification of authenticity !

 

 Thank you for your interest in my favorite subject , Bhutan Stamps ! I hope this little

 introduction of Bhutan is helpful to you . If you have questions about Bhutan stamps ,

please send an eMail and I will be glad to help , Many thanks !  Your Friend in

Bhutan Stamps,  Gary W. Davis , aka : SHIZNETD  , Check out my "ME" page !

If this has helped out and perked your interest in Bhutan and stamp collecting , or not helpful  please click below!