The Story of the French Spy Stamps

French 50 Centimes Stamp

              (The original French stamps are on the left, the British counterparts are on the right) Most philatelist know the part that stamps have played in making — and remaking — the history of the world.   They have started wars and celebrated peace; they have inflamed slumbering animosities into bloody outbreaks, ridiculed political leaders, and they have played a most important part in the waging of war. In recent times, stamps perhaps played no more important role than they did in helping the French underground, the famed Maquis, in their life and death struggle with…

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Hong Kong 1941 $1 Overprint

Hong Kong 1941 $1 Overprint

When the Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 and overwhelmed the defenders on the mainland, the remaining British forces retreated to Hong Kong Island.   While under siege on Hong Kong Island there emerged a shortage of coins and $1 banknotes.  The shortage of the $1 banknotes arose when the Japanese distributed leaflets warning that all notes over $10 would be worthless after the Japanese took over the colony.   To relieve the situation, a stock of The Bank of China 5 Yuan notes were discovered on the premises of The Commercial Press Limited located on King…

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