![Photo proof, final stamp and first day cover](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_and_Others_1959_Independance.jpg)
Alternatives to “Just Stamps”
Postage stamps make excellent collectibles. They are small, easy to store, light-weight, often contain amazing artworks and they can be an inexpensive and fulfilling hobby for the collector.
But, have you considered some of the following alternatives to postage stamps?
Essays
Essays are part of the stamp design process. Essays may exist as sketches, photographs or objects that resemble the proposed stamp design. Many essays will never be accepted as postage stamp designs while others will be accepted – possibly with alterations to the final design. Essays can be hard to come by as some countries destroy essays or they remain in the hands of commissioned stamp designers. Essays can be a great addition to your philatelic collection, here are a few Photographic Essays from mine.
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_1959_Province_of_Bulacan-1.jpg)
![1952 Photographic Essay of Fisheries Council Stamp](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_1952_Fisheries_Council-1.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_1956_Leyte_Landing-1.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_1959_Independance-1.jpg)
Proofs
Proofs are essentially trial runs of the printing process. Unlike essays, which are proposals for stamps, a proof is a trial print of the final stamp design. As with Essays, proofs can be difficult to acquire because a lot are either destroyed or remain in the hands of printing companies. I will not go into the different types of proofs in this overview – maybe that will be a new blog page later on.
First Day Covers & Cachets
First day covers are essentially stamped covers (or envelopes) that have been cancelled (franked) on the first day that the corresponding stamp was issued. The date of cancellation has to correspond with the first day of release of the stamp to be considered a First Day Cover. FDC’s are often put on sale at a single post office location on the first day of release; which is typically Manila for Philippine stamps. Cachets are often decorated with an image and/or wording relating to the topic of the stamp/s being released. Decorated cachets add additional dimensions via their designs, colours, printed information and possible variances (there may be multiple cachet designs for a single stamp release). FDC’s can have single stamps, blocks of stamps, complete sets of stamps or even whole souvenir sheets attached.
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/19410414fdcRizal-2c-block-of-3-with-handstamped-first-day-of-issue-1024x597.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/19610123fdcBlank-cachet-with-block-of-4-x-6c-airmail-stamps-of-Mercury-and-globe-1024x571.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/19621024fdcFight-malaria-cachet-snake-and-mosquito-on-red-and-gold-with-6s-10s-70s-Fight-against-Malaria-stamps-1024x573.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/19621230FDCRizal-Centennial-chessboard-and-fencing-swoods-with-Rizal-Fencing-and-Rizal-Chess-stamps-1024x572.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/delkete-this-one-1024x598.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Scan_20201227-3-1024x449.png)
Some collectors value FDC’s that show evidence of having traveled through the postal system – these are addressed FDC’s. Personally, I prefer to collect unaddressed FDC’s as I just like the clean look of an unaddressed cachet.
Souvenir Sheets
Souvenir sheets (and mini-sheets) are usually smaller than a standard issue pane of stamps used by post offices to service regular mail. They may contain a single stamp or a complete set of stamps in either perforated or imperforate format. Souvenir sheets will often contain additional information and images related to the topic or event being commemorated by the stamp/s and may come in many shapes and sizes. Souvenir sheets make beautiful additions to stamp collections. It must also be noted that not all stamps that are released will have a corresponding souvenir sheet.
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Philippines_1117_-1993-Philippine-Irchids-Souvenir-Sheet-performated-b.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Philippines_1120_-1993-Philippine-Irchids-Souvenir-Sheet-imperformated-b.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Philippines_1119_-1993-Philippine-Irchids-Souvenir-Sheet-imperformated-a.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Philippines_1106_1993-Philippine-Butterflies-Souvenir-Sheet-MNH-1024x508.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Philippines_1105_1993-Philippine-Butterflies-Souvenir-Sheet-MNH-1024x526.png)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2019_Fungi_Souvenir_Sheet-1.png)
Postage Due Stamps
Postage Due stamps were widely used by many countries in the 1800’s and 1900’s and are seldom used nowadays. Postage dues were attached to mail that had been underpaid to identify the amount that the recipient needed to make up in order to receive the mail item. You can see all of the postage due stamps from the Philippines in this blog post.
![Philippine 1899 Postage Due - Complete Set](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Postage_Dues_1899_set-1-1024x176.png)
Tax and Revenue Stamps
(Coming Soon)
Cinderella Stamps
These are anything that looks like a stamp but they were never released by the postal service. Again, just like with postage stamps, there are some wonderful designs available. In the past many stamp enthusiasts had shied away from collecting Cinderella stamps since they were “not real stamps”. However, Cinderella’s are becoming more sought after and are becoming more visible in the hands of collectors. Christmas Seals are a very popular type of Cinderella amongst collectors.
Plate Blocks
(Coming Soon)
Specimen Stamps
You may have seen postage stamps with the word “Specimen” printed across them. What does this mean? What is the purpose? Specimen stamps are newly released stamps that have the word “Specimen” printed on them. They were historically used by countries of the UPU (Universal Postal Union) to help combat postage fraud. Countries in the UPU would send Specimen Stamps to each other so postmasters in these countries could identify new and valid international postage stamps. Specimen stamps are not valid for postal use. Take a look at My Collection of Philippine Specimen Stamps and read a little more about this growing collectible.
![](http://www.muircorporation.com.au/phil-philately/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sample_Specimen_Stamps.jpg)
In Summary
Collect whatever brings you enjoyment. Many decades ago revenue stamps were discarded or shunned upon in stamp collections because they were not “real” stamps. These once discarded revenue stamps often sell for more than a postage stamp from the same year and country. Some Cinderella stamps have equally beautiful designs and colours, if you like them, then collect them too. Die’s, proofs, essays, etc. all show the history and lead-up to production of a postage stamp and have some unique and interesting traits of their own.
Take a look at the photos below where I’ve shown the actual stamp, a first day or souvenir cover and the corresponding photographic essay or photographic proof. Building a significant collection like this is extremely difficult, time consuming and expensive. So, I elected to just add a few examples to my collection because I find them interesting. While some old school stamp collectors may be cringing right now, I personally like the contrast of the different items, the size variances, different colours and styles. Let me know what you think.
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_and_others_1959_Province_of_Bulacan-1.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_and_others_1956_Leyte_Landing-1.jpg)
![](http://www.phil-philately.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo_Essay_and_Others_1959_Independance-1.jpg)