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The Stamp – Script
Right. Good morning everybody. Today, I want to talk to you about stamps. I’m sure all of you have used a stamp at some point in your life. Although, probably, these days, not quite so often anymore. These days we tend to email or text much more than we do send letters. But still, you’ve probably used a stamp, or at least seen a stamp. But, I want to talk to you a little bit about the history of the stamp today.
In the very beginning, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, in about 1600, in the UK, the post office started. The post office was used to deliver letters and parcels. Basically, you would take your letter or your parcel to the post office, they would take it for you, they would stamp it, with a real stamp, then they would deliver it to the person it was intended for. The person who received the letter or parcel would then pay for it. So, for example, if I wanted to send a book to you, I would write your address on the envelope with the book in it. I would take it to the post office. The post office would take it off me. They would deliver it to you, and you would then pay them for the book. OK? Now, there are some problems with this, obviously. Any kind of cash on delivery, COD, system relies a lot on trust. If, for example, you decide not to pay me for the book, then there’s not much I can do about it. You have basically stolen the book and I have lost some money. So, obviously that system wasn’t going to work. But, that’s where the word stamp comes from. The post office had an array of different kinds of stamps and they would stamp the letter or parcel.Now, in 1640, somebody realized that this system obviously wasn’t working. So, two people, Robert Murray and William Dockwra, both in the UK, came up with an idea. They called it the penny post. Basically, you would go to the post office with your letter, you would pay the post office a penny, they would then stamp your envelope with a real stamp, an ink stamp again, to say you had paid the one penny, then they would deliver your letter to the person it was intended for. This time the person it was intended for would not pay. They would just receive the letter. You had paid in the beginning. This was the beginning of the idea behind the stamp. Now, this system only worked in central London, which wasn’t a very big area.Now, we skip forward another two hundred years. In 1835, a man called Roland Hill, comes up with an idea for a sticky stamp. Well, actually, he didn’t come up with the idea, it was originally invented by a man in Poland, but his idea was never taken … his idea never caught on. Now, Roland Hill’s idea of the stamp does become popular. The very first actual sticky stamp is called the Penny Black. It’s called the Penny Black for two reasons: 1. It’s black. 2. It’s worth one penny. Basically, any kind of letter or parcel you sent would cost one penny. Basically, Roland Hill designed these stamps with pre-glued backs to them and, so, you would get a sheet of stamps, you could cut out the stamp you wanted, you would stick it to the parcel or letter you were going to send. Now, the very first stamp had the queen’s face on it. At the time, in 1835, the queen was Queen Victoria. So, her face was right in the middle of the stamp. On the bottom of the stamp it has the value. It says one penny. The stamp doesn’t have a country. These days, any stamp you buy will have the country’s name on the stamp as well. But, back then, because England was the only country using this system, there was no need to put a country on it. Countries were introduced into the stamps later on. So, in the beginning, it only has the value of the stamp. Ok? So, that’s the very first stamp. It’s called the Penny Black. In 1835, that was.
By 1839, in England alone, 75 million (75,000,000) letters were sent. The stamp catches on so well, it’s so easy to use, that people start taking advantage of it and start sending out letters. 75 million letters in 1839. How many letters do you think are written these days? Well, in 2000, it was 31 billion (31,000,000,000). However, by 2016, that number had dropped to 16 billion (16,000,000,000), almost half. And year on year that number is going down and down and down and down and down. Can you think why? I gave you a hint … I gave you the answer at the very beginning of my talk. Because of email. Because of texting. How often do you send a letter these days? When I was at high school, a long long long long long time ago, I used to send letters to my friends. I used to send letters to my … ahem … girlfriend. I used to send letters to my family. I used to write letters quite a lot. It was a wonderful feeling to receive a letter through the post. However, these days, I don’t write letters. I don’t think I have written a letter in, possibly, twenty years. I email. And now, I text. One word replies. Yes. No. Maybe. Ok. Thanks. Sorry. So, we don’t write letters anymore. The number of letters is really declining. Hopefully it will start to pick up again soon because receiving a letter is an absolutely amazing feeling.
Anyway, so, in 1835 onwards we have the first stamp. We have sheets of stamps. They are printed on one large sheet. You cut them out by hand. In 1854, the next development turns up. This development is perforation. To perforate something means to put lots of holes in it. Perforation meant that between each stamp a machine would cut small holes. Now, why was that such a huge advancement? Because now it meant that stamps were very easy to tear off. You didn’t rip stamps, you didn’t ruin them, you didn’t break them. So, now, 1854, we have a perfectly usable, easily tearable stamp. And the number of letters written every year starts to take off.
From1854 onwards, there are no more real advances in stamps. The machines used to make them, the printing systems, the colors, the glues, the perforation machines all improve, but, the stamp itself doesn’t really change. These days you can get stamps with any kind of design. Countries produce stamps to commemorate things, to celebrate things, a whole different range of stamps.
Now, if you are into stamp collecting, maybe you have a book of stamps, maybe you collect stamps from your own country, maybe you collect commemorative stamps. Maybe, if you are lucky, you have a few old stamps in your book. Well, I’d like to tell you a few of the rarest and most expensive stamps in the world. I’m going to do a top three for you.
Number 3. The Penny Black. The first stamp ever invented. One Penny Black was released, by accident, four days before it was supposed to be released. That stamp, now, if you can get your hands on it, will cost you four and a half million dollars. ($4,500,000) Yes. You heard me right. Four and a half million dollars.
Number two. The second most expensive stamp on my list. Is the Treskilling Yellow. I’m not sure how to pronounce that. That was released in 1855. Now, it’s rare because there’s only one of them left in the world and the stamp itself should be bluey green. But it’s not. It’s yellow. Hence the name. Stamps that have mistakes in them, are usually quite rare. This stamp will set you back five and a half million dollars. ($5,500,000) That’s a lot of money. But, it’s nowhere near number one. Are you ready?
Number one on my list, the most expensive stamp you can buy in the world, is the British Guiana One Cent Magenta, from 1856. It’s cut by hand. It’s signed by the post office clerk at the time. It’s been used. There is only one of them in the world and that stamp will cost you nine and a half million dollars ($9,500,000). And that was the price it cost in 2014. Each time this stamp is sold, it breaks records. It becomes more expensive.
So, if you’re at home and you’re going through your grandparents’ letter collections, or you’re going through old books of stamps, keep your eyes out. Anything old could be expensive, could be valuable, you never know. Anyway, good luck. If you’re interested, write me a letter. I love receiving letters. Talk to you next time. Bye.
The Stamp – Questions
- Why don’t we use stamps so much anymore?
A: They have become too expensive.
B: They are too hard to tear and usually get ripped.
C: There are many types of commemorative stamps.
D: We text or email instead of writing letters.
- Why does the COD system rely a lot on trust?
A: You have to believe that the person receiving the goods will pay.
B: You have to trust that the post office will deliver your parcel.
C: You have to understand that you do not have to pay.
D: You have to know the person you are sending the goods to.
- What was the main idea behind the Penny Post?
A: It was a black stamp.
B: You could tear the stamp easily.
C: It had Queen Victoria on it.
D: You paid up front.
- Why didn’t the Penny Black have a country written on it?
A: There was not enough space.
B: England was the only country using the system.
C: It was written on the back of the stamp.
D: It was too expensive to send parcels from other countries to England.
- What did Robert Murray and William Dockwra think of the COD system?
A: It was a very useful system
B: You could only use it for sending parcels
C: It wasn’t working
D: It didn’t work outside of central London
- How many letters were written in the year 2000?
A: 16,000,000
B: 31,000,000
C: 16,000,000,000
D: 31,000,000,000
- Why was perforation a big development?
A: Because it gave many people a new job
B: Because stamps were easy to tear
C: Because countries could introduce commemorative stamps
D: Because you could use many colors
- How much did the second most expensive stamp cost?
A: $4,500,000
B: $5,500,000
C: $7,500,000
D: $9,500,000
- Which of these is not true?
A: The first stamp was invented 100 years after the Penny Post.
B: Queen Victoria was the queen on the first ever stamp.
C: The Treskilling Yellow is rare because it is not yellow.
D: The sticky stamp was invented in Poland.
- What do “bluey green” and “tearable” mean?
- Explain what “COD” means.
- Steven talks about the Penny Black and he says, “if you can get your hands on it”. What does that mean?
- The price of these rare stamps has been artificially increased. Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons?
- If you could write a letter to someone influential, living or dead, who would it be and what would you say to them?
- Emailing is better than sending a letter. Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons?
The Stamp – Answers
- D 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. C 6. D 7. B 8. D 9. A
- What do “bluey green” and “tearable” mean?
“Bluey green” means a color somewhere between blue and green. The color is not quite blue, and it is not quite green.
“Tearable” means something that you are able to tear. A verb + able means something that you can do. E.g. drinkable, playable, climbable.
- Explain what “COD” means.
COD means Cash On Delivery. This is a system where you pay for something when it arrives. These days it is rare. Amazon sometimes has a COD system. You order something online and then you pay the delivery person for it when it arrives. All fast food deliveries work on a COD system, although these days it is becoming more common to pay in advance online.
- Steven talks about the Penny Black and he says, “if you can get your hands on it”. What does that mean?
“If you can get your hands on it” means that something is incredibly rare and very difficult to get.
- The price of these rare stamps has been artificially increased. Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons?
I agree with this statement, but with a proviso. Stamps, in the same way as art, have become an investment. It is assumed that the price will increase and so wealthy investors buy them with the intention of selling them on for a profit at a later date. When they are sold, the new owner has the same assumption and is willing to pay a higher price for the item. The British Guiana One Cent Magenta used in the talk is a very good example. When it was first sold the price was about $300. Over the next 120 years it was sold five times and the price went from $300 to $36,000 to $40,000 to $280,000 to $935,000 to $9,500,000. Investors by art and real estate in the same manner. They assume the price will go up and they will make money. The price can never always go up, though. And this is where my proviso comes in. The price has been artificially increased, but has the value? The value of something is always attributed to it by the people who want it. What is the value of a carton of milk? It depends how much you want it. If I have the last carton of milk in the world, and you must have milk to go on your cornflakes or you will die, then the value of that milk is extremely high. There are billions of cartons of milk. There is only one Triskilling Yellow. Its value is what people are willing to pay for it, and, as long as people think it is expensive, it will be expensive. If people stop seeing it as valuable, it will cease to be.
- If you could write a letter to someone influential, living or dead, who would it be and what would you say to them?
It is difficult to think of someone specific because there are so many people I would like to talk to. I think I might like to write to Julius Ceaser. I would ask him what his plans where and what he would have done if he hadn’t been killed. Or, I might right to one of the first Pharaohs in Egypt. I would ask him how he managed to bring these people together. Or I would write to the builder of the pyramids, or the Sphinx, or any number of ancient buildings. Just to talk to someone who was alive millennia ago would be wonderful.
- Emailing is better than sending a letter. Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons?
This is a difficult question and I don’t think it is possible to simply agree or disagree. It obviously depends on the situation as both have advantages and disadvantages.
Emailing is quite clearly faster than writing a letter. Your message arrives instantly. It would be possible to have a lengthy two-way conversation in the time it took for a single letter to arrive. And yet, when you receive a letter, you strongly feel that someone has taken the time to write to you. You can feel their sentiment, their love for you, their respect for you. You do not get that in an email.
Emailing is cheaper than writing a letter. The cheapest letter will cost a few cents to deliver while emailing is free. However, you can include other things in the envelope. You could send a pressed flower, a drawing, a newspaper cutout. Yes, admittedly, you can add attachment to an email, but it is not the same as receiving the real thing.
Emailing can be used when you need a fast response to a question. Letter writing can be used when you need to express more than you can with mere text on a screen. Emails are soon discarded whereas letters can be kept, and, when thumbed through years later, conjure up memories that an email never could.
As you can see, it is not possible to choose the better of the two because they are both used for different reasons and in different circumstances.