Back with another silver stamp... Or a silver copy of a stamp to be more precise!
This time I chose the one that really stands up from the collection due to its circular shape. First time I see a round stamp 🙈
After a bit of googling I found a picture of the original
Now I am not much of a stamp croissant connoisseur but if I got it right these stamps are known as Bermuda Postmasters’ stamps.
They were privately issued by William Bennet Perot (his signature is in the middle of the stamps) who was postmaster of Hamilton, Bermuda, from 1818 until 1862.
Portrait of William Bennett Perot source
As a general rule the privilege of issuing postage stamps is reserved to governments, but there have been cases in which private undertakings have made issues; these are among that class of stamps known to collectors as private locals. The individuals who have issued postage stamps are few indeed; three of them were postmasters in Bermuda. source
William Bennett Perot, postmaster of Hamilton for more than 40 years, secured his place in history as the creator of the now famous Perot stamps. Perot produced the stamps—the first to be issued in Bermuda—between 1848 and 1865 to foil mail cheats who were not leaving money behind in a drop box to pay for postage. source
Turns out the authentic Perot stamps are super rare and super expensive. One recently fetched in a private auction 150k dollars and the most expensive one for 210k USD. That's a lot of money for a tiny piece of old paper if you ask me 😳
The earliest recorded stamp made by Perot dates back to 1848 while the latest to 1856.
You can click here if you want to learn more about these stamps, their creator, his work, his personal life and other facts from that era. I must admit, it was a much more interesting read then what I expected 😅😂
Anyways, here's the stamp from some more angles
All in all, a really cool piece with some unique history behind it!
Ok fellow plebs, this is it for today.
See you soon with another piece from the stack 😁
Fun Silver Posts
Enjoyed the post? Here is some more fun silver/monetary content I have written in the past that you might enjoy:
