September 2025 – The-Philatelist

One of the issues facing modern stamp issues is an overabundance of issues that look backward instead of forward. This is probably related to a sense in the western world that the future will be worse than the past. Some times the look back can be making a current point. Like Spanish King Juan Carlos seeing that his unpopular grandfather King Alfonso VIII is treated respectfully on a stamp after the Royal nightmare of Franco and Republicans was over. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp was produced to honor the 1980 EXFILNA stamp collecting exposition held that year in Barcelona. It was the 50th anniversary of the first national stamp exposition that was also in Barcelona. To mark the anniversary, it was decided to show 50 year before King Alfonso visiting the first exposition. This is where the politics entered in. King Alfonso was about to abdicate in 1930 after a long but lousy rule. Republicans had won local elections discrediting the King’s favored conservative prime minister. The army then rebelled but the civil war that followed was won by Francisco Franco who was not interested in restoring the Royals. King Alfonso and his heirs had to watch this from Italian exile. After Franco’s death, Alfonso’s grandson King Juan Carlos I was Franco’s chosen successor as head of state and restoring the Royal line. This is what is really being celebrated on this stamp. The stamp exposition is a clever way to slip unpopular grandfather back on a stamp without creating a ruckus.

The stamp today is issue A575, a 5 Peseta stamp issued by the Kingdom of Spain on July 1st, 1980. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

King Alfonso XIII ascended the throne upon his birth as he was born posthumously after his fathers death. It is said he was presented as a baby naked on a silver platter to the then Prime Minister.’ Lucky for him this did not happen in one of Spain’s African colonies. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/06/05/spanish-guinea-in-the-rush-to-leave-spain-turned-it-over-to-a-witch-doctor/ During his childhood, Spain was ruled by a Regency headed by his Austrian mother. The Regency went badly as Spain lost the Spanish American War and with it the Empires last footholds in the Americas and Asia. When Alfonso was actually in power the empire calamities continued much closer to home in Morocco with the costly Rif war see.https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/25/spanish-morocco-it-is-useful-to-have-a-second-stringer-occupy-much-of-a-large-dangerous-place/ The wars were also expensive and required large armies manned by peasants for whom the economic situation was not improving fast enough. Even the genius of staying neutral in World War I was not enough to restore his popularity. His marriage to an English Princess was unhappy since he resented that she had passed her families’ hemophilia to his sons. He fathered 5 children out of wedlock in addition to his legitimate 4 children.

Franco was not interested in reestablishing the Monarchy during his long rule. The Royals had been on the Right side of politics but many in his movement supported a rival pretender Royal line. Franco also wanted to keep the power for himself. The Royal line still formally claimed the title and continued reaching out to Franco. A Royal married Franco’s granddaughter and the young royals were allowed to be educated in Spain. As Franco aged he ignored the in place royal line and installed Alfonso’s grandson Juan Carlos as heir apparent. He hoped for loyalty to his movement but once in power the King followed a more middle of the road course. He appointed more liberal ministers to replace Franco’s people and supported pro democracy reforms. At the same time he maintained a conservative image that allowed for a certain continuity. To his credit, over time he backed away from politics and was thought by most as a positive, stabilizing influence in Spain.

The stamp expositions are still an annual event in Spain. There is often a unique stamp issue that is available to buy only within the Exposition. The issues are often more valuable than regular issues but the fact of stamp collecting is that it is impossible to buy a stamp when issued and have it be life changingly valuable in your lifetime. If you are lucky though the value might keep up with inflation. Todays stamp did even worse that that. No love for King Alfonso outside the family?

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to celebrate the annual EXFILNA stamp shows in Spain. Long may they continue. Update, they have continued and this year’s one is coming to Cadiz in November. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

Nepal was greatly influenced by the Indian independence movement despite having remained independent. The Gandhi inspired Socialist freaked out the Nepalese elite and the Panchayat system was devised by King Mahendra as a local alternative. Think of India if the British had turned it over to the Maharajahs. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is a simple portrait of King Mahendra of Nepal. Look how out of date it appears for an early 60s stamp, the King with his ancient uniform and feathered crown. By the 60s, most remaining Kings were in suits for their portraits. Yet in a country that never fell to colonial status, isn’t the King more distinctly local, than any standard issue socialist, with his foreign education and ideas. These independence movements like to present themselves has home grown and up from the people. Who was the real authentic. Some of the more successful colonial ministers came to the realization that it was better to deal with tribal chiefs for administration labor than sending promising young students abroad, only to come back to work against the system. Here, as with Emperor Salase in Ethiopia, Nepal found a real local system was no defense against an international movement.

Todays stamp is issue A35 a 1 Paisa stamp issued by the Kingdom of Nepal in 1962. It was part of a three stamp issue featuring King Mahendra in various denominations. The overprint means the stamp was meant for the official use of the government. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents. A larger overprint version is worth $1.50. Mine may be that, I can’t determine if my overprint is bigger then the example shown in the catalog or just centered more to the right. 10 years after the death of the King in 1983, a large remainder of this stamp was sold to stamp dealers by the postal authority. They had the for official use overstamp and still fetched face value.

Nepal never succumbed to foreign domination, unless that is how you would describe the countries current situation. The Nepalese were and are fierce mountain warriors and after bloodying the British in India, both sides had a rare moment of brilliance decided to become friends and partners. Volunteer Gurkha soldiers fought bravely for Britain over many years and units of them still serve in the British, Indian, Singaporean, and Brunei armies. The veterans of this service play an important part in King Mahindra’s plans for a modernized traditional rule. His father had gotten rid of the powerful, hereditary prime ministers the Rama. This was done with the help of newly independent India and an Indian born, educated, and resident Socialist named B. P. Koirala was pushed by the Indians as the future potential leader of Nepal. His Socialist party did very well in the subsequent election and King Mahendra invited him to form a government.

Studio/August.51,A22a(i)
Photograph taken on arrival of the His Majesty the King of Nepal, at Wilingdon Aerodrome, New Delhi on August 13, 1951, shows from right to left:- Mr. B.P. Koirala, Home Minister of Nepal; Maj-Gen. Bijaya Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese Ambassador to India; the Hon’ble Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister; Shrimati Indira Gandhi New Delhi the Royal Ladies of Nepal.

The in place hierarchy was terrified by what was an effective Indian takeover of Nepal. The King agreed and disbanded the elected government and jailed and then exiled Koirala. He banned all political parties and designed a system of Panchayat to replace it. The system was a three tiered system of councils the bottom one at the village level that relied heavily on Gurkha veterans. The King had built a major east-west highway that better connected the nation and made some stabs at land reform. He still found too much influence by urban, Indian and socialist within Panchayat and started a back to the villages program to try to keep leaders tied to the people. This somewhat resembled what was going on in Mao’s China and over time China became an important ally of Nepalese Royals. This and a program making it more difficult for Indians to work in Nepal lead to India cutting off trade. The anniversary of B. P. Koira’s death was used as a starting point to overthrow the King and the Panchayat system in 1988. By then Mahindra had died and all royals were stripped of their titles.

One bone to the old system is that Mahendra’s now elderly wife (title stripped)Queen Mother Ratna is allowed to live in a small house on the grounds of the now museum Narayanhity Palace. She is not the mother of the Royal line as Mahendra fathered his family with her older sister while still Crown Prince. After the death of older sister Princess Consort Indra in 1958, Mahendra married Ratna but had no further children. Her family is Rana, from the former family of hereditary prime ministers. Lots of tradition here, now cast aside.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the Gurkhas. Tough enough to keep the British out, but perhaps less adept in defending traditions at home. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.