Talk:Postage stamps and postal history of Funchal

Article
I would suggest to create an article, instead of redirect, such as one in Russian Wikipedia. The rationale for that is the presence of a distinct entry for Funchal in Scott that is given separately from Madeira or Portugal. --Michael Romanov (talk) 22:06, 23 September 2010 (UTC)


 * It's always been a little mysterious to me why Funchal was listed separately, given that it's an integral part of Madeira. Does the Russian article explain the separation?  None of my sources explain why the Portuguese did the separate issue, and the timeframe suggests it might have been a scheme to make money from philatelists... Stan (talk) 20:31, 24 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, we did not touch this question specifically in the Russian article. But I guess it's simply because Funchal was somehow considered at some point as a separate postal unit for which special stamps of Portugal colonial type were issued. And now we have Funchal separately not only in Scott but, for instance, in Stanley Gibbons and other listings. I think it was just a generally accepted practice at that time for mother countries to issue separate stamps for as many dependencies as possible, claiming, to a certain extent, their right to possess those territories and colonies. Look at the Comoro Islands, for example. In the same period, before World War I, France issued separate stamps for Mayotte, Anjouan, Mohéli, and Grande Comore. In addition to this political rationale, to make money from collectors could be one more reason to inflate separate stamp issues. Stamp collecting worldwide in those days was at its peak, so why not to use that interest and demand? World Wars and development of other communication technologies gradually brought down this interest in postage stamps (and postal service, overall) to a pitiful sight of today. --Michael Romanov (talk) 05:11, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

Article created/restored. Jack | talk page 13:08, 14 August 2013 (UTC)