Cinderella Stamps - Not A Fairy Tale, But A Collecting Specialty


Cinderella stamps are collectible items that are stamp-like adhesive labels, not usable for postage. Because there is no adhesive involved, and because they do pre-pay postal fees, the imprinted postage on postal stationery is not considered to be cinderella in nature.

Cinderella stamps usually resemble regular postage stamps, but they usually do not bear a denomination or a country's name, although sometimes a fictitious country's name or denomination may be present (for example, the Lundy stamps that bear a denomination in "puffins"). In some cases the name of the organization or cause being promoted or publicized is printed on Cinderellas.

Cinderellas are often collected in the same way as postage stamps. Many are common, but others were produced in very limited numbers and are quite scarce. Cinderellas are not normally included in stamp catalogs, although Scott's Specialized Catalog of U.S. Stamps and Covers does include Christmas Seals in a separate section.


Some of the Types of Cinderella Stamps

There are many different types of cinderellas, none of which have anything to do with the famous fairy tale. An incomplete list of cinderella stamps includes advertising poster stamps, local stamps and stamps issued by pseudo-countries that are not recognized in the postal and political world, court fee stamps, propaganda labels, Christmas Seals, Easter Seals and other charity labels, most telegraph stamps and decorative labels. Revenue stamps, although not used to pay postage charges, are generally not considered to be cinderella stamps.


More Detail on a Couple of Types of Cinderellas

Local stamps

Local stamps began to be printed soon after the invention of the adhesive postage stamps. Seen in many countries, many local stamps performed postal functions where the national postal service was lacking for some reason. But other local stamps are essentially nothing more than decorative labels. One example of a local carriage stamp that truly was used for postal purposes: the well-known Rattlesnake Island (Ohio) stamps, used because postal service wasn't available from the island to the mainland.

Other examples include the many offshore islands in the United Kingdom that issue local carriage labels. In some cases, these local stamps have a genuine use, paying for transport of the mail to the mainland by ferry; the regular British postal service - Royal Mail - takes over the delivery of such mail once it reaches the mainland. Other local stamps were (and are) produced simply to sell to collectors and tourists. Usually they are placed on the back of the envelope, with a conventional stamp on the front to pay for onward delivery by the official postal service. Islands for which such labels have been issued include the Summer Isles, Lundy, Staffa and the Calf of Man.


Political and propaganda stamps

Stamps issued by the various countries of the world often feature patriotic themes. Propaganda stamps differ in that they are unofficial stamps produced solely to promote or publicize a particular political agenda or ideology, or to create confusion or bad morale among the country's enemies.

Some stamps have been issued by breakaway governments or governments in exile, in both cases to give those governments a greater sense of greater legitimacy in the public's eye. But these stamps have no postal validity and must be considered to be Cinderella stamps.

Cinderellas are fascinating creatures to collect. Most are inexpensive and provide a lot of fun, but some are quite serious in their message. Give cinderella stamps a shot.