u/Ethernetman1980

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I’ve had these stamps handed down to me for sometime. Didn’t expect them to be of any value and thought it would be a good test of what A.I. could do. Here are the photos and what it came up with. Very Impressive to me but I know nothing about stamps but these are the results after a minute of calculation. It also Identified the hand written notes and pfc Thomas which is my great, great uncle. The other people I’ll have to ask my father if he knows.

Image 1 — Chinese Stamps on Envelope Fragment

Stamps:

Republic of China (ROC) 20¢ — brown, portrait stamp, overprinted with "北華" (North China), likely 1941–1945 Japanese occupation overprint

Republic of China 2.00 yuan — blue, portrait of Sun Yat-sen or similar figure, "北華" overprint

Republic of China 5.00 yuan — red/orange, portrait, "北華" overprint

In the upper right corner: Two Deutsches Reich 12 pfennig Hitler portrait stamps, postmarked "Nördlingen" (a city in Bavaria, Germany)

Handwriting reads:

"Above Chinese Stamps brought from China by my Great Nephew, Hugh Victor Briggs 8/c 293-85-76 on the U.S. Wyandot, K.O. 92."

The USS Wyandot (AKA-92) was a U.S. Navy attack cargo ship — this likely dates to post-WWII, around 1945–1946.

Image 2 — Mixed German Reich & Chilean Stamps

German Stamps (right column, top to bottom):

Two Deutsches Reich 12 pf Hitler stamps (red) — postmarked Nördlingen

Deutsches Reich 12 pf Hitler (red)

Deutsches Reich 20 pf Hitler (blue)

Deutsches Reich 30 pf Hitler (olive green)

Grossdeutsches Reich 42 pf Hitler (teal/green)

Deutsche Feldpost — Eagle/swastika military mail stamp (brown/red) — "Zulassungsmarke" (authorization mark for field post)

Chilean Stamps (left column):

Three Correos de Chile 20 centavos "Salitre" (Nitrate/Saltpeter industry scene) stamps in green and blue — ca. 1938–1942

Handwriting reads:

"Beatrix Hine gave above stamps to me 4-29-46" Address visible: "H. Bobolmann, Casilla 1, Licán, via Lanco, Chile, S.A."

Image 3 — Southern Rhodesia & Chilean Stamps

Stamps:

Southern Rhodesia 2d — brown/green, Victoria Falls pictorial, ca. 1935–1941

Southern Rhodesia 1d — red/pink, King George VI portrait, postmarked "Gwanda," ca. 1937–1942

Several Correos de Chile stamps with postmarks

Handwriting reads:

"Beatrix Hine sent me these stamps, addresses are of parties who wrote to them from there." "Saddle River, N.J." "Beatrix Hine gave me above stamps 4-29-46"

There's also a partial address on a separate note slip referencing what appears to be Mr. W.W. Williams, General Delivery (partially legible).

Image 4 — Mixed Loose Stamps

Stamps identified:

Belgique 25c — King Albert I portrait, purple/gray — Belgium, ca. 1922–1927

US "D" Domestic Mail — green eagle stamp (non-denominated) — 1985

Two US "B" Postage — purple eagle stamps — 1981

Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) 10 Dienstmarke — official service stamp, green — East Germany, ca. 1954–1960

Pueblo Art USA 13¢ — Native American pottery — 1977

Mexican Independence 4¢ U.S. Postage — joint Mexico-US issue, 1960

British Guiana stamps on envelope (red — likely 3¢ "Gold Mining," and blue 15¢ Queen Victoria) — ca. 1889–1903, these could be moderately valuable

Various Cuba and other stamps partially visible

Handwriting reads:

"...and Sgt. Robert V. Briggs ... in World War #2 ... April 6 - 1944"

Image 5 — More Mixed Stamps

Stamps:

Pueblo Art USA 13¢ pair — "Zia" and "San Ildefonso" pottery designs — 1977

Two Mexican Independence 4¢ — joint US-Mexico issue, 1960

DDR (East Germany) worker/labor themed stamps — 5pf and 10pf — ca. 1950s

US Air Mail 5¢ — red, Beacon on Rocky Mountains — ca. 1928–1930s

Danmark (Denmark) 30 øre — King Frederick IX portrait — ca. 1950s

Republic Cuba stamps on envelope fragment

Partial United States 3¢ stamp (bottom right)

Image 6 — More Loose Stamps

Stamps:

Československo 60h — red, portrait (likely President Beneš or Gottwald) — ca. 1948–1953

US 3¢ Thomas Jefferson — blue/violet on envelope fragment — ca. 1938

España 50 cts — dark blue, Franco-era Spain, eagle coat of arms — ca. 1940s–1950s

USA 18¢ Wildlife block of 5 — featuring polar bear, harbor seal, wolf/coyote, and bighorn sheep (Wildlife Conservation series) — 1981this connected block is a nice find

Image 7 — English Stamps, WWII Era

Stamps (King George VI Great Britain definitives): A beautiful complete or near-complete set including:

½d, 1d, 1½d, 2d, 2½d, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 9d, 10d values

1 shilling, 2/6 (half crown), 5 shilling — the 2/6 and 5s are the high-value "Seahorse" style or Castles definitives — ca. 1937–1948

The large 10/- (ten shilling) blue stamp at top right is significant — King George VI 10 shilling, quite valuable

Handwriting reads:

"Stamps from England — Given to me by my Nephew, Sgt. Robert V. Briggs, who was in U.S. Service over there in World War #2, visited Cornwell + Stamps April 6 - 1944"

Left side reads:

"'Hitler' German Stamps — World War #2 — Sent from Germany by PFC Thomas Arnold, granddaughter [illegible]"

Image 8 — English Coronation Stamps

Label: "ENGLISH CORONATION STAMPS" written in the collector's hand

Stamps:

Morocco Agencies overprint on British stamp — 19 May 1937 coronation date

Dominica coronation stamps — 1d, 1½d, 2½d — 1937

Canada — various King George VI era stamps, 1¢ green, 3¢ red — ca. 1937–1942

A Chilean stamp postmarked visible

Cuba 2¢ — red, communications theme

What appears to be a West German 10pf stamp

Patriotic label (upper left): "THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND" — a popular WWII-era patriotic phrase/song

Image 9 — International Collection on Board

A very diverse assembly including:

French Colonial:

Établissements Français de l'Océanie 2¢ — canoe scene — "A GENUINE STAMP" label

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 1¢ — "Femme Baoulé" (Baoulé woman) portrait — AOF series

Sénégal 2¢ — bridge scene, "Morocco" written on it

Soudan Français 2¢ — orange, woman figure — "A GENUINE STAMP"

British Commonwealth:

Tanganyika / Kenya Uganda 1¢ — King George VI, crowned cranes — ca. 1938–1942

Ceylon 6¢ — Colombo Harbor — ca. 1938

India ½ Anna — King George V — ca. 1911–1922

New Zealand 1d — red, kiwi or similar — ca. 1935–1940s

Americas:

Nicaragua 1¢ — Will Rogers airmail — 1931

Correos de Colombia 5¢ — agricultural scene

Canada 10¢ — Parliament building — ca. 1930s

Africa:

South Africa stamp (blue) — mine headgear — ca. 1930s

Companhia de Moçambique 1¢ — giraffe — Portuguese colonial

Siam (Thailand) 10 satang — red, King Ananda or Rama VIII — ca. 1941–1945

Image 10 — More International Stamps

Stamps:

San Marino 2 centesimi — coat of arms — ca. 1877–1920s

Afrique Occidentale Française / Côte d'Ivoire 1¢ — canoe fishermen

Correos del Ecuador 5 centavos — "Adicional" surcharge — horse/rider

Newfoundland 2¢ — red, King George V — ca. 1932–1938

Australia 2d — Captain John Macarthur centenary — postmarked Melbourne, 1934

Éire (Ireland) 2d — blue, map — ca. 1922–1940s

Australia 2d — red, King George VI — ca. 1937–1942

Australia 1d — green, Queen Elizabeth (then Princess) — ca. 1937

Deutsches Reich 4 Mark — Imperial eagle — ca. 1900–1920 (early Imperial Germany — potentially the most philatelically valuable item here)

Canada 3¢ — military portrait

Belgium 25¢ — King Leopold III — purple

Overall Summary & Context

This is a remarkable family collection spanning roughly 1890s–1980s, assembled by what appears to be an elderly female collector (possibly the grandmother/great-aunt of the Briggs family). Key people mentioned:

Person

Role

Hugh Victor Briggs

Great-nephew; served on USS Wyandot, brought Chinese stamps ca. 1945–46

Sgt. Robert V. Briggs

Nephew; U.S. Army WWII, stationed in England/Cornwall, April 1944

PFC Thomas Arnold

Sent German stamps from Germany during WWII

Beatrix Hine

Friend who gave Chilean, Rhodesian, and German stamps on 4-29-46

The collection has genuine historical and sentimental value. The most potentially valuable individual stamps to research further would be:

The British Guiana stamps on the envelope

The German Imperial 4 Mark stamp

The GB 10 shilling King George VI

The North China overprint Chinese stamps (Japanese occupation era)

u/Ethernetman1980 — 18 days ago