How deep can your Australian stamp collection go? One area that you may not be aware of is the field of Australia stamp booklets. There have been a large variety of Australian stamp booklets made, beginning in 1960. The booklets mirror the history of Australian stamps and are beloved for their interesting and varied cover subjects.
A Brief History of Australia Stamp Booklets
Early stamp booklets from Australia were seen in 1960. At that time, Australia (and its stamps) used the imperial units of currency; booklets exist in pounds, shilling, and pence. For philatelists who try to accrue as many different units of currency in their collections as they can, Australia stamp booklets from the first few years are a unique way to do it.
Tasmanian Stamps: Philately from Under Down Under
After 1966, Australia switched to a decimalized currency system (dollars and cents). Stamp booklets from this time forward, of course, followed suit.
Lucky collectors may even locate some of the very first Australia stamp booklets; occasionally, prototypical examples of them from before 1960 are seen for sale. Broadly, you can thus think of Australia stamp booklets as divided up into these three categories:
- Pre-1960: General stamp booklets
- 1960-1966: Booklets in imperial currency
- 1966-now: Booklets in decimalized currency
Collecting Australia Stamp Booklets
Since the last of these is obviously the largest group, and coincides with advances in printing technology, the greatest number of collectibles will date from more recent years. The sheer number of subjects honored on Australia stamp booklet covers makes them enormously fun to sort through, collect, and even display.
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Note that in addition to complete booklets, with stamps intact inside, you can also find individual panes of uncut stamps for sale which may feature some of the same subjects. There is no bad or wrong way to collect Australia stamp booklets. Those who choose to buy them also often look for some of Australia’s other interesting postal collectibles. For example, frama stamps from ATM-type machines are seen increasingly in online sales listings.
