3. In 1916, the Funafuti Provisionals achieved notoriety around the world, but what are they?
From Quiz Who Loves Tuvalu?
Answer:
Stamps
The "scandal" of the Funafuti Provisionals occurred in July 1916. The young, inexperienced postmaster at Funafuti had run out of higher value stamps and, ignorant of the correct procedure to follow, was persuaded to personally surcharge lower value stamps by the islands' senior Medical Officer, Dr. McNaughton. This was done by a mixture of rubber stamp and handwriting. McNaughton, a keen collector of stamps, was only too aware that this action created an extremely limited quantity of such stamps that immediately become very rare and, therefore, highly collectible. He also made the news available to the international philatelic community, having several of the stamps in his own possession. There was, not surprisingly, a universal outcry and debate ever since as to whether these stamps should or shouldn't be counted as an official issue.