Philately Is Fun Trivia Quiz

Answer: Greek and French

The word philately is Greek in origin. Philately means the study of postage stamps. A philatelist is someone who studies stamps and a philatelomaniac is a person who takes stamp collecting to a mania. Before stamps, receivers of mail would pay the price of the mail given to them. Most people wouldn't accept mail because of the high prices.

Answer: Georges Herpin

Georges Herpin was a French stamp collector who wrote "The Collection of Postage Stamps" in November of 1864. He was the first President of the French Philatelic Society.

Answer: 1847

On July 1, 1847, the first stamps to be issued in the United States were sent to New York City. From there, the stamps were issued to other states. During the Civil War in 1861, many stamps were recalled in the Union. Meanwhile, the Confederate states issued new stamps.

Answer: True

In 1693, to figure out how much money was needed for the postage rate, the envelope was held up to candle light. If the candle light was seen through the envelope, then the postage rate was less than if the light could not be seen.

Answer: Non-postage stamps

A Cinderella stamp was a version of a stamp that could not be used to send mail. An example of a Cinderella stamp would be an Easter Seal. Cinderella stamps resemble miniature posters. Most Cinderella stamps had no currency written on it.

Answer: John K. Tiffany

John Kerr Tiffany was a renowned philatelist of his time. When the American Philatelic Society was created in 1886, he was made President and stayed President for ten years. A year after becoming President of APS, John wrote "History of the Postage Stamps of the United States of America" which became the most comprehensive book on postage stamps. He died one year after leaving office as President of APS.

Answer: George Washington and Benjamin Franklin

George Washington was on the ten cent stamp and Benjamin Franklin was on the five cent stamp. George Washington was the first President of the United States and Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General. George Washington appeared on more U.S. stamps than Benjamin Franklin.

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt was known as the 'Philatelic President'. He gave designs and ideas to the society for new stamps. In 1946, President Roosevelt's collection of stamps were sold at an auction in New York City. His collection was stamped with 'From the Franklin D. Roosevelt Collection'.

Answer: No

When stamps were first printed, they were sewn or pinned to an envelope if there was no paste available. Adhesive stamps didn't start in the United States, but in Great Britain.

Answer: Postmaster General

The Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee was a group of twelve to fifteen people hired by the Postmaster General to sift through 50,000 stamp ideas a year. Once thirty-five stamp ideas were chosen, they were sent to the Postmaster General who made the final decision. A President was honored with his own stamp on the first birthday after his death and no living person is allowed to have a stamp.

The title of this quiz was taken from a quote on "The West Wing".