re: From The Hoard: Found this in a pile from Germany
ikeyPikey,
Fenwickian philately is truly an obscure field. I've never seen issues from the Duchy. Do you think Tully Bascomb would consider issuing stamps like the dune states as a money maker?
re: From The Hoard: Found this in a pile from Germany
Laughed at the Grand Fenwick thing because it reminded me of a tame version of something W.C. Fields would come up with. Speaking of which, my Great-Uncle was a character actor "Franklin Pangborn" who usually played a snooty bank-teller type and appeared in a couple W.C. Fields movies; some old-timers here may remember him.
re: From The Hoard: Found this in a pile from Germany
Check out "The Mouse That Roared" on Wiki
Grand Fenwick is a 3-mile by 5-mile Duchy in the Alps. It has been bypassed and almost forgotten, but has kept its independence, a la San Marino, Monaco, Andorra.
re: From The Hoard: Found this in a pile from Germany
That's the Bosnia and Herzegovina coat of arms.
Early issues (e.g., 1879) did not have country name. See recent Linn's article for light review of some countries that didn't have name on early stamps.