In addition to unimaginable cruelty, war creates significant resourcefulness in humans. We’ve seen that in the Ukrainian/Russian situation. Yet, the virtual “scorched earth” behavior of Russian troops is patently senseless. There will be little to “win” or occupy after the murder of innocent civilians and wholesale destruction of property. As always, the populace is sure to hate them....
In the meantime, those in the crosshairs are doing their best to tread water and survive the onslaught. Worldwide sanctions make it difficult too for Russian citizens who are experiencing less and less amenities and services. Of course, at least they still have their homes. And, their lives.
Such wanton insanity has happened before – in fact here in the United States. It was 160 years ago right now. Our Civil War was in full swing. Armies from the north and south were invading each other’s territories and states, burning cities and ransacking stores for supplies. Citizens on both sides were terrified by the unknown. Who might win? With a general mistrust for banks, many people hoarded and buried stashes of copper and silver coins. They knew the metal in the coins would have tangible value while paper money would be worthless should their side lose to the other.
That hoarding resulted in metal coinage drying up. Merchants had no change. To remedy this, the US government began printing fractional paper money in denominations between three cents and fifty cents. Of course, it was still paper.
That’s where clever citizens realized there was a type of government printed paper that continues to have value – postage stamps. Stamps were not only widely used on both sides, their value remained because the monies went to directly pay for a valuable and vital service – communication, specifically the mail. Of course, stamps are small and fragile.
One enterprising individual came up with the idea of “Encased Postage.” That’s where postage stamps of various denominations would be inserted into a small, coin-size metal case with a sliver of clear mica covering it to make the stamp visible. (Plastic hadn’t yet been invented.) To pay for manufacturing them, on the reverse side were advertisements for salves, liniments and other goods. The “stamp-coins” worked. Merchants in the mid-1800s widely accepted them as emergency scrip.
More recently, stamps were again acceptable as payment for merchandise. A century after the Civil War, in the 1960s, many ads for mail order items announced they would accept payment in “cash, check or stamps.” Usually seen in the pages of comic books or magazines such as Popular Mechanics, prior to metered mail, stamps were still a viable and widely used form of payment accepted by companies.
Because of the current war, whether for postage, payment, bartering or goods, stamps from the region are surely being used. When the insanity of this war fades, just what images will be featured on stamps from the region will be of interest.
As I mentioned just over a week ago, Ukraine has recently held a competition for designs on a new stamp rebelling against the invasion by Russia. In that same vein, Russian citizens and collectors of Russian stamps know that war, savagery, and violent propaganda has long been a staple of Russia and the Soviet Union prior to that.
Many Russian stamps mirror those issued by North Korea, Cuba and China. In fact, communist countries often model their stamps out of the same playbook. Instead of flowers, sailboats or holidays, a noticeable number of stamps from Marxist countries highlight their armies, warships and military strength. The intent is clear – socialist propaganda and an indoctrination of the masses to a strength-through-power way of thinking.
For mass workers and the general proletariat that may have some effect. For the privileged class and oligarchs owning massive yachts and elaborate villas, they don’t need coaching. In fact, by virtue of their status and wealth, they may not even need stamps.
Either way, the stamps, coins and currency of other nations is usually very telling. For collectors, they effectively tell the story of the country or nation producing them. Especially in this case, of greatest interest will be how the story ends. Whether a collector, simple consumer or someone watching from afar, we all anxiously wait to see.
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