Don't Get Burned On Sand Dunes Stamps

No, these are not stamps that are used to deliver mail by camel post. They are stamps issued from Middle Eastern countries; they are referred to as "wallpaper" thanks to their questionable nature, so cheap that you could cover your walls with them without digging too deeply into your wallet. The exotic and sometimes funny sounding names of the countries (Bophuthatswana?!) include Fujiera, Kuwait, Yemen, Ajman, Afganistan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Burkina Faso, and others. While many may be gone, their stamps linger on the market.

Sand Dunes stamps come to the philatelic market primarily in CTO condition. That is, canceled to order by the philatelic agents that handle the counties' postal sales. For those who like to buy a lot of stamps at a cheap price, these stamps fit the bill. And although there has been a slight uptick in sales online, it is safe to say that no knowledgeable collector would consider these stamps a good investment. Dealers who buy bulk collections will make packets full of this material. Ironically, giveaways to get kids interested in collecting are popular destinations for Sand Dunes stamps.

This packet or bulk lot material gives the illusion that the buyer is getting a lot for his money. Most have been printed solely for collectors; the majority of these countries’ populations never use the postal system through the simple act of sending a letter.

At one of my stamp jobs we employees would marvel at how quickly these countries would change leaders and governments, not to mention national boundaries. I recall during one shake-up in the eighties one of the stamp issuing "countries" was nothing more than a glorified parking lot, its only claim to fame a casino.

Of course when you get right down to it, Monaco is only slightly more than that, though there is really no comparison: philatelists are fine with Monaco’s stamps as they are backed up by the intrigue of an exotic locale; have a fairytale story of royalty and celebrity behind them; and the country has no questionable issuing practices. (Although the number of artist proofs and imperforate pricey varieties available to collectors indicates that the Monte Carlo casino isn't the only way the government of Monaco makes money. But they don’t do that as much as they did in earlier years.)

Just as Philadelphia born film star Grace Kelly drew the world's attention to Monaco when she married Prince Rainier in the fifties, so our attention is drawn to the Sand Dunes stamps of the Middle East by the history making events that recent time has presented. Purchase them if you want to see a lot of pictures of shieks, potentates, classic art (you don’t have to pay anyone to put the work of Dutch Masters on your stamps), world leaders going back to, and including, Lincoln and of course, sand. Lots of sand.