A good way to enter the very active colonial stamp set market: Tip of The Week

By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller 

Classic, relatively common, long definitive and pictorial colonial sets are increasingly popular with collectors. While supply is still meeting demand at present, this has become a very active segment of the market.

British and French colonial issues are most popular, but don’t overlook those of Portugal and Spain.

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Tete was one of Portugal’s more obscure colonial possessions. Today the Tete province is located on the Zambezi River in western Mozambique.

Formerly part of the Zambezia colony, it was briefly administered separately before being placed under the Mozambique colonial administration.

In 1913-1914, the colony issued 40 major-number, Scott-listed stamps. The stamps are not expensive, and a complete collection is achievable.

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A good place to start is with the first stamps produced in 1913 by overprinting and surcharging the Vasco da Gama stamps of other Portuguese colonies: Macao, Portuguese Africa, and Timor (Scott 1-24).

The 2016 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 values the set at $52.20 in unused hinged condition.

A set in the grade of very fine is an excellent buy at Scott catalog value. As always, grade matters. Sets in fine-very fine grade sell at a good discount from catalog value.