Interesting Philatelic Nuggets.............

The last date a postman was hanged for stealing letters in England was 1833

In 1879 in Liege, Belgium 37 cats were used to carry bundles of letters to villages. Unsurprisingly, this service didn't last long.

In 1693, letters were held in front of a candle to determine the postage rate. The less the light shone through, the more costly the rate. This was known as candling

74 per cent of UK philatelists are university educated, compared with only 20 per cent of the general public. And nearly half earn more than £30,000 a year - nearly £7,000 more than the national average.

The Queen has one of the finest stamp collections in the world, worth around £100million.