This is another exciting cover for a Philatelic and Numismatic Exhibition held in Ipoh, Perak in 1985. The exhibition is held in Tun Razak Library, a very well known landmark in Ipoh town. See below for a picture of the magnificant structure.
"Perpustakaan Tun Razak, Jalan Kelab, 30000 Ipoh"
The word "numimastic" may sound very foreign for a lot of people. But is actually mean "coins" in Greek. Numimastic is the scientific study of currency and its history in all its varied forms. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes a much larger study of payment media used to resolve debts and the exchange of goods. Lacking a structured monetary system, people in the past as well as some today lived in a barter society and used locally found items of inherent or implied value. Early money used by primitive people is referred to as "Odd and Curious", but the use of other goods in barter exchange is excluded, even where used as a circulating currency (e.g., prison cigarettes). The Kyrgyz people used horses as the principal currency unit and gave small change in lambskins. The lambskins may be suitable for numismatic study, but the horse is not. Many objects have been used for centuries, such as conch shells, precious metals and gems.
Today, most transactions take place by a form of payment with either inherent, standardized or credit value. Numismatic value may be used to refer to the value in excess of the monetary value conferred by law. This is also known as the "collector's value" or "intrinsic value."
Stamps and Its "Value"
Stamp, in many ways, mimics the numimastic development process. It is a product perceived to have its "value", due to a guaranteed postal services to be provided by the Post Office. But in modern time, do stamp still have a "value" in prepaying for postal services?
For business level, most of our corporate/comercial letter does not use stamp anymore. They have used machine cancellation in replace of the process of pasting stamp on each letters they are to send. For individual level, letter writing are replaced by SMS and email. The used of stamp in letter posting had significantly less as compared to 10 years ago (where handphone and internet are still at their baby stage). With lesser stamp being used in daily life, kids from the 80's can not associate them as "hobby". Face it!! kids nowadays don't brag about having more stamps. They brag about having PSP or tons of kills they got from a DOTA game.
Is philatelic a dying hobby? Perhaps. . . But it is still my greatest fun at the current moment.
PS: if you don't know what is a "PSP" and "DOTA", you are either pretty old, or getting too off-track with the Y-generation.
