Philatelic Phlies

By Bas Verschoor

Flies and stamps
In a frame

Do Postal Services have notions of flyfishing?
Do flyfishers have something in common with stamp collectors?
Is there something compatible between the two hobbies?
Totally different worlds it would seem. Mostly so, my Friends, but not always. There are times, few and far between, when these two different worlds meet.

Gathering dust
Some 15 years ago, 1984 I think it was, the President of the province of Transkei, South Africa, an avid flyfisher so the story goes, decided to have a series of stamps made, depicting trout and salmon flies. The Silver Wilkinson, the Alexandra, the Ginger Quill, the Hardy's Favourite and the like, were put out on stamps worth 20 cents each.

Alexandra	Kent's Marbled Sedge	White Marabou	Mayfly Nymph	Silver Wilkson
The Transkei series

This was done for a number of years, and although I am not a collector, I discovered I still had a few series gathering dust in some hidden drawer in my attic.

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User comments

From: barry kent · uprint1·at·earthlink.net
Submitted May 14th 2008

Hi This is Barry Kent, I have been living in Florida, USA for the past 19 years.
Your website came to my attention and especially the piece about the Transkei fly stamps.
I have put up a website to expain to everyone the true story of how these stamps came into existence.
goto www.fishingflystamps.com for more info. I plan to expand this site soon. to explain and show the other events that took place during my 20 years in Southern Africa. I have never stopped tying but now I tie saltwater and FD salmon flies for framing. Wish I had known earlier that one of you was in Florida last month. We have OUTSTANDING backcountry saltwater fishing here in Central Florida.

From: Jose A. Mendiondo de la Peña · joseamendiondoenator·at·gmail.com
Submitted November 18th 2006

Hello:
My name is José Antonio,I am a spanish collector, and fisherman.
It has surprised me, pleasurably, to find this site. I want to ask: do the series pointed out here only exist? Where can I find more information it has more than enough flies?
Dry and drowned flies.
José Antonio

From: gabi · gabriella_vergara·at·yahoo.com
Submitted June 21st 2006

i have the 1984 transkei fly fishing stamps 5 of them mounted in a frame, any idea what they worth, mint cond

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