Mystery of the dumped stamp collection tickles Secunda resident
The big question is obviously how much this collection is worth and are there some rare jewels among these stamps.
SECUNDA – When Ms Amore Rossouw saw a collection of more than 2 000 stamps being thrown out with a neighbour’s trash, instinct led her to grab them up and preserve them.
This 22-year-old who works from home admits that she does not know much about stamps, but has been reading up on the subject of philately (stamps) since finding the stamp collection two years ago. An elderly man who lived in their street tossed them out.
“Uncle Ronnie must have been in his 90’s when he moved away. I presumed he moved to an old age home. We did not know much about him. He discarded of many things, but the stamp collection caught my eye,” said Ms Rossouw.
One of the oldest stamps in the collection dates back to 1802. While there are numerous South African and former Rhodesian stamps – some dating back to the late 1800’s, there are also a large number of stamps obtained from other countries, including some from Japan.
The eye-catchers are mainly from Europe, such as a collection of all the kaisers from Austria.
Only one of the smaller albums gives away some clue as to who might have been the original owner.
The name Magdalena van Rooyen, as well as an address in Vienna, Austria, are written in beautiful cursive letters on the first page of the book.
“I have so many questions as to who was the original owner and collector, and how did the person come by them?”
Some stamps have no dates and there are also quite a few duplicates. The big question is obviously how much this collection is worth and if there are some rare jewels among these stamps.
“I have been searching online for more information. One specific stamp of the South African Union Building appears to be extremely valuable.
“I also came across a shop in Johannesburg that deals mainly with stamps. I hope to one day visit the shop to get an estimated value on the collection.”
Ms Rossouw is also curious as to what the sentimental value of this collection might have been and the path it travelled up to the point where she found it.
A stack of letters neatly tied with an elastic band accompanied the albums and a wooden box filled with stamps.
Ms Rossouw has not yet read these. She is first sorting out the stamps in the box in small bundles of what she believes belongs together.
This is quite time consuming and she only has time to rummage through the hordes of stamps in her free time at night.
Ms Rossouw bakes biscuits and rusks from home and also looks after children in the afternoon.
Readers who are able to shed more light on the mystery of Uncle Ronnie and the stamp collection, or anyone with knowledge of stamps, may contact Ms Rossouw at 076 208 0177.
