Royal Mail turns 500 years old in 2016

By Colin Sallee and Joe O'Donnell

1. Did you know?

Royal Mail turns 500 years old in 2016, and BBC Newsround provided five interesting facts you might not know about the United Kingdom postal service. 

Significant events include the figures who are behind the founding of Royal Mail, its first stamp (you just might know that one), and when the first Christmas card went on sale. 

Check out all five interesting facts.

2. $71,875 for a CIA Invert block

A big price was realized at a New York stamp auction last year for a block of four of the 1979 color invert error of the $1 Rush Lamp and Candle Holder stamp from the Americana definitive series (Scott 1610c).

“The stamp is known as the CIA Invert because the original, nearly complete pane of 95 was discovered in 1985 in office postage by a group of employees at the Central Intelligence Agency, who pooled their money and replaced the inverts with regular $1 stamps, keeping one error apiece and selling the rest to an auction firm.”

Read all about the valuable stamp.

3. The USPS 2016 Stamp lineup

“The United States Postal Service is going into space in 2016, with four new forever stamps commemorating Star Trek on its 50th anniversary, and another set celebrating the planets of our solar system and the recent New Horizons flyby of Pluto.”

Here’s an in-depth look at the 2016 program.

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5. Hot topics

Have a quick look at three interesting posts from the last few days on Linns.com:

1. Here’s how to classify the 1888 centenary stamps of New South Wales
2. Exploring creative philatelic entrepreneur Nicholas Frederick Seebeck
3. U.S. plate proof sheet set of 1875 reproductions in Jan. 12-13 Cherrystone auction in New York City