You are invited to participate in the eUSC "2019 Scavenger Hunts", which will take place on this thread from first thing Thursday 21 Feb till midnight Sunday 24 Feb (4 days). Scored will be tallied and announced Monday 25 Feb.
I am posting the topics now so you have time to find some of these items.
There are 2 hunts, a normal hunt which we all brainstormed, and a tricky postal history hunt thought up by rfaux. so get your thinking caps on. Prizes will be given.
I envisage the hunt to be spread out over the 4 days, to focus on each of 4 groups of topics for each hunt.
And here they are!
Thursday 21 Feb
- Why the stamp was issued and how it was made
1. A joint issue (need to show stamps from both countries)
2. A stamp issued in both perforated and imperforate
3. A piece of postal stationery with at least 3 indicia
4. A stamp with posthorns on it
P1 – Rates
- an item that shows a stamp where the stamp had a value OTHER THAN the amount printed on the stamp for postage
- an item with at least ten stamps to pay for a single letter rate
- an item that shows payment of a late fee of some sort with a postage stamp
- an item that shows a triple letter rate. Bonus if this rate is not to an internal destination.
Friday 22 Feb
- What's on the stamp?
1. A stamp with petroglyphs or cave paintings on it
2. A plate number coil on cover - A stamp with 8 or more animals on it
4. A stamp or cover showing a volcano (in honor of iomoon)
P2 – Routes
- an item that was forwarded at least three times before it found the addressee
- an item that can be shown to have traveled by three modes of transportation or more.
- an item that shows a marking showing a delay in the mail because the item was received too late to take the scheduled mail transport
- an item that was mailed from a city that ends in "berg" to a city that ends in "burg" or vice versa.
Saturday 23 Feb
- How the stamp was used.
1. A TPO / railroad cancel.
2. A palindromic cancel (town name or date)
3. Perfin with no alpha characters at all
4. A piece of diplomatic pouch mail
P3 - History/Time Periods
- an item that was traveling IN the mails during the turn of a century
- an item that can be shown to have been on a ship that ran aground or sank
- an item that reflects a change of borders between countries - bonus points for less time between the item's postmarks and the event that changed borders.
- an item that was returned by a censor at a time when the sender was in a country that was NOT at war.
Sunday 24 Feb
- Can you find these?
1. Cinderella of a comic book character
2. A stamp showing the sphinx but not any pyramids
3. A forgery
4. An inverted overprint
P4 - Contents of stamp or cover
- an item that features the use of a private stamp separation device or perforation
- an item that was mailed successfully using a forged/faked stamp
- an item that tries to use a cut square from a preprinted envelope for mailing. Bonus if it shows a postal service saying it is invalid for postage.
- a newspaper or portion of a newspaper with a stamp used to show postage for mailing
