One of the stamps depicting NZ league that will be available from next week.
One of the stamps depicting NZ league that will be available from next week.
KEY POINTS:
NZ Post's first 50c stamps - unveiled today - are likely to be used even before the post price rises kick in from June.
Professional stamp dealer Len Jury said the stamps, part of the latest release of NZ Post's centenary stamps, would attract more interest for collectorsif used while the standard mail cost was still 45c.
"To have a 50c stamp used for ordinary mail, it attracts a little bit more interest."
But the stamps would never be worth "hundreds" because of the large size of the issue.
The centenary issue celebrates 100 years of New Zealand rugby league, the Plunket Society, the Home of Compassion and world Scouting. The collection includes four 50c stamp designs, a $1, a $1.50 and two $2.
Among the images are a depiction of the first Kiwis team, the All Golds, and their inaugural captain, Hercules Richard "Bumper" Wright. They toured Australia, Sri Lanka, England and Wales in 1907-08.
A $2 stamp also takes a nostalgic look at rugby league, with an image based on the 1951 team.
Auckland Philatelic Society secretary Nic Hendy said higher-value stamps would be the most difficult for domestic collectors to obtain. "The $1.50 and $2 are not often seen by the average collector because they go out of the country."
A NZ Post spokeswoman said the centenaries were a fitting choice to represent the new denominations.
But NZ Post did not want the face value of the stamps to be quickly made redundant when the price of sending a letter went up on June 1.
NZ Post stamps general manager Ivor Masters said the groups celebrated in the stamps played an important role in the lives of many New Zealanders.
"The stamps will be popular reminders of their significance to this country's sporting and social development." They will be available from next Tuesday.
