This philatelist holds more than 80% of the total Tiger stamps in circulation in the world; Check details

A hobby he has enjoyed for more than five decades, avid philatelist Johnny Lowis’ collection of tiger stamps exceeds 80% of the total tiger stamps currently in circulation in the world. The Chinese Singaporean currently has over 9,50,000 stamps in his collection, of which his collection of tiger stamps is of great importance to him as he was born in January 1950, also known as the “year of the tiger”.

Following his passion for stamp collecting, Lowis began collecting tiger stamps 24 years ago in 1998 and currently owns some of the most unusual stamps including the world’s first tiger stamp which was issued by British Malaya in 1891.

Stamps issued in Malaysia were not part of the Straits settlement as the states concerned were still issuing stamps depicting Queen Victoria at the time. Now, the four states including Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor have presented separate issues on the Malayan tiger.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that with a total of 600 tiger stamps in circulation worldwide, Lowis alone owns around 500, most of which were acquired online via eBay and Delcampe, or traded with others. stamp collectors.

As reported by The star, Lowis is still waiting for another 100 zodiac stamps from different countries, including Japan, China, North Korea, Vietnam, the United States, Australia, Canada and France. However, he still hasn’t received a number on the Malaysian post and is hoping for one very soon.

Johnny Lowis’ fascination with stamp collecting

72-year-old Johnny Lewis started collecting stamps at the age of 15 when his father gave him a stamp album. However, this later led him into a serious profession, with British stamps becoming his main source of inspiration. The graphic designer graduated from De Monfort University in Leicester, England, currently has around half a million stamps in his entire collection, among which the Chinese zodiac stamps are his favorites, which he started collecting in 1995.

After starting his stamp collection, his first exhibition of zodiac stamps was held at the Singapore Philatelic Museum in 2002, after which he expanded his search for more stamps and to date, he currently owns 5,000 zodiac stamps different.

Moreover, his stamp collection has also been exhibited in other places including Malaysia KL Auto Show, Hong Kong North Point Community Center and other stamp clubs in various countries.

Image: Facebook/@JohnnyLowis