Interesting facts through collectibles: World’s largest diamond found

On January 25, 1905, Frederick Wells was more than 2 meters below earth's surface in Thomas Cullinan's mine, when he found a starlight in the wall, which turned out to be the largest diamond ever. It was named after Cullinan and weighed 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g).

Stamp, Cullinan I 530,2 carats, South Africa, 1980, Colnect Catalog

Cullinan, also known as the Star of Africa, was cut into 9 major and 96 minor brilliants. Two of the most notable cuts are Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa at 530.4 carats (106.08 g) and Cullinan II or Second Star of Africa at 317.4 carats (63.48 g). Both of them are part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, the collection of 140 royal ceremonial items which are kept in the Tower of London. Other 7 major stones are in private possession of Queen Elizabeth II, who inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary.

Coin, 10 Dollars (Cullinan Diamond - Great Star of Africa), Cook Islands, 2015, Colnect Catalog

As mentioned above, the major part of the most famous girl's best friend remains as a part of the royal collection in United Kingdoms, but many collectibles with the theme of diamonds or other precious stones are part of Colnect catalog. Some of these items are even ones that are illustrating Cullinan.

Stamp, Cullinan II 317,4 carats, South Africa, 1980, Colnect catalog

Do you have an item which you want to mark but it is not in Colnect catalog yet? Learn more about contributing by going to our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page. If you are interested in selling or buying collectibles you're welcome to visit recently launched Colnect Marketplace.

Famous people through collectibles: Edgar Allan Poe

A writer, editor, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe, was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston. He is best known for his poetry and short mystery and horror stories. Poe is considered as the inventor of detective fiction genre and the first well-known American writer to earn living completely off of writing.

Stamp, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), United States of America, 2009, Colnect Catalog

Although his life was rather difficult, Edgar Allan Poe left us a great collection of his poems and stories. Numerous collectibles were made in the name of this truly remarkable writer, some of them featuring his quotes, some illustrating his portrait, and some celebrating his achievements. If you are interested, on Colnect you can find various collectibles associated with Edgar Allan Poe.

Stamp, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Never More, Hungary, 1948, Colnect Catalog

Among Edgar Allan Poe's works, the most notable ones are The Black Cat, a short tale about the psychology of guilt, and The Raven, supernatural poem about lost love. Pluto, a cat from The Black Cat, and a talking raven from The Raven are two of the most well-known characters created by Poe. Many collectibles, which are made in the name of Edgar Allan Poe, depict these two characters, as the main image.

Stamp, Edgar Allan Poe, San Marino, 2009, Colnect Catalog

Do you collect Poe-themed or Poe-related collectibles? If there's any collectible in your collection that's not on Colnect yet, you can easily add it to our catalog. You can check our Catalog Contribution Guidelines page and start to add new items, add images and information to already existing items, help to translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create your own categories. If you are interesting in selling or buying collectibles you're welcome to visit recently launched Colnect Marketplace.

700,007+ Stamps on Colnect

Colnectors, let's celebrate that our Stamp category has passed a new super-cool number of items, 700,007 ;)

Paintings, 1997, United Arab Emirates, Colnect catalog

Beginning a stamp collection is entertaining, discovering new information about the stamps which have been issued by the countries of the world over the years. Stamps are tiny pieces of art – colorful, well-designed. Some of them commemorate famous people and events, others - present animals and birds, flowers, railways, ships and aircrafts, buildings and bridges, armors and flags, space and sport.

Fairy Swordfish, 1982, Ascension Island, Colnect catalog

Actually, the Stamps category is the biggest one on Colnect. It has been led for a long time by two dedicated coordinators - Guido Fußhöller [footy68] and Klaus Jochimsen [Lola22]. Thank you guys for all you do for Colnectors and Colnect catalog.

Discovery of America, 500th anniv., ships, 1992, Uruguay, Colnect catalog

There are three main approaches to structuralizing stamp collection:

• chronological - stamp lovers collect items from the specific historical period
• thematical approach - stamps on the specific theme for example butterflies
• geographic approach - stamps from the specific countries

What's your approach to collecting stamps?

African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus), 2002, Azerbaijan, Colnect catalog

Colnect has been built by collectors for collectors and any help is much appreciated. Would like to join and contribute to the Stamp catalog too? Learn more on the Stamp Catalog Contribution Guidelines page. There are many ways you can help us make Colnect catalog better: add new items, add images and information to existing ones, translate catalog to your language, edit the catalog, write wiki articles, and even create a new category. If you are interesting in trading stamps you're welcome to check recently launched Colnect Marketplace.