1. Stamp collecting began very soon after the world's very first adhesive  postage stamp, the British Penny Black, was issued on 1st May 1840. 

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2. To this day, UK stamps are the only postage stamps in the world which do not feature the name of the country of origin, only the symbol of the British monarch's head.

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3. The first Irish postage stamp was the ½ d ‘Sword of Light’,  issued on 6th December 1922 followed by the 1d. ‘Map of Ireland’, which came out on 23rd February 1923.

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4. Postage stamps have sometimes been used to make political statements. For example, as Queen Victoria’s head appeared on all British stamps used in Ireland during the 1800s, the Fenians made a point of sticking the stamps on their envelopes upside down to indicate their objection to British rule in Ireland.

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5. The official Stamp Club of China has over 20 million registered members. 

 

6. The most valuable stamp in the world is the British Guiana 1c. magenta, which was purchased in 2014 at auction in the USA by the Stanley Gibbons company for over $8.3 million.

 

There are many other fascinating facts relating to postage stamps around the world just waiting to be discovered by aspiring and curious stamp collectors.