American Philatelic Society - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
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Controversy
Around 1970, numerous newly independent countries realized that issuing stamps was an excellent source of revenue. Because the stamps were sent to other countries, there was little risk of the stamps actually being used for postage. Historically, a country issued stamps to commemorate an event or honor a national figure, but these new nations created stamps that appealed to popular collecting themes, such as Disney, Scouting, airplanes or space. Instead of releasing a single stamp, they would create a set, with values ranging from a penny to five dollars. The APS was appalled, and created the “black blot” program. The society published a monthly magazine for members, and began to include a list of new stamp issues that were judged to be overpriced or unnecessary. A country with high illiteracy and a marginal postal service did not require 100 different stamps each year. However, many collectors rebelled at being told to reject some stamps, and the program was eventually dropped."