Stanley Howler Journal

The History of the Green Cabbage Trading Stampby Steve

It had been realised that through the Little Brown Envelope process collectors were amassing a large number of redundant stamps. In their wisdom the Emporium created the Trading Scheme so collectors could get a something back. The scheme was announced in issue 3 of the Stanley Howler Journal in June 2005.

"A phenomenon recently introduced which facilitiates the trading of common stamps for more interesting artefacts.
This is how it works.
Green cabbage stamps can be acquired by returning your common stamps (in mint condition) to the Cunning Artificer. There is a standard exchange rate table which tells you how many green cabbage stamps you will receive. You will also get a green card which you stick the stamps in. Once the card is full (50 stamps) or even just half full (25 stamps) it may be exchanged for something more interesting. At present the exchange item is a Sanctuary envelope, a letter containing a donation to Lady Ramkin's Dragon Sanctuary and there are just 100 of these. Full details of how the sheme works are on the forum. If however, you do not partake of regular internet access we will gladly send you all the details, cards & etc by post. Just send as stamped self addressed envelope to us a the address shown on the back cover of this Journal."

The first redemption form had just 11 stamps; by August 2005 there were 14 redeemable stamps. There are currently 45 stamps on the list that can be redeeemed. A short time after a stamp is no longer available it is removed from the redeemable list; it is important to keep an eye on the Endangered Stamps to ensure you don't miss out on redemption. Special stamps and Hogswatch stamps are not eligable for the scheme.

Although not necessary you can use the claim form to obtain the scheme items. The form has space for 48 Green Cabbage stamps. For each 24 stamps you got one bonus stamp.

The Green Cabbage stamps

For a while the Green Cabbage stamps became a form of currency. As a Tower of Art $1 cost £1 and was worth 3 Green Cabbage stamps this became the nominal value and the stamps were used when trading for other stamps instead of money.

The stamp now comes in three forms. The single, 10, and the Golden 100. The 100 stamp comes with its own certificate of authenticity.

The single stamp comes is sheets of 56. The early sheets had the wording Discworld Saving Stamps - design 1 (© Feb 2005) CB/BP in the selvage and the corners D W S S; later sheets has blank selvage.
The 10 stamp comes in sheets of 20 stamps, valued at 200 GC stamps. The first set were dated May 2014 but recent sheets are dated February 2016.

Trading items

The first exchange item, the Sanctuary envelopes quickly became very valuable and sought after. There was a selection of 11 envelopes each for 25 green stamps. The catalogue issued to advertise the envelopes only feature 10 envelopes, but the stamp on envelope G at some point appears to have changed form the Year of the Prawn Cabbage 50p stamp to the Signifying Frog version thus creating the 11th envelope.

Another offering was inspired by the Post Office Handbook Diary for 2007, which catalogued a series of misfortunes starting with items in posting boxes were being damaged by snails. Apparently, the glue used on the 50p Cabbage stamps was attracting the snails. The offering was made up of six envelopes covering the six incidents identified in the Diary. They could only be collected in sequence each for 25 Green Cabbage stamps. They could be reserved in advance by lodging the necessary Green Cabbage stamps.
There were 100 Eaten by Snails followed by 90 Dribbled on by Toads, 80 Snake Warning, 70 Defecated Upon By Mongeese, 60 Hamster Bedding, and finally 50 Nibbled by Unknown Marine Creatures. Some of the envelopes contained stamps, some which were rare.

The list of trading items.
Sunshine Sanctuary envelopes - April 2004
Blue Bernard sheet - November 2005
Vetinari Pain of Pains sheet - December 2005

Posting Box series
- Eaten by snails - June 2007
- Dribbled on by Toads - June 2007
- Snake warning - June 2007
- Defecated upon by Mongeese - June 2007
- Hamster Bedding - June 2007
- Nibble by Marine Creatures - June 2007

Clax Mail Service - January 2008
Dr Zelter's junk mail - April 2008
Agnathea Parker Opera Ticket - April 2008
Lambert Cordwainer - April 2008
Jocelyn & Seth Trackelment Seeds - August 2008
Clarecraft Pottery cards - April 2009
Street Names of Ankh-Morpork sheet - May 2009
Shades Patrician postbox sheet - September 2009
Shades First Class postbox sheet - September 2009
S Jackson & Son - November 2010

Letter to Pseudopolis series
- Letter to Pseudopolis - the First - Dec 2009
- Letter to Pseudopolis - the Second - Dec 2009
- Letter to Pseudopolis - the Third - May 2010

Don't Let My Flame Go Out sheet - May 2010

Church of Om Temple Appeal - July 2011
Rejected Fanny sheet - October 2011

Wormherder series
- Worm Herder Saga - Letter 1 - June 2014
- Worm Herder Saga - Letter 2 - June 2014
- Worm Herder Saga - Letter 3 - June 2014
- Worm Herder Saga - Letter 4 - June 2014
- Worm Herder Saga - Final - June 2014

Man with Dog sheet - June 2015