Selo "Charles Connell", Província de Nova Brunswick, Canadá
Selo
La provincia canadiense de Nueva Brunswick tiene una pequeña
historia filatélica. Esta provincia había emitido sus primeros sellos en 1851.
Dichos sellos son muy escasos y han alcanzado un buen precio en el mercado.
El Administrador General de Correos, Charles Connell era un
poco vanidoso. Un día ordenó la impresión de unos sellos a una firma en Estados
Unidos y un poco antes de la fecha anunciada para iniciar la venta de los
sellos, le mostró a los funcionarios del Gobierno Provincial una prueba de los
seis valores impresos, para que ellos lo aprobaran. Pero el sello de 5 céntimos
color marrón mostraba…¡el retrato del mismísimo Charles Connell!
Los funcionarios gubernamentales se quedaron boquiabiertos y
tan indignados con la petulancia de Connell, que éste tuvo que renunciar a su
cargo y se dispuso que dichos sellos sean destruidos.
Como casi siempre ocurre en estos casos, aunque se suponía que
los sellos color marrón con el retrato de Connell habían sido totalmente
destruidos, el nuevo Administrador y algún otro funcionario conservaron algunos
cientos de ellos y aunque nunca fueron emitidos oficialmente, ni llegaron a
circular, siguen obteniendo buen precio en los catálogos por la pintoresca
historia de su nacimiento y breve existencia.
Charles Connell (1810 – June 28, 1873) was a Canadian
politician, now remembered mainly for placing his image on a 5-cent postage
stamp. Born in Northampton in the then-British colony of New Brunswick to
a family of Loyalists who had
fled the American Revolution, he entered politics in
1846, serving in the colony's Legislative Assembly and House of Assembly.
In 1858, Connell was appointed Postmaster General of the colony, at a
time when increasing trade with the United States was forcing the British
colonies to reconsider their currencies and institute a decimal system that
would be more familiar to their American neighbors. New Brunswick adopted a decimal
currency in 1859, and in the following year, Connell issued the first series
of postage stamps in the new denomination.
While few people had problems with the new currency, they were outraged that
Connell chose to depict himself on the 5-cent stamp, instead of Queen Victoria. In an effort to
stem the criticism and charges of extreme arrogance, he offered to buy up all
the stamps and burned them publicly on the front lawn of his house. He also
resigned his office as postmaster general. It is unknown how many stamps
survived, but they number no more than a few dozen and are now extremely rare. Some
counterfeits of the stamp exist also.
Despite the episode, Connell continued to serve in the colonial
legislature up until 1867. A member of the Executive Council of New Brunswick,
he served as Surveyor General from
July 10, 1866 to July 17, 1867.
An ardent supporter of Canadian Confederation, Connell was
elected as a Member of Parliament representing the
New Brunswick electoral district of Carleton in the first
two Canadian parliaments.
From 1865 to 1866, he published his own newspaper, The
Union.
Nota do blog: O selo verde acima (Conhecido como Chalon Head), mostrando a Rainha Vitória, substituiu o selo "Charles Connell" (ao lado do verde).
