Johnny Lowis has been philatelist for over five decades and his tiger stamp collection exceeds 80% of all tiger stamps in circulation worldwide. His collection includes more than 9,50,000 stamps. The Chinese Singaporean was born in January 1950, also known as the Year of the Tiger.
Lowis began collecting stamps in 1998 because of his passion. He currently has a collection of some of the most unique stamps in the world, including the first tiger stamp issued by the British Malaya back in 1891.
Malaya stamps were not part of the Straits Settlement, as the states concerned were still issuing stamps featuring Queen Victoria at that time. The four states of Negri Sembilan (Pahang, Perak and Selangor) issued separate stamps on the Malayan Tiger.
It has been estimated that Lowis owns approximately 500 of the 600 tiger stamps currently in circulation worldwide. Most of these he acquired online via Delcampe and eBay or traded with other stamp collectors.
The Star reported thatLowis still has to receive another 100 Zodiac stamps from various countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada. He has yet to receive an issue from Malaysia and is hopeful for one soon.
It has been estimated that Lowis owns approximately 500 of the 600 tigers stamps currently in circulation worldwide. Most of these he acquired online via Delcampe and eBay or traded with other stamp collectors.
The Star reported thatLowis still has to receive another 100 Zodiac stamps from various countries, including the United States, Australia and Canada. He has yet to receive an issue from Malaysia and is hopeful for one soon.
After building his stamp collection, his first exhibition of Zodiac stamps was held at Singapore Philatelic Museum 2002. He then expanded his search for stamps and now has 5,000 different Zodiac stamps.
His stamp collection was also displayed at various places, including the Malaysia KL Auto Show, Hong Kong North Point Centre Community Centre and other stamp clubs in different countries.
