Three similar stamps from 1898. Note the 3 loop curlicues surrounding the oval frames of each stamp. Prior to 1900 there were trading stamps in the USA (137 companies according an 1899 NZ letter), Australia (7), Germany (4), Canada (several), UK (at least 8 by 1900), NZ ( shown above), South Africa (1), and probably Bermuda (shown above). Many of these stamps closely resembled the early S&H stamps, probably because Shelley Hutchinson introduced trading stamps in most of these countries during his round the world trip of 1898 and 1899.