I have two uncles left who are stamp collectors (two others passed away a few years ago). One is my godfather and has been collecting for over 70 years. He recently decided to pass along parts of his collection to me, as I am the only remaining "youngster" in the family who still collects. This is bittersweet to me. I am grateful for his generosity, especially when it falls into my areas of collecting, but I am saddened to know I am the only person in this otherwise vast family who still has philatelic interests. Of my 40 cousins, I'm it, and none of their children or grandchildren collects stamps (well, my nephew's 3-year old likes those pretty Disney stamps but I don't count her as a collector ... yet!).

It's sad on two counts. It is reflective of the broader society picture where philatelists are becoming an increasingly older group, with few new interested parties. It is also distressing from a personal perspective to think what will become of my collections, with the pride and enjoyment I put into them. I hate to think they will end up on one of those eBay big lot dealers, picked clean of individual items of any value, the rest considered throw-away or charity jobs.

There was a post in a forum recently that talked about making your collection more personalized and more of a family heritage item than "just a stamp collection." The more I think about it, the more brilliant it sounds. That will be my new project, especially with respect to my special collections.

OK, the title is the only thing on today's entry that has anything to do with stamps. (Hey, I tried.) On the work front, the promotion list came out today and I was on it. Kinda cool. Doesn't mean I have it this moment, just that at some point later in the year my number will come up - but getting to the list is a good uphill battle so I feel pretty darn good about it.

Just hope I don't "gum" it all up.

Hope I can "cover" the new position well.

That is, if the job doesn't wear me "thin".

 .

 .

 .

OK, enough - I'll stop now. 

Over in the forums, I posted this image with the spray on postmark slogan.

My first thought is that I like this idea. It's a bit of history on the daily mail that just might get some new collectors into philately. Might be kids, might be adults, might just get current collectors to start down a new path in collecting, I dunno. I just like it.

FOR THE PAST 2 1/2 MONTHS, THE DRS. HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DETERMINE WHY I HAVE SUCH SEVERE ABD. PAIN.  JUST GOT BACK FROM THE ER AND IT APPEARS ITS ADHESIONS AGAIN (FOR THE 4TH TIME).  ONE MORE TEST TO CONFIRM.  THIS STINKS. NO WORK, NO DRIVING (THE PILLS ARE CONSIDERED UNDER  THE INFLUENCE IF YOU GET PULLED OVER.) PLEASE SAY A LITTLE PRAYER.  LAST TIME I NEARLY DIED ON THE TABLE FROM BLOOD LOSS.

dENNIS

Last night, I was trying to help a friend catch some dragonflies and was reminded that I had not updated everyone on her health. 

Those of you that remember, in February we attempted to get a kidney removed.  It was one of those "If it weren't for bad luck" days.

On March 17, she went into surgery and the operation was a "success" (though I don't believe having to be cut open is something successful-on the other hand, she survived.....maybe that's what they mean).  After an overnight stay in the hospital, she was discharged the next day on the 18th of March and we spent an extra day away from the kids to help her get ready for the 3 hours of Michigan springtime roads.

To shorten some, she had a follow up visit on April 18, and went back to work on April 19.  Guess she's feeling a lot better.....I know she is!!

To all of you prayers and thoughts, I give you a big THANKS !

 

My friend's dragonfly plight? Well, he decided to go to the caves....without me!

Howdy folks,

 

Just dropping a note here before heading off to bed. Tomorrow is our stamp club's annual show that we sponsor. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve looking forward to tomorrow and what it will hold. I know I can always go to many other shows thoughout the year a little further away in the region but there's always something fun about a show just a couple miles from where you live - and sponsored by your own local club.

 

I've made my list for Santa uh, I mean my stamp want list for some items I'm hoping will be there at some of the dealers tables. There's just always those things that you look for here, there, and of course on StampWants but just never seem to locate. Maybe tomorrow will be the day for getting a few of those items crossed off finally.

 

My little junior collector will be able to join me there for part of the day. I plan on surprising her with a gift here and there from her own want list. Not so much that it spoils her, but just enough so that she also looks forward to the show every year

 

Then by the end of the day, there will be that twinge of disappointment that it will be another year before it all happens again. Course, my wallet will probably need a year to receover, so maybe that's not a bad thing!

 

 over and out,

Kurt 

Thanks for the get well messages.  The good news is the stomach is on the mend.  Bad news, my spinal disks are bulging bad. Had MRI and saw the Doc. It's shots in the spine time for me.

Can't wait to get back to doing what I love, BUYING STAMPS.

While sorting through a batch of Canada #2012, the Queen Elizabeth 49 cent issue from 2003, I came across what appeared to be a color variation. 

 

When I consulted the Unitrade catalog no color variation was listed but there was a note for this issue as follows:

 

 "Counterfeit booklets of 2012 (BK281) and 2014 (BK283) are known to exist.  These are of a very high quality."

 

Examining the stamp more (the one pictured on the right) I noticed that it had an almost newspaper photo quality,  noticeable "dots" making up the photo, and that the date was very blurred as compared to the rest of the copies I had (example on the left).

 

Is it possible this is a counterfeit stamp?  Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

After a lot of help from other users, the stamp abbreviation project is finally done.  Just click on the HELP button then click on stamp abbreviations.  It's amazing that one can do with a computer, some friends and some time in a bathrobe.  I would appreciate any comments and suggestions. (Please be gentle.)

Hi All,

So it’s been a little while since I checked in here because I’ve been busy finishing up a project. The Youth Stamp Collectors here gets donations of everything from all over and uses volunteer labor to do the breaking down and sorting of the collections that make up the millions of stamps it receives (and there’s no exaggeration there). So, I’ve been busy lately with my assistance to them of sorting the “Back of the Book” items. (Nobody tell them I said so, but I actually get a large amount of enjoyment out of doing it so it really doesn’t seem like a chore at all.)


A few times a year, I get a box or two to work on. I picked up this latest box (23 lbs.) in the beginning of January and have been having just a hoot of a time digging through it. It always seems a bit overwhelming at the start but by the time I get to the bottom, I always wished I had just a little bit more!

So, as of about 4 PM yesterday, I hit the bottom of the box (the bottom-of-the-box-of-the-back-of-the-book bin – say that 3 times fast). That’s part one, but now it’s on to the even more enjoyable part two: Looking through all the sub-categories of the items I sorted out to determine what I need! There’s always a handful of revenues, documentaries, stock transfers, future deliveries, etc that I get to buy from the Youth club and cross off my list. Then there are even a few other surprises such as private die documentaries, cigar and tobacco tax paids, state revenues, etc that I run into which are always a fun discovery since they just aren’t all that common. And it seems like almost every time there is a new item that I didn’t even realize I collected (yet) –this time around it was Christmas Seals, of all things! I hadn’t paid any attention to them in the past until I saw that this latest batch had a really good supply of them including many of the really old originals (it never ceases to amaze me at the items that people are kind enough to donate to the kids club). So, I’ve started a healthy collection of them and added a few to my want list that I’m missing.

So now the final step I still have to do is pay my bill to the club for my items and then price up all the other items that are leftover after I’ve had first dibs at the pile! (Volunteering my time has its advantages!)

Take care everyone...

So, I'll be gone a few days over the weekend. (See if you can hold yourself together for that long without my pearls of wisdom - I have faith it can be done.) Going to my parent's place which is on the other side of the state, weather cooperating. They're sort of over there near Hanford where the A-Bomb was worked on. Not RIGHT there, just in that general region.

There's a mountain pass between us that is normally OK - even in the winter. But if you've googled Snoqualmie Pass recently, you gets words like "Avalanche", "Closure", "Danger", "Death", and "Are You Nuts, Man Don't Go. You'd Have To Be Clinically Insane To Drive Across". OK, one of those I made up. It should be fine by now. I think most of the mess is cleaned up. But if I don't make it back, Doug doesn't get my Zeps, he's already got a set.

Have fun StampWanters!

-------------

OK -before leaving, I added a bunch of Beer Stamp images to the U.S. BoB group. I love those things. The engraving on them is fantastic - and the contents aren't bad either.

Sometimes something happens that makes your day (week?)...

Earlier this week, I had someone buy a block of Texas #938 stamps. Then she asked if I had anymore:

I asked her if she meant 50 - 100 sheets or stamps. It turned out that she was looking for individual stamps (Whew!). I sent her an email with the price for the sheets and the cost of shipping. She agreed, I posted them on Stamp Wants and she bought and paid for them before the ink on the posting was dry. So I asked her if she would mind if I asked why she need 100 Texas stamps.

Her reply:

I don't mind -- they are for my wedding invitations :) My mom's family is from Texas and my fiance's family is from Minnesota. So I bought the statehood stamps for their invitations...along with a bunch others. I was trying to find fun stamps that represented us and our family :) I might be back for more...55 cents is hard to get too :)

So from GSD Stamps,

Congratulations Tara!

OK, now that I got you to this point (only to discover here in a moment that no free stamp is actually being offered), c'mon people - start a blog. I know I'm not going to be the only one to drone on endlessly about things that would put most caffeine addicts to sleep. I know you also have some pointless mumblings to share with the masses - start a blog here in the community. Put your thoughts out there for others to read! Hey, put some other people's thoughts out there for others to read and then claim them as your own. Why not?! It doesn't cost a penny. Add to it whenever you feel like it. Start a blog today. You know you want to... (Dave, I know you'll be first, so you might as well get it over with now)

Wow.... it had been a while since I had one of these postal "scarcities." 

Actually, I'm fibbing... I had another one a few months back too, but this one is nicer, and philatelic brotherhood compels me to publish it for all.

Somewhere in the policy manuals, it must dictate that every USPS employee be issued a 'killer' permanent marker, bought on government contract from the cheapest bidder.  It is not a fine-point Sharpie, mind you.  Carry it loose in your pocket, or if you can afford the custom vinyl belt carrier, tuck it there. Keep a sharp eye!  When you find a letter or a flat that appears to be destined for a stamp collector, THIS is what you do to it... right here.  A perfect example. Like someone in one of the stamp periodicals recently posited, "they really must hate us."  They must....  and before I get blasted about daring to say anything, yes, I know... they have a duty to protect postal revenue, blah, blah.... I've already heard all of that. I'm not impressed. And the one about "my brother works there and he never does that,".  I'm glad he doesn't, there's one anyway.

Happy collecting, all fellow permanent marker/postal obliteration collectors!

I received a special christmas gift today. NO SURGERY.  Merry Christmas to all and my all your wishes come true.

I have not produced NOTHING for 2 months.  Looks like it will be surgery time early next month.  These pain killers make my mind weak, and my fingers thick.  Hope 2009 is better.

I've not had time to work with my stamp collection for two months now, summer is just too busy to let me find the time to sit and do anything philatelicly related.  But it's been nice to feel in touch with the hobby during that time, through StampWants, with the forums, auctions and even some shopping in the stores.  I still stop by this site almost daily, and I like having that daily dose of 'stamp stuff'.

So one auction caught my eye, and I bid on it and won, which got me to the sellers store to add to my order, to combine shipping.  And the one thing the seller had that was on my vast 'want list' were strips of mint PNC's.

I have had an interest in Plate Number Coils (PNC's) for as many years as I have been seriously collecting stamps.  I joined the PNC collector club and get their newsletter, which is interesting to read.  I find that those collectors are taking their collections to extremes that I don't plan to follow, but it's nice to read details about those specific stamps.

One nice thing from the newsletter is the comprehensive list that was put together by a collector.  Printed out in the newsletter instantly made it a perfect want list for those of us trying to get one of each of the numbers.  I have tried to keep that up to date, as my want list, by circling the ones I have.  It was from this list that I was able to shop and know that I did not have that specific stamp with that specific coil number. 

That was necessary because my PNC collection is very haphazardly put together, and does not reside all in one place.  That's partly because I never really set up a plan for how I want to collect this philatelic breed.

Possible options are:  1.  The format most collectors take which is a mint strip of five with the numbered stamp in the middle.  Some collectors shorten that to a mint strip of three in the same format.  2.  A single mint of the stamp with the number.  3.  A used copy of the stamp with the number  4.  A used strip of three with the numbered stamp in the middle (hard to find)  5.  A used strip of five with the numbered stamp in the middle (harder to find).  6.  Used, still on an envelope.

My current collection has some of all of the above.  That's because I just buy what I find or save as mint from new issues that I happen to buy from the post office.  And the various formats are in various places throughout my collection.  The mint strips are often in with all of the mint US I have, sheets, plate blocks, FDC, etc.  The used copies are in a stock book, sorted a bit by Scott Number, and with pockets for each of the different numbers.  Some of the used stamps are not even soaked off the paper, I just put them in there so they are at least someplace I can find them.

I have been musing about the collection this week, in anticipation of my recent purchases arriving.  It's always a 'better' collection when the stamps are in some specific order (so then you can know what's missing, because there's a hole where a stamp should be) and in the same format.  Nice used single PNC stamps, soaked and mounted or hinged into nicely printed stamp album pages, just makes the collection perfect.  If that's true, then why do I have the strips of five and three?  OK so the strips need their own order, but do I use stock sheets, or again nicely printed album pages with mounts?

Or do I be really artistic and make my own album pages, with the strips mounted and the singles on the same page.  That would allow me to put them together in the 'categories' like all of the flag coils in a section.  Definately an interesting album to look at, but harder to know what is missing, and harder because of needing to design the album pages.

One interesting point about this specific collecting interest, it may become a 'dead country'.  In stamp collecting, when a country is no longer issuing stamps, it is considered a dead country, and that implies it is now possible to have an actual completed collection of all the stamps from that country (given an unlimited budget I imagine).  If the post office really does stop using plate numbers on their coils, since they supposedly are no longer needed for quality control, then it will be possible to actually get a complete collection.  I almost wish the PO would decide to do that, I think I'd actually work harder on the collection if that happened.

I still have not made the final decision on this collection.  So for now, it rests just as it is, and I still seek out whatever I can, from my junk mail, or post office or occasionally, stamp stores.

Okay, stupid me; I wanted to edit my original post, but I deleted it by mistake! And both comments with it! Sorry folks; thanks for your good wishes. I did say, I was learning. Let's try this again, with a bit more substance this time. I thought I'd introduce my collecting interests and history.

 

I started collecting stamps when I was a young boy; my mom worked for a shipping company in Hong Kong and she gave me the most interesting stamps from their worldwide correspondence. Those were the days when catalog numbers and values didn't matter to a young lad; if they were pretty and "neat" (well, we said "groovy" back then!) I collected it. Incomplete sets, used with torn perfs and thins, items soaked off envelopes, and almost random storage in stock books rounded out my youthful philatelic heresy. The irony was, I didn't collect any Hong Kong issues, even though that's my primary interest now. How many of those 1960s stamps and cover opportunities were lost!

 

We left Hong Kong in 1968 for Canada, and years later I moved to Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, and Georgia. In the process the old collection followed along but was untouched. Over the past ten years I’ve since dusted off the stock books and found I had the time to sort, catalog, and hone my interests. Selling many of my older stock on eBay, back in the better old days, I used that revenue to purchase in areas of concentration. I will continue to do that here.

 

Currently, I have four major areas of interest in collecting. The primary area is in British Hong Kong, I guess because I was born there and must have left an imprint after all. In fact, it was after the China take over in 1997 that my interest in HK stamps was renewed. I have about 75% of the QV and 90% of the King-definitives, and all MNH from QE2's coronation in 1953 to 1997. I find myself never satisfied with any of the albums I use for this set, and one day may try creating my own pages.

 

Related to my primary area are my collections of stamps from the British Treaty Ports of China, and Special Cancellations on HK stamps. Both are explained more fully in posts in the "Fragrant Harbour: British Hong Kong Philately" group here, which I moderate. The fourth area is a more recent obsession of mine, to collect Queen Victoria portrait stamps from across the British Commonwealth. That came from culling my old collection and retaining only those that still interested me; most were of the Empress, so the special collection was "born."

 

In addition to these areas I have accumulated pocket collections, as I call them, areas where I don’t actively add to or which I inherited. Among these are many US, GB, HK, and UN first day covers (some addressed to me), small collections of different areas that intrigue me (like an old Hawaii stamped postal reply cards and stamps), and individual items that are interesting in some way (e.g., proofs, specimens, errors). Then there's the literature bookshelf!

 

I look at this as a great pastime, something to take the edge of an otherwise too serious life these days. I have made some nice friends, from all walks of life, political ideation, and cultures as a result. Many new friends are from SW itself, a truly unique place.

 

Okay, I've probably rambled on too much. I'll continue to put random and not so random thoughts up in this forum in the future. If you're interested in learning more about Hong Kong stamps, check out the group as I am going to post on many topics within that area.

 

May all your imperforates have large margins!

 

Peter

On a previous post I wrote about putting stamps on packages that I am mailing.  Well, I have to add a post script to that blog entry.  The PS has to say, unless of course I run into a surly postal worker.

Here's what happened to me two days after posting that blog entry.  I had a very heavy package to mail, it weighed 18 pounds.  It was books, and so qualified for the media mail rate.  I took the package to the counter, and explained it was books and so would like media mail.  The postal worker weighed it, and confirmed the weight. I then said  'I would like to use a priority stamp on that please.'

OK so maybe it was my fault, for calling it a priority stamp instead of a high value stamp.  Because the postal worker shook his head and said, can't do that, this is media mail.  I tried briefly to explain I knew I was mailing it media mail rate, I just wanted to use a high value stamp, but the answer continued to be, nope, can't do that, this is media mail rate.

OK....so I asked, do you have any dollar stamps in your drawer?

Nope.

OK....

I stopped the futile effort at this point and allowed him to put a meter on the package. 

I will admit that I was at one of the smaller community branches of the post office, and I rarely have any problem getting what I want at the large main branch.  Although today, it was a bit touch and go because I had two packages to mail, one a for real priority package and another that was international and I knew would be higher cost to mail.  I asked when I first walked to the counter, to purchase two priority stamps and the clerk started to get them out of her drawer.  I made the mistake of continuing the conversation by saying, I am going to use them on these packages (trying to give her a heads up that they wouldn't need a meter for the full shipping cost).  And she said, Oh you're going to mail those today?' and closed her drawer and said, 'we'll just put meters on them.'

NOOOOOOO

I smiled and said, 'No please, these packages are going to stamp collectors, and I would really like to put stamps on them.' 

She complied, and I succeeded in getting two packages mailed with stamps on them.  It feels like a victory.

Remember when in the past when you were in the check out line of a grocery store they would ask you, 'do you want paper or plastic?'  Ever notice that the option has gone away, and you get plastic no matter what you want?  I feel the post office has gone the same way.  I wish they would ask you when you want to mail a package, 'do you want meter or stamps on that?'  but of course they don't.  Sometimes even when you try and insist.

MOst people wonder why to collect.  For me, it is a stress relief and a chance to collect history.  Yes, history.

Every once in awhile something really tickles my funny bone in my stamp collecting.

This weekend I spent some time going through US stationary cut squares.  Included in the small collection I was gleaning through, were some reply card cut squares.

I don't think that's a great way to save these.  A cut square shows nothing of the function of these reply cards.  A reply card is printed in two parts, which allows the mailer to send a card that includes an easy way to reply back to them.  A cut square from one of these looks like any postcard cut square, with the exception that the designs for the stamped area are only used in the reply card format.  What tickled my funny bone were the actual designs chosen.

The message part of the card is a standard engraved portrait of George Washington.  What so different, and to me funny, is that the reply part is an engraved portrait of Martha Washington.  Not some other president, but in the designers of that day's opinion, the distinct 'pairing' that belonged to George.

I doubt the reply part had anything to do with it, just a natural sense of what belongs together.  Scott catalog was nice enough to give each a different design number, so once I figured that out, I was able to place these cut squares in the proper place in my album.

George and Martha, love and marriage, death and taxes, yin and yang.  It's all properly paired.

I listened in to the live stamp auction on SW last night and I must say it was almost as much fun as being there.  I sat in my comfy chair with my laptop, and saw each lot in wonderful detail on the screen, and heard the bids fly and  the hammer going down at the end of each auction.  I heard the auctioneer kid the back rows for all their yawns.  And I heard the occasional, 'hey, you got one' when a SW bidder would win.

This type of auction is totally out of my price range for stamp collecting.  But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the stamps.  Or for that matter, enjoying that even paying several hundreds of dollars for the lot, some collector or dealer was getting a great deal at 1/4 to 1/2 of the Scotts catalog price.  I marvelled at the value of these stamps, and at the fact they were going for such good deals.

I have never been to a live stamp auction (unless you could a very very loose version that a stamp club runs once a month).  I am curious how the buyers know what the lots look like.  Have they put them out in a line on a table, like they do with glassware at farm auctions?  Do they flash a picture of the lot on a screen behind the auctioneer?  Are the buyers given a catalog to follow? I've gotten some of those lovely catalogs at home, so I think this may be the case.

And do buyers make impulse bids at these auctions, like I do when something at a farm auction is 'just a buck, just a dollar'?  I noticed now and then my hand would stray to the mouse, although I really had no intention of making any bids.  I ended up sitting on my hand while watching, just like I stick my hands in my pockets at farm auctions, to prevent an 'accidental' bid .

All in all it was great fun.  It would have been fantastic fun if SW could figure out a way to do the same thing for us collectors that are willing to go up to $20 on a lot, or even better a dollar.  What a bargain, just a buck.  Ah yes, live penny auctions.  What a concept.

(A note from the "editor:" The "exceptional results" category of this blog is partly a showcase of stamps I have sold in online auctions at unexpectedly high prices, as well as my small bit of showing that-- in spite of what people might say to the contrary-- the stamp market is actually alive and kicking.)

 

Norway Scott #380 was issued in 1960, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences. With about 4.5 million stamps printed, it was your basic letter-rate Norwegian commemorative stamp for the time. It is listed in the Scott catalogue at a value of $0.25.

 

"Crowned Posthorn" cancels are fairly collectible. They were first used in 1934 (largely as a replacement for 4-ring numeral cancels), and more than 2100 different are known. They are basically a form of local supplemental cancel, used at "letter collection" places (could be ships, stores, railway stations) under the jurisdiction of a post office. Aside from collecting mail, these "substations" did not conduct actual postal business.

 

What makes this particular cancel somewhat "special" is the fact that "SVALBARDRUTEN" is the cancel used on the supply ships between the Norwegian mainland, and the remote and desolate Svalbard island group in the Arctic Ocean. Svalbard is home to barely 2000 people. Svalbard has more recently become known as the home of the "Seed Vault," an underground storage facility serving as a global repository of seeds from as many of the world's botanical species as possible.

 

Not only is this particular usage fairly rare, it is of interest to a large number of different collectors: General cancel collectors, Crowned Posthorn specialists, Maritime mail collectors, and Polar/Arctic philatelists.

 

Venue: eBay

Sale date: April 20, 2008

Catalogue value: $0.25

Final result: 14 bids, sold for US$36.00

I live in a household with cats.

 

To be precise, there are FOUR of them, in this house.

 

As a stamp collector-- especially one of the kind who likes to both sort through "large box lots" and who periodically soaks stamps off paper-- cats can present a considerable challenge. Nothing quite like spending four hours carefully sorting a few thousand copies of some old stamp into the different shades for different printings, then taking a bathroom break, then coming back to discover that Kramer is sitting on the middle of my work table, preening. In the middle of what used to be neatly sorted piles.

 

As my blood pressure reaches critical levels, I try to understand this from the cat's perspective. There are books and boxes covering most of the table... and the spot with the stamps is actually the only "clear-ish" area, hence it makes sense to sit there.

 

I am well trained.

This sort of thing makes NO sense to people who don't have cats.

 

Whatever dedicated cat fanciers may argue to the contrary, cats are largely "not trainable." At least... they "question authority" far more than dogs. The only useful "training device" I have used with cats is one of those water spray bottles, with the nozzle set to "jet," rather than "mist." That works fine in the rest of the house... but around stamps? "Water" around "original gum" is a bad, bad, BAD idea...

 

However, the primary thing about cats is that they are pretty hairy. And that comes into play, when I am sending out auction lots to people. In the process of getting a sold stamp from a stock card, into a glassine or 102 card, with a packing slip, into an envelope and off, it is almost impossible to not get a cat hair or two mixed in.

 

Hence the designation "Original gum, light cat hair...."

Much debate rages-- here on StampWants, as well as in other venues-- about eBay (a.k.a. "FeeBay") and what they are doing, and their increasing fees, and what it means for stamp dealers, and what it does to "the little guy" and so on, and so on.

 

I'm about to have my 10th anniversary as an eBay buyer/seller, and I'll be the first to admit that there have been a huge number of changes-- some good, some bad-- during the past decade. Not least of which is the evolution of the site from a small "community" into the "800-lb gorilla" of Internet sales.

 

When I take a closer look at all the whining and complaining, I find that I first need to sort out the "sour grapes" moans from what amounts to "real issues." Let's face it, there ARE a lot of dealers (and wannabe "pseudo-dealers") who are basically griping because nobody wants to buy broadly available F-VF material from them at 90% of Scott. That's not eBay's (or anyone else's) fault-- you could move to one of the outer planets, and you'd STILL not sell anything... and complaining about the fees on stamps that aren't priced to sell in the first place makes YOU-- not the hosting site-- look stupid.

 

The cries of "I'm leaving eBay!" are almost as old as eBay charging people fees to sell. Which leads to the second group of people whose complaints should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt: Those who think they should be getting "something for nothing."

 

Many moons ago, I was in the rare and collectible fountain pen business. There was always a segment of "old timers" who made a full-time occupation out of complaining about how things were changing, and nothing was like "the old days." However, their view of "the old days" was usually looked at through deeply rose-colored glasses-- specifically, they were generally "front and center" when it came to deriving the benefits from changes to the hobby, but complaining bitterly about the downsides. Most often, this manifested in the buying-and-selling arena (a bit like stamps, if you think about it), where they were all FOR their rare pens now having a broader market and being sold for $100s instead of $10s, but all AGAINST no longer being able to buy said rarities for 50 cents at fleamarkets and pawn shops. If you ask me, that's a case of wanting your cake and eating it, too.

 

There are two "bottom lines" here, as I see it.

 

Any company, organization or individual who invests in being a "market maker"-- eBay, StampWants, the APS sales division, ZillionsofStamps, a public auction-- isn't doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. They are there to make money.

 

The second bottom line falls on the side of the selling individual-- who ultimately remains responsible for determining if the price (commission) of selling stamps is in line with the success rate/service received. Part of that has to do with your objective-- how soon vs. how much-- and nature of what you're selling.

 

Everything has a cost-benefit curve. Maybe you can list your stamps somewhere on an obscure site with no fees, mark them at 90% of Scott, and actually SELL 20% of your stamps at your asking price in the next two YEARS. OR you can choose to sell 95% of your stamps at half that, for a much higher fee, in the next two WEEKS. It's all a matter of deciding on your objective. And yours may be different from mine, and so forth.

 

Of course, this is all just my opinion-- and I remain open to the possibility that I have no idea what I am talking about... .

 

 

My dad got me into stamp collecting when I was maybe 5-6 years old. He was the CEO of a manufacturing company that did business all over the world, and the office would get all kinds of colorful letters and parcels from from many corners of the globe.

 

His original intention was that I should "learn geography" and develop some idea of what was going on in other countries-- and stamps seemed like a good way to get me started down that path. After all, stamps are like tiny "calling cards" that represent what any given society deems to be "important" enough to warrant a stamp.

 

Originally I wanted to collect "the whole world," but I was born and raised in Denmark so I soon decided to focus on my "home" country-- somewhat to my dad's chagrin. I think he had secret hopes that I'd focus on something exotic like "French Polynesia," so there'd be an excuse to travel to the tropics in order to get new stamps for my collection.

 

I never was much of a "tropical island" sort of person.

 

I went to Stamp Club a few times, as a kid. With the exception of the once-a-month "junior afternoon," my memory of stamp club was of a group of old men sitting around in a cloud of cigar smoke trading "fishing stories." Much is said-- these days-- about the lack of new young people entering the hobby. Even in 1968, it struck me that most people interested in stamp collecting were in the over-65 age bracket.

 So, the entry I made a couple days ago generated a couple emails in my in-box which were related to my website all about the State of New York Stock Transfer Tax stamps - not surprisingly, a topic that even puts most hardened collectors into a deep trance of boredom (note: the only cure to wake someone in this state is the smell of fresh watermark fluid).

 

 I'm not going to talk about those at all - that's what the website is for - but I am going to use those as a way to explain just how amazed I am at the Internet (other than the amazing stuff Mark & Co. has done here at StampWants, of course). So, Winter/Spring of 2007 I am searching high and low for any information online about that series of state revenue stamps and I find nada, zilch, zip, bupkiss. So, I throw caution to the wind (you know, philatelically speaking) and make the website myself. I find out what I can from a variety of places and people and assemble something that makes me look like I have even the slightest idea of what I'm talking about.

 

 It explodes (again, I'm referring to philatelically speaking... probably more of a !pop! noise, but explodes sounds so much better).

 

 I'm coming up on a year of the site being out there and about 9 months of me offering the printed album pages for these bizarre, quirky little forgotten tax stamps and I've sold 16 sets of the pages and the website has received over 1,700 hits from all over the U.S. and also 38 countries around the world. Holy Cow!! Are you kidding me?! I never would have thought that there was anything close to that much interest in those odd little state revenue stamps all around the country, much less worldwide.

 

 Stamp collectors are an interesting lot, aren't we?

This is more a less of a test of the new Blog feature!

I just got a dues notice for one of the groups I belong to, and I was shocked to see that they are DOUBLING their membership dues for 2010. 

I just can't handle that.  If I was still working, I might be able to afford it, although I would still grumble.

We need to remember that not everyone is knocking down $100K a year, and many of us are on social security or long-term disability.  Our disposable income is very easy to dispose of, and I can't afford a doubling of dues.

I know that postage costs have skyrocketed, but there are other options. 

The Universal Ship Cancellation Society has the right idea.  They have a membership option where you can belong via web only.  You get the USCS LOG by email, and it is in PDF format.  Membership is less than half what it would be if they had to mail it to you.  I applaud them for so doing.

 

Another option might be what the original editor of the Pacific Island Bulletin did in the early '80s. Members provided him with legal size SASE's and since the bulletin was probably 4-6 pages at most, he would mail it to you inside the envelope you provided, therefore no need for him to charge $20 a year to "belong."

 

 In March of 1888 there was a blizzard that dumped 40-50 inches of snow with drifting 25-40 feet high. As I look through my Liberty Nickels, I can imagine some of the happenings of the years of the coins in this set. Most are well worn and that is because nickels were used alot. I am sure my Liberty Nickels were touched by thousands or millions of people. One can only imagine the journey that they have been on and the things they purchased. That is what makes the collection interesting, the double dip ice cream cone or the nickel cigar were purchased with these very nickels. Phone calls, candy, beer, soda, newspapers and more with all purchased with these nickels. These nickels were used to buy things well into the 1940's because my dad got them in his change even into the 1950's. So when you look at your collections think of all the places your coins have been.

Bonnie and Clyde gain new attention 75 years after their death in a gun battle with the law? 

Well, not sure how to make a cover idea out of this, but I'll work on it. Maybe covers that are actually carried onto the property where they spent some time back in '33?  and then hand postmarked at Southtown station, which is about 2 blocks away?

Local news reports that the owner of a local apartment found out his property on Oak Ridge Drive (64804) has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It had been nominated in February by the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.  Back in 1933, Bonnie and Clyde spent several weeks living in Joplin, which in a way, ultimately led to their downfall. They robbed a few joints here and there, and also found time for some horsing around; two young lovers hugging and kissing, taking pics and enjoying a good cigar here and there.

They lived in a garage apartment in South Joplin, the kind that has a garage downstairs where they could park their rig for a quick getaway.  The cops tracked them down after some robberies and they had to escape in a hail of gunfire in which two local officers were killed.

In all the items that got left behind, a roll of undeveloped photographic film was found and was developed by local newspaper, The Joplin Globe. The Globe's single-minded interest in crime goes way back; locals are known to jokingly call them the "Southwest Missouri Police Gazette," since it often seems their primary content and focus is about crime stories; who did what, etc., printing basically whatever the agency news release states as far as the official government version of the offense, it will end up in print.  This goes way beyond blotters, you can probably call this an inordinate interest in crime. It results in accused defendants having their case tried in the press and overall, the attention on crime stories distorts reality and creates an image that crime is out of control, -- which is exactly what those in power want you to think; it results in the passing of more and more oppressive laws in an-eager-to-stop-crime-post-911 era. (All the removals of personal liberties, etc. rendered in the name of our own protection, mind you.)

Anyway, the pics that many of us have seen of Bonnie and Clyde, with her smoking a cigar and holding a Thompson 45 sub-machine gun, with her foot up on a fender, etc. --  they were on that roll of film, found right here in Joplin.  Up until then, no one in authority had really seen a full-face frontal picture of Bonnie and Clyde and banks didn't have video cams back then.  When the pics went out on the AP news photo "wire", which was a fairly new thing back then, law enforcement everywhere soon had a perfect pic of the pair, and it wasn't long until they met their downfall in a sheet of lead, betrayed by one of their own.

I'm not one to romanticize criminals, but the folk lure of Bonnie and Clyde still lingers around here. Just like with today's mortgage and financial bailout mess, people were not real happy with banks back in the early 1930s. Not a lot of tears got shed by the circumstance of Bonnie and Clyde having robbed the banks.  What comes around goes around, they say.

Anyway, this is a blog entry a bit off the path, of just stamps and covers, but hopefully one you find interesting.

  According to the poll, there are some 2009 Lincoln Log Cabin cents circulating. A co-worker's wife works at Giant, local grocery store, and has received some. The customer told her that corporate banks have them and distribute them. I think that they should circulate because they can be used to tell the great story of a great President. On May 14, 2009 the "Formative Years" Lincoln cent was available from the US MInt but will not be shipped until 7-13-09. It looks like they will be in great demand as well as all of the commemorative Lincoln cents. The 4th 2009 design "Lincoln's Presidency" might not be available until 2010. Happy Collecting! :)

Second cover from ICEX '09 received today.  This one is from the USS Helena SSN-725, one of two submarines that participated this year.

I had received one a few weeks back from one of the ASL members, with ASL cachet only.  This one has the small ASL (Arctic Submarine Laboratory) cachet on the reverse.

The word dime comes from an old French word "disme" meaning tithe or tenth part. The Roosevelt dime was designed by John R. Sinnock, who also designed the Ben Franklin half dollar. The obverse image is the 32th President of the United States, FDR or Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died on April 12, 1945. His efforts in founding the "March of Dimes" known then as National Foundation of Infantile Paralysis helped the choice of the dime to honor him. The reverse is a torch (liberty), an olive branch (peace), and an oak branch (victory). This is a very easy set to complete in clad(1965-date) from circulation. It took me two months with the last month looking for three dimes. The 1946-1964 dimes are 90% silver and would have to be purchased; Circulated set $60-$75 or Uncirculated $165-$200. There are Proof coins in this series and I think they look the best.  A complete set with Proofs is a very nice collection especially the 1992S-date silver Proof coins. Their frosty images on the mirrored fields look great.  

Years ago my Dad would get Flying eagle and Indian Head cents in his change. So many in fact, that he started a collection. He never got a 1856, but he did get 1857, 1858 Large and Small Letters! He found a 1859-1865, 1867-68, 1873-76, 1879-1909, but no 08S or 09S. Some were worn but some were EF-AU. This wasn't 1920 or 1930 but 1938 into the 50's! He did handle lots of change being in sales. People had these coins in their pockets, change purses, drawers, jars, and laying around their houses!  I purchased coins to finish the set, except 1856, but is the 1856 really needed to have a complete set? The 1856 wasn't a regular mint issue. It was made as a pattern and proof coin. Some got into circulation, but that wasn't what they were made for. My album does not have a spot for a 1856 cent. I think the collection is complete. What do you think about it?

 Some of the things I have collected over the years are bottle caps, football cards, baseball cards, Mad magazines, model cars, stamps, coins, but I would like to consider why I chose coins over all others to keep collecting.                 I received a very nice stamp book for Christmas, one that had a picture of a stamp and information about the stamp. You would then place the stamp in the book. I had a large envelope full of stamps that could be placed into the album. I found a few more stamps from the mail coming into the house. As time past I just seemed to lose interest in the collection. There was not enough others that I knew to keep my interest in stamps. I look at stamps today and see that some have great eye appeal but I know nothing about them. 

 My dad and I collected coins, so there was always a shared interest to kept me going, but as got to be more independent I spent less time with my hobby.There was several years that I did not even look at my coins, but my dad kept my collections. As my children needed less of my attention, I started to think once again about a hobby.   I thought maybe I would do something  with wood or refinishing furniture and I did for several years. Then I was talking to dad and he gave my coins  and the interest came alive again. I love the history  and beauty of coins. Plus there is plenty available in pocket change. It is also easy to collect sets: Lincoln and Indain cents, Jefferson and Buffalo nickels, Roosevelt and Mercury dimes,etc. The US Mint offers proof sets and other coins. It just seems to be easy to understand what you want in a set.       I'm sure stamps offer the same, but where do you begin to learn, there seems to be so many different kinds and I can't see a connection. Can someone give me a little help? I'm curious.                             

I need some help or advice?I have 1874 Rose Brown 2 cent stamp from Italy and an 1881-82 Green 1 centavo stamp from Chile and many others I would like to sell or get some advice on where to sell them to the stamps are in mint condition used.Is there anyone that can give me some advice on where to look or where to go?Please help if anyone is interested i have photos i can show you if like!

 I don't get it. I myself have a scruppels. How does one think that they may get away with these outrages listings and the prices commanded by Ruby Stamps of San Francisco? The listings are not complimentary to the collectors. IE: stamps that are listed at 400% of value. Are there actually buyers that fall for this?

 I now know that I have had Numismaticitis all my Life. It is a non-fatal disease with no known cure, so I have to do the best I can to live with this wonderful disease. First I will sell some of my coins, then I will buy some more. I will spend hours looking at coins. Now I hope this will help. What do you think?

Yesterday I had a large envelope to mail.  Lately this has been the hardest item for me to predetermine how much postage will be required.  When I have an item to mail that is not just your standard bill payment, I get online at the USPS website and have it calculate the amount of postage needed.  This works great for boxes, for all classes of shipping.  But those 8 by 10 envelopes have become a real problem to determine if the post office will consider it a large envelope, or a package.  I have to calculate the postage for both, and generally put close to the lower amount in stamps on the envelope, and then take it to the post office and have them decide.  Sometimes I think the clerks have a hard time too. And sometimes I guess wrong.  One time I had a smaller envelope, but still larger than any of your average card envelopes.  The website seemed to say it would be around a dollar to mail.  I put a 94 cent stamp on it and took it to the counter, only to have the clerk run it through a slit on a cardboard template, weigh it and tell me it would go for the standard 42 cent postage, so I was just fine with what I had put on there.   Oh well, at least the collector got a nice stamp....if they got the envelope.  It hasn't been returned to me yet for insufficient postage, when someone along the way decides it really was a large envelope and needed more postage.

Yesterdays envelope was very stiff because it contained several of those stiff sheets with the pockets for storing stamps.  It also was not uniform in thickness because there were several smaller items in it as well.  I knew that these two things would make the envelope be considered a package, and therefore the higher price.  But you can't get too sure, because sometimes the clerks just ignore those things and use the large envelope price. 

I did get a very helpful clerk this time.  She flexed the envelope slightly to see that it was very stiff and said, this has to go at the package rate.  I said that was fine, and pointed to the four 41 cents disney stamps I had put on the envelope.  I told her that I knew this was not enough postage and that she could print a meter for the remaining cost. 

Oh, she said, where did you get those stamps?

OK that's a funny statement coming from a postal clerk.  However she went on to give an explanation.  She said she had recently had someone come in and ask if there were any disney stamps, and she said they hadn't had any for awhile now.  She was wondering how I had bought stamps she hadn't had in her drawer for awhile.  I explained that I buy several sheets of stamps and use them to mail items to stamps collectors. 

Oh she said, that's interesting.  I buy the sheet of stamps and stick it away to keep it, but I don't use them.

So the postal service strikes again, another collector, this time in their own ranks, that buys the product and doesn't use it.

I do the same thing, so this is not finger pointing.  It's just my daily chuckle at the expense of the post office.

And the last laugh is that I think the original customer asking for the disney stamps probably did not mean last years 41 cent stamps.  I suspect the customer was looking for the new ones to be released in Aug.  And I seriously wonder if the postal clerk will realize, that the new ones are different from those that I just used yesterday.  If she really is an 'almost stamp collector' then probably she does know they are different. If not, sadly we've lost another member of the hobby.

I've had the pleasure of a few sales here on SW lately, which means packing things for mailing through the post office.  Like all collectors/sellers I have the usual pack of gum damaged but still nice old mint stamps to use as postage.  It seems to be the general consensus among those of us that mail packages to stamp collectors that the more stamps plastered on the package, the better.

Once again, I find myself going against the norm.  I am tired of trying to soak stamps I already have in my collection, from cardboard box, or manila envelope.  And so I've decided that maybe other collectors are tired of it too.

Give me one nice high value, rarely used US postage stamp, the ones they print specifically for priority mail rates.  I know I can't eliminate the possible cardboard or manilla envelope, but at least I can soak the one stamp cautiously.  And for getting a nice high value stamp to put in my collection, or to resell, I will take that care while soaking.

I am fully aware that this won't work for the purchase of a few stamps.  In that case, I will put it in an envelope of appropiate size, and use newly release current rate stamps.  Another item that doesn't get enough use in the mailstream.

Yes, having to purchase high value stamps to use is a bit of inconvenience to the seller.  You have to lay out the money for them ahead of time.  Except that complaint falls apart because if the item is over 13 ounces, you have to go to the post office counter anyway.  Just buy the stamp then.  It will irritate the postal clerk, but hey, life needs some fun in it.

So buyers, beware.  If you buy anything from me that is above the 13 ounces (and therefore I have to go to the post office counter, you will be buying yourself a hopefully nicely cancelled, used high value stamp to add to your collection.  There's no way to mail anything that weight or higher for under $4.50, just add the .30 and buy a seldom used stamp.

I love writing.  I love stamps.  So now I will be writing about stamps.

I had once thought about blogging about stamps, in a general 'blogger' blog.  I even googled to see how many other collectors were doing that.  Not many for sure.  And I found it surprising that I really wasn't interested in reading those blogs.  They went into philatelic details that I wasn't interested in.  It was like getting a stamp newspaper or magazine and finding that I was skipping half the articles.  So judging from my reaction to a stamp blog, I decided not to start one. 

It's probably a good thing too, because I would not have posted entries often over the last three years.  My time and interest in stamps ebbs and flows.  I have to be in a stamp mood to work on this hobby.  I have to have a large amount of time, and space, when I truly get my teeth into a stamp project.  Both of those were not readily available to me over the last three years.

But it finally came, that time because I am on sabatical from working for awhile (haven't truly called it retirement yet).  It became time to clean out the stamp closet.  That should be the name for this blog, Cleaning the Stamp Closet.  Always an interesting experience.

So I began yesterday, as I mean to go on.  The closet is cleared out and there are piles of boxes, albums, ziplock bags and such all over the guest room bed.  Let the sorting begin.

 

Having grown up in Denmark (which is about as far north as Juneau, Alaska), stamp collecting was always a "winter pastime," for me and other collectors I knew. Once the days started getting longer and the sun was present more frequently, stamp collections tended to be "put away for the summer."

 

At most, they might br brought along to the "summerhouse" during vacation time, just to have something else to do, if there was a rainy period.

 

When I moved to Texas, in 1981, I noticed that stamp collecting no longer had "seasonality," for me. In fact, I was more likely to be INside than OUTside during the summer, on account of the relentless 100-degree days. In 2006, I moved to Western Washington state, and as summer approaches I am noticing that I have more interest in getting "out and about" than in sitting inside with little pieces of paper.

 

Summer can actually be a good time to add to a stamp collection, if you're on a budget. A lot of people DO go away on vacation, or they busy themselves with yardwork, kids' activities and barbecues, so there are marginally fewer people "active" in the online auction marketplace.

Hello, Hello, Is this thing on??

OK, so I've been away for a few days... a couple weeks,... Has it been over a month already?!?! Wow! I have no idea how time has gone by so fast this year. I've just been working away both at work and at home trying to keep my head above water. I did some Spring yard cleanup, mounted most of the stamps and other items I picked up at my club's show from February (but not all of them yet!), kept busy helping out my wife with the "Cookie Mom" duties for the Girl Scout troop (just under $20K in sales and cookie tracking for our troop - Wow!), and installed a new range in the kitchen where Mr Murphy was kind enough to visit several times - the Murphy who makes up all those strange laws. In the end, it looks and works beautifully, though (KitchenAid radiant stovetop / convection oven) and it doesn't even compare to the old one (basic no-frills model that was about one step above a campfire).

 

Also been having so much fun with my interesting batch of "Springer" Catalogs. If anyone is curious about Cigar or Cigarette labels, Oleomargarine, Tobacco, Snuff, Cinderellas, or other "Taxpaid Revenues" maybe I can help out. I always get a kick out of learning about an entirely new topic - especially when it's Back of the Book stuff.

 

I've caught up with the April edition of the local stamp club newsletter and now I have a tub of Great Britain stamps to dig through courtesy of a friend in the local club who is letting me dive into it (about 16 pounds) to retrieve any "Machin Heads" I am in need of. So, in general I am keeping busy - And of course, as usual, I always find time to read through all the Forum postings and pick up a little nugget of knowledge just about every time.

 

Oh yeah - I almost forgot to mention. So, my state revenue website for the NY Stock Transfer Tax series has been officially online for a full year now and it's received over 2100 hits from all over the US and 42 other countries around the planet! I continue to be amazed at the interest in this tiny little specialty of philately. I've happily provided 18 sets of the specialty album pages to other collectors of this issue (2 sets overseas). My early retirement in the works?? Hmmm.... just might be on to something here...

 

Whew!

Well another birthday has passed. My daughter’s birthday, not mine. Still it’s a reminder that I’m getting older. She turned 25 last week. It’s getting harder to get anyone to believe that I’m only 39.

She’s in college (sometime’s I think she’s on the life-time plan) going for two majors. One is in Journalism. The other is related to Hebrew studies. I have no clue how she got interested in Hebrew since we’re not Jewish. But, since she was so interested in Hebrew and in Israel history, I bought a job lot of Israel stamps for her last year to see if she would be interested in them. She said they were ‘Cool’ but I was never sure if she was just trying to be courteous to her dad.

I was able to pick up some Israeli stamps and covers for a reasonable price late last year so I saved them for her birthday as one of her gifts. We had her celebration dinner last night with the family. When she opened the box, she started look at everything closely. Her cousin wanted to look at the covers, too. First thing my daughter said was “Have you washed your hands?”

Yep, I think she’s been bitten by the bug. Another collector has been born and a poppa is proud.

PS: She has some extras so expect to see stamps from Israel in our store soon…