Posts Tagged ‘Stamps’

Carl Einar Pelander was noted for his expertise on Scandinavian stamps and received a Fieandt Memorial medal in 1960 from the Finnish Philatelic Society for doing an original research on the stamps of Finland and for promoting Finnish philately.

Philip Ward Jr. was a world famous stamp dealer, known for buying and selling collectors stamps, including the rarest stamps which are classic issues of the world. He had an exceptional collection of match and medicine stamps and his widely known collection was the U.S. Revenues, which had the only complete set of inverted centers. He was the first person to recognize the importance of first day covers and then created the many of the rarest and earliest.

William Woodbury Hicks was a renowned specialist and founder of the Three cent 1851-1857 Unit of the American Philatelic Society. He built the largest and most complete collection of U.S railroad cancels from the 1830s to 1861.

Harry Weiss was an editor of the Weekly Philatelic Gossip in the 1930s and the most prominent philatelic columnist of his time. His column comprised stories on hobbies, new stamps, and hot tips. He organized the Midwest Philatelic Laboratory in 1946, which had technical equipments and offered a wide range of services for stamp collectors. Services include, stamp appraisals, expertization, mounting and even suggested ways for the successful outlook of collections.

George Ward Linn is a known stamp collector, journalist, dealer who own the George W. Linn Company and famous for his “Linn’s Weekly Stamp News”. Some of his stamp specimens have been among the rarest and most valuable among the philatelists. He traveled the world in search for old, rare and obsolete issues of stamps, even the ones with much historic interest.

Louise Boyd Dale is considered to be the most distinguished stamp collector in America. She was the first woman to be appointed as judge for an international philatelic exhibition. She became the first American woman to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelist and was also appointed to the jury of the London International Stamp exhibition.

Ad Indusophon, a known lady philatelist from Siam; was the wife of the late Prakaipet Indhusophon, a popular international philatelist of the 1970s to 1980s. Her greatest achievements in the field of philately include; the building of a foundation in Thailand to promote philately among youth; her “Cape of Good Hope Triangulars” stamps collection, won the International Grand Prix at Toronto in 1996; when her work was recognized and was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in Hereford last July 2001.

Anatoly Karpov was a former world chess champion, who is known for his stamp collection on chess and Olympic Games dated from the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896 to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam of 1928.

Cyril Harmer was the chairman and managing director of the “Hamers Auction House” from 1967 to 1976. He assembled what was without a doubt the finest collection of the Airmails of Newfoundland, “the Newfoundland overprinted stamps”. This collection was sold last February 26, 2002 for a total of £803,000.00.

Dr. Arthur Woo was known for his unique postage stamp collections of Classic Birds. Some of which are, the Western Australia Swan, the Guatemala Quetzel, the Colombia Andean Condor, and the USA 1869 Eagle.

Hiroyuki Kanai was postage stamp collector known for possessing 6 of the Greatest Mauritius stamp collection out of the 27 and it is the greatest number ever to be owned by one person in the world. The highly valuable Mauritius collection was printed in September 1847, under the instructions of the Governor of Mauritius’ wife, Lady Gomm, who wanted stamps for the invitations to her fancy dress ball. He received numerous awards in the field of philately but he is most proud of the award received in the National Grand Prix for his Finland Collection in Helsinki 1988.

Pichai Buranasombati was a top Great Britain postage stamp collector who formed great stamp collections such as “Straits Settlements” which won the National Grand Prix in Singapore 1995, “Burma” winner of the National Grand Prix in Indepex 1997, “Classic Siam”, which won a large gold medal at Bangkok 1993, and “Siam: middle period”, which won a large gold in Singapore 1995.

The easiest and cheapest method to store stamps is placing them in glassine envelopes and storing them in a box free from humidity, light, and heat. This obviously will be of no help when trying to go through the stamps for display or other purpose. Placing stamps in stamp albums helps in easy display of the stamp collection.

Hinges were used traditionally and many stamps have their value affected – up or down – by the size and nature of the ‘hinge marks’ on them. Mounts have come into common use over the last 30 years.

For decades hinges were used to place stamps into display notebooks or individual papers. Hinges are small, bent pieces of gummed paper that can attach to a page and to a stamp. That secures the stamp with a minimal amount of adhesive, while keeping it safely attached to the page.

Now a days, Mounts were developed much better.  Early versions exist from as far back as the 1930s though they are now used much more often.A mount may have a gummed edge in order to attach to a paper, but will provide a sleeve for the stamp.

Using a hinge is simple. You wet a narrow strip of the hinge and apply it to the display page. Then wet a narrow strip of the stamp and apply to the hinge. It narrows the area of adhesion. The hinge also allows the stamp to be secured while enabling the collector to view the back in order to see marks made there.

Older stamps will almost always have hinge marks or ‘remnants’, and sometimes this will actually increase their value. There’s no way to explain the evaluations of collectors, sometimes. A mount doesn’t suffer from the problem of adhering the stamp to the hinge, but they nonetheless need to be used with care. Mounts can produce marks or other types of damage.

Glassine, a special paper often used for mount material, isn’t an entirely acid-free paper and can damage the surface of the stamp. Trace amounts of sulfuric acid found in most paper can chemically destroy the cellulose.

For that reason, special archival paper is sometimes used to store and display stamps – not just for the mount sleeve, but the display page as well. Japanese rice paper is one of the more common alternatives, but there are specially made materials, as well.

Once mounted or hinged, most collectors will place stamps on one side of the page only. Though this requires using more pages and binders to display a large collection, the cost is generally justified. The risk of damage, from tearing or surface scratching, is greater with two-sided displays.

Ideally, glass or special sealed plastic envelopes will maintain a stamp in best condition over many decades. But, their cost is prohibitive for all except very valuable, unique items in the collection.

Stamps on eBay are hot properties today. In actuality, they are gaining appreciation by more and more people who learn to make use of the present technology in participating in stamp auctions that the leading marketing hub online, Ebay.com, holds every now and then to supply the cravings of the world’s stamp enthusiasts.

Buying and selling stamps online is all about modernizing the age-old craft of stamp collection to keep up with the times. Thus, based on the aforementioned fact, EBay proves to be an excellent hub for finding stamps that are worth including in anyone’s well-loved collection.

Stamps on eBay fulfill every stamp collectors’ ultimate dream, which is to find unique and valuable stamps to keep, display, and compare with other stamp collectors’. They come in various designs, while some originated from Japan, Austria, and New Zealand and are considered vintage stamps.

Shopping for Stamps on eBay has never been this enjoyable through the internet. Since Ebay.com started this thing going on, collectors as well as non-collectors are attracted to take a peak at its vast collection because the site also contain hard-to-find collections like covers, errors, oddities, and more.

Stamps on eBay are always included in auction events. They are always given to the highest bidder and their price continuously increases as time go by. However, some of these stamps go on sale, but that is a very rare case since Stamps on eBay become the collectors’ investments as they accumulate in the album. This only proves that such stamps are valuable and are worth every collector’s money.

Are you new to the world of stamp collecting? Stamp collecting is a treasured hobby that people around the world have enjoyed for centuries. If you’re just starting out, there are some things you should know before spending your hard-earned money on collectible stamps.

The first thing you’ll need is to make sure you have the proper stamp collecting supplies. You will need a sturdy album with acid-free pages to display and store your stamps, stamp hinges to safely affix the stamps to album pages, and glassine envelopes for stamps that aren’t ready to be placed in the album. You’ll also need a pair of stamp tongs, because using your hands to handle stamps can cause severe damage. Choose tongs in either plastic or stainless steel, that aren’t too sharp.

The next thing you’ll need to know is how to determine an authentic collectible stamp from a fake. This is where a watermark detector can come in handy. Another option is to only purchase stamps from reputable dealers who offer certificates of authenticity. Also, doing your research before buying can help you determine whether a stamp is the real thing or a fake.

There are many places where you can buy stamps. You can visit stamp shops in your area, or go to stamp shows and conventions. Another option is to shop online. There are a variety of retailers that specialize in selling collectible stamps. You can also find rare stamps on Ebay. When buying stamps on Ebay, however, make sure you deal with an experienced and knowledgeable stamp seller that has a high feedback rating. This will ensure that you’re getting an authentic collectible stamp for the right price.

One good idea is to join an association or group for stamp collectors. This way, you can network with stamp collecting experts who can advise you on all aspects of collecting stamps. Also, you can swap, buy and sell stamps with other collectors. There are groups that meet in person, and groups you can join online. Check MSN groups, Google groups and Yahoo groups for great stamp collecting groups you can join!

Stamp collecting doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby — it can easily be enjoyed for very little money! Many collectors get into stamp collecting first as a hobby, and over the years, work up to buying stamps for investment purposes.

Bisects means a stamp that has been cut to be used for a lesser postage value than its face. For example, a 10 pence stamp may be cut in half and used as a 5 pence stamp. This was permitted long ago, but it is no longer allowed.

There are three types of bisects Horizontal, Vertical and Diagonal. Bisecting was done in emergencies when no stamps of the lower denomination were available.

First Day Cavers (FDC as short form) are method of collecting stamps on envelopes that have been mailed with a cancellation showing clearly that the envelope was mailed on the day the stamp was first issued from the place of issue commemorating that stamp.

Each stamp printed for postal service is first placed on sale in the post office of whatever city is pertinent to the issue. If it commemorates a famous person, as an example, the first day of issue would more than likely be the city in which that person was born. If the stamp is in commemoration of some historical or national event or landmark, the first day issue location would be the city nearest the place where the event occurred or the landmark was located.

While the new issue of stamps is sent to post offices all over the country, the postmasters are instructed to withhold the sale of them until the day after the day of issue. This means that if the first day sale is on the first of the month, local post offices in other than the first day city cannot sell the stamps until the second of that month.

First day covers have become a big thing in stamp collecting, and several companies are now engaged in printing very elaborate envelopes for sale as first day covers.

Something of a legend among rare stamps, the so-called “Woodblock” provisional stamps of 1861 were engraved in London and were printed from stereotyped plates that were mounted on a wooden block, hence the nickname.

The stamps were created by a Cape of Good Hope surveyor and were supposedly designed in a triangular shape. The design of a female figure sitting on top of an anchor, which is resting on top of a rock, symbolizing the Cape.

The Woodblock Stamps were printed in 1861 and comes in both 1 penny and 4 penny forms. The 1 penny Woodblock Stamp comes in the color Vermillion while the 4 penny Woodblock Stamp comes in the color Blue. However, as is common during this error, the 1 penny stamp sometimes is accidentally printed with the color blue: and the 4 penny stamp is accidentally printed with the color vermillion.

Just over 24,000 of the One Penny and 20,000 of the Four pence “Woodblocks” were printed. At most, there could be but 220 errors in each case. A rarer shade of the One Penny error exists in pale blue and is valued at around £40,000 in sound used condition.

Printed in 1849, the 1 Kreuzer Black issue was one of the first stamps issued in the German State of Bavaria. Originally printed in panes of forty-five stamps, the tete-beche varieties were created when a few cliches were mistakingly inserted into the printing plate upside-down. It is unknown how many of the stamps were printed in with the inverted plates, but only three tete-beches are known to exist today. Each of the three tete-beche pairs have a different position and no tete-beche varieties are found in any of the complete panes still in existence. A block of twelve stamps featuring a tete-beche variety was originally found in the Ferrari collection. In 1923, at a Paris auction, the block was sold to New York native Alfred F. Lichtenstein, a rarities collector referred to by many as “the philatelist’s philatelist.” Upon his death, his daughter, Louise Boyd Dale, inherited the error block where it was kept by the Anne Boyd Lichtenstein Foundation until 1990. The 1849 Bavaria 1 Kreuzer tete-beche pair has a value in today’s market of $125,000.

Stamp collecting can be fun. It may sometimes be profitable. And you can start with an album plus a packet of stamps from all over the world for less than a tenner.

If you want hours of amusement sorting and sticking, dealer Stanley Gibbons sells packs of 2,500 assorted stamps for £17.50. That’s less than 1p per stamp.

You could also go to the top of the market – but prepare to remortgage to the hilt.

Last September, a block of 20 Great Britain “two shilling browns” from 1880 fetched £240,800 at auction in London. They had been owned by the late Sir Gawaine Baillie whose collection was the most important in the UK, other than the Queen’s.

But if your spending power is less than Sir Gawaine’s, it can be all too easy to discover you have wasted your money on an album-full of virtually worthless pieces of gummed paper. Most stamps have a zero resale value.

So if you want to move up from a child’s hobby to a more mature interest, here are some essential tips.

Read before you spend

Stamp collecting can be a lonely hobby. And while there are many local clubs for stamp collectors dotted all over the country, you may not feel comfortable joining them as a total beginner (although most clubs are really welcoming).

So take some time to read through the various stamp magazines. Gibbons Stamp Monthly costs £2.90. Stamp Magazine is the same price, while Stamp & Coin Mart is £2.50 – all are sold at most newsagents. These will give you some stamp “buzz” and gossip. And they feature informative adverts from dealers and auctioneers.

Don’t believe the catalogue value

Stamp catalogues are like the Argos catalogue – a list of prices for people interested in buying. All the stamps in the £17.50 packets are valued from 10p upwards in the Stanley Gibbons catalogue – but that does not mean you will get £250 or more for your 2,500 stamps. It’s just the price you could pay if you bought them one by one.

If a collection is saleable, you should expect to get around 30% to 40% less than catalogue prices once you take auction or other costs into consideration.

Avoid poor quality

Property investors know the rule is “location, location, location.” In stamps, it’s “condition, condition, condition.”

Dealers usually quote six grades – but not always the same six. Some go from superb to poor: others from mounted mint to poor quality used. The difference between top and bottom is huge.

A pale blue 1854 Great Britain 2d stamp will cost £950 in top condition – but just £5 for the lowest grade.

Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules so comparability is tough.

Shun “commemoratives” and countries you’ve never heard of

Dealers sometimes sell special stamps from remote corners of the globe, often commemorating events such as the Olympics or the World Cup. These are generally worthless. The most amazing example was the 1981 Charles and Diana wedding issue from North Korea. Value, zero. For UK collectors, Great Britain stamps rule.

There are costs involved

You will need to insure your collection. Most home insurers will cover a collection up to £1,000 to £2,500. But once you are serious, you may need to go to a “high net worth insurer” with experience in covering valuable collectibles and works of art, such as Hiscox.

If you trade stamps from your home or exhibit regularly, try a specialist broker such as H.W. Wood (020-7398-9000).

Remember the Inland Revenue

As stamps produce no income, you do not have to report your collection on a self-assessment tax return. But selling a collection could produce a capital gains tax charge.

And if you were to put stamps into a Sipp under the new rules in April 2006, you won’t be able to show them off to your friends without paying income tax. It’s called a P11D assessment – it’s similar to the tax charge on perks such as a company car or company medical plan.

The way around this is to keep the collection in a bank vault and never look at it. Expect to pay for this facility.

There are many ways to mount stamps in an album. From the very beginning collectors have resorted to stamp hinges as a practical and inexpensive way to keep their stamps stored in their albums. Hinges, especially our modern ones, are easy to apply and peelable. What then makes collectors turn to stamp mounts instead? Well, hinges invariably leave a mark on the gum side of a stamp, so if you want to preserve the condition of your never hinged mint stamps obviously hinges are not the best idea.

In addition, many collectors know that sometimes it is necessary to wait several years before selling a stamp in order to make a significant profit. If you have to wait that long, obviously you need to keep your stamp in pristine condition, especially if it is a mint specimen. Or, perhaps you are looking to mount your collection attractively in an album without damaging your mint stamps. In all of these cases mounts are ideal.

Stamp mounts are sold in strips of varying sizes to fit the smallest stamps up to large souvenir sheets. They have a clear acetate front and come with either a black or clear background depending on what look you prefer. The back of each mount has a peel-off adhesive backing which keeps the mount attached to your album page. You can trim each mount to the width you need with a mount cutter. In essence, each mount becomes a little frame for your stamp which sticks to your album page, so no glue ever comes in contact with your investment.

There are two different ways of inserting your stamp into the mount. Firstly, top opening mounts, and perhaps the easiest to use, allow you to slide your stamp in from the top with a pair of stamp tongs. There are also center opening mounts. While a little more difficult to use since you have to lift both ends up in order to insert the stamp, this method practically guarantees your stamp will never fall out. So consider stamp mounts next time you need to store your collection in an attractive and effective way, they are definitely worth the money and time! Visit the API boutique to view a vast selection of high quality stamp mounts.