In the 1950s and 1960s our company had an Estate Planning department. Estate Planning (it is so far in the distant philatelic past that it needs explanation) was advice to philatelists on what to do with their collections after they died, especially with regards to estate tax appraisals. This was needed because the level at which estates became taxable was […]
Taxes and Estate Planning Read More »
Who doesn’t know what a Hula Hoop is? Who, of a certain age, never played with a slinky? When the Baby Boomers were kids nearly everyone collected stamps. In my neighborhood there were two different kid organized stamp clubs, created and administered by ten year olds. We were very adult in our social organization skills, spending
Auction sale for philatelic material began to be the predominant way that philatelic material was sold in the 1870s. Pioneered (as so many other things were) by the first great American stamps dealer J. Walter Scott, the reasons for auction sales seemed at the time related to issues of lack of liquidity among stamp dealers
Auctions versus Direct Sale Read More »
One of the ways that the Internet has changed stamp collecting is that it has added a great deal of transparency and equality in the pricing of more esoteric items. By example, about 1975, I began to collect Mozambique Company postal history. I was always fascinated by the Portuguese African Colonies and their exploitive character, especially
Specialty Philately Costs Less in the Internet Era Read More »
Before 1867 Canada consisted of autonomous provinces, some of which issued their own postage stamps. Stamps were issued for the Dominion of Canada which comprised mostly of the central part of the country; separate provinces on the coast issued their own stamps. The Atlantic provinces are called the “Maritime Provinces” by collectors and consist of
Every specialty collection runs out of wind. You start with great energy and begin to acquire stamps and covers in your area and sooner or later the amount of time you spend searching increases and the amount of money that you need to spend for each item increases. Most collectors get to the point where they are spending more and enjoying it less.
When you Complete your Collection Read More »
Broadly speaking, there are two types of rarities-rarities that were available to anyone who walked up to the postal counter and wanted to mail a letter, and rarities that are the result of some printing error or limited sales availability of a stamp. Rarities of the second class are items like the Airmail Invert of
Austrian Newspaper Stamps Read More »
Most stamp collectors do not have stamp insurance. Some mistakenly believe that they are covered under their ordinary home owners policy. But like other hard assets, such as jewelry and coins, home owners policies have very low limits for what they pay for stamp losses. Most home owners insurance policies will let you schedule your collection
There are four basic tools that philatelists use- watermark trays, magnifying glasses, perforation gauges and stamp tongs. Stamp tongs began to be used by the second generation of philatelists, about 1860. These early collectors, being second generation, saw that collectors who had just used their hands to handle stamps had damaged a great number of