The Althing is the parliament of Iceland and is considered to be the oldest Parliament in the world (though whether this is “continuous” or not is subject to some dispute). But the Icelanders are rightfully proud of their Parliament’s longevity and have publicized it on two 1930 sets which commemorated the one thousandth anniversary of […]
Iceland Parliment Read More »
One often sees discussions concerning repairs on lower priced stamps. While collectors do need to be careful about repairs and alterations it is important to remember that stamps are repaired for a reason and that reason is so they can be sold as non damaged items at higher prices than they would be otherwise. Thus repairing a stamp is
Our modern philatelic trend of specialization has been partly the result of a world wide glut of new postal issues that have made most collectors unable and unwilling to collect worldwide stamps. Another less commented on change in collecting habits has come from this overabundance of new issues too. It is the increasing emphasis on
Numerical Stamp grading Read More »
Life changes. It evolves both at the macro level, over generations, and at the micro level within a single lifetime. One of the nicest things about aging is observing the little changes that occur over a lifetime and seeing how those changes create new understandings that becomes the starting point for new generations. This happens
What is Different From Fifty Years Ago Read More »
Collectors either esteem or denigrate the earlier stamps of British Commonwealth and they do so for the same reason. From about 1890 to the QE II period (1953), the stamps of nearly all the Commonwealth colonies are the same-small stamps with a portrait of the reigning monarch (either Victoria, Edward, George V or George VI)-distinguished by stamp collectors
Colonial Differences Read More »
Like most predictions, philatelic prognosticating is one-third fact based, one- third interpretation of those facts and one-third hope and wishful thinking. That said I
Another Reason Stamp Prices Rise Read More »
When I was a young man I lived for a while in London. This was in my pre dealer days while I was in school. One autumn day I went to the British Museum, expecting to run through their antiquities collections when in some far corner on some higher floor I discovered the Tapling collection.
Afternoon Delight Read More »
The famous German hyperinflation period, to which we are often warned we are about to return, was now nearly 100 years ago. That this was a period before monetary theory and strong central banks. That nearly one hundred years have gone by without hyperinflation occurring in any major country hardly seems to matter when it
German Inflation Sheets Read More »
I am one of the least techno people around. I never learned how to use our VCR at home and when that technology was replaced I figured that I could wait out most innovations and never have to figure out how to use anything new. But about a year ago I got an Ipad and it was revelatory, so
Scott on Your Ipad Read More »