In the last ten years two main areas of philately have seen substantial rises in prices and popularity- Russia and China. But the increases have not been all in straight lines. Rather, for a period prices rise substantially, and then fall back either with general economic weakness or because of market demand. What has been interesting in […]
The 1950’s were the beginning of the modern period in philately. The overarching history of our hobby is a triad-the classic period from about 1850 to about 1910 defined by world wide collectors studying and accumulating their stamps with scant regard for quality (and even little attention to genuineness). Then there was the middle period, 1910-1950,
Stamp Collecting in the 1950’s Read More »
It is really hard to give most general collectors a picture of just how rare most foreign revenue stamps issued before 1945 really are. Let me put it this way. In terms of volume of stamps, we sell hundreds of millions of individual stamps per year. And of that hundreds of millions perhaps only a
Italian Colonies Revenues Read More »
Pessimism and philately have always seemed like stamp and tong-they just go together. Visitors to stamp clubs in the 1970s will all tell you stories about how the old timers then talked about the “good old days” and predicted the demise of philately. But as Mark Twain said in a slightly different context, reports of
Good News for the Hobby Read More »
There are two major European cities that share a history of constant political change. Danzig in the north is at the border of the German and Russian areas of influence and has changed political affiliation many times, with incarnations as Polish/Russian dominated, German dominanted and independent. In southern Europe, Fiume is a philatelic entity at
Revenue from the sale of stamps fund many worthwhile projects. Early in the twentieth century, the first philatelic exposition souvenir sheets were issued to help pay for some of the world’s first stamp shows. Most European countries today issue semipostals, stamps with a charity surcharge, to fund the work of the Red Cross or to
Junior Duck Stamps Read More »
Luxembourg is a small and wealthy country located between France and Germany. In 1940, Luxembourg was on the invasion route that Nazi forces took to overrun France and the government of Luxembourg was quickly overthrown. As they did for most of the countries that they occupied, the Germans quickly issued Occupation stamps. The most remarkable thing
German Occupation Of Luxembourg Read More »
The decade of the 1940’s was defined by WW II. The totality of the war experience is hard for Americans today to understand. Currently, we have been at war for over ten years with most of the impact for most Americans being the character of the nightly news. WW II required a total mobilization of America.
Stamp Collecting in the 1940’s Read More »
For the next week we have a pretty good discount postage offer going. $200 of mint NH US stamps issued from 1960-2000 all of which are still valid for postage. The price for the $200 of postage is 75% or $150 plus $10 shipping and handling. Please email me if you want this with your