The kids today didn’t invent status symbols. Even nerdy stamp collectors have their hierarchies and when I was a young collector in the 1960’s status in collecting was acted out in the kind of stamp album that you had (or that your parents bought for you). We all had Harris albums in my stamp club. Scott albums […]
First Stamp Albums Read More »
There is one entire country under the United States collecting umbrella that has issued hundreds of stamps, which is popular on two continents and which is completable by even collectors of modest means. The country is the Ryukyu Islands which were captured during WWII by the United States at an enormous loss of life and
The reason you should buy your stamps from Apfelbaum is not our prices (which are very attractive) or our service and shipping (which is not only free, but is also the fastest). You should buy your stamps from Apfelbaum because we are the only stamp company that assures your complete satisfaction and safety to this degree: buy
The Apfelbaum Guarantee Read More »
No normal business can lose $5 billion and have the management stay intact and have no cohesive plan for turning things around. But then the United States Post Office is no normal business. Actually, despite being dressed up in capitalist cloth, it really isn’t a business at all. It is a government agency and as a
Post Office Loses $5Billion Read More »
There is probably no activity more of an antidote to ignorance than philately. Ignorance is more than stupidity or incuriousness. It is deliberately lacking respect for learning and understanding as being valuable activities in a complex world. With every hour with his stamps and covers, a philatelist is cultivating curiosity. Just yesterday I was working with
The Danger of Ignorance Read More »
The stamps of many Eastern European countries have gained tremendously in popularity and price in the last ten years and Hungary has been at the top of the second tier in this regard. Philatelically, the most active Eastern European country has been Russia. Even despite a pull back in the last few years, Soviet period
Printing technology was sophisticated enough for stamps to have been issued hundreds of years before 1840. But, philatelists are fortunate that stamps have been around for only 150 years. As it is now we have issues from nearly 2000 different political-philatelic subdivisions as recognized by Scott (and hundreds of more that are listed by world wide specialty catalogs).
Peace of Westphalia Read More »
Mei Lan who took the stage name Mei Lanfang was an opera and performance artist who has the philatelic distinction of being commemorated on the most valuable regularly issued world wide philatelic item (not an error or special issue) since World war II. The sheet itself is lovely and Mei is very deserving of the honor of commemoration.
Probably no stamp has shot up in value more than the 1980 PRC issue for the Year of the Monkey. Originally this new issue sold mint in the US for under a dollar and the last one we sold brought over $1500. Two factors have brought about this huge rise. The well known reason is