Let’s assume the worst-the Democrats call the Republicans bluff and despite constant finger pointing the US government’s ability to borrow additional money ends. What does this mean for philately? My considered judgement, after weeks of thought and study, is that its hard to say. Conventionally, you would think that any kind of panic, such as […]
Collectors of current material hate stamps and covers that are produced for a philatelic purpose. When Sven Hedin needed funding for a China expedition that he was planning, he convinced the Chinese government to issue stamps commemorating the planned trip. These stamps were sold to the public and the funds received were used to finance
United States Fancy Cancels are among the most easily faked of any philatelic specialty. Throughout the Nineteenth Century, the United States maintained thousands of post offices. Most postmasters were part timers, merchants who added a small postal counter and mail services to attract traffic to their general store. The United States Post Office required that
The United States Post Office is reporting huge losses and has run up against its debt limit. There is some question as to whether Congress will raise its funding and even if it does there is a good deal of uncertainty over the long term viability of the current Post Office model. The question isn’t
The Post Office’s Financial Problems Read More »
The illustrations above are from a collection that came our way. The creator made his own stamps and his own countries. They are all hand drawn and so qualify for Essay status.
It’s a bit of a toss up over which ex-empire, the British or the Austro-Hungarian, has produced the most number of stamps. Certainly up to WW II the British Empire and its derivatives would be the winner. But in the years since WW II, the countries that made up the former Austro-Hungarian Empire have laid
Competitive sports and activities are judged in different ways. Some lead themselves to face to face competition and so the soccer team wins that scores the most number of goals or the chess game is over when one player captures the king of the other. Some competitive activities are judged and this is much easier
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Before it became the holiday that commemorated Americans who have defended their country in war, Memorial Day celebrated the end of the Civil War. It was felt by many of the former Confederate States that Memorial day was a Northern holiday that commemorated the North’s victory in the Civil War and for many years Memorial
One of the more interesting anomalies in philately is how some types of specialty items of some countries are very popular while the same type of specialty material for another country is ignored. Look at marginal inscriptions. Marginal inscription plate numbers of the United States are avidly collected as plate blocks. Marginal inscriptions are avidly
United states Proofs Read More »