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Stamp collecting came of age as a hobby by 1890. By that date all of the major stamp catalogs (Scott in the US, Stanley Gibbons for British, Michel for German Area, and Yvert & Tellier for France and Colonies) were being published annually. There were hundreds of worldwide philatelic journals published weekly and monthly. Stamp […]

The easiest way to appreciate the changes that have occurred in our hobby since its early decades is to look at an early edition of the Scott Catalogue and compare it to the Scott that we use today. The Scott Catalogue grew out of the stamp price lists of the early stamp dealer J. Walter

Philatelists usually collect in reverse chronological order. As they begin their hobby, they acquire the more recently printed and easier to obtain stamps. Because modern stamps (when they are not self adhesives) always have perfect gum, collectors come to assume that it was always this way. But insistence on perfect gum is only a post-WWII

If you look through the Apfelbaum store, you will find stamps and covers sold in several different ways. The stamps that collectors want to fill their albums are sold as individual stamps or sets. Then there are specialty groups for more specialized philatelists in each area including covers and Proofs and multiples of individual stamps

U.S. Proofs come in several types. The proofs that are created before the stamps are put on a plate and which are used to determine the acceptability of the die are called Die Proofs. These come in several types, the most common being large die proofs. Often these exist quantities of less than a hundred

Most American stamp dealers try to do pretty much the same thing to stock their business. They buy collection lots, usually at auction or from wholesale price lists. The way this works, when it is done properly, is to buy a collection and then break it into a number of smaller units that appeal more

Each generation tends to look proudly at its technological achievements and undervalue the achievements of the past. That we are rightly proud of our computers and rockets should not make us overlook just what an achievement the Panama Canal was. This Isthmus of Panama is a narrow band of mountainous terrain  less than fifty miles

People are often looking around for philatelic specialties. Sometimes they have recently began serious collecting and want an area that will reward their keen interest. Or sometimes they have reached the end of the road in the specialty that they are pursuing and are at the point that the items that they need exceed their