Special Event or Commemorative covers are an envelope, with an artistic cachet, canceled with a stamp that honors and event or special occurrence. Special Event covers have been in the philatelic news lately as they have been issued quickly to honor the investiture of the new Pope. Special Event covers exist for Papal inaugurations, Presidential […]
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Most collectors put their stamps in stamp albums, and preprinted albums have existed since the very earliest days of our hobby. Scott began producing stamp albums in the United States in the 1860s, copying the first stamp album producers in Europe. The most unusual thing about stamp album producers is how concentrated the business is
Over the last century, hardly a year has gone by without some occurrence at the APS upsetting some of the members and creating a mini-crisis in which people say they are reevaluating the importance of the society to their collecting. Now is no different and it provides a good opportunity to examine the value of APS
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United States coils have always presented a problem to stamp collectors. The first problem was whether they should be collected at all, at least as major numbers with spaces in all the stamp albums. US coils were the first worldwide coils to be issued and were done so at the behest of large businesses that
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By 1900, the philatelic world was already too vast for anyone to complete. Their first specialty albums began to appear about 1920, and it was these albums that drove the push towards increasing specialization. Until about 1960, nearly everyone entering the hobby began a general collection. Packets and general albums which had spaces in them
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The United States Post Office has had a close relationship to the hobby of stamp collecting throughout the history of the hobby. The first US postage stamp was issued in 1847, and by 1860 there was an active, if by later standards small, coterie of avid collectors. The USPO was the first worldwide postal service
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Ireland’s history influenced its philately to a much greater degree than did the history of most other countries. Ireland was subjugated by the British around 1600 and passionately fought for its independence for over 300 years. The first Irish stamps were issued in 1922 after independence had finally been obtained from Britain. There are several
German stamps have always been among the most popular of collecting specialties. The German Area is vast philatelically and has typically been broken down into sub-specialties. Few collectors, especially native Germans, attempt it all. The philatelic breakdown is as follows: pre-German Confederation-States collecting, 1870-1930 Empire, and Wiemar Republic, 1930-45 Third Reich, and post 1945 Bundes