When I was a young man I lived for a while in London. This was in my pre dealer days while I was in school. One autumn day I went to the British Museum, expecting to run through their antiquities collections when in some far corner on some higher floor I discovered the Tapling collection. […]
Afternoon Delight Read More »
The famous German hyperinflation period, to which we are often warned we are about to return, was now nearly 100 years ago. That this was a period before monetary theory and strong central banks. That nearly one hundred years have gone by without hyperinflation occurring in any major country hardly seems to matter when it
German Inflation Sheets Read More »
I am one of the least techno people around. I never learned how to use our VCR at home and when that technology was replaced I figured that I could wait out most innovations and never have to figure out how to use anything new. But about a year ago I got an Ipad and it was revelatory, so
Scott on Your Ipad Read More »
There are very few philatelic investments that are a sure thing and that have very small dealer markups going in and out. But buying “forever” discount postage is a winner. Right now you can buy discount “forever” first class postage rate stamps at about 86% of postage value. With the Post Office planning to raise the
A Philatelic Slam Dunk Read More »
Tiny islands have often assumed importance because of their geographic proximity to someplace of great economic value. Hong Kong became as important as it did because it was a British possession and practically Chinese at the same time. St Thomas in the American Virgin islands was purchased from the Danes to protect American shipping lanes
If there is ever a date that goes into history books to mark the demise of printed books in the battle with electronic information on the Internet, it may well be March 14, 2012-the day that The Encyclopedia Britannica announced that it was ceasing publication of its 20 volume annual edition. For nearly 300 years
Encylopaedia Britannica Read More »
We have all been reading about the Post Office’s troubles and potential solutions. The problems are largely of Congress’s making. As Josh Eidelson says in a Salon article:
The Post Office’s Problem Read More »
De Tocqueville finished his famous book “Democracy in America” in 1840 the year that the first postage stamp was issued. Capitalism was in its adolescence and the jury was still out on whether as a system capitalism would produce wide ranging socioeconomic benefits or would just serve to enrich the few. De Tocqueville has a
The Creation of Wealth Read More »