Robberies of stamp collections used to be a real problem. In the 1970’s a large ring of stamp thieves were caught. They had an APS membership directory with them that they were using to figure out who to knock off next. When I was on the Board of Directors of the APS in the early […]
A Very Good Change Read More »
A remarkable aspect of philately is that unpopularity breeds further unpopularity. It is truly unusual to see a good collection of nearly any South and Central American country. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Cuba are exceptions, but for the other twenty or so countries that make up rest of the southern Americas, collections that are even
Philatelic Popularity Read More »
Steve Jobs died this week at the very young age of 56. While many different people have been instrumental in the electronic transformation of the last thirty years, few have had more impact on how, when and why people use computers than he was. Information technology has changed all fields including philately and Jobs’ death
What Hath Jobs Wrought? Read More »
It is always interesting to speculate on future winners and losers in the stamp market. Philatelic popularity is ever changing. In 1900, foreign postal stationery cut squares were a serious specialty that looked likely to continue in popularity. Today, almost no one collects them. In 1950, US precancels were avidly collected. Today there are few fans.
Market Predictions-2021 Read More »
Watermarks are a design that are put in paper by the manufacturer to identify the paper as their product. They are an outgrowth of the earliest paper which is called laid paper. Laid paper is produced by allowing the paper pulp particles to coagulate on a bed that is a screen made up of closely
Despite a substantial increase in the last several years, the stamps of India and States are still undervalued and under appreciated. As the economy of India has grown and as the Indian diaspora has become more financially successful in the many countries to which Indians have moved, the stamps of India and States have grown tremendously in
Most people are not very comfortable with change and certainly this feeling increases with age. So it is not surprising that the new program that the post office announced to begin featuring living people on postage stamps has been received suspiciously by the organized philatelic community. It’s always a good idea when reflecting on a
This is the punch line to a rather sad joke. A waiter is waiting on a group of sour customers. Everything is a problem, nothing is good enough. At the conclusion of the meal the waiter, instead of asking if everything is alright, asks if anything is alright. We live in angry times or at
Is Anything Alright, Sir? Read More »
Our hobby is just 170 years old, a mere babe by the standards of hobbies such as numismatics. But already the grading standards and the quality grades that collectors desire has undergone a profound metamorphosis, one which current generations of collectors have been spared. For the first collectors, any copy of a stamp from perfect to
Grading Evolution Read More »