One could write a good history of Iran simply by studying its stamps for the last 150 years. The first issues, called the Lions, were issued in 1870. They are crudely printed typographed stamps featuring the coat of arms of Iran. What strikes one about the early Iranian issues is that despite Iran’s relative poverty […]
The latest monthly edition of the American Philatelist, the magazine of the American Philatelic Society, shows that after the last round of dues that the society membership has slipped to about 36000. When I first started in this hobby the APS had over 60000 members. In 1975 membership in the American Philatelic Society was required
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Forty years ago when I started in the stamp business there were twenty stamp auction houses in the United States holding several hundred auctions per year. Today there are only ten holding not many more than fifty auctions. Even before the Internet and the sales platform of EBay (where everyone can participate in auctions all
United States Local stamps were in use along with USPO adhesives until about 1861. The local companies were allowed to provide enhanced delivery and pickup service within cities (for businesses the Post Office usually delivered from post office to post office on intercity mail) and local companies provided the door to door service. There were
A guarantee can mean many things. A satisfaction guarantee means that the seller promises that if you are unsatisfied with your purchase he will refund your money and take the product back. This guarantee is standard with most American retailers. Buy a shovel from Home Depot, take it home, find out that you really needed
The United States Post Office was very concerned in its early years with the reuse of postage stamps. In 1867 when a decent salary was a dollar a day, first class postage represented 3% of an average person’s wage (equivalent today to about $6) so the appeal of reuse was real. Postal historians looking at
Collectors throughout philatelic history have argued over what they feel is our hobby’s most interesting and extraordinary item. Each collector has his own ideas and contenders for the honor have changed as collecting interests have changed over the the years. Ferrary felt the one cent magenta British Guiana was the most extraordinary. Perhaps it’s because
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Stamp Exhibitions began in the United States in 1888 when a small exhibit of stamps was included in the Boston meeting of the American Philatelic Association. Before that, stamp meetings were largely trading events with no formal displays. In 1889, J Walter Scott (of catalog fame) organized the first major stamp exhibition at the Eden
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Essays are designs for stamps that don’t get issued. If they are issued, these designs are then called Proofs. Essays come in two main types- design essays and production essays. Design essays are artist’s productions for proposed stamps. These designs may come as a result of an authorized postal authority stamp production process where artist’s