State Birds

We are new collectors and filling our store bought album with stamps. We
have bought large lots and have had fun going through them and have a
spattering of just about everything with some large holes.

For example, we notice large sections, generally commemoratives, that have
no stamps in them as....

State Birds scott #s 1953 to 2002 from the year 1986 I think. There are 50
stamps here and 5l blank pages in our album.

Why is that? Were these stamps that never actually used in circulation?. I
find it odd that of the 1000s of stamps we have sorted through that not 1
would show up in this large section of the album and other similar sections.

Any thoughts appreciated.

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:35:48 GMT, "JASONST" found
these unused words floating about:

We are new collectors and filling our store bought album with stamps. We
have bought large lots and have had fun going through them and have a
spattering of just about everything with some large holes.

For example, we notice large sections, generally commemoratives, that have
no stamps in them as....

State Birds scott #s 1953 to 2002 from the year 1986 I think. There are 50
stamps here and 5l blank pages in our album.

Why is that? Were these stamps that never actually used in circulation?. I
find it odd that of the 1000s of stamps we have sorted through that not 1
would show up in this large section of the album and other similar sections.

Any thoughts appreciated.

They were quite used in circulation, but issued on a single sheet.
Thus you'd have to get the equivalent off a full pane to 'complete'
the set. Total issance not much more than 'regular' commemoratives
where only on in 50 would be needed.

You could probably find them as a 'set' in a specific packet.

Welcome to Stamp Economics 101. You have run squarely into the old supply
and demand rule in economics. Yes, the State Birds were issued and to some
extent used on mail. But they were issued in sheets of 50 different
designs(birds) per sheet, not one sheet of 50 of the same bird or design.
Therefore there are far fewer of each design as compared to standard
commemoratives issued 50 of the same design per sheet.
There are used ones out there but far fewer than standard commeomratives.
That is the first reason that they are in less supply than standard
commemoratives. The second reason that they are in short supply is that they
were/are used for postage far less than the standard commemoratives. They
are highly prized (and expensive) in mint sheets of 50. The face value of
the sheet is $10.00 but they sell for about $25.00. So the high mint price
means fewer used as postage than standard comemoratives many of which can
still be
bought in sheets at face value or less. And the third reason is that
colectors and dealers hoard or keep all used State Birds that they have
since the used are scarse and demand a much higher price than standard
commemoratives. Stamps that are scarse enough to be sold individually at
retail will rarely be found in mixtures. Mixtures are almost always full of
common stamps that can't be sold individually. So if mixtures are no longer
adding many stamps to your collection it might be time to switch from
mixtures to other methods of acquisition. There are a number of ways to add
stamps to your collection but I will not go into them here. I hope this
helps answer your
question.

Happy stamping
Jim McCain


"JASONST" wrote in message
...
We are new collectors and filling our store bought album with stamps. We
have bought large lots and have had fun going through them and have a
spattering of just about everything with some large holes.

For example, we notice large sections, generally commemoratives, that have
no stamps in them as....

State Birds scott #s 1953 to 2002 from the year 1986 I think. There are
50
stamps here and 5l blank pages in our album.

Why is that? Were these stamps that never actually used in circulation?.
I
find it odd that of the 1000s of stamps we have sorted through that not 1
would show up in this large section of the album and other similar
sections.

Any thoughts appreciated.

thanks that explains a lot.....but you teased me with the recommendation for
my next question.....what are some strategies to proceed with now that we
have done the buy by the pound and filled a smattering of our album?

again....thank you for taking the time to respond

"James M. McCain" wrote in message
...
Welcome to Stamp Economics 101. You have run squarely into the old supply
and demand rule in economics. Yes, the State Birds were issued and to some
extent used on mail. But they were issued in sheets of 50 different
designs(birds) per sheet, not one sheet of 50 of the same bird or design.
Therefore there are far fewer of each design as compared to standard
commemoratives issued 50 of the same design per sheet.
There are used ones out there but far fewer than standard commeomratives.
That is the first reason that they are in less supply than standard
commemoratives. The second reason that they are in short supply is that
they
were/are used for postage far less than the standard commemoratives. They
are highly prized (and expensive) in mint sheets of 50. The face value of
the sheet is $10.00 but they sell for about $25.00. So the high mint price
means fewer used as postage than standard comemoratives many of which can
still be
bought in sheets at face value or less. And the third reason is that
colectors and dealers hoard or keep all used State Birds that they have
since the used are scarse and demand a much higher price than standard
commemoratives. Stamps that are scarse enough to be sold individually at
retail will rarely be found in mixtures. Mixtures are almost always full
of
common stamps that can't be sold individually. So if mixtures are no
longer
adding many stamps to your collection it might be time to switch from
mixtures to other methods of acquisition. There are a number of ways to
add
stamps to your collection but I will not go into them here. I hope this
helps answer your
question.

Happy stamping
Jim McCain


"JASONST" wrote in message
...
We are new collectors and filling our store bought album with stamps.
We
have bought large lots and have had fun going through them and have a
spattering of just about everything with some large holes.

For example, we notice large sections, generally commemoratives, that
have
no stamps in them as....

State Birds scott #s 1953 to 2002 from the year 1986 I think. There are
50
stamps here and 5l blank pages in our album.

Why is that? Were these stamps that never actually used in
circulation?.
I
find it odd that of the 1000s of stamps we have sorted through that not
1
would show up in this large section of the album and other similar
sections.

Any thoughts appreciated.

"Jasonst" wrote in message
...
thanks that explains a lot.....but you teased me with the recommendation
for
my next question.....what are some strategies to proceed with now that we
have done the buy by the pound and filled a smattering of our album?


I would encourage you, once you have organized you collection, to create a
want list. I keep mine on my palm pilot (15 countries worth). In the past I
have just printed them out. You are on the net so I would suggest taking
advantage of the tech you have. If you are in Canada or the US do it with
Scott catalogue numbers (just the ones you are missing) if in GB use Stanley
Gibbons numbers. You should be able to borrow the catalogues from your local
library.

Ignore the prices in the catalogues for now - usually stamps are sold
individually using some reference to these prices. You just want to have a
complete list so that when you go out hunting you know what to look for. I
only mark my stamps off the list when they make it into my album, you may
want to mark off as you go.

With a list you will avoid buying stamps you already have.

From there you can do a number of things:

1) find a local stamp club. Often their auctions and swaps will include
catalogued stamps. Most clubs have catalogues on hand so you can check out
stamps you are curious about with the catalogue. This is time consuming, but
very rewarding. Also you will have a place to swap you duplicates.

2) find a local stamp dealer and see what he/she can fill on your list.

3) find a local auction and get on their catalogue mailing list - great
deals can be had this way.

4) online dealers and trading partners (stamporama.com is a good place).

5) ebay.

Hope you enjoy your hobby for years to come.

Frank