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I Learned About Stamp Collecting from That!



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 7th 03, 07:29 PM
Bob Ingraham
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Default I Learned About Stamp Collecting from That!

For years, Flying magazine has published a feature titled "I Learned About
Flying from That!" Each has been a first-person account of a lesson about
flying, learned the hard way when flights went bad and the pilots narrowly
escaped disaster. Their stories have even been published as collections in
books.

The thought struck me recently that an interesting thread might result from
a similar series of posts to this newsgroup under the subject heading, "I
Learned About Stamp Collecting from That!" It wouldn't have to be restricted
to "near-death" philatelic experiences, but could be about any and all of
the interesting things that we have learned about stamps and stamp
collecting over the years.

I'll start it with a tale about the time I decided to sell my collection. I
had stopped collecting stamps when I discovered girls in my freshman year in
high school in 1957 when a junior girl, Joanne Wallace, invited me to the
prom!. Although I stopped collecting, I kept my collection (lots of U.S.
definitive, commemorative and airmail plate blocks from the mid-1950s, and
lots of worldwide stamps housed in three Scott International stamp albums.)
Why wouldn't I keep it? I considered it to be very valuable! And I kept it
for the next several years, through high school and 1.2 years of university,
and throughout my enlistment in the U.S. Navy.

After I married and graduated from the University of Missouri, my wife and I
moved to Ottawa, and I carted my collection along with me, but soon realized
that I would "never" return to stamp collecting. My income wasn't great at
that time; my wife had been unable to get a teaching job, and was working as
a secretary at the Turkish Embassy (which actually turned out to be an
interesting non-teaching interlude in her life). Anyway, I put my collection
in a box and carried it into a stamp shop in downtown Ottawa. The dealer
looked at it for a very few minutes, while I waited with eager anticipation,
dollars jingling in my head. Then he announced, "Twenty bucks for the lot."
Ouch! Then he explained some of the truths about stamps as an "investment".
Ruefully I accepted the $20 (at least the Canadian dollar was then at par
with the U.S. dollar!) and left the shop, convinced that I would never again
have anything to do with stamps, except to buy postage at the post office.

I learned about stamp collecting from that!

Over to you.

Bob Ingraham

-------
The brain-workers and manual workers of today need a hobby ‹ some quiet
pursuit of perennial interest and charm to smooth their journey through a
none-too-easy world. ‹ The Honourable J.C. Elliott, Postmaster General of
Canada, referring to philately in foreword to the 1938 Annual Review of the
British Columbia Philatelic Society
-------





Ads
  #2  
Old September 7th 03, 10:22 PM
Pete Ware
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In article ,
Bob Ingraham wrote:

The thought struck me recently that an interesting thread might result from
a similar series of posts to this newsgroup under the subject heading, "I
Learned About Stamp Collecting from That!" It wouldn't have to be restricted
to "near-death" philatelic experiences, but could be about any and all of
the interesting things that we have learned about stamps and stamp
collecting over the years.


I learned about stamp collecting from the Saturday pages of The
Toronto Telegram - then The Toronto Star.

I liked reading of the new issues and how they compared to what
Canada Post issued. Not that I collected at that point. I started when
there was a beautiful issue from New Zealand coming out. I loved getting
mail from far off places.

I pretty much learned from what I read in papers and the odd book.
Canadian Stamp News was a great source also. I also learned after
starting to collect Canada, that I liked the definitives much more.
Canada Post had a final sale on the Centennial issues, so I dived in and
bought a pile of final offers from them. Then the commemoratives
starting getting downright ugly, the Supreme Court stamp (Scott 669) was
the worse design I ever saw. So I specialized in Definitives, mainly
from the Centennials on up, but haven't been active in years. I still
have what is left of my collection and I go through them every so often
- but the spark isn't there.

I bought some stamps as investment - but was saddened to find how
little in return I could get for them. Others I sent to an auction house
in the States, where I was literally royally ripped off - the Queens
Jubilee collection. I wish I had kept that as I did like that series.
The auction house even tried to collect money from me about 6 years
later saying I owed them!

One stamp I don't think I'll ever give up is my perfectly centred,
mint (hinged, but who cares, that's the back) Bluenose.

My favourite stamp dealer, George S Wegg of Toronto is long gone now
- much like my collecting desire. I do like to keep up with news every
so often and lurk in this newsgroup most of the time.

As I follow what goes on here - I am amazed by some postings asking
for simple, basic info. I thought part of the joy and fun of collecting
was discovering for yourself what a particular stamp is. I suppose in
tis day of instant everything, no one wants to spend the time
discovering what something is anymore.

Well, I am getting ORT here, so I'll pack it in for now and go back
to my usual lurker mode!




Pete
  #3  
Old September 7th 03, 11:19 PM
Frank Emanuel
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"Pete Ware" wrote in message
news
In article ,
Bob Ingraham wrote:


As I follow what goes on here - I am amazed by some postings asking
for simple, basic info. I thought part of the joy and fun of collecting
was discovering for yourself what a particular stamp is. I suppose in
tis day of instant everything, no one wants to spend the time
discovering what something is anymore.


Pete,

When I started working with computers I used to love all the intricacies of
troubleshooting. But at some point I simply lost my heart for that
completely. Now I'd prefer to be running Macs if I could and not worrying
about tracking down the right driver from some obscure website. I think the
same thing happens with stamps. At first everything is an adventure - this
can be overwhelming to the newbie - but when one finds out what they like
about collecting why not lean on the expertise of others. For example stamp
identification - personally I like that (not that I am too good at it yet)
so when someone posts stamps I usually try to figure them out - I usually
post as a last resort. Personally I am glad there is a forum like this where
I can ask "dumb" questions - I've always found the patient answers here have
fostered the love of philately and not quenched it (as in other NGs I hang
in).

Enjoy your lurking and I do hope that the spark reignites one day!

Frank


  #4  
Old September 7th 03, 11:44 PM
Tracy Barber
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I don't know about having a bad time, originally, when selling one's
collection, because so far I haven't seen what has been mentioned.

I did, though, start collecting at about age 11 or 12. I remember
having a friend - Ivan - we played baseball and collected stamps. We
traded a lot of stuff and in the end, I started to sell some stuff to
him.

My collection went on hold for a long time... Eventually, I came back
to it in my mid-20s or so. I was in need of a car and went to a local
dealer. He immediately offered me $1000 for it. I knew there were
some goodies in that album, but didn't realize it was that good.
Well, 2 payments later I had my car. :^)

I have been working with this dealer for the past 3 years or so -
working on his auctions and helping out with his computers. I have
yet to ask him what was sooo good in that collection to pay me that
much for a childhood album.

Maybe I don't want to know... :^) I surely don't remember.

I did, however, keep some common French Colonials, British
Commonwealth and a few others that weren't mounted. These I stashed
away for about 10 years more. They were the foundation of the
collection I have today.

Tracy Barber
  #5  
Old September 9th 03, 11:44 AM
mike
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I learned about stamp collecting from that!

Over to you.

Bob Ingraham


I started collecting when I was about 7 since my dad had a collection
that he assured me was worth many thousands of pounds. The talk of
all that money along with exotic looking old stamps from far away
countries seduced me like nothing else (apart from my fiancee I hasten
to add). Dreams of owning my own penny black and maybe even a penny
red with number plate 77 (SG cat price about 100,000 pounds) dominated
some of my early memories along with things such as german stamps with
5000000 Marks overprinted on a 5 mark stamp (I make the numbers up -
was a long time ago for me - what is the reality).

Everyone I knew gave me stamps off their envelopes, I went to WH Smith
and bought some stamp builder packets (several hundred cheap worldwide
stamps - LOTS from hungry and the former USSR). I also spent all my
pocket money on new issues. Dad gave me a rare and 'expensive'
twopenny blue which I was delighted with as I knew it would be the
foundation of my future millions.

Then I discovered girls and did my best to be cool. The stamps got
consigned to the loft and forgotten as I went to university and met
my bride to be (maybe they would pay for the wedding).

Then last christmas I bought my dad a stanley gibbons 'Collect British
Stamps' Catalogue and on flicking through it I decided that this all
looked very interesting. Dad showed me his collection again for the
first time in years and I was hooked. Turning to the internet I was
soon in touch with lots of dealers and I bought some empty stockbooks
and started buying stamps - mainly GB and Commonwealth with some wierd
little side interests that I cant explain (scenic stamps, gems and
minerals,wilding definitives, used 2.5p machins with good postmarks
from all over the country etc etc).

Since Christmas I have been to my first couple of stamp fairs, got my
fiancee into collecting too (anything with the British Royal family on
it along with coins), got in contact with the local philatelic society
and perhaps most importantly of all strengthed the bond between my
father and I.

Oh yes - my old collection....well, its practically worthless - I was
amazed at the junk I collected back then. Some of the items were nice
but none of them will pay for the wedding Anyone want some CTOs
from Hungray?

All the best
Mike
  #6  
Old September 9th 03, 01:36 PM
Doug Spade
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I guess I was about six or seven when I first saw my Mom's stamp album and I
remember being absolutely fascinated by those brightly colored pieces of
paper. There were lots of blank spaces in that album, but I especially fell
in love with the one cent Mayflower from the Pilgrim Tercentenary issue
(U.S.). Even though it was damaged, I thought it was one of the most
beautiful things I had ever seen.

Now that I had the "bug," how to acquire some stamps? Fortunately, we had a
local store called "The Hobby Haven" and wonder of wonders, the owner had
stamps for sale. I spent many joyous hours going through the stock books,
looking for stamps I could afford to fill the spaces in the album I had
since gotten for Christmas.

Not only did I learn about stamp collecting---seeking out well-centered,
undamaged stamps with unobtrusive cancellations---but so much more besides,
such as how to make the money stretch, getting the best value for the
dollar, whether to buy several inexpensive stamps or one more expensive one,
etc.

Sadly, the store closed several years after I started collecting, meaning I
had to go out of town to make purchases. But stores in the large city
nearby also closed in time. That sent me to the stamp shows, but after
seeing the same dealers and virtually the same material year after year, I
began to turn to catalog sales and auctions, as well as the Internet. These
have all helped foster some additional specialized interests which I expect
will continue in the future.

This world of stamp collecting just continues to expand and I confident it
will do so for many years to come.

And with so many ways to access the knowledge, there is no way I will ever
get unhooked!

Mike


  #7  
Old September 9th 03, 05:13 PM
Bob Ingraham
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From: (mike)
Organization:
http://groups.google.com/
Newsgroups: rec.collecting.stamps.discuss
Date: 9 Sep 2003 03:44:21 -0700
Subject: I Learned About Stamp Collecting from That!


long snip

Oh yes - my old collection....well, its practically worthless - I was
amazed at the junk I collected back then. Some of the items were nice
but none of them will pay for the wedding Anyone want some CTOs
from Hungray?

All the best
Mike


It's interesting how so many of our stories reveal our lessons about the
value of stamps in the marketplace. Well, it's a valuable lesson.

As I related in my first post in this thread, I sold my childhood collection
for a disappointing pittance after I was married. It was the requirements of
buying Christmas gifts that got me back into collecting, at about age 38 or
39, I decided that my son was ready to start stamp collecting, and I went
searching for a basic collecting outfit. The shop (I don't recall the name)
was in a small house that had been preserved somehow in the middle of
downtown Prince George, British Columbia. The owner, Gary Gagin, happily
supplied an album, tongs, hinges, etc., and I spent a few minutes browsing
the interesting, mostly Canadian stamps he had on his display boards. I also
spent time explaining why I myself wouldn't ever collect stamps again -- I
had just lost interest in them -- but that I hoped my son might catch the
bug.

Christmas Day came, and Paul and I sat at our kitchen table for a couple of
hours looking at stamps and finding their places in the album, and sticking
them in with hinges. He seemed mildly interested, but after an hour or so
said he wanted to play with the electronic "Star Wars" game that his
grandmother had given him. He left, but I continued pouring over the stamps.

As soon as possible after the Christmas holidays, I went back to the stamp
shop with money in my pocket, and bought a Canadian album for myself. From
that time, I have always looked forward to the next stamp to come into my
possession. Paul? He fooled around with the stamps a couple of more times,
but he had been hooked on electronic games, the precursors*of computer
games. I learned about stamp collecting from that!

A note about the value of your collection, Mike. You said it was
"practically worthless," but that's only by one measure, the one that seems
beloved of bean counters, economists, politicians and chambers of commerce.
By any other measure, especially the sort with direct ties to your heart,
your stamps obviously were never worthless, but worth a great deal. It
looks, in fact, like they have helped build your relationship with your
fianceé, and that is of inestimable value.

About those Hungarian stamps: Wait! Don't get rid of them! As I've mentioned
in this group before, among the stamps in my first collection was a set of
Hungarian airmail stamps. When I started collecting again, I realized that
I never should have gotten rid of that particular set, not to mention quite
a number of others. I searched through Linn's for a Hungary dealer, and soon
had the airmails stamps in my hands again, and now they reside happily in
one of my albums. See a scan at
http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/hungaryalbum.html.

For a tale of my earliest stamp collecting days, see my signature.

Bob Ingraham

-------
When I was almost a teenager, I got hooked on stamps.
Read "Box 28," my memoir about the New Mexico post
office that became the source of my addiction:

http://www.ingraham.ca/bob/arenasvalley.html
-------



  #8  
Old September 10th 03, 12:53 PM
Douglas MYALL
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Bob Ingraham wrote in article
...
snip
I learned about stamp collecting from that!

Over to you.


This is one of the most enjoyable threads ever on this NG and shows how
much camaraderie it creates apart from the knowledge gained. I have shared
some of the experiences recounted but here are a few more.

My first stamp `collection' was as a schoolboy 70 years ago. It was a poor
thing of many duplicates and mostly in poor condition, large parts of it
having been kept in my jacket pocket. I swapped it with another schoolboy
for some marbles that I fancied. I learned the `investment' potential of
stamps from that.

I returned to collection 30 years later and joined in the free
distribution of foreign mail received by my then employer. I elected to
receive Commonwealth stamps. There were, as you might guess, many gaps in
the resultant collection and I began to try and fill them from the stock
of a local dealer. He was very friendly and willing to spend time talking
to me about stamps and how I should mount them. I learnt a lot from him.

I couldn't afford to buy the `high values' in the sets (a young family to
care for) and when the time to sell came along my collection didn't fetch
the price I was hoping for as it was short of these `key' values. I learnt
from that.

A dealer had an item that I really wanted but he would not name a price,
asking me how much I would pay for it. I named a price which, had it been
in an auction would be my top bid but hoping to get it for less. He sold
it to me for my price with alacrity. The following week I received his
price list and the same item was offered there for about a quarter of the
amount I had paid him. I really learnt from that.

Not to ramble on with these reminiscences, there is one source that is
still around and from which I am still learning. I refer to Len Williams'
book `Fundamentals of Philately'. This was originally published in parts
in The American Philatelist by the APS from 1954 and for several years
after that. The first bound edition was published by the APS in 1971 with
an index by my friend James Negus through whom I obtained a copy. It was
published in a revised edition in 1990. This majestic work covers much
much more than the modest `fundamentals' of its title. 862 pages of sheer
authority. Get yourself a copy if you can. You too will learn a helluva
lot from that!

Douglas
  #9  
Old September 10th 03, 09:48 PM
John Mycroft
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A few years ago, I was at a stamp fair when an old lady came up to one of
the dealers tables with a box of stuff her hsuband had accumulated on and
off over the years. He told her it really was worth next to nothing but, as
a favour, he'd give her 15 bucks for it. you can see where this story's
going, can't you?

No - like me, you're probably wrong. Once the lady had left the hall, the
dealer in question wrote "$20" on the box. I learned about honest stamp
dealers from that and have bought a lot of stuff off that guy since.

--
Cheers - John Mycroft

www.agands.com - in beautiful Asheville, NC


  #10  
Old September 10th 03, 10:19 PM
A.M.Heindorff
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John Mycroft wrote in message
...
A few years ago, I was at a stamp fair when an old lady came up to one of
the dealers tables with a box of stuff her hsuband had accumulated on and
off over the years. He told her it really was worth next to nothing but,

as
a favour, he'd give her 15 bucks for it. you can see where this story's
going, can't you?

No - like me, you're probably wrong. Once the lady had left the hall, the
dealer in question wrote "$20" on the box. I learned about honest stamp
dealers from that and have bought a lot of stuff off that guy since.


Nice story. Here's another one about an honest dealer.
Some years ago I went to see my normal dealer, and
browsed through a box with what seemed mostly junk,
when I suddenly caught sight of a modern cover with
an outdated stamp (rarely seen on cover) from Eastern
Europe. It was price marked for around 70 dkk (c. 10
US-dollars). I didn't particularly want to buy it, but told
him that he could get a considerably higher price for it.
He asked me why, and I explained. He got my point,
and said that "I learned something today. It's yours
for the lesson if you want it". Six months later I sold
it for 20 US-dollars to another collector.

I still buy more than I sell, so if only the value of the
rest of my collection would grow with that speed ... ;-)
--
Ann Mette Heindorff
amhstamps (at) adr dot dk
http://slaniastamps.school.dk
http://continue.to/stamptravel
http://danish-christmasseals.school.dk



--
Cheers - John Mycroft

www.agands.com - in beautiful Asheville, NC




 




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