Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 30, 2024 2:29:49 GMT
When I zoom into the top left, I see the semblance of a horizontal plate scratch, but I also see what appears to be "NO" in the very top left. Is it possible that this is an albino Plate Number? I don't think so, but thought I would ask the group. My immediate guess is that is an erased pencil notation. Could be wrong, obviously, but that's what it looks like to me. I see it as the number "140". Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 29, 2024 7:36:08 GMT
Perhaps 1991 is an appropriate date for attribution of this cover's origin - would any plastic from 1946 still be so clear as what is seen covering the mint stamp here? Did clear plastic exist in 1946 (other than cellophane, which would be impossibly brittle and yellowed now if it were 75+ years old)? I have my doubts that this cover is actually from 1946.
Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 28, 2024 18:09:23 GMT
What other alternatives are there
If you have a good long stretch of time available, take a look through our thread entitled Show your DIY album pages - it's extensive, over 1000 posts in the thread! There are lots of different ideas, both in simplicity of layout (some are basic, some are elaborate and remarkably well done) and in the software used to create the pages. You'll find a lot of users of the AlbumEasy package, and there's another thread specifically for that. The author of that program is a member of our forum so there's usually a quick answer available to any question that pops up. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 27, 2024 23:54:47 GMT
Earlier today, ameis33 (Roberto) posted a line in the Shoutbox advising of problems with his older Google Drive image links being broken. By looking at his recent posts, he has been using the TSF Image Host for his latest image links but for posts from around May 2023 and older, Google Drive was used. All of these image links are now showing as broken and from what I can figure out, it's a matter of the link being malformed by the ProBoards software TSF uses - it's not that Google Drive is not permitting the use of the links or something like that. Have a look at this post from the Italian parcel post thread. 6 image links, all of them broken. I have moderator powers so I can use them to edit his post in order to look at the BBCode for the images. I can't post that text because the ProBoards software fiddles with the URL links and that's what seems to be the problem, so what follows is a screen capture, not something typed in by me as text. Every image source tag includes "view & amp; id=" - I have added spaces into that because if I don't the TSF board software tries to convert it as BBCode (and in fact, it messed with my attempt to explain my edit on Roberto's post, correctly converting that as BBCode and leaving behind something that doesn't make much sense). If you were to cut & paste those image source tags directly into a browser as a URL, the link breaks and you get this. But if the "amp;" portion of the image source tag is stripped out so that we now have "view & id=", then those direct links work. drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=152IK4_6puoFEznamD0vscak11qX46L1S drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1T_Fi9rCIeNnXN-UBuv9v2vqW5d94sjCv etc. If the post is edited in BBCode mode in order to strip out the "amp;" portion of the image tag, the board software puts it right back in and the link stays broken. And oddly, if the URL is put into the Shoutbox, if it includes that "amp;" portion the Shoutbox strips it out and the link works ... Admin, you may or may not have the ability to figure out what is going on with this automatic conversion of the "&" in a URL into the HTML equivalent which seems to be breaking the Google Drive image link. khj, any ideas? Anybody else with some technical chops on ProBoards software? Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 24, 2024 19:16:54 GMT
The Winter Olympic stamps are amazing. Especially the curling! These stamps include a couple which I can fit into personal favourite topical collections: Hockey Players Who Don't Know How to Hold Hockey Sticks (Burundi is an excellent source for this topic), and Olympic Events That Didn't Happen (curling & skeleton in 1968). I suppose another topical collection could be started: Bobsleds That Don't Look Like Bobsleds. ha ha Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 21, 2024 21:41:12 GMT
Can someone explain how Colnect organizes India? It is not clear where the first issues (East India Company) are located. When you first open the Colnect stamp catalogue for India, you are given a year list that looks like this - you'll notice I have highlighted the "Stamps" link because that's what I choose to make it look a bit more like a Scott (or Michel or SG or whatever) catalogue. After clicking the "Stamps" link, I like to order things by catalogue number. Notice the highlighted "Sort:" drop box. There are a number of choices - pick the one that suits you best, but in this case I have chosen the "Sn code", which is the equivalent to the Scott catalogue number. The list of all stamps is then sorted alphanumerically according to the catalogue number, so all the air post stamps & official stamps and other back-of-the-book issues with a letter prefix are sorted after everything beginning with a digit. Any listing without the Sn code gets appended at the end. Note that in some cases (like some fiscal stamps) this is because there is no Scott catalogue number for them, but in other cases it's just because nobody has entered the code into the Colnect database yet. For example, 2017 has 418 stamps with a Michel catalogue number entered, 243 stamps with the Gibbons number, but only 79 stamps (so far) with the Sn code entered. You can see a highlight on the "Series:" data entry - that's a clickable link, you'll get all the stamps listed under that series if you click on it. Again, that list might be incomplete due to that data item not being entered for all of the stamps - if you find a stamp that hasn't been tagged with the correct series, you can send that info to Colnect and Gene (or whoever) can fix it. Same thing with missing catalogue numbers - if you see a problem, help to fix it. For people who aren't signed up with Colnect, your usefulness of the site drops a lot. First off, you get endless nag screens that you have to click away from. Also, you're limited to displaying only 10 stamps per page. That takes an awful long time to work your way through listings for a country like India with 5,684 stamps listed ... Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 19, 2024 17:35:10 GMT
I would have to dig through my Austrian specialized catalogues to be certain, but somewhere in the Michel specialized catalogues for Germany, a small bonus is added to the catalogue value for stamps with these selvedge markings.
Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 18, 2024 16:14:29 GMT
For my own purposes, stamps from FDCs are something I consider to be a subset of CTO stamps - I'm happy to get them, just like I'm happy to have stamps from Mongolia or Albania or wherever, but if I come across a postally used copy then I'll give that preference. So, FDCs aren't something to which I would give any exalted status. I'll keep FDCs that have a catalogue value which is notably higher than a regular postally used stamp, but those are relatively rare (and other than specialized country-specific catalogues, the only source for general FDCs I have are Michel's Europa catalogues, so it's possible that I've missed some). For example, this 1990 Canadian Legendary Creatures set is normally found perforated 12.5 x 13.5. There are some copies perforated 12.5 x 12, and FDCs featuring the stamp with this perforation are relatively hard to find. Somehow in a random box lot the uncommon perforation came my way on a First Day Cover so I have kept it intact. If it had been one of the FDCs with the normal perforation, I would have snipped away! (Image nabbed from Colnect - if you compare these stamps to those with the normal perforation, you would find 2 fewer perforation pins used on the vertical side of each stamp.) I know I'm not the only snipper out there. I used to battle on eBay for the very popular lots sold by a Quebecer which were made up largely of FDC cutouts. All kinds of stuff is in my worldwide collection from these lots. Here's an example, already posted in our Cartoon and Comic Book Characters thread. It's extremely unlikely that I'll ever have this pane cross my path in postally used condition, so hooray for FDC cutouts! Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 14, 2024 1:47:40 GMT
I have a pair of examples I've posted elsewhere here - don't know if I can fit them under the "barbaric" description, though, as these items ended up being sold for the benefit of charities. First, a fibreglass cow from our Cartoon & Comic Book Characters thread: Also, Emily the fibreglass elephant from Singapore, found in our Elephants on Stamps thread: I know that rod222 has some cars covered with stamps and I've seen a nicely done bicycle too. **Edit - and there's the bike! Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 11, 2024 7:35:58 GMT
And in the interest of giving this post at least a minimum of some real philatelic content, here is an early French postage due essay which was not adopted, found on a Cherrystone Auctions listing. Nice image, these are the genuine (in my opinion) 1859 Postage Dues. (6 values)Blast!! I didn't pay enough attention, I intended to post an essay, not an actual issued stamp! Oh well, go to that Cherrystone Auctions link and you can see a very similar stamp described as an essay. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 11, 2024 5:31:05 GMT
I found this stamp in a batch of France postage and postage due stamps and am leaning toward it being a fantasy, but am curious if anyone has background information available. This is a completely uneducated guess here, but that looks hand-drawn to me. The frame is lumpy, especially at the upper right, and there is no consistency among the four corner "25" markings. Perhaps an essay / design submission which was later duplicated. And in the interest of giving this post at least a minimum of some real philatelic content, here is an early French postage due essay which was not adopted, found on a Cherrystone Auctions listing. This one looks more professionally done. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 7, 2024 2:08:27 GMT
Interesting, I didn't know any Retail Post Office that uses a circular cancel. Here's a repost of a photo taken by rod222 back in 2014 from the Canada stamps thread. We've had that same round design out on this end of the country for quite a while now. The question of the RPO acronym came up then too, and I also answered "retail post office" until I actually looked it up and found out that the correct term, according to the Canada Post glossary (which has moved since then, I had to fix the link in my reply), is " Retail Postal Outlet". Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Dec 2, 2023 19:34:01 GMT
Looking at it more closely, I'm not real fond of the Palatino in the small point size. It's wobbly! The word "singular", for example - the bottom of the 'u' looks low, the top of the 'a' looks high, the top of the 'r' is high ... but I like the headings in Palatino.
Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Dec 2, 2023 0:50:13 GMT
I like the angle of the italic inclination on Palatino Sans more than that of Neue Haas Unica, which looks a bit too "tipped" for my taste. And I always like to see something other than the standard Times New Roman / Arial defaults which are seen everywhere, so for me that's another point in favour for Palatino Sans!
Are there narrow variants for these fonts? My own personal go-to font on my spreadsheets is Arial Narrow or any of the equivalents, which allows me to fit more text in a given space while retaining good (for me) readability. Going to a narrow font might allow you to bump up the font size by a point or a half-point - the text under the stamps seems pretty small, but that might just be my grim eyes ...
Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 27, 2023 21:30:26 GMT
I had a memory of posting a scrap of postal stationery with a pre-printed Belgian dominical tab on it in a thread somewhere on TSF, and considering the amount of time it took me to find it again, I figure I might as well cross-post it here. Collectors of worldwide stamps will be familiar with the old Belgian stamps with the little dominical labels at the bottom of the stamp ( have a look here for a good article on these labels). Here's a postal stationery equivalent. There's no perforated label that can be detached so the sender has crossed out the text. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 20, 2023 18:13:36 GMT
This may be too large to load. For those not yet up to speed with the various methods of storing images for use on TSF, note that the ProBoards forum software used by TSF will scale down images which are too large to be shown at their full size. For images stored on ImgBB, like Rod's, you'll notice that if you hover your mouse pointer over the image, the pointer changes from an arrow to a hand, indicating that the image serves as a clickable link. If you click on his contact sheet of all the SMOM stamps in his files, a new browser tab will open with a copy of that image. At first, the image is shrunken so the entire thing fits on the screen - click it once, and it toggles to an image which fits the full width of your screen (or the full width of the image, if you have a screen with high enough resolution), giving you a better view of the individual stamps. But the ImgBB site might contain a copy of the image with even more detail - if you right-click on the image and choose "Open image in new tab" (or whatever the equivalent is for the web browser you use), another tab opens up, again with the image shrunken to fit on the screen in its entirety. Click on that once, and it toggles to a full-width image, which in this case is actually wider than what I can see on my laptop screen all at once, so a scroll bar shows up, allowing me to look at various parts of the image. And I should point out that all of the above deals with computers only, not with what happens when using a smartphone to access TSF. Rod, you might have remembered starting a thread on TSF for your SMOM collection, way back in the days prior to the Great Photobucket Image Massacre of 2017. Since that thread contained only images with no accompanying text, the thread was deleted as all the image links were broken. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 11, 2023 3:01:00 GMT
my paternal grandmother DID have 15 children, that defies understanding ! My great-grandparents (the Norwegian ones) had 16 kids. My Mom has somewhere around 70 first cousins just from that side of the family - the Estonian side then adds more cousins to her mix. I know all my first cousins' names - I bet my Mom doesn't! Easier for me, though, I only have 8 of them ... Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 11, 2023 1:57:18 GMT
Notepad won't work for you - it just gives you this sort of garbage. I use LibreOffice. It opens and edits Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx) files, and I think also handles Access databases and other stuff as well. If you hold your tongue right I think you can also edit .PDF files, but I haven't tried to cross that bridge yet. LibreOfficeRyan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 6, 2023 15:55:57 GMT
cannot explain the colours on the stamps There is a British cinderella dealer whose description of this set is as follows: Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 5, 2023 2:26:10 GMT
It should be worth at least as much as used, and likely as much as mint no gum, in my opinion And hypothetical question here, if you find out a stamp is regummed, would it be wrong to wash the gum off the stamp and then treat it going forward as mint no gum??? In my collection-building days for my mint Canada collection, I would intentionally buy the oldest (Large Queens and older) mint stamps as regummed copies and would then soak the gum off. Regummed stamps are frowned upon so as soon as mention was made of it, their prices were almost always cheaper at auction. The Unitrade catalogue specifically mentions the almost entire lack of the oldest mint stamps available with original gum (with only a couple of exceptions, by memory the 1/2 cent and the 15 cent Large Queens). These oldest regummed stamps aren't catalogued with any value higher than MNG (Mint No Gum) stamps, and since regumming can put any number of mystery substances on the back of the stamp, I get rid of it. What's the point of acid-free this and archival that if somebody's homemade gum recipe eventually eats paper? On the oldest stamps it is assumed that full gum is a forgery in most cases so in those cases it's better to get rid of it, I think. All of these (with the exception of the 1/2 cent and the two 15 cent values) were bought regummed and then soaked clean. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 3, 2023 5:40:10 GMT
I think the census so far….no way to remove tape from either the front or the back. Soaking taped stamps in paint thinner removes scotch tape and its adhesive will then come off with just a bit of rubbing from a finger. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 2, 2023 10:36:03 GMT
How many of you find music and stamps go very well together? The "What are you listening to" thread on the TSF Lounge / Off Topic board might be of interest to you, with its pile of links to the kind of stuff our forum members find appropriate for their stamping time. I can see that I must once again make one of my semi-regular trawls through the thread to repair broken / dead links - the second post I ever made on that thread has a link which has once again gone dead! 3rd time now for that particular song, if I recall correctly. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Nov 1, 2023 11:54:18 GMT
I use paint thinner for removing tape from stamps - that's the same chemical I use for removing cancelled self-adhesive stamps from their backing envelope. I also use paint thinner for stamps stained by tape used as homemade stamp hinges - it will sometimes leave a hint of a stain around the outer edge of the tape's former location but will usually lessen (or entirely remove) the translucent stain caused by the tape.
Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 31, 2023 10:19:50 GMT
The current holder (or recent holder, anyway - the last newsletter on their website showing a PO box address is from 2021) of that PO box is the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic church. I have no proof that they have always held that PO box number but it would seem to me that single-digit numbers would be for addresses with large mail volumes, and I wouldn't expect them to change hands very often (imagine how frustrated any new addressee would be to get a ton of mail all the time for some other concern). Note that the post code shown on your envelope is according to an old numbering scheme which was changed in the early 1990s. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 31, 2023 9:26:51 GMT
Earlier this month I received an offer on a five pound mixture of world stamps off paper from an eBay seller. I have great fun with ye olde pile of dross (cheap stamps) and I see all kinds of stuff in there which is right up any number of alleys for me. Brunei? Great! Gilbert & Ellice? Great! Belgian Congo & Iceland & French India & big multicoloured Laos engravings & imperfs & postage dues & imperf postage dues? Any number of alleys worth of great! Hopefully you'll end up enjoying the sorting & identifying / cataloguing / elsewise as much as I would. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 21, 2023 23:10:16 GMT
This pictorial cancel is available at this philatelic centre in Vienna: ... I have a feeling that it depicts the cityscape of Vienna. Maybe Ryan has a clearer image of the same cancel? My example came to me with a clean cancel - you can see the ferris wheel which is almost impossible to recognize on your example. It's the lumpy stamp that caused that problem, I think! Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 21, 2023 8:47:30 GMT
I also enjoy cataloging stamps that are worthless, they relax me even more. I have a similar attitude, to the point where my spreadsheets I am making in my latest attempt at sorting & cataloguing my stamps include a column for totalling up all of my minimum catalogue value stamps. Which I also had in the spreadsheets I made in my last attempt at sorting & cataloguing my stamps. I have great fun rooting though my piles of kiloware and the highlight of the day is usually finding another cheapo makeup rate stamp that is poorly represented in my collection. Minimum catalogue value stamps for the win! ha ha Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 20, 2023 5:06:18 GMT
I really like the one showing the transfers to the trains - the logistics behind the scenes. Very cool! Thanks for sharing these! And I'm a fan of the card showing the hen & chicks cycle, or pentacycle as Wikipedia prefers. Here's an image of a cigarette card showing these cycles, nabbed from the website for The Postal Museum in London. Sir Rodney has an actual black & white photo image, which I have snaffled on a previous occasion, but it sits on an external hard drive at the moment ... Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 19, 2023 10:59:34 GMT
The two stamps shown by Stainless, the 25c and the 10c claret, are correctly identified by gstamps, as having the paper shifted during perforating process, or the machine has advanced incorrectly during 2 perf puncture strokes. ( you can note the tear in the paper below the 25th pin puncture on both stamps) I dug up this old post of mine from the Postmark Calendar thread because it shows an interesting comb perforation misstrike on a pair of stamps I have from Western Australia, along with an example nabbed from another site which shows how systemic alignment failures can make for an odd-looking block of stamps .... Here's an oddity that I think I've shown elsewhere on this site. The October 15, 1903 postmark is from Albany in Western Australia and the stamp shows WA's ubiquitous black swan. Note the perforation inaccuracy on this vertical pair resulting from the comb perforator being struck while the stamp sheet was a bit out of alignment. Below that I show an image nabbed from Les Molnar's excellent Stamps of Victoria website. This gives you an idea of how such pairs are created. Ryan
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,722
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Oct 14, 2023 2:56:37 GMT
NOTE: Swastika also traceable to North American Totem Poles And it's a symbol important in Japanese Buddhism as well (both left- and right-facing) - here's an image nabbed from the website for the Zenkoji Temple in Nagano (Nagano was a home away from home for me on my past trips to Japan). Ryan
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