scb
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Post by scb on Feb 26, 2016 16:34:15 GMT
I have always found the basic plastic gauges with the lines subjective to the user's positioning with inaccuracy increasing as the rounding of the perfs decreasing (i.e 1/4 or less). This was one of the primary reason why I built the tool. Like you, I used to count perfs 'manually' (ok, I was using Photoshop for the task, but still there was a lot of manual work and calculations involved) whenever precision less than 1/4 was required... With this tool it's all-in-one package, all I got to do is place the markers. Couldn't agree more. Personally I use 1200dpi, but it might a bit of overkill for most purposes. In the end, even 96dpi works well (because you can always zoom in for closeup of the perfs). -k-
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Post by scb on Feb 26, 2016 16:23:54 GMT
WOW, scb! I'm thoroughly impressed! Just putting my professional knowledge of various programming/development techniques into good use -k-
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Post by scb on Feb 26, 2016 16:21:52 GMT
Hi Keijo Looks like a nice app. In just what situations do you use it? I guess most perfs can be determined with a standard gauge. Easier because you don't need to to scan the stamp first. A tool for specialists? Gerben I use this whenever standard perforation gauges are not 'enough' or whenever I feel that I need a reliable 'second opinion' for the manual process.... One of the beta-testers also told me that he's using this to check perfs on eBay-listings (if you don't know the images dpi, you can try different dpi values until you find something that is a likely a match). So the usages for this are about as many as there are users. Likely specialized collectors will have a higher need for tool such as this, but being a 'generalist' myself, I see no reason why even the beginners could not take advantage of the utility. This tool is for anyone who feel they need to measure in detail beyond the traditional gauges.
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scb
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Post by scb on Feb 25, 2016 12:56:19 GMT
Hello, for the past few months I've been spending quite many late nights/early mornings building up an multi-platform digital perforation gauge (for my personal needs), and I'm happy to announce that version 1 is now out. You can access the online version here, or if you prefer to use an offline version then download this file and extract the zip-file contents on any folder you desire. What makes this utility a bit different from existing alternatives is that (besides being free) it runs within your web browser. And as such basic features should function on any operating system and any device as long as you use a recent browser (Chrome, Firefox work ok, Microsofts Internet Explorer/Edge is bit quirky) and remember to specify correct settings. If you use an outdated browser (or don't set proper settings), then your mileage may vary. Another major difference is that there's no 'auto-mode' (I might add it on later point, but at least for now I don't have need for it). This is simple 'point and click' type of tool, and the results it will provide are as accurate as the clicks you make. The manual mode provides both ups and downs compared to fully automated tools (for example I can start measuring on any perf I want, and do it for as many teeths as I want; the downside is that it takes a lot of clicking). The utility gives you advice as you proceed from one step to another, there's also detailed help/manual as well as Youtube channel with some tutorial videos. Since this is a relatively simple tool for simple needs, I hope that reading/watching all these guides won't ever be necessary. Since I wrote this utility entirely for my personal needs, I am not providing any official support for it. Same applies also for further functionality and new features. When and if I have the time, I may add support for automatic perf recognition (ie. just drop the stamp on the canvas, and it automatically measures perfs on all sides) as well as measuring perfs of round stamps; but at least for now neither of them is priority for me. I'm not saying this is the best tool for the job, but hey, it does the job it was designed for, and it is free. Anyway, have fun with this tool and let me know if you like/dislike it. -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Feb 21, 2016 11:53:04 GMT
Just a short announce that the 2016 'edition' of Stamp Collecting Blog has been released yesterday. The address is still the same old www.stampcollectingblog.com as always. The BIG change is that from this onwards SCB website is for subscribers only. There is a free plan with limited annual usage, as well as paid premium plan for those wanting full access to archives and everything else. I acknowledge that the 'subscribe to read' policy may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it is the only way for SCB to exist (and evolve) in years to come. In the end it's not much different from forums where only registered members get access to private forums etc. All in all things are (finally) looking pretty solid for the future of SCB. The fifth-hundred article should come out later this year; also the barrier of 10K comments/discussions will be likely broken in upcoming months; and a new season of stamp exchanges has also finally launched. Happy collecting to all, -k-
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Post by scb on Feb 18, 2016 5:50:39 GMT
madbaker ... Thanks for the 'vote of trust'. Honestly speaking this is the kind of stuff that any 'properly skilled' developer should be able to build/recommend; so not sure why stamp publishers are having such a hard time hitting the nail with the hammer. But I guess they've got (or at least they think they've got) valid reasons... -k- PS. If you're willing to move into Germany, then Michel/Schwanberger has had a steady flow of open positions within the past few years
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Post by scb on Feb 17, 2016 7:12:05 GMT
I'm on the same lines as madbaker/Mark. Catalogs (and catalog numbers) are nothing but guidelines, and as such I use them. The deeper I voyage on my philatelic journey, the more I depart from what's being written on catalog pages. That's just the nature of the beast.
Re online catalogs... I've written time and again (but will say it again) that re-inventing the wheel is IMHO not the best strategy. The publishers already have most of the required data so there is seriously no need for anyone to start from the scratch (similar to what Colnect etc. crowd-sourced catalogs have been doing for several years). That is just 'wasting' everybody's time and resources (instead of copying text from sourceA to sourceB, these people could actually come up with new details or increase accuracy instead). And the dealers/sellers/collectors are not willing to move into new numbering system; again - that would just waste of everybody's time and resources.
The BIG issue is that everybody who's already in the game (Michel, Scott, SG, Yvert etc) are guarding 'their precious data/format' beyond sanity (and eventually losing out). If these folks were genuinely interested on this hobby (and even interested on making $$$), they would have put their money/effort on developing a bunch of simple web services that would allow anyone to query their data in number of ways. This in turn would allow developers to come out with 'thin client' apps etc that would add a bit of magic on top of everything out there (think of this as Google vs. Yahoo search; both have more or less the same data, but one is better than the other)
So in a way catalog publishers could focus on building up and maintaining the data, whereas geeks (like yours truly) could work on developing the apps. This is how it works with most industries out there (have an weather app on your phone? No, the geeks who made these do not own weather stations - they just rent/access the data provided).
Most of the problems/issues of current catalogs are somewhat easy to solve from technical point of view. Take for example the question of whether or not airmail stamps are listed separately or not. This is nothing but a matter of presentation in an app; few lines of code could do everyone happy (and provide every combination imaginable to match the tastebuds of different types of collectors). Even catalog numbers could remain the same (as they are nothing but unique identifiers in limited scope). Or what about image-based search/seek? Again, not that difficult (assuming you would have images of all the stamps and you'd know how to code properly)...
The only thing lacking is an 'open API' providing access to data for 'those-who-can-code'. Sadly it seems we'll have to wait till hell freezes over (maybe multiple times) before catalog publishers learn from their mistakes. Sigh.
just my 5 cents worth,
-k-
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Post by scb on Feb 16, 2016 7:23:11 GMT
But wait.. the stamps were actually released in 1972,1973 and 1977. you would think the stamp released in 1972 would come first in the catalog right? WRONG !! It actually appears last does this make sense to ANYONE !! ... And for all those dreaming of 'greener grass' here's how Michel illustrates the same stamps (listed under 1972): (and yes, my Michel NordAmerika is still so old that stamp images are in B/W.But I kind a like/prefer it) Though Michel does make a lot of things better than Scott/Unitrade, SG, Yvert etc. it is far from being a perfect catalog. Lots of quirks in Michel world as well.... -k-
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Post by scb on Feb 15, 2016 12:36:07 GMT
@rod... Personally I use dealer prices for stamp packages as a 'yard stick' for random mixtures. A package of 1000 Romanian stamps is priced for 68€ whereas much smaller lot of 500 stamps goes for 7.25€, and 100 different ones selling for mere 50 cents. A package of 50 diff from Burundi is priced for 3€, and 200 diff ones goes all the way to 11€. Etc. Of course the contents of these are mostly 'short sets' etc. But so are most 'collections/lots' sold elsewhere too Dealer prices such as above define the 'baseline' that any smart buyer/seller should keep their eyes on IMHO. At least I wouldn't pay more on eBay/Delcampe/whatever for a similar mixture (and honestly speaking, I would expect the price to be at least quarter less because dealer price always includes VAT, storage related overheads and dealers gross margin). But if the contents is good/exceptional (say Burundi WWF stamps, Romanian Disney stamps, print freaks/variants etc), then it's entirely about supply and demand, and it can swing either way. The most important part is to remember that these days CTO nor Eastern-block country nor Sand dune are not 'stopwords'. They all got at least some collectors (like yours truly) out there; there are even specialized study groups for stuff that was pariah 20-30 years ago. So in the end it comes down to knowing what you have and pricing it properly. Just my 5 cents worth -k-
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Post by scb on Feb 15, 2016 5:28:49 GMT
In short, yes - there's a market for them (especially outside North America).
-k-
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Post by scb on Nov 27, 2015 14:47:07 GMT
@rod.... Trust me, that's Block #303A (which contains #1032) -k-
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Post by scb on Nov 27, 2015 12:52:02 GMT
Ajman 1976 Philadelphia World's Fair City of Brotherly Love Second and Market streets, Philadelphia 1776 Not listed in any catalogue apart from "The Stamp Forum" Actually this is listed in Michel. See Block #303 (after #1028 - 1032) -k-
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Post by scb on Nov 19, 2015 14:53:55 GMT
Let's say that as long as you move within +40 and -40 celsius degrees, the temperature itself is not a major problem to paper.
But I would be very worried about what temperature changes do to (air and object) humidity levels. Having consistent conditions would be best.
Speaking with 'attick experience' (about 50 celsius degrees in hot summer days, and -40 celsius during coldest winter nights)...
Normal household items and clothes have no issues as long as you seal everything properly. The biggest issues I've had have all been related to mice, ants and dust getting into wrong places (again, pack properly).
Tech stuff is something I would not place in 'cold storage'. Though they will likely survive a good number of years, both heat and cold (as well as changes) will decrease/consume their life-expectancy big time.
-k-
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Post by scb on Nov 12, 2015 14:08:57 GMT
Good collectors seem to be passing way too fast...
Also Francis Kiddle (a name all cinderella stamp collectors worldwide will recognize) passed away only few weeks back.
-k-
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Post by scb on Nov 2, 2015 10:19:46 GMT
Michel has a footnote that the imperfs are 'unfertigen Restbestände', meaning 'unfinished remainders' (from printers stock). No catalog value assigned, but I've seen these sell at very varying prices (generally a buck or two a piece).
The perforated one seems like a 'gutter pair' from sheet. I don't have any resources for these, but I would imagine specialized catalogs would provide details.
-k-
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Post by scb on Aug 16, 2015 12:19:33 GMT
Rod (and Ryan)... Finnish type 1930 definives are lots of fun and plenty of varieties etc. in there. There's an excellent handbook (by Hannu Kauppi, title Yleismerkit / Definitives 1930, issued few years back by Finnish Philatelic federation) for these. You might also check www.malli1930.fi, a blog by specialized collector. -k-
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Post by scb on Aug 14, 2015 4:49:05 GMT
2000 Serpentine Die Cut Bottle (Shows the Iconic bitters bottle, with the distinctive yellow cap, and the oversized bottle Label) These bottle stamps look 'addictive', LOL. One might actually start collecting these alone....
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scb
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Post by scb on Jul 5, 2015 11:30:50 GMT
I was just browsing the latest posts, and realized it's been a few months since I 'shamelessly plugged' my blog So here's a well due 'plugg' for www.stampcollectingblog.com As always, there's been a bunch of changes and new articles since last bumb. Like before, some articles are free for all to read, but some require a 'premium membership' ($$$) for full access. -k-
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Post by scb on Jun 9, 2015 7:41:31 GMT
And I'm doing things a bit differently:
1. Soak up the stamps you want
2. Place the wet stamps face down on a newspaper to dry (make sure you use newspaper that DOES NOT BLEED when wet).
3. When paper is full, place another piece of newspaper on top and let it soak the moisture for about 30 seconds.
4. Remove the top newspaper (and peel of any stamps that have gotten stuck with it)
5. Take a new dry newspaper and move the stamps one by one into there (this prevents the stamps from sticking into wet newspaper when it dries)
6. In about 30-45 minutes all your stamps are dry, and you can place them for flattening inside a stock book (I'm using end-of-life stock books for drying).
7. Stack something heavy on top and in about 24 hours your stamps are perfectly flat and ready for final destination.
8. Repeat
Build from 'free recycle material' and easily expandable (for example I've got 4 falling apart stock books for this), what else could a penny pinching collector hope for. LOL.
-k-
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Post by scb on Apr 30, 2015 5:18:02 GMT
The only collector I have known, to collect Equatorial Guinea. Now, now... Aren't you forgetting a certain Finnish bloke (and there are few others who are into collecting EG as well) Didn't know huckless888 well besides some random chatter on various forums. But the loss of a fellow collector is always sad.
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Post by scb on Apr 7, 2015 15:15:05 GMT
You've definitely done an excellent job
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Post by scb on Mar 8, 2015 6:07:44 GMT
Both look all ok for me. Here's a rough summary from Finnish specialized Norma:
Your design was used from 1871 to 1881, in four different perforations (all with same colors):
Helsinki city local #3 has got roulette perf. 11
Helsinki city local #4 has got rough perf. 12½
Helsinki city local #5 has got line perf. 12½
Helsinki city local #6 has got line perf. 11½
Yours look like either #5 or #6, in which case they've got catalog value of few Euros. and retail more or less the same (in the end, you don't see these that often). But still... very nice find.
-k-
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Post by scb on Mar 6, 2015 17:13:27 GMT
That's one possibility which I'll likely follow if nothing else provides the answers....
-k-
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Post by scb on Mar 6, 2015 10:17:23 GMT
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Post by scb on Feb 6, 2015 17:37:52 GMT
I'm going slow, as they are still expensive. Will take several years before the collection is mostly in Vario G's. Dare I ask what's the going price for these in the US? My local mail order dealer is currently having a sale on these, but at 15€ per piece I find them still bit expensive.
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Post by scb on Feb 4, 2015 13:04:44 GMT
Finland will have new postal rates next week, and according to them first class rates outside EU will be:
* up to 20g (postcard) 1.10€ (1.26US$)
* up to 50g 2.50€ (2.86US$)
* up to 100g 5.50€ (6.30US$)
The real bummer is that starting next week everything thicker than 20mm is treated as small parcel (or as we Finns call it, maxiletter), and postage outside EU area starts at staggering 12.20€ (13.98US$) and 250-500g rate is very humbling 22€ (25.21US$)..... Thanks to this I've had to do some heavy adjusting on how I'll do my stamp swaps this year. No more 'box swaps', sigh.
-k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Jan 13, 2015 7:30:03 GMT
Just a quick update regarding Stamp Collecting Blog.... From here on some content on SCB website will be available for Premium members / supporters only.
I hope the change in policy will not upset anybody's piece of mind, but sadly it seems to be the only way onward in order to keep some other things on SCB freely available. A sad day, but life goes on.
-k-
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Post by scb on Jan 7, 2015 9:53:27 GMT
Agree with classicalstamps. That's the only way to do it out of the box.
The only thing you can enhance this process is to automate it with macro/script (that does all the steps for you) and assign a shortcut (Fn-key) for it.
Help section of any photo editing program (be it Photoshop or PSP) will provide advice about the implementation and the steps required. At least with Photoshop it's simply a matter of recording the major steps on the screen, and then later-on finetuning the steps by by modifying the code found inside the ATN-file. Yes, it's somewhat geeky, but it also gets the job done...
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scb
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Post by scb on Jan 2, 2015 7:44:02 GMT
- speaking of countries to collect, I seem to have a bit of *crush* with Poland lately. So I'll be spending at least a month or two just with that. Haha! Good luck with that I am 3 albums in, over 8Kg , and havn't scratched the surface, Man! that is a collection with attitude. That's what I imagine Poland to be.... Right now I've got ~2,400 major items (+ few hundred varieties + random cinderella) stored in 3 large stock books. I hope/believe I should be able to collect at least another similar batch over the years without breaking the piggy bank
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Post by scb on Jan 1, 2015 16:11:54 GMT
My stamping plans for 2015 are pretty simple.... - keep on collecting the world. I reached 90K stamps on new years eve, so heading towards 100K is simply logical - keep on writing/sharing about my new finds (it's the best way to learn) - speaking of countries to collect, I seem to have a bit of *crush* with Poland lately. So I'll be spending at least a month or two just with that. Happy new year to everyone!
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