scb
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Post by scb on Nov 9, 2013 12:58:02 GMT
Just wrote a short piece about Romanian reprints of the 1950s at my blog www.stampcollectingblog.com/romanian-reprints-of-1950s.php Besides a short footnote on Michel, I've not found any further knowledge on these. So any tidbits / further education on topic is more than highly welcomed by yours truly. As always, hope you enjoy the blog -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Nov 2, 2013 18:41:38 GMT
Howdy all, I do apologize that I haven't updated this topic for a while, but basically I've been busy with life (new baby and other stuff 'intervening'). Long story short, since last update here I've added few more blog entries, and you can best view them by visiting the main page of my blog at www.stampcollectingblog.com. The topics of new posts switch from (more) Caribbean stamps into personal time management, and the latest entry tackles the 'big question' whether or not the ongoing specialization of the hobby is a good thing. As usual, I do hope you enjoy the blog -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 28, 2013 13:46:02 GMT
Try Wordpress.com or Blogger.com. These two are the most reliable alternatives. Both are very easy to start and use, and both provide a healthy range of features for free (and if you want more, you can always pay for extra features and storage).
-k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 22, 2013 6:29:13 GMT
Fabulous display... I confess I've got a 'weak spot' for stuff like this. So please keep 'em coming -k- PS. Thanks to Ryan for lifting up my blog (for Hanau stamps). Heres a direct link to forgeries (etc) I've displayed on my blog over the years: www.stampcollectingblog.com/tag/forgeries
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 21, 2013 11:17:14 GMT
Oh my, you might want to consider for a while as these can get REALLY big and complex. In nutshell, there are: * 3 different designs (one with inscription REICHSPOST, two with DEUTCHES REICH) * several paper types (unwatermarked, two different watermarks and a very rare fiscal/revenue watermark on one value) * 60 major numbers (in Michel; have not checked how Scott lists these but I would expect more or less the same) + countless variations if you go beyond simplified catalogs. Then there are the various overprints for German territories/areas. Again, very plenty... But the basic values should be pretty easy and cheap to collect/acquire. Wikipedia has a pretty good overview: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania_(stamp)
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 11, 2013 6:28:26 GMT
I'm not expert on these, but I'd say both are forgeries.
One key-tip is the cancellation. On real stamps 'single ring' cancellations are pretty rare. Also some details (such as the shape of period in 10.KOP.) look wrong.
You should/could check Ovalpoint.com for examples of certified specimens (It's a combination of dealer/auction & philatelic study reference service for classic Finnish stamps).
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 10, 2013 13:18:02 GMT
The "Tammerfors" cancellation made me curious - I can recognize that as a Swedish name so I wondered what the Finnish equivalent was. Tampere! A major city, but I had never heard of the Swedish name for it before. Wikipedia says only 0.5% of the population is Swedish by native language so I guess it's not so common in use in Finland today. You don't have to go no further than Tampere Railway Station, to see & hear Tammerfors being used actively hundreds of times a day The legislation requires that governement officials and institutions must be able to provide services, announcements etc. in Finnish and Swedish throughout the country (even if nobody really needs them). Oh the pleasures of bureaucracy.... But back in the 18th and 19th century Swedish was used as primary 'official language' (despite of Russian rule), and hence it was used extensively also on postmarks of the time. But of course this changed to a degree under the Russification of Finland (1899–1905 and 1908–1917).
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 10, 2013 12:42:50 GMT
Oh they do exist. But eBay is not your best spot to purchase them. Try instead Finnish stamp dealers and auctions. All values except the 1mk orange (and some rare rouletting variations) should be pretty easy to acquire in perfect condition if you are willing to spend some $$$. That said, 'spacefillers' are extremely plenty and MUCH cheaper than the perfect specimens. A single missing tooth drops the value by half, and 2-3 missing tooths eats away 80-90% of the value; and the short ones also eat away from the value/price. I've seen some dealers offering stocksheets filled with severely damaged 20 and 40p stamps for $20-30 (roughly buck a piece). Here's my best specimen - 40p on piece with clear Tammerfors cancel, just one short perf: But I would not worry too much about missing perfs. That's the way these stamps were used... If something looks too good, it usually is. For example this one has got (at least) two implanted perfs (in addition few short ones): (And yes, I've been thinking of updating these and my specimens of other values to better grade... But it's always about the money, or lack of it thereof ) -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Oct 6, 2013 5:49:46 GMT
Nowadays, I cannnot believe the interest, my last lot I looked at and bid on for a joke lasted 31 bids and went for over $30, so I am rather amazed. The last lot I looked at for Romania yesterday, went for 120% of catalogue for a 1983 collection of CTO's. (shipping inclusive) Is the market heading for a bubble? Based on gut feeling I'd say there's some genuine interest behind. I know quite a many collectors who have changed their 'behaviour' from hate to love during the last 10 years or so -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 20, 2013 13:39:16 GMT
@rod... Wow. That 200ptas stamps is really vicious looking.
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 19, 2013 14:07:47 GMT
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 18, 2013 12:18:51 GMT
Not just for specific issues, but also of specific stamps (such as Christian X 80ö). As to be expected, most of these volumes are in Danish (and published by DFF / Danish federation).
But I'd definitely go with jkblue's suggestion and start by collecting a wide spectrum of things for at least 6 months, and then find out what attracts you most & digg further.
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 18, 2013 6:23:43 GMT
jk - The number of shade variations in Facit is INSANE! Just trying to whittle them down to a few representative shades is a task. And don't get me started on the inverted/normal frames. That's not the half of it. There are also thin/thick frame varieties and inverted watermarks on the bi-colors. I may have to re-think my page strategy. Trust me, it's just your average semi-specialized catalogue If you want to go really deep with Denmark, you'll need AFA Specialkatalog (about 1,000 pages, issued about every 5 years). If you want to dig deeper Finland, you'll need 'fat LAPE' (about 600 pages, issued every 3 years or so). ... -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 15, 2013 8:40:46 GMT
Actually quite true... Åland has Finlands first (and largest) potato chips company. It provides lots of jobs, revenue etc. to the Islands.
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 15, 2013 3:15:31 GMT
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 14, 2013 7:38:49 GMT
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 11, 2013 7:08:38 GMT
Keijo - what host to you use? I'm using a Virtual Internet (vi.net) + a combination of 3rd party service providers (such as SendGrid, Amazon Cloud etc). You must generate plenty of traffic, your blog is extremely popular. I wouldn't call it extremely popular (at least yet). It's just 'well known' amongst a group of like-minded collectors in certain countries. But if measured using bandwidth, it can vary from 250MB to 10GB a day depending on what's hot/happening. A lot depends on how the 'search engine gods' feel about the site on that day. You have subtle Google ads (like me) and those pay me way more per month than the host costs Lucky you. Basically any money that I manage to get from ads & sales of premium content goes straight into keeping the blog online. It's not just single bill/factor, but the total of things. -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 10, 2013 13:56:08 GMT
Brian,
I whole heartedly agree that change is the only constant on the Internet, LOL.
-k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 10, 2013 6:30:17 GMT
@jack (and why not everyone else interested of costs of website hosting)... Jack, you need your own host, rather than using the Proboards server. Just download the software. There are plenty of hosts. I have been using Bravenet for 12 years, unlimited bandwidth and storage for less than $10 per month. www.bravehost.com/Actually all 'unlimited hosting plans' have the same catch: unlimited is not truly unlimited. For example Bravehost/Bravenet SLA states the following: As for what 'normal use' use is, it really depends on the hosting service provider. It can be 1GB of bandwidth. Or 5GB. Or 10GB. Or if you get lucky 50 to 100GB... But once your website becomes really 'popular' and exceeds the limits, you are charged accordingly. No exceptions with that. -k-
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 8, 2013 17:49:35 GMT
This brings up an interesting point - do Finns consider themselves to be in Scandinavia? I had always thought it was a Nordic country, not a Scandinavian one. Maybe the Ålanders think differently, though! Yes and no... Finns are taught that Finland is part of so called Fennoscandia/Fennoscandinavia, But a lot of people simply drop the "fenno" part, and off we go as part of Scandinavia, LOL. (And I thought it was tricky to find bulk lots of Greenland stamps - bulk Åland stamps are almost impossible to spot.) They do exist. But you just have to be extremely lucky and extremely patient to come by with (real) bulk lots (on cheap price).
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Post by scb on Sept 8, 2013 12:17:39 GMT
That only leaves a few more Scandinavian countries. I might as well just complete the circle, but I really need to just focus (hard for me as I have a hard time passing things up like this) on 1 (or 2) countries at a time. Few more? Add up Finland and you've got ALL the Scandinavian countries on the list After that you could of course start adding up with autonomous regions (Aland Islands, Greenland, Faroe Islands etc), occupation issues (Aunus, East Karelia etc.), colonies (Danish West Indies), local mail (various bypost stamps etc), ...
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 6, 2013 16:09:47 GMT
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scb
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Post by scb on Sept 4, 2013 6:08:04 GMT
You mean this www.stampcollectingblog.com/happy-stamp-dad.php or something else? As I've written quite a lot over the years, it is possible you've stumbled with some other older entry too. But I do believe that if we stamp collectors don't share our hobby & passion with our kids (or grandchildren), then nobody's going to tell them what stamp collecting is really all about.
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Post by scb on Sept 3, 2013 6:14:45 GMT
Just a minor bug: top background is repeating itself!
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Post by scb on Aug 26, 2013 5:11:54 GMT
Noticed that one too. Just a gut feeling that it might be related to agreement that Canada Post has signed with DC Comics.
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Post by scb on Aug 24, 2013 12:21:38 GMT
Wow you guys are really cautious! I would call it just 'common sense', LOL.
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Post by scb on Aug 24, 2013 6:54:10 GMT
The only thing I worry about is some crook taking them and trying to sell them online and rippin people off. I've been in that situation, and that's why I try to watermark just about every stamp scan (and photo) I upload on the web these days. And AFAIK quite many stamp dealers / auctioneers do it too. It's not nice, but it's there for one's protection. As far as the site itself goes... I think it has some nice content, but also some errors. So it really can't compete with real world catalogues IMHO. Personally I'm also a bit worried about their origins / privacy policy. AFAIK some of the folks behind the site are of Danish origin, but coming up with real world contact details draws blanc. They do state a P.O.Box company registered in Belize. And their privacy policy allows just about anything they wish....Maybe it's just me, but I'd be very cautious of giving away any of my personal data on that site.
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scb
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Post by scb on Aug 24, 2013 6:34:02 GMT
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Post by scb on Aug 23, 2013 6:47:24 GMT
Thanks for the update.
I just checked Canada Post website, entered "Superman" into search and came up with whooping 62 results to shop. So there's the coil stamp, the booklets stamps (5 different covers), m/s, press sheet,...
Talk about milking the collectors. Where in the world is Superman when we need him, LOL.
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Post by scb on Aug 21, 2013 11:59:14 GMT
Actually these are so called EinzelBlocks (sometimes refered also as 'deluxe sheets').
The imperforated B-stamps Michel is referring were issued in sheet format.
So these would be Michel #747-754 EB (Einzelnblock).
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