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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 19, 2023 6:34:52 GMT
Hi folks - Nick here!
I think maybe I'll start with the interesting idea and request for help... and then get to the boring stuff. Interesting stuff first - I inherited a fun stamp collection from my grandfather. It has a US-centric focus, a number of ducks, some Columbian series, lots of 1800s and early 1900s pieces. At this point I have spent a good 100+ hours with this collection and have created something that I am hoping to get some feedback on and perhaps pass on to the benefit of this community... here we go...
1. Using a combination of freely available AI tools, MS publisher and excel I created a digital "Collector's Book". I did this so that it would be easy for me to share the meaning and interest of my grandfather's collection rapidly with family, friends and colleagues.
More importantly - and hopefully interesting to this community -the process and template I created to achieve the above represent a permanent, rapidly customizable method to create digital representation of a physical collection. Basically - I created an efficient means by which ANY collector should be able to rapidly instantiate their OWN Collector's Book, with text and art unique and appropriate to their personal collection.
Having created this and seen the joy it brought my family - it occurred to me that others may be interested in it. In honor of my grandfather, a life-long collector, I thought to check in with this forum to see if someone might be interested in taking ownership of the template and process, such that the community has this new tool at its disposal and a dedicated collector process and template-owner who can improve on what I created. I am not seeking payment for this - I really just want to find out who might be interested, teach them, and pass it on to those who can find value in it.
Please contact me if you are interested in having a look at the output of the method and an overview of the process and time-commitment. For a collection that at least has a spreadsheet - the process from a 1,500 stamp collection to eBook is between 8-20 hours. As I understand it, this is a blink of an eye in stamp time!
Again - this is something I am inclined to work with an interested party to improve upon, and then gift to the community. I would even be happy to run an interactive seminar if a few folks are interested in co-ownership of the resource.
On to the boring part of this post...
2. While I respect the care and art of stamp collecting and have spent a lot of time painstakingly documenting my grandfather's collection - I am admittedly not a collector at heart. As such, the collection I have inherited does need a new home. It has been very meticulously compiled, documented and prepared as a comprehensive and understandable collection for whoever might be thinking to either expand an established, or kick-start a fledgling collection. This latter item I would like to sell, in the interest of funding my passion, which is guitar - I intend to use proceeds in part to direct the build of a custom guitar. I'll be blocked from the "sale" section of the forum for a while, but am happy to be reached out to in the interest of discussing the collection or to set up a virtual tour. Your help and assistance is respectfully welcome. Key stuff: 7 ducks (1 unused, high grade), 2 columbus series, a fair amount late 1800s items, red-violet allied victory 4-block, lots of pre-1930s unused and potentially mint stamps, and (and this MAY be controversial) 5x 10c Jefferson Davis "altered plates". I want to be completely clear and transparent on that last item - and please moderators correct me if you have concerns - to my knowledge the 10c Jefferson Davises are unissued but interesting counterfeit items crafted at various time points after the plates were stolen at the conclusion of the civil war. I don't know if that triggers the ethics concerns related to counterfeits... IF SO so please let me know and I'll avoid any future conversation related to same. Anyways there is a lot to discover in the collection and I am looking to pass it on to someone who will value it and the time and care taken to prepare it for them. Anyone interested, please reach out and I'm happy to set up time to discuss.
Alright - that's about it!
I'm very eager to meet folks, learn more about the craft, make some friends, and to contribute!
Thank you for helping me pass on a legacy and (hopefully) enrich the community.
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Admin
Administrator 
Posts: 2,676
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Post by Admin on Jan 19, 2023 16:53:06 GMT
Welcome, Nick. I encourage you to create a thread in the Philately Links & Useful Tools board to provide more detail and enable discussion of your digital Collector's Book. As to your grandfather's collection, sharing information and images of what you consider to be the more interesting items, in the appropriate regional or topical boards, is the best way to contribute to the Forum and provide useful information (moving you closer to that 50 post milestone). |
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 19, 2023 17:13:16 GMT
Thank you, Steve! That's exactly the guidance I was looking for. I'll post over there in the near future.
In the meantime, anyone who sees this and is interested in seeing how AI-tools can help quickly create a custom, sharable digital representation of your collection (or better yet, wants to take over the process knowledge) - let me know.
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cjoprey
Member 
Scanning stamps for my website...
Posts: 1,504
What I collect: Belgium (predominantly), British Commonwealth (older ones), WW (whatever comes my way...)
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Post by cjoprey on Jan 19, 2023 17:28:40 GMT
Welcome from the UK nnewcomb! I'd certainly be interested to hear more about how you set this up - and I agree with Steve that starting a thread on your process in the mentioned thread would be a great way to share and get engagement. Also wanted to say it's great to see someone from Seattle - I've spent a LOT of time there over the years and absolutely love the city and surrounding area. |
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 19, 2023 19:11:46 GMT
Thanks, cjoprey. I'd be happy to show you! Also - I love the UK - one of my best friends in the world was married in London and we had a wonderful few days exploring. At the time I was in med-school in Switzerland. I think you are +8 or +9 on me... sooo... I'll see if I can figure out how to message you privately, so we can exchange emails - and then perhaps we set up a zoom for 30 minutes for a quick tour? Let me know if that sounds alright - my absolute pleasure to show you and get your feedback. |
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dorincard
Member
Posts: 1,623 
What I collect: My focus is on Wild Mammals on maximum cards. Occasionally, I get or create maximum cards with other animals, or any other topic.
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Post by dorincard on Jan 19, 2023 19:23:08 GMT
Welcome! Do you know that some AI creations are infringing copyright, despite the modifications? Images Created by AI Aren’t Necessarily Copyright Free link.medium.com/SjgGn2qUIwb |
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 19, 2023 20:22:20 GMT
Hi dorincard - thanks! I appreciate the word of caution (for everyone) - and yes, I'm well-versed in the considerations content creators of any kind should be cognizant of. With AI-content, as with any other content creation, the principles of IP and copywrite need to be understood by creators and users alike. That said - a lot more plays into whether the consequences are of relevance - including intended use, for which generally applicable legal exceptions clearly exist. Bearing in mind that the process I am proposing does not inherently dictate what content will be created, and is then intended for personal use, it would be difficult to consequentially violate copywrite. To your point - anyone who joins to look at the template and process I've come up with should be aware that creating AI-content of say, Marvel's Wolverine, and trying to sell it at mass scale, is very likely to be treading on thin ice. To be honest, with content creation being more accessible than ever, the primary responsibility I see is with the creators exercising the same responsibility everyone else has to related to infringement when using or creating. Good addition - ty. |
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hrdoktorx
Member
Posts: 7,215
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
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Post by hrdoktorx on Jan 19, 2023 21:18:02 GMT
 to TSF! Thanks for the detailed and thorough introduction. Your AI tool seems quite interesting. I'm curious to know more.
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 19, 2023 21:47:30 GMT
Hi hrdoktorx - thanks! I opened up a thread under tools with a bit more information per Steve's suggestion and reached out to cjoprey to figure out a time this weekend to run a 30 min virtual walk-through. Most likely it would be morning PST. Would you be interested in joining us? |
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Post by iswscwebmaster on Jan 19, 2023 23:07:53 GMT
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zipper
Member
Posts: 2,649
What I collect: Classic GB, QV, France Ceres/Napoleon, Classic U.S., Cinderella & Poster Stamps
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Post by zipper on Jan 20, 2023 5:13:53 GMT
Hi
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,912
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 20, 2023 5:26:22 GMT
Hi and welcome to TSF, Nick ( nnewcomb): Many thanks for your very nice introduction post. I am also interested in learning more about the AI tool for creating the virtual collection images. I am in California, so also in the Pacific Time Zone. Enjoy your time with us! -Chris  Recently repatriated to the US after 5 years in Europe |
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 20, 2023 5:51:21 GMT
Hi Chris!
A pleasure to meet you!
This is great - I've got about 4 people already interested. I was thinking about running a 30 minute zoom Sunday morning around 10 or 11 am to demonstrate the outcome and walk through the process with whoever is interested. We can easily extend to an hour.
All I need is for folks to privately send me their email, which I can use to 1) Grant access to the basic composition materials; and 2) send invites to the virtual meeting.
Let me know if that time could work for you or if something else is better.
Where were you in Europe? I spent 10 years in Switzerland for med school (dual-citizen) - beautiful continent - I miss it.
Best,
Nick
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,912
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 20, 2023 7:14:46 GMT
Thanks for your response, Nick ( nnewcomb)! I have been to Switzerland on a few occasions, and I like it very much. I spent a bit less than 2 years in France (Aix-en-Provence, near Marseille) followed by three years in the UK (Oxford, England). I enjoyed my time in both places very much indeed. I look forward to joining in your online presentation! |
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rex
Member
Posts: 1,216
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Post by rex on Jan 20, 2023 13:28:32 GMT
....to...TSF.....Nick.... nnewcomb  ....Ludwig Italy
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FDI
Member
Member of RPSC & BNAPS
Posts: 386
What I collect: Modern Canada (misperf, varieties, tagging errors), Canadian Cinderellas, EXUP & CAPEX & Dead Countries
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Post by FDI on Jan 20, 2023 16:42:03 GMT
Welcome aboard nnewcomb ! I would also be interested to see how this is set up. François |
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 20, 2023 23:27:13 GMT
FDI - PMing you to add you to the Sunday virtual demo we've set up!
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Post by dgdecker on Jan 22, 2023 15:07:47 GMT
Welcome to the Forum.
David
Ottawa, Canada
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ameis33
Member
What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet
Posts: 546
What I collect: Poland and Italy Republic
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Post by ameis33 on Jan 22, 2023 18:53:20 GMT
Good idea
With the idea of making a hires 3D scan of coins and, with the help of an AI App, grading it automatically (but ok, that's numismatic), your is a very interesting idea... This year started good...
Welcome to TSF
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Post by nnewcomb on Jan 22, 2023 21:15:05 GMT
ameis33 - that is a pretty nifty idea. Could be coupled with the highlights and online representation of a collection (or dare I suggest NFTs?). I could definitely see a UNIQUE digital NFT tied to a physical, unique stamp. In any case - We had our (1st) demo session this morning. Thank you, Chris and Xavier, for a very fun conversation. Was a pleasure to meet you both. I'll probably summary post outcomes from the first demo here, and then in greater detail in the tools forum.
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to TSF! Thanks for the detailed and thorough introduction. Your AI tool seems quite interesting. I'm curious to know more.
....Ludwig
