antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 29, 2013 2:46:35 GMT
Today my first two pages of Armenia
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antoniusra
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Actively pursuing every stamp I do not have and continuing to expand my site.
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 30, 2013 0:16:30 GMT
Today is a new page I've just made up after recieving the set yesterday. Here is some info on the issue: In 1956 Jeffries Banknote Co. presented the country with a project to create an issue commemorating all the popes of the Catholic Church. The project was controversial from the start and only a printing dedicated to the 12 Popes named "Pio" was authorized via Executive Decree 226 of 1954. When about 100,000 complete sets of series had already been put up for sale, the Country retracted the Decree under Executive Decree 198 of 1956 and ordered all remaining stamps destroyed. Some stamp catalogs do not recognize this issue and they are overly valued by others. We believe that those sets that can be obtained on covers or those that are "used" with clear cancellations, should command better values, given that they were issued while there was no legal impediment to their legality. This is not the case for those that were not circulated. For some reason I cannot get the page to show up. here is the URL: mitch.seymourfamily.com/mward/collection/samerica/panama/panama11a.jpg
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tomiseksj
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Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,270
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Oct 30, 2013 0:38:44 GMT
Mitch,
It appeared as if the image's link was repeated multiple times in the BBC code -- I took the liberty of correcting it.
p.s., I love what you're doing with this thread!
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 30, 2013 1:28:40 GMT
Thanks for correcting it, I'm not sure what happened. Glad you like the thread.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Oct 30, 2013 2:15:27 GMT
antoniusra, sorry to keep on diverting this thread. I get the impression that new additions to your collection arrive almost every day. True?
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 30, 2013 6:30:40 GMT
More like every other day
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Post by 1840to1940 on Oct 30, 2013 15:36:15 GMT
More like every other day Well, I guess that makes me feel better. My average is probably newly acquired stamps arriving every other week, about a 100 stamps a month.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 30, 2013 22:31:02 GMT
I have not done a count in 18 years but then it was 226,000 different postage stamps from the world. Adding to the collection has been my main focus in life since that time. If I had money it would probably be at the half million mark by now. I think I have probably surpassed the 300,000 mark but can't really know without making a hand count. Counting by 5's is really quite easy and fast but we are talking a lot of stamps and books to muddle through. That last count took me about a week to do. 350,000 is possibly a realistic goal for me. Increasing the numbers dramatically would be easy if I were to fancy Dunes and wallpaper. I guess I'm jaded in this way but I really rather abhor all the garbage that has been produced since the 1960's by countries that are just trying to cash in on stamp collectors. As with the Eastern European (Iron Curtain) countries it was probably more propaganda for fun and profit. Of course it can be difficult to know where to draw the line, and I am not really sure if there are 350,00 stamps to be had within my framework. There are of course lots of things to consider as what makes a proper count. I include sub numbers in the count as they are usually difficult to separate quickly although this is probably not exactly proper. I have needlist for most of the world which could give me a quicker count but it would not be near as accurate. I get on the average of 3-4 lots a week. Often times I am buying sections of collections just to get one or two stamps and usually some upgrades. The other thing I look out for are collection sections that extend my end dates for countries, I try and get one of these a week and that is what helps to expand. I like to add around 1,000 stamps every month, sometimes it happens usually not. For example I received the two lots below today. The first is a nice mint Belgium lot that catalogs for around $670. I bought it mainly to get the first Congo semipostal stamp shown. This and the next one complete my Congo semipostals and leaves me with just one regular issue to complete the regs. There are several nice upgrades from used to mint a few being NH. There is a nice shade difference in the two 1915 10fr 3 kings stamp, both NH (anyone have a cat value for these in NH?). The 6.50-9fr King Baudouin stamps near bottom are some of the higher value "modern" stamps you will find. The bottom sets of masks I already had complete used but they are so much prettier mint. All for half the cat value of the first stamp. The next lot is a mixed one from Latin America. I bought it mainly for the first two Guatemala stamps in blocks. They have both proved to be very difficult so the 3 ea dups should be easy to sell. The Bolivian imperf pair is a nice little bonus and I needed 4 of the Costa Rican stamps. The rest are all dupes but the Uruguay Olympic set is rather scarce and popular for resale. Should not be difficult getting my money back but I will cringe a bit when separating the blocks.
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Post by jkjblue on Oct 31, 2013 0:09:51 GMT
I really enjoy the pics and commentary on your recent acquisitions. I would encourage you to do this from time to time, as I find it as interesting as your completed country pages that are being presented. Thanks !
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Post by stoltzpup on Oct 31, 2013 2:06:21 GMT
Keeping count is a time consuming distraction; I admire your restraint in delaying 18 years. What good is a count other than bragging rights? I wish I had back all the time I've spent keeping an up-to-date count. If you have been collecting at the rate of approximately 1000 per month for the last 18 years, you have virtually doubled your collection. Making acquisitions and study of the stamps are better uses of time than counting.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 31, 2013 3:30:32 GMT
A few pages today from one of my favorite countries Belgian Congo. The first page is the first page of semi postal stamps. I just added the two top values of the set, which completes the semis by major number. The next two pages are of the great Baluba Tribe figure and mask issue. I just got done mounting the pages after swapping the mint ones for the used ones that filled their spaces. I need to renew my search of the Leopold II 10 franc stamp as it is the only one left to complete the regulars. Anyone looking to start a small country you can do no better than The Belgian Congo it has every thing going for it.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 31, 2013 3:43:39 GMT
Keeping count is a time consuming distraction; I admire your restraint in delaying 18 years. What good is a count other than bragging rights? I wish I had back all the time I've spent keeping an up-to-date count. If you have been collecting at the rate of approximately 1000 per month for the last 18 years, you have virtually doubled your collection. Making acquisitions and study of the stamps are better uses of time than counting. I totally agree, some people seem to spend more time counting than collecting. I have needlists for most of the world that are constantly updated so I know pretty much what I have and need and it is time well spent. Still one still gets curious of the count and I get people all the time wanting to know what it is. I do try and keep track of percentage of completion. Unfortunately, I have not been able to add 1,000 stamps a month for all that time, but it was not for lack of trying. JKJblue My stamp fund is tapped for the next few weeks so probably won't be adding anything except from trading. I do like to show new additions as I personally find them all exciting.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Oct 31, 2013 15:20:30 GMT
That 1947-50 Congo masks set reminds me of why I really should consider collecting at least a decade past 1940.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 31, 2013 18:16:24 GMT
1840-1940 I have long thought that 1950 was the best year to end a WW collection. If you stop at 1940 then you miss WWII which of course was the most important happening in the 20th century. Philatelicaly speaking, there were much more things going on than any other decade of the century. I've wondered if Scott made their classic catalog to 1950 if you would see a big drop in people collecting past then. That would certainly put a big dent in Scott's catalog sales. I'm sure they are aware that collectors would love to have a 1840-1950 catalog, however they have a pretty good reason, with the Centenary deal, that gives them a good reason not to. A big thing for me stopping at 1950 would mean that I only collect stamps that are older than I, I think that would be a pretty kewl reason.
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Post by stampgeezer on Oct 31, 2013 19:05:51 GMT
A-Ra Makes sense. My cutoff date, with a few exceptions, is 1959. My first stamp collecting phase started about 1955 and I kept it up until 1959 so the stamps from that era are the ones I remember from that time. My mom worked in a place that had a contract post office so she brought home a sheet of every new stamp and a PB for me. She said they would all be worth money someday. That did not work out too well.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Oct 31, 2013 20:11:08 GMT
1949, or even to the mid-1950s makes sense to me, for all the same reasons. Matches nicely with the coverage of the Scott Blue Internationals Volumes II and III. I keep hoping I will find ones on eBay about 50% full that I can build on. I need to keep looking.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Oct 31, 2013 20:41:54 GMT
1840-1940 I would certainly recommend it. Those volumes use to come up fairly often but there might be a lot more people looking to make that expansion these days. Good luck, I'm sure you will be a happy camper when you get them. I would make sure that the pages are clean without writing all over them and that the stamps have been hinged by someone who has a clue. It is also a good sign if the overall appearance is neat. Of course you would have to change your moniker.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 21:52:31 GMT
Posted by former member @conker
Antonius-Ra, your website is wonderful but your personal commentary on this thread makes it a whole lot better. I wonder if you are prepared to explain a little more about how you assembled such a phenomenal collection so as to inspire us lesser mortals. Questions that come to my mind are - How long has it taken you? at 1000 additions per month it would be 25-30 years? How much time - say hours/month - is needed for such a collection? Did you start with an inherited collection or was it from scratch? I am about 2 years back into this hobby and have only assembled a 10,000 collection (and I collect whole world up to present!) so I am looking for inspiration.
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Post by jkjblue on Oct 31, 2013 23:14:16 GMT
I too am planning "someday" to expand the WW collection from 1940 to ~1955.
It seems when one buys country collections, most of the value is prior to 1940, so the post 1940 stuff is thrown in "free". Appeals to me, ;-)
Now when will I have the time? ;-)
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Ryan
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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, 2013 0:09:44 GMT
For example I received the two lots below today. The first is a nice mint Belgium lot that catalogs for around $670. I bought it mainly to get the first Congo semipostal stamp shown. This and the next one complete my Congo semipostals and leaves me with just one regular issue to complete the regs. There are several nice upgrades from used to mint a few being NH. There is a nice shade difference in the two 1915 10fr 3 kings stamp, both NH (anyone have a cat value for these in NH?). I can help here - my 2007 Scott Classic shows $20 for MH and $35 for MNH when perf. 14 and $25/$50 when perf. 15. By my eye, it looks like you have the two different perfs there, perf. 14 on the left and perf. 15 on the right. The 2007 Belgian official catalogue (COB / OBP) shows €24/€50 for the perf. 14, €26/€55 for a perf. 14 sepia brown shade, and €65/€130 for perf. 15. So, the Belgians are far more impressed by your perf. 15 stamp than the guys at Scott are. "Good" centering gets a +60% bonus for this issue in the Belgian catalogue. Certainly your perf. 15 stamp has large margins, if not mathematical centering. Ryan
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 1, 2013 3:51:08 GMT
Conker Well I started collecting in 1958 basically from scratch with the help of my father who is a collector. I started out with a two volume Regent WW album set up and a Scott U.S. album. I collected for probably 7 years before I put them aside for a long while. In 1988 I was in a hobby shop where a local dealer had stamps up for sale. I notice that the prices were much less than I thought they would be so I could not help getting back into it realizing I could now get most of those stamps I wanted a s a kid but could not afford. Soon I bought a Minkus WW collection from the estate of a Kansas University Professor. I srted adding what ever I could get my hands on. I was very lucky to find a dealer from whom I could get most stuff for 20% of catalog or lower. After sometime I decided that I was going to get as serious as my pocket book could afford. I started buying used Scott Specialty albums that had the majority of stamps in them. Since that time I've spent every extra nickel and the majority of my waking hours adding to the collection. About 12 years ago I started my online collection site and it has helped me much keep concentrated on the pursuit. So I guess the answer is 25 years, $15 a day, full time. One has to be quite serious and a bit maniacal to get to this point. If you smoke and drink quitting both will get your $15 a day and go to a better cause. I quit both to have money for stamps, otherwise I would not have it.
Ryan Thanks much for the info it was very helpful. Yes, I just checked the perfs and you are correct. I did not even think about perfs before and it explains why the different shade. Usually when stamps have different perfs the color is a bit different as a different ink mix was used.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 1, 2013 4:01:39 GMT
Today the first and second page of Australia. Still pretty weak as I have never really concentrated on the early Australian stamps. As with most British material I'm getting back into the search which will take along time for me to get it where I would like.
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Post by jkjblue on Nov 1, 2013 18:07:00 GMT
I am glad you quantified how many years, money and effort when into the collection. Truly amazing. For myself, as a WW classical collector- but only recently in terms of years- I, as 1840-1940, would like to "fill" the Big Blue album. How far we get remains to be seen.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 1, 2013 19:21:33 GMT
"I am glad you quantified how many years, money and effort when into the collection. Truly amazing. " I quantified that in a little different way that makes it sound more attainable: 25 years, $15 a day, full time. If you smoke and drink quitting both will get your $15 a day and go to a better cause. I quit both to have money for stamps, otherwise I would not have it. You also must remember that I rarely spend over 20% of cat on an item. Usually I'm more in the 6-8% range. Percentage of cat is something you really need to pay attention to or you will not get the bang for your buck you need to get far. Buying at low cat does not necessarily mean your are getting crappy stamps. You will not find many ragged stamps in my collection. I go thru enough collections mostly early years so that I am constantly upgrading and getting the pick of the pick of the pick....... Selling or trading off duplicates pays for a high percentage of the lots I buy. One of the big advantages of collecting the world is that you can just look for the best deal of the week no matter what country. This really helps in keeping costs down. If you get hung up on trying to complete some specific items you will usually pay much more than at some other time. Good luck on your quest to completing your Classic collection. Just keep at it and you can become very close. I don't know how many "impossible" stamps there are to find in it but surely a few.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 1, 2013 19:32:57 GMT
Oh and one more thing that I cannot say enough. If you don't have wantlists (I call them needlists) for all that you collect, you won't get far. With needlists on your pc in small wordpad format you can put it off to the side and search for stamps online very quickly. Without them your just fumbling around for the most part. In my view, after organizing, the time you spend making up your lists is the most important time spent on your collection.
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antoniusra
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Actively pursuing every stamp I do not have and continuing to expand my site.
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 2, 2013 2:24:03 GMT
Today the first two pages of Austria. Austria is a great country to collect and quite affordable. To the early19th century depth of varieties and nice clean cancels to the unmatched fine engravings of the Semi Postal and regular issues.
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antoniusra
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Post by antoniusra on Nov 3, 2013 16:44:25 GMT
For today the first couple pages of Azerbaijan. Quite different and attractive in a primitive sort of way
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 3, 2013 23:08:41 GMT
I like Azerbaijan, too. There are several "classic" countries that are so unexpectedly distinctive. Latvia comes to mind.
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Post by spain1850 on Nov 4, 2013 0:11:39 GMT
Can the stamps of Azerbaijan be found postally used? I think all the ones I have (not many) are all unused as well.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 4, 2013 15:48:54 GMT
There is a nice writeup on Azerbaijan (including used stamps) on Keijo's stamp collecting blog (http://www.stampcollectingblog.com/stamps-of-azerbaijan.php).
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