scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313 
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Post by scb on Apr 23, 2014 13:04:27 GMT
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BC
Departed
Rest in Peace
Vancouver, BC Canada
Posts: 836
What I collect: Worldwide USED up to the 1960's, later years from countries that came into existence after then, like Anguilla, Tuvalu and Transnistria.
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Post by BC on Apr 23, 2014 19:51:45 GMT
Nice blog post scb. I agree, Airmails and semi-postal stamps NO PLACE in BOB, and should be with the regular stamps in chronological order.
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on Apr 24, 2014 6:49:45 GMT
BC... Thanks  I agree that airmails and semipostal in BOB section are bit odd decision from catalog editors. Fortunately Michel (my favorite catalog) and SG don't do that, whereas Scott does, and Yvert is halfway between these two. How much easier a collectors life would be if all major catalogs followed the same logic.
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Philatarium
Member
Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 982
What I collect: Primarily focused on Japan, but lots of other material catches my eye as well ...
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Post by Philatarium on Apr 24, 2014 19:20:34 GMT
For what it's worth, the catalogs for Asian countries I'm familiar with actually break things down into even greater detail for the most part.
For Japan, the Sakura (and the JSCA, Japan Specialized) separate definitives from commemoratives. (Totally separate numbering system.) They also separate booklets, airmails, and prefectural series. (As does Scott for the prefecturals -- this is unique to Japan -- the "Z" series stamps.) However, semi-postals are included with commemoratives.
Moreover, they break out their national park series and list and number them separately from commemoratives, and do as well for New Year's stamps.
A quick look at the Korean catalog (KPC) suggests pretty much the same thing: definitives separate from commemoratives, airmails separate, semi-postals separate, Christmas/New Year's separate, as well as for the personalized stamps.
I don't have a Taiwan or PRC catalog in front of me at the moment, but I believe they make most of these same distinctions, too.
-- Dave
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on Apr 30, 2014 5:39:23 GMT
dave... That was interesting tidbit. Recently I got a copy of North Korean Stamp Catalog, and it lists everything chronologically. The only BOB stuff is entire booklets (but the stamps are listed separately on regular section). Moving on... Yet another new post on the blog: www.stampcollectingblog.com/albanian-mirdita-stamps.php
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on May 21, 2014 17:32:02 GMT
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rod222
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Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 8,233
What I collect: US Precancels. Belgium Precancels.
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Post by rod222 on May 22, 2014 0:30:26 GMT
Interesting post! (Case scenerio) Bad buy Recent, Mongolia about 100 stamps for $1.50 + $4 shipping. Quite a few sets, every set missing the top 3-4 values. The value of the purchase is OK, but probably wasted because it necessitates the (probable) re-purchase of other sets to complete all values. Only disappointment came from the vendor not indicating "short sets" |
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on May 22, 2014 6:30:09 GMT
(Case scenerio) Bad buy Recent, Mongolia about 100 stamps for $1.50 + $4 shipping. Quite a few sets, every set missing the top 3-4 values. The value of the purchase is OK, but probably wasted because it necessitates the (probable) re-purchase of other sets to complete all values. Only disappointment came from the vendor not indicating "short sets" I'd say that is to be expected from bulk lots sold by number of stamps. It's always for the 'buyer beware'... Late last year I acquired a 'large packet of m/s worldwide' from German dealer. I expected a fair amount of CTOs, but the reality was even rougher than I expected: Mint stuff: - Czechoslovakia : 3 - Soviet Union: 7 - North Korea: 1 - Madagascar: 1 - Uruguya: 1 - Tanzania: 8 - ------------------ - Total of 21 sheets … Nothing extraordinary with these. Catalog values range from 2-10€ each. CTO-stuff: - Tanzania: 17 - Madagascar: 6 - Mauritania: 4 - Guinea Bissau: 1 - Soviet Union: 7 - North Korea: 89 - Equatorial Guinea: 101 - Nicaragua: 27 - St. Tome & Principe: 8 - Vietnam: 4 - Laos: 15 - Cambodia: 33 - Guyana: 6 - Cuba: 28 - Sand dunes (Blocks): 54 - Sand dunes (Einzelblocks): 50 - Sand dunes (Imperf deluxe blocks): 193 - -------------------------------------------- - Total of 643 sheets Was it a bad buy? As I collect the Sand Dunes, Equatorial Guinea and alike, I definitely liked it... But I'm sure a lot of collectors who are not into these, are saying some not so pretty words, LOL. That said, what I didn't like was the 1 kg of their broschures, sales catalogs etc. extra weight included with the stamps (the postage costs still make cry  ). -k- |
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Zuzu
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Self-Proclaimed Black Belt in Google Fu
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Post by Zuzu on May 22, 2014 13:56:25 GMT
From the referenced blog post:  I certainly hope that's a bit of humorous hyperbole and you're not speaking from experience! |
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rod222
Member
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Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 8,233
What I collect: US Precancels. Belgium Precancels.
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Post by rod222 on May 22, 2014 14:28:05 GMT
Late last year I acquired a 'large packet of m/s worldwide' from German dealer. I expected a fair amount of CTOs, but the reality was even rougher than I expected: -k- You fail to suggest what you paid, or where you live, however I suspect you probably bought a bargain. I value any sheet, any country at around $1 each (unless a Sc rare high value ) I have to pay around $40 shipping (unregistered) for any average lots I buy from North America, so I have to plot that in the budget, no doubt I pay more for my stamps than my American colleagues. I also buy the occaisional sand dune, and often surprised at the price that these items fetch (ebay), you may be surprised how many closet collectors out there for our weakness. 643 minisheets, that should keep you busy for a while,  |
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on May 22, 2014 16:19:14 GMT
From the referenced blog post: I certainly hope that's a bit of humorous hyperbole and you're not speaking from experience! When you buy 'mystery boxes', anything's possible... Haven't had a dead cat myself, but do know a collector who's found a dead mouse. The most common 'non-stamp' matter without a doubt is hair (human or pet) and dust, and dead bugs come good second. Late last year I acquired a 'large packet of m/s worldwide' from German dealer. I expected a fair amount of CTOs, but the reality was even rougher than I expected: -k- You fail to suggest what you paid, or where you live, however I suspect you probably bought a bargain. I value any sheet, any country at around $1 each (unless a Sc rare high value ) I have to pay around $40 shipping (unregistered) for any average lots I buy from North America, so I have to plot that in the budget, no doubt I pay more for my stamps than my American colleagues. I also buy the occaisional sand dune, and often surprised at the price that these items fetch (ebay), you may be surprised how many closet collectors out there for our weakness. 643 minisheets, that should keep you busy for a while, I paid 69€ for the lot plus 13,90€ for the postage to Finland (which would have been MUCH less without all the extras). So at 13 cents a sheet it was not too bad (though most of it was 'philatelic wallpaper'). A fair percentage of it will end up as trades material as I already have samples of quite many sheets of Equatorial Guinea, Ajman etc. But all in all it was my most expensive philatelic purchase last year. -k- |
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,589
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many, many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on May 23, 2014 0:23:36 GMT
The most common 'non-stamp' matter without a doubt is hair (human or pet) and dust, and dead bugs come good second. I got a padlock once! I'm not too shocked if there are magazines, or phone cards, or advertisements or magnifiers or whatever, but I definitely wasn't expecting to get a padlock. Ryan |
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,589
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many, many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on May 23, 2014 23:44:26 GMT
I don't have a Taiwan or PRC catalog in front of me at the moment, but I believe they make most of these same distinctions, too. I dug out my 2009 Yang's PRC catalogue to have a look. As Dave says, they go overboard with distinctions on types of stamps in east Asia. I'm one of the few who likes the Scott listing method with semi-postals and air mail stamps listed separately - I find it makes it much easier to find stuff than in the Michel catalogue where they all fit in together, especially for the countries with large amounts of stamps issued. But these Chinese catalogues can be inscrutable. For the equivalent "front-of-the-book" listings as you would find in the Scott catalogue, the Yang catalogue has 10 different chapters! page 1 - Commemorative Issues page 28 - Special Issues page 48 - Cultural Revolution Issues page 53 - New Series with Number page 59 - 1974 New "J" Commemorative Issues page 90 - 1974 New "T" Special Issues page 131 - 1992-2009 New Series Issues page 245 - Z Series page 248 - PJZ Series page 250 - Regular Issues Ryan |
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Philatarium
Member
Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 982
What I collect: Primarily focused on Japan, but lots of other material catches my eye as well ...
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Post by Philatarium on May 24, 2014 0:41:39 GMT
Ryan --
I agree with you about preferring the separate listing of the BOB items. Maybe it is because I grew up with that, but I do find it easier to use, and because it's usually relatively easy to spot the different service type from the stamp, so it makes it a smaller subset of items to search through to find the info about it in the catalog.
I do appreciate the other side of this is that it can break up sets for some countries, and that one doesn't see all the issues for a particular year without checking several different BOB categories.
As for the Yang PRC, I think those distinctions are made by the PRC issuing authority, and so they're following along with that. It would be interesting to see what they do for Hong Kong or Taiwan. (Do they make one for Taiwan? -- Drawing a blank on that at the moment.)
Thanks for posting that, Ryan!
-- Dave
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,589
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many, many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on May 24, 2014 6:55:53 GMT
As for the Yang PRC, I think those distinctions are made by the PRC issuing authority, and so they're following along with that. It would be interesting to see what they do for Hong Kong or Taiwan. (Do they make one for Taiwan? -- Drawing a blank on that at the moment.) I don't think a Yang catalogue exists for Taiwan - there aren't any ads for a Taiwan catalogue in the back of any of their other catalogues, nor could I find any hints that one exists on an internet search. In any case, Yang's is based in Hong Kong, so any catalogues for Taiwan might well have been stopped once Hong Kong reverted to China, given the antagonism with which China & Taiwan view each other ... The Yang's Hong Kong catalogue has separate numbering for definitives and commemoratives, along with a few of the normal back-of-the-book categories, postage due and Framas and so on. There is a Yang's catalogue for Macau (or there once was), mine is a bit old, 1998-99. That catalogue has all of the definitives and commemoratives lumped together, same as most catalogues, with a few separate category listings, air post and postage due and souvenir sheets among others. Among a few other Chinese catalogues that I have, the most recent one I have for Taiwan is a 2010 catalogue by Alex Yeh, and it goes completely to the other extreme - virtually everything is listed together, even the postage due stamps are in the main section and are fit in wherever they occur time-wise. The only separate listings at the back of that catalogue are for Framas and some sort of blackprint souvenir sheets. And in a bit of a strange touch, the Yeh catalogue has its own numbering system for each set but the individual stamps are numbered according to the Scott catalogue. Ryan |
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on May 26, 2014 12:54:22 GMT
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scb
Member
Inactive
Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Jun 2, 2014 16:55:19 GMT
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Oct 2, 2014 5:18:18 GMT
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rod222
Member
Inactive
Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 8,233
What I collect: US Precancels. Belgium Precancels.
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Post by rod222 on Oct 2, 2014 9:45:35 GMT
What perforation software are you using ?
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on Oct 2, 2014 14:03:49 GMT
@rod.... It's just (800ppi) scan of real world cauge, and the rest is simple 'Photoshop magic'.
I've got a dummy PSD-file with pre-scanned gauge units; each side has 28 layers with unique 'virtual gauges' (from perf 7 to 16½) on separate layer folders. Then I simply drop the stamp image (also 800 ppi) on center of it, and toggle visibility of 'gauge' layers till I find a match . It's actually pretty simple and easy method.
-k-
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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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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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Mar 6, 2015 10:17:23 GMT
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rod222
Member
Inactive
Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 8,233
What I collect: US Precancels. Belgium Precancels.
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Post by rod222 on Mar 6, 2015 11:32:20 GMT
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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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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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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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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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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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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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on Mar 15, 2016 9:32:24 GMT
Howdy folks, Time to update this topic with what's been going on at SCB within the last month. For starters there's three new stamp articles. A review of Delsing's 'Stamps and quality' takes a look of this interesting title covering the topic of quality (or more precisely all those things that we collectors consider faults). The second new article is about modern French stamp with altered perfs; stamps like these are the prime reason why I created my digital perf gauge (see my signature if you don't know what I'm talking about). And the third new entry continues to introduce perf variants that major catalogs omit; this time I'm looking at some 1960s Ecuadorian stamps. I'd also like to thank everyone who's subscribed. 250 subscribers (about third paid, rest with free subscription/trial) in about three weeks is amazing. Never thought so many would follow to the 'subscribers side'. But apparently some of my philatelic write-ups hit a sweet spot and attract folks Anyway, over & out this time... I'll try to update this topic in about month. -k- |
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on Apr 15, 2016 6:12:48 GMT
Ahoy all my fellow collectors, it's time for another monthly update on what's been cooking inside SCB in the past month. For starters there's five new articles: SCB's stamp exchange has been on a short break for the past few weeks, but will re-open next week when I'm through the last pieces of the '7K stamp backlog'. As always, hope you enjoy reading SCB. -k-
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
Posts: 313
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Post by scb on May 20, 2016 5:11:27 GMT
Time for another monthly update on what's cooking inside SCB.... First, there's a few new articles. The first entry is about the Dutch Armenwet stamps and how to ID genuine overprint from fakes (which are plenty). Second addition, titled 'Artifacts of war' takes a deep dive into various war-time issues and 'cinderellas' that most general catalog omit. And then there's three entries titled 'marginal notes'; these are short (but hopefully sweet) tidbits about stamps of Spain, Italy (like the faked partisan stamp illustrated below), and Germany.  Other stuff... My world collection is ticking at 99,300+ stamps. Hopefully will reach the 100K mark within the next few weeks.  As always, hope you enjoy the entries. -k- |
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scb
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Now at 100,000+ worldwide stamps, and progressing one stamp at a time towards the 200K
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Post by scb on Aug 12, 2016 6:08:52 GMT
OK folks. I know I've been a lazy updater on my updates, but please try to endure. Below are highlights of SCB from this summer season: - Yes, I broke the 100,000 stamp limit (and am actually very close to 101K by now) There's a special post taking a detailed look on the insides of a collection of this size, and how to proceed towards the next milestone of 200,000 stamps. - There's a set of posts aimed for those aspiring on becoming philatelic bloggers (or writers), but the key piece is titled Does anyone collect stamps anymore (or what any aspiring philatelic blogger/writer should know about human search behaviour). It should be worth a read even if you never write a single word, as it tells more about the human side of things than authoring. - It seems no matter where I look, I come up with fakes and forgeries old and new. (not a bad thing as I am trying to build up a side collection of worldwide fakes). At first I stumbled upon a modern Chinese postal forgery (and found Chinese online reference listing hundreds more), then I found a very rough Nabha fake overprint before entering the classic stamps of Charkhari (nothing but fakes). And the most recent post, a puzzling set of stamps from Indore, is likely about fake as well. I am slowly but surely beginning to understand why some large scale worldwide collectors are so paranoid. - And on the non-technical side of collecting there are few more posts covering cultural and historical tidbits on stamps of Israel and Finland. I think that especially the post about Finland came out just perfect. And there's several 'less interesting' (IMHO) updates; a complete listing of all new articles/entries can be found at www.stampcollectingblog.com/archivesOther newsworthy stuff... SCB is now at 1,000 subscribers (about one in ten being paying Premium subscribers with access to everything; the rest use the free option with limited access). My thanks to all who have subscribed to this experiment of mine. Lets enjoy the last days of summer. Sadly autumn season seems to be just around the corner... -k- |
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I agree that airmails and semipostal in BOB section are bit odd decision from catalog editors. Fortunately Michel (my favorite catalog) and SG don't do that, whereas Scott does, and Yvert is halfway between these two. How much easier a collectors life would be if all major catalogs followed the same logic.
). 
