Whatcha Been Stamping?

Not much stamping going on the last month or so, not sure what I have all been doing, but can't seem to find some time to sit down with my stamps or even spend much time looking at the Forum.
This month looks just as hectic, but I'm going to try.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

You know @stainlessbb, with all the issues we have with printers, TSF should invest in a solid steel letterpress machine so we can hand print our pages. Those things last more than a hundred years!

Glad you're feeling a little better. 💖

It is interesting that you prefer bidding against collectors. In my years of being an antique and collectables dealer as well as a collector I preferred bidding against dealers knowing that they needed a profit margin. Collectors are far more apt to bid on emotions. My worst auction experiences were at estate sales where family members were in a feud and were bidding against each other. 

I understand your thinking. On this particular occasion 15 to 20 dealers with deep pockets I think.

Good Morning fellow stampers!

This week I started assembling my Sweden collection. Many of my Vario sheets were discolored yellow and, in order to exchange them, I had to pull them out of my albums. Happily, a while back, Lighthouse replaced them. I also purchased a collection and various lots of Swedish material, so I had a mountain of stamps to arrange. Anyways, it looks like my Sweden collection is going to be ginormous - physically very large requiring many pages because of all of the booklets and number of issues. For example I started with 1960 and filled a big 2 inch binder when I hit 1969! I collect both mint and used, the booklets and the booklet pairs so it’s an extensive number of items. I’ve made a good start - 1960-69 is finished and I’m only missing a few stamps, but quite a few booklets. BUT - I am NOT buying more collections until I finish selling the bulk of my duplicates, but once I do, I’ll watch for a good deal on a bulk lot of booklets.

I gotta tell ya - All the time and work involved in organizing and selling my duplicates makes me very hesitant to purchase any more big bulk lots. It is easy to end up with a bunch of common material that is difficult to rehome. That reminds me of a story. There is a quaint little village in Vermont where most people know each other so they don’t lock their homes or car doors - with one big exception. During late summer when gardens are overflowing with produce, the great zucchini glut starts. Frugal Vermont folks don’t like to waste so gardeners become desperate trying to use up or give away the wheelbarrows full of zucchini they’ve grown. That’s when folks start “generously” leaving bags full of zucchini in any unlocked car on Main Street. 😂 LoL! All of a sudden everyone is locking their doors. Too funny!

Well, now whenever I start eyeing a box lot I tell myself “NO MORE ZUCCHINI”! LoL! It reminds me that having too many common stamps is like having a wheelbarrow full of zucchini that no one needs and !voila! I don’t bid. I’ve even started referring to piles of common stamps as zucchini. So if I ever use that term, you’ll know what I mean. 

Happy stamping everyone! 🌺

a page from my Sweden 

All salvageable ! just takes time,  cold water, time,  placing in drying sandwiches.
They have been "free", I would be appreciative.

I paid for a similar lot, of Indo China, Cambodia and Vietnam
formed a great collection now mounted.

I don't collect gum, (I preserve it if they come that way)
Place them in clean clear cold water, and watch them float free.

Free stamps, what could be better?

I love that, Rod. 🙂

I get it that MNH stamps are worth more, and no gum are worth the least, but at least you have some excellent examples of the printer's art.

I guess you could make up the world's largest sweat box to tease them apart while keeping some gum on the back. And the rest of the mountain looks like fun, so net win overall. 💖

Lacking a printer until later this week, slows my activities down (amazing how much i use it?!)  so for now, soaking, measuring perfs, and placing into Varios  Early Austria Franz Joseph stamps (of which there are  many perf varieties).

I have pages made for the earlier Kreuzer issues, and the Heller issue pages are made.... but not printed...

Unfortunately, it's a much needed task that will not make any noticeable improvement to my work area 

Heading off to the local Stamp Club meeting in a few hours. 

This morning I worked on a sign-up sheet for our annal 'Stamps and Their Stories' program at the Seniors' Association. I have about half the speakers nailed down. I need another six or seven volunteers. So, I'll be twisting some arms this evening and, if necessary, at the next meeting. The program starts in September (assuming enough people register). 

If you, or your club, has done anything similar and you have a topic to suggest that I add (or replace), I'd love to hear from you. Cheers, 

You know, we focus a lot on bringing young people into the hobby ... which I agree with wholeheartedly. Like most clubs we have an active youth program and outreach.

But, we can stretch two ways ... young and old. We've observed that seniors find that working with stamps is relaxing, social and helps with stress. There are real health and wellness benefits. It keeps the mind active, involves problem solving, reminds people of the history they've lived through. It also reminds them about things they may have forgotten. Not to mention the fun ... joy and pleasure of stamps and postal history. It is both a solitary and a group activity (or can be). And, while you can spend a chunk of change you also don't actually have to spend much at all. 

We got three new members for our club from last year's program. Two had collected in their younger days and our program got them back into it. For the third, it was something new and fascinating. Whether they joined our club or not ... all of them gave the program high marks. For some, they had had a negative view of 'stamp collecting' ... our program changed that (based on student evaluations).

Cheers, 

In my own spare time, I have completed writing drafts for a couple of articles, finished up my presentation for this weekend's Penguin on Stamp Study Unit (POSSU) Zoom call,



and am watching the postbox for a few pieces purchased to add to the growing collection of the Falkland Islands bird definite set (1960-1968).

For now though, summer is here and like the neighbours to the North, I plan to take the month of August off to explore the great out-of-doors....


Have fun and happy collecting!

well, who is a very lucky person.:-) Seahorses are great stamps - well done.

With all these new Finland entries, I'm going to need a new stockbook for Europe D-F, as the current D-I is overflowing. Will be ordering one with next month's regular purchase. A lot of re-organizing to be done, also on my shelves that are running out of room. We'll see how we can solve this.

I went to the Minnesota Stamp Expo this past weekend. I had a great time, I brought my brother and husband along even though they don’t collect stamps. My brother bought a few hummingbird stamps to put in a frame for his wife as she loves hummingbirds. He also looked at the exhibits. My brother said he had a good time and my husband said he didn’t get bored. lol I bought myself a few new stamps for my USA collection and I had the privilege of holding a $20,000.00 stamp, it was US Scott #202 with a certificate.