daveg28
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Posts: 1,018 
What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 13, 2020 13:32:52 GMT
So I'm finally getting to where I can assemble my new album for my French stamps. I love starting a new collection! I have a question for all of you French experts and long-time collectors. I see there are a lot of semi-postals in France's stamp history. I mean...A LOT. It'll add quite a few pages to my album as i print out the pages. I have a few semi-postal stamps, but not many yet. Is it worth while to print the pages for all of them? Are they even attainable for the most part? I've printed album pages up to 1990 so far, but I hesitated printing the semi-postal pages after 1980 because I know the few I currently have precede that year. I'm thinking I might just add those pages as I need them and keep the binder(s) manageable as I get this up and running. I'm also going back and forth about mixing the semi-postal pages in with the normal issues. I see they are not separated in the Scott catalog. I know it's a separate section in my U.S. album (Mystic), but there are not nearly as many. So I'm leaning towards keeping them separated as B.O.B. stamps, and adding pages as I acquire the stamps.
I've been collecting long enough that I know the mantra is "Collect however and whatever you want. There are no rules." I get that. I'm just curious how other collectors have attacked their French collections. Maybe someone will offer an idea I haven't thought of yet. Thanks in advance for your thought and suggestions.
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brightonpete
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Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110
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Post by brightonpete on Jan 13, 2020 14:15:49 GMT
I don't have a French collection, but I do have Luxembourg, Germany, Greenland and Canada.
For Luxembourg & Germany, which have 100's of semi-postals, I keep them in a separate album. For Greenland and Canada, which just have a few, I mix them up with the regular issues. If I were to attack France, I'd keep the semi-postals in their own binder. That way, I could print out album pages on an as-needed basis.
But that is the way I would do it. Like you say, to each his own!
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vikingeck
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What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Jan 13, 2020 14:39:05 GMT
I suspect it may be influenced by which catalogue listing you are using. As a European I find Scott listings confusing the way it separates Airmails, charity ( you call them semi postal) etc in separate categories. I have always been in the habit of integrating these as issued chronologically within a general collection.
The French semi postal s are almost all easily available in mint or at least hinged mint condition. Used are more problematical.
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renden
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What I collect: World W collector with ++ interests in BNA (Canada etc) and USA
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Post by renden on Jan 13, 2020 14:43:28 GMT
daveg28 If you do not intend to fill all those printed pages for the France semi-postals, the idea is to have them. If not, you could print on as needed basis - There are a lot !! They all fit well (mine) in my Scott International Albums so no need to print separate pages (for me) ! I have 206 Semi-Postals René
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daveg28
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Posts: 1,018
What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 13, 2020 14:57:42 GMT
I do hope to fill them eventually, Rene. But I'm thinking that as I get this album started, maybe I should leave them aside and just use the semi-postal pages I've printed so far as I need them. That'll keep the album a manageable size for now. I only have a few semi-postal stamps right now. Maybe I'll come across a treasure trove at the stamp show the local stamp club puts on next month.
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renden
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What I collect: World W collector with ++ interests in BNA (Canada etc) and USA
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Post by renden on Jan 13, 2020 15:13:50 GMT
I do hope to fill them eventually, Rene. But I'm thinking that as I get this album started, maybe I should leave them aside and just use the semi-postal pages I've printed so far as I need them. That'll keep the album a manageable size for now. I only have a few semi-postal stamps right now. Maybe I'll come across a treasure trove at the stamp show the local stamp club puts on next month. Looking at my 206 Semi-Postals, I note and you will, that they have a high CV......so not cheap to buy  René |
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daveg28
Member
Posts: 1,018
What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 13, 2020 15:21:49 GMT
Gotta crawl before I can run, Rene. lol I'm sure once I add the stamps I have to my new album, I'll wonder where all my French stamps went. They'll probably be all spread out and I won't think I have as many as I thought I did! I'll concentrate on filling in the easy ones first. Like I said, I love starting a new album. Takes me back to when I was 11 and received my very first album...a Harris Ambassador.
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Post by greaden on Jan 13, 2020 15:54:51 GMT
For France, I use an album (Ceres) for stamps up to 1984, then Vario sheets for stamps after that point.
I am glad that the album includes semipostals along with regular issues. Charity stamps after the world wars and during the great depression are most poignant when arranged in their proper time periods.
Also, keeping them together shows the introduction of new printing methods.
For recent stamps, I not only separate semipostals, but also keep recurring sets together such as the Red Cross or Stamp Day stamps. Those tell the story of France more effectively. Otherwise they are lost among the normal issues.
The most recent semipostals come in strips or full sheets which are awkward to include on album pages.
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hrdoktorx
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Posts: 6,616
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 14, 2020 7:43:43 GMT
In my case, I use stockbooks, plus the inherited Harris album I inherited from my mother and grandfather, which runs up until 1962. I arrange my stockbooks by currency period (the album almost fits the "old Francs" period), so Francs, double denomination Francs-Euros (i.e. 1999 to 2001) and Euros since then. Inside each of these, I separate the stamps topically, and inside the topics by format (horizontal/vertical/square/round, large/medium/small), as France has been pretty consistent about stamp sizes through the years, this makes for neat pages. Within each section, for ease of finding the stamps, they are then ordered by increasing face value, which does have the disadvantage of breaking up series, so I do not do this systematically for all my other countries. The topics I have are: Art (mostly the "virtual museum" large stamp series, monuments, famous people, transportation, flora, fauna, transportation, regions of France, political/social themes, and definitives (which are then organized by series). Blocks and sheets are stocked separately.
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daveg28
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What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 16, 2020 14:38:02 GMT
Boy, finding stamp locations in an album with no pics of the stamps is a challenge, isn't it? I like these Steiner pages, for sure, but I have a catalog open on my laptop to help me find where the stamps go. As I feared, my still meager assortment of French stamps is getting spread pretty thin as I mount them. I do seem to have quite a few air mails and semi-postals...and one "military" stamp...so hopefully those sections will look a little better as I proceed.
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vortal
**Member** 
Salut je suis DIDIER de FRANCE je collectionne les timbres français et colonies et tous les timbres
Posts: 3
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Post by vortal on Jan 18, 2022 11:08:07 GMT
bonjour
Ca me suffit pour mes timbres
A+
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stainlessb
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qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,652
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jan 18, 2022 14:58:35 GMT
I opted to print all my own pages for France- as I would be considered a "specialist" for types, shades and variants, commercially available albums are of little help, plus I like to group definitives together, rather than spread throughout the chronology of issue dates, with airmail, pre-oblits, commemoratives and semi-postals in chronological order (exceptions for small series) I will likely include traditionally "back of the book" stamps into the somewhat chronology that represents my own timeline LOL
It is your hobby and I don't believe there is any right or wrong way... someone down the road may disagree, but this is only valid if they possess your collection (IMHO)
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Beryllium Guy
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What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 18, 2022 16:47:29 GMT
Dave ( daveg28), I had forgotten that you told us a year ago about starting your France collection. In that case, you did very well by winning Stan's ( stainlessb) Kitchen Sink lot, as there is some very nice France in there. Congrats again, Dave, you are off to a nice start. I have been collecting France for a very long time, and there were several stamps in that lot that I don't have. Please show us some of your pages once you start mounting the acquisitions. It will be nice to see your progress.  |
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daveg28
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Posts: 1,018
What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 18, 2022 18:15:45 GMT
Dave ( daveg28 ), I had forgotten that you told us a year ago about starting your France collection. In that case, you did very well by winning Stan's ( stainlessb ) Kitchen Sink lot, as there is some very nice France in there. Congrats again, Dave, you are off to a nice start. I have been collecting France for a very long time, and there were several stamps in that lot that I don't have. Please show us some of your pages once you start mounting the acquisitions. It will be nice to see your progress.  I will do that. I'll wait until get these most recent stamps mounted, so I have something good to show. Right now, it's just partially filled pages of easily obtained stamps. And i haven't even started to tackle any of the definitives, if that's what the French call them. For lack of a better name, I'll label them as such for now. I'm open to any education on the matter. |
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stainlessb
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What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jan 18, 2022 19:16:10 GMT
definitive works and I think most all collectors will know what you are referring to-many of the French 'series" are described by the designer: Type Sage, Type Blanc, Type Mouchon, Type Merson, etc. You will infact find references which refer to France 'series" as definitives (and the spelling is th esame in French and English!!!
In many ways i think the France "definitive/series" are more like the machins- same design, different color and value. The US Postal Museum take on it is:
Definitive stamps issued during the Modern Period are the workhorses of United States postage stamps. The average American has more likely used or received definitive postages stamps on his or her mail more often than the illustrious commemorative postage stamps. By definition, definitive postage stamps are issued in a range of denominations intended for routine postal use on all classes of mail for single piece, bulk or presorted discount, whether personal, commercial or non-profit. Definitive stamps can also be used to pay for postal services like certified and registered mail. Unlike commemorative stamps, which are issued for brief periods in limited quantities, definitives usually are issued in indefinite quantities and used over many years.
US definitives seem to differ from other countries in that the subject matter changes with each value (prexies come to mind)
maybe this says it best- Types generaux (valables pour l' ensemble de la serie) General types (valid for all values of the series)
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daveg28
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What I collect: U.S., Canada, Great Britain & Commonwealth, France (esp. 1950-80), DDR, USSR
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Post by daveg28 on Jan 21, 2022 18:47:39 GMT
Definitive stamps it is. I have yet to even start sorting through all of the definitives from France. They seem rather overwhelming. Will I be finding a lot of seemingly similar stamps to have minor differences? I feel like I'm going to be consulting the Stamp World website a lot as I sort them. Any suggestions for how to attack them and get them under control?
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,652
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jan 21, 2022 20:36:09 GMT
I would suggest you proceed with great caution!!! LOL
If you follow my posts in the French threads, there are many rabbit holes to fall down.
I wish I could suggest one and only one reference source, but I am finding that there are some varying opinions regarding variations (plate types), the traits associated with them and colors/shades. I have not seen a commercial album which goes into great details- If you album follows the Scott numbering system, thus far, my personal opinion is it is the least complex (aka simplest) as it seems to disregard all but the major "Types" and only recognizes a small number of color/shades
There are quite a few "semi-postal" issues, although I do not collect much beyond the 1970's, so perhaps considering more modern times there may not be proportionally as many semi-postals.
I have been designing my pages to go in chronological order, with the exception of the definitives which are grouped together , as some cover quite a few years of issue. This chronology includes the semi-postal and air mail, pre-cancels are given their own page (by year of issue, which seems to be in small blocks) and then placed in approximate year/order
Tax and revenue, I (for now) just keep placing them into Varios!
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