ameis33
Member 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet
Posts: 505
What I collect: Poland and Italy Republic
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Post by ameis33 on May 23, 2021 14:08:44 GMT
In an italian forum, a friend of mine have started a discussion which i would like to propose here too.
Do you find more attractive modern or old stamps?
With old i don't speak about 100 year old stamps, but just after the war, i.e. years '50-'60.
My opinion is that there was in older stamps more elements which have now vanished, like watermark, perforation, printing technique, calcography vs. offset, etc.
All this elements create a range of varieties which cannot be found in modern stamps. Not that you cannot find attractive in modern stamps, if you think to Machin for instance, with all the thousands of type and subtypes...
What do you think?
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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 May 23, 2021 20:57:09 GMT
I prefer engraved stamps.
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stainlessb
Member
qaStaHvIS yIn 'ej chep
Posts: 4,642
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
Member is Online
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Post by stainlessb on May 23, 2021 23:33:53 GMT
I collect few stamps after WWII- France being the main exception , mainly because of the definitives. I also prefer the engraved stamps. As the printing became more sophisticated style and elegance seemed to suffer (my opinion)- but the beauty and joy of philatelic pursuits is it is entirely each collectors personal decision what to collect and that which ine doesn't collect is a decision rather than a criticism or verdict on the worthiness.
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hdm1950
Member
Posts: 1,603 
What I collect: I collect world wide up to 1965 with several specialty albums added due to volume of material I have acquired. At this point I am focused on Canada and British America. I am always on the lookout for stamps and covers with postmarks from communities in Queens County, Nova Scotia. I do list various goods including stamps occasionally on eBay as hdm50
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Post by hdm1950 on May 24, 2021 3:08:07 GMT
With exception of Canada I have pretty well cut off my collection at 1965. Lots of modern are spectacular but from a practical point I had to draw the line. I have always been more a generalist with a massive world wide collection. I too like early engraved stamps out of respect for the work that went in to them.
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,346
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on May 24, 2021 10:49:00 GMT
Modern stamps do offer varieties but in many cases they are not studied as widely as the older material and not reflected in the catalogs as equal weight. If Scott listed the Washington Franklins like they do modern, there would be fewer major listings and a lot more minor. The varieties differ because the production methods are different. For example, the 1980's US Great American series has a lot of production varieties (printers, tagging, paper, shades, reprints) but you will not find spaces in an album for them compared to the Washington-Franklins.
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brightonpete
Departed
Rest in Peace
On a hike at Goodrich-Loomis
Posts: 5,110
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Post by brightonpete on May 24, 2021 14:58:57 GMT
I too love the older engraved issues. Some of the more modern ones are nice too, although it seems most postal admin's go for quantity over quality these days. I cut New Zealand off at 1990, and looking at their recent issues, who can afford sets of 10 and souvenir sheet of all of everything that they issue? Some are nice, some are just downright ugly!
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gmot
Member
Posts: 205
What I collect: Canada & French Morocco
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Post by gmot on May 24, 2021 17:47:58 GMT
I do find many more modern stamps attractive - such as many German & Austrian issues - but strongly prefer the classic engraved stamps. Something about the detail and fine work involved in producing them. Being a little patriotic for a moment, in my opinion the Canadian issues from the 1910s to mid-1940s are among the most attractive stamps ever produced.
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Post by biglavalamp on May 24, 2021 20:59:48 GMT
I prefer older stamps and very rarely collect anything after 1970 exception being high value modern stamps that I keep to swap for older stamps. I don't know if its my age but I cannot relate to modern stamps even if it has a historical subject relevant to anything I collect. I enjoy how a older stamp was designed and created within certain parameters that had to be met and enjoy the skill of the engraver  |
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mikeclevenger
Member
Posts: 887
What I collect: Ohio Tax Stamps, Ohio & Georgia Revenues, US Revenues, US FDC's, & Germany Classics
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Post by mikeclevenger on May 25, 2021 9:13:19 GMT
I think that the modern stamps cover more subjects, and maybe even prettier scenes and such, but I prefer the look of a well engraved stamp any day.
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Post by dgdecker on May 26, 2021 17:20:44 GMT
I do not mind having attractive and interesting moderns in my collection. These days they are getting very pricey, so I tend to be selective. I guess I am a generalized WW collecter. I will collect anything but I do prefer older stamps because on the engraving. A great deal of talent went into creating those issues.
David
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Post by nbstamper on Jun 26, 2021 13:45:40 GMT
I too much prefer the older engraved issues, especially British Commonwealth. But I do collect modern issues for countries in which I have a particular interest. The British Machins, for example, are really fun to work with. So many varieties. I started adding to them a few months ago and now have a full album and a good start on a second with much more to find. And, with some exceptions, not too expensive. As of now, I am trying to complete mint singles of the SG X-series - have most of the major varieties, but still a few to go.
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kernelgui
**Member** 
Posts: 13
What I collect: Primary - Canada, Secondary - British Commonwealth, > 40 Large albums of customized pages WW
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Post by kernelgui on Jun 26, 2021 15:16:43 GMT
Definite trend here - I also prefer the early engraved issues and the detailed artwork especially British Commonwealth. Generally everything after about 1990 is not really worth collecting although I do keep my Canadian collection perpetually up to date.
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stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,824
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
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Post by stanley64 on Jul 1, 2021 9:01:56 GMT
What is old is new and what is new is old ;-)
Indeed, the older stamps with their engraved images are gems! I would add though that there are some worthwhile images in the modern era as well. My own collecting interests include the USA Transportation Coils and most recently the High-Value British Castles all of which are modern-engraved issues.
In either case, plenty to keep one's self entertained and immersed in the hobby of philately...
Happy collecting!
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Post by greaden on Jul 2, 2021 14:19:27 GMT
I enjoy them all! However, I don't systematically try to collect everything from such-and-such country after a certain point. I still appreciate a representative sampling and anything that fits my topical collections.
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gotstamps85
Member
Knee deep in Ebay listings
Posts: 129
What I collect: Classic GB Empire &World
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Post by gotstamps85 on Aug 18, 2021 13:27:15 GMT
I recently filled an album with an old collection (70s / 80s stamps) that had sat for decades in my cupboard (I'm new to stamps 😁). I then acquired job lots of pre 1940s stamps from ebay and after 5 minutes of beginning to cataloguing them, I proceeded to remove the collection of 70s / 80s stamps from the album to make way for the much older stamps. I can now say I much prefer the 1800s - 1940s era stamps. There's just so much more to appreciate about the method of creating these old stamps. The artistry and attention to detail is quite spectacular.
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coastwatcher
Departed
Rest in peace
Kentucky, USA
Posts: 506
What I collect: Currently focusing on US and possessions
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Post by coastwatcher on Aug 19, 2021 1:23:10 GMT
gotstamps85, If you are just discovering the classic era of stamps, you may be interested in the Big Blue 1840-1940 blog. It goes into great detail about the Scott International Part 1 album, which covers from 1840 to 1940, and the stamps that it takes to fill it. It contains tons of useful information and I refer to it frequently.
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gotstamps85
Member
Knee deep in Ebay listings
Posts: 129
What I collect: Classic GB Empire &World
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Post by gotstamps85 on Aug 19, 2021 4:48:08 GMT
Cool I will check that out for sure. 👍
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