rainbowhugz
Member 
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 177 
What I collect: Hong Kong and Canada
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Post by rainbowhugz on May 31, 2022 6:24:06 GMT
I couldn't find another thread so I'm just adding one. If anyone tells me otherwise, please feel free to move my post! Old mechanical stamp vending machine (now decommissioned and in a museum)  New touch screen computerized stamp vending machine  If you have stamp vending machines in your country - leave a post and photo! |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,908 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 31, 2022 9:30:06 GMT
Thanks for another great post, Vanessa ( rainbowhugz). You are quite right that there wasn't already a thread for stamp vending machines, although I think if you look back through the postboxes thread, you may find a picture or two of these machines. These days, I think that most stamp vending machines will probably be found in museums, as it has been quite some time since I have seen an operational one. Below is an example that is located at The Postal Museum in London, which dates back to the King George V era (1910-1936). This one is a combination stamp vending machine and postbox, all contained in the classic British telephone box architecture. For this particular one, the vending machine no longer works, but you can still post a letter in the box.  |
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rainbowhugz
Member
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 177
What I collect: Hong Kong and Canada
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Post by rainbowhugz on May 31, 2022 14:24:53 GMT
Beryllium Guy the bit with the vending machine in your photo looks quite like the old mechanical one they have on display at the museum here with the 2 black dispensers. One would assume "back in the day" they shipped things over from the UK and so, things looked the same. Quite interesting to compare. Our new ones spit out barcode stamps. I've found a blog post about it. I'll now have to go and look at the vending machine model that was in between the mechanical one and the computerised one - I remember using them before. The stamps that came out of the machine were a smaller size than the stamps you can buy at the counter. I don't know if they've replaced/gotten rid of them all now that they've installed computerised machines in most post offices, but I will go take a look next time. www.ateeme.net/anglesw/ahk_2019.htm
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 31, 2022 14:39:56 GMT
Thanks for your additional comments, Vanessa ( rainbowhugz). I agree with your observation, as I also noticed how much the early museum model in your photo resembles the KGV equipment that I saw at The Postal Museum. Just to confirm it for you, here is a close-up cropped from a different photo of the same machine:  I suppose that the vending machines nowadays don't actually dispense stamps anymore, but rather print-to-order postage, which is really something different. That said, I think it is still interesting to see the old-type of mechanical machines as well as the current ones, so thanks again for starting this thread. |
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docphgeek
Member
Inactive
Posts: 51
What I collect: PNCs, US-Definitives, Machins, BOB, Israel, Engraved
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Post by docphgeek on May 31, 2022 14:40:29 GMT
I hate that the USPS has removed stamp vending machines. These were awesome for coil collectors and I always turn spare change into stamps.
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 31, 2022 14:54:49 GMT
Thanks for your response, Doc ( docphgeek). You got me to thinking about the old stamp vending machines that I can remember seeing as a kid in the US. So, I just did a search for images online, and I found this one, which seems similar to what I was thinking of, although I am not sure that this is the type that would have dispensed coil stamps.  |
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JeffS
Member
Posts: 2,837
What I collect: Oranges Philately, US Slogan Cancels, Cape of Good Hope Triangulars, and Texas poster stamps and cinderellas
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Post by JeffS on May 31, 2022 15:55:47 GMT
I have this coil vending machine on my desktop bookcase:
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 31, 2022 21:49:24 GMT
That’s a really cool piece of hardware, JeffS, thanks for sharing it with us! |
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ameis33
Member
What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet
Posts: 546
What I collect: Poland and Italy Republic
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Post by ameis33 on Jun 2, 2022 12:20:02 GMT
The quality of the image is not so good, but it's a stamp vending machine. This machine doesn't sell really "stamps", but stamp booklets, something like the one i've posted below. In the polish catalogs there's a specific chapter about stamp booklets. I was looking for them in stamp shops and/or directly in post offices. Noone knows about them. Even the machine i've found was off and it was not possible to purchase anything. Pity. In other countries, like UK or Sweeden, these booklets are quite common...
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