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Post by 1840to1940 on Aug 15, 2018 18:57:14 GMT
Always great to have another worldwide collector on the forum, especially one who uses the Scott Internationals and Minkus Supremes.
Bob
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jun 12, 2018 18:54:08 GMT
I became fascinated with early Afghanistan from the way stamps were cancelled by tearing out pieces. But when I tried to find out more, I realized I couldn't make heads or tales of what was in Scott. Sometimes I could figure out the denominations but had no clue as to where the dates were hiding. So I got copies of the corresponding pages from Stanley Gibbons and Michel, searched websites and auctions online, and eventually ordered Robert Jack's very helpful catalog: Afghanistan 1870-1900. By way of example, the date numerals for Scott #109-176 are described as "interweaved with the text." See the image below which I put together to help me sort this out (sorry about the hard to see red arrows). 1298 is the year in Arabic (١٢٩٨). Although I own a few actual stamps, it dawned on me that I didn't have the time to give these the attention they deserve so I never went further.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jun 2, 2018 15:26:24 GMT
ronbreznay, welcome. The Scott International has a lot of problems, but it is still my worldwide album of choice. Filling the Volume One is a lot easier now than it used to be, starting with Jim's checklist and blog (jkblue).
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Post by 1840to1940 on Apr 6, 2018 15:13:07 GMT
One possibility for Volume One would be to use Jim Jackson's Big Blue blog. Jim did two summary posts titled "BB Expensive Stamps - Reunion to Zululand and Overall Summary" and "BB Expensive Stamps - Aden to Quelimane and U.S." But you could also pick a country that interests you and find the matching checklist. While Jim doesn't give actual catalog values, his comments will point you to the key items. Here is the blog url: bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/
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Post by 1840to1940 on Mar 10, 2018 16:53:15 GMT
Beryllium Guy, most interesting. Thanks for the images and background information.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Feb 19, 2018 21:50:03 GMT
My copy of the 1896 edition of the brown Scott International employs a peculiar hybrid approach. For some countries, Scott has already printed the flag and coat of arms. For some countries, there is a space for a portrait of the current ruler. In the advertisements at the back of this album, Scott is offering three sets of labels: "The Merchant Flags of the World," "Postage stamp portraits of rulers," and "The Coats of arms of the world." According to the advertisement, Scott is marketing this as suitable for albums produced by any publisher.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Feb 7, 2018 20:52:26 GMT
The 1955 edition of Big Blue has spaces for flags and rulers. As Jim notes, the 1969 does not. So that leaves the question of the 1964 edition which falls in between. My notes on the 1964 are silent on this question.
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Post by 1840to1940 on May 31, 2017 18:33:51 GMT
18horns, welcome. I'm an APS member for more than 25 years but you have me beat for your APS service. Glad to have you aboard. (There is still time to go back to collecting the world--just saying!)
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Post by 1840to1940 on Apr 26, 2017 23:15:27 GMT
There are a number of mistakes in the BB album. The mistakes fall into several categories: 1) the same stamp duplicated in more than one place (e.g., your example and the Canada 1897 Jubilees), 2) illustrative cuts in the wrong place; 3) correct descriptions but wrong orientation (i.e., a vertical space where a horizontal stamp belongs), and 4) incorrect descriptions. Admittedly, these mistakes constitute a small percentage of the 35,000 spaces in the album, but still you would think after decades (in some cases many decades), the errors would have been corrected.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Feb 21, 2017 16:33:09 GMT
Drew, always good to see another worldwide collector here, especially one who I recognize from other venues.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Dec 8, 2016 21:35:57 GMT
Welcome John. There are a number of worldwide collectors on here. As you know, with 28,000 stamps you have only 7,000 to go to complete the International Volume One. France and the colonies would be high up on my list if I were to do any specialty collections.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 23, 2016 18:28:47 GMT
A Brown International collector. Serious stuff! I debated awhile back about buying the Vintage Reproduction reprints of the Brown, but decided they would take too many binders and be too inconvenient to work with. I've finally come to terms with the inadequacies of the "Juniors" and enjoy having my collection in two binders. But I own a set of the original Browns and periodically thumb through the pages. I, too, look forward to seeing some scans of your pages when you have a chance.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 22, 2016 16:14:59 GMT
I just love how many worldwide collectors are on this site. Welcome Chris. Do you use an album? There are Scott International, Minkus Global, and Steiner collectors who are members, not to mention those who prefer more freeform approaches.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 13, 2016 19:45:17 GMT
There are a number of Scott International "Blue" Volume One collectors around, so you can look forward to plenty of encouragement or sympathy as required. I just posted in another group that I know of four collectors who have completed the first volume (and at least two collectors working in tandem who finished the first eleven). And I bet everyone of them had a blast doing it.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Nov 6, 2016 20:17:12 GMT
Welcome to the Forum. I'd be interested to learn why you are considering switching from the Minkus Supreme Globals. There have been several threads on other boards which show there is still some enthusiasm for the Minkus albums.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Oct 7, 2016 21:07:37 GMT
Welcome Alyn. I've been a member of the ISWSC for a number of years now. Good to see you here.
Bob
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Post by 1840to1940 on May 26, 2016 19:42:29 GMT
fillerupman, always great to have another worldwide collector on board, especially one who is fond of the Scott Internationals.
Did your Appleton have any stamps in it?
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Post by 1840to1940 on Mar 29, 2016 17:39:21 GMT
Always good to see another worldwide collector? How did you come to choose 1996 as your cutoff date?
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jan 22, 2016 19:27:16 GMT
I've finally come to terms with this. I usually have a few used binders around from purchasing old Scott collections and as my current binders fall apart, I transfer my pages to these. Even though it hurts their appearance, I reinforce the binders with library book tape to try to squeeze as much life as possible out of them. Once I get within a couple of thousand stamps of completing my Volume One, I may buy a new set of binders, but until then, I'm treating the binders as expendable.
(A year or so ago I finally started using slipcases and I will be interested to see if that makes the binders last longer. I also believe that the regular binders will last longer than the jumbo, but I don't want to give up the convenience of housing my Volume One in two binders rather than three. If only Scott would release its new metal hinged binders in International format.)
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jan 20, 2016 18:32:24 GMT
Always good to have another worldwide collector on board, especially one who uses the Scott International albums. Welcome.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Aug 1, 2015 16:02:27 GMT
Seth, welcome. I keep flirting with collecting Prestamp GB, but never can seem to take the plunge.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jun 18, 2015 15:36:24 GMT
Jim, your blog made it into the S's. Way to go.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Apr 18, 2015 15:03:40 GMT
Turns out, some (all?) of this is being offered for sale by R. A. Siegel (#1097). The auction catalog is drool worthy.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Apr 9, 2015 15:33:54 GMT
I discovered this online exhibit a year or two ago and will confirm it is well worth a look. The whole Frajola website will be of interest to many on this board. The discussion group Philamercury is one of my favorites. And there are links to other worthwhile exhibits, too: www.rfrajola.com/exhibits.htm
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Post by 1840to1940 on Apr 1, 2015 15:40:09 GMT
Always great to see another blog which emphasizes stamps before 1940. Very nice.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Dec 31, 2014 16:55:02 GMT
At the risk of turning people off with a second Scott International related post, I'm seriously considering switching in 2015 my worldwide Classic Era collection from the Scott Blue International Volume One to the Vintage Reproduction's version of the Brown Internationals. I am very fond of the Blue and the fact that it is possible to fill every space, but I think I might like playing with the Browns even more.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Sept 23, 2014 19:23:24 GMT
I’ve not contributed much to this forum, so by way of making amends, I thought I would share something about the Suez Canal stamps of 1868. There have been a couple of posts on this already, but hopefully some of what follows will be useful. Many collectors of Egypt, France, the world, or ship-related topicals are interested in the Suez Canal stamps but are loathe to risk money on them because of the number of forgeries. I certainly fell into this category, but a recent eBay purchase landed me 26 copies. So my task: was any of what I bought legit and how does one tell? By way of background, the French company that built the Suez Canal initially carried mail gratis between Port Said on the Canal’s north and Suez on the south. The volume of mail, over 6000 letters a month, was sufficient to convince the Company that a profit could be made by charging for the service. To that end, four stamps in the denominations of 1, 5, 20 and 40 centimes were issued. All had the same design except for denomination and color. They were printed from four lithographic stones of ten by twelve. The stamps were imperforate (perforated stamps were too costly due to the comparatively small printing run.) The paper is watermarked but the watermark is missing on most copies. The stamps were in use for fewer than 40 days during 1868 before the Egyptian government declared them illegitimate. Even though they were valid for such a short period, there is no shortage of these stamps in old time collections or to be had on venues such as eBay. This is in spite of unused Suez Canal stamps cataloging $35-$275 and used $575-$1150 (2014 Scott values). Note that this is one of those unusual cases where the catalog value of used is substantially more than unused. According to the leading expert on these issues, Jean Boulad d’Humières, the number of stamps issued (not counting printer’s waste) was: Denomination -- Manufactured -- Remaindered -- Maximum Possible Used 1 centime, black -- 6,020 -- 3,214 -- 2,806 5c, green -- 31,232 -- 28,524 -- 2,708 20c, blue -- 105,644 -- 93,867 -- 11,777 40c, red -- 10,863 -- 9,376 -- 1,487 The “Manufactured” number includes printer’s waste. The “Used” estimate is an absolute upper limit. The actual number of stamps that saw postal use according to Boulad d’Humieres was probably much lower. Perhaps of more practical interest to collectors is the number of surviving used stamps. Not many! The number of known covers is 21 (as of 1985). In addition, only a small number of off-cover examples appear legitimate. So there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the odds are high that any cancelled stamps you come across are fakes. The good news for collectors is that the number of stamps printed suggests that a fair number of legitimate unused stamps have survived. But how to tell the difference between real and fake? I’ll start with why the forgeries make collectors nervous: someone got hold of the original lithographic stone of the 40c value. That first someone was the Parisian stamp dealer, Erard d’Etiolles. How he acquired the stone is unknown although it is probably significant that he had an office near the headquarters of the Suez Canal Company! The stone was subsequently acquired by another stamp dealer, M Saatjian, after which it perhaps went into the hands of a known Belgian forger. Its subsequent whereabouts is unknown. Regardless of provenance, M Saatjian made what I suppose charitably could be called unauthorized reprints from the 40c stone. Less charitably you might call these forged reprints as his intent was to defraud. Saatjian also used the 40c stone to create forgeries of the other three denominations, a comparatively simple task as he only needed to change the numbers in the four corners. The most comprehensive work on the Suez Canal stamps is The Private Ship Letter Stamps of the World, v.3: The Suez Canal Company published by Leonard H. Hartmann. This is a translation from the French of the book by Jean Boulad d’Humières, translated by S. Ringström and H. E. Tester. In addition to historical information, the book has plating information and a detailed discussion of how to identify 20 specific forgeries. There are also chapters on faked covers and cancellations. And for your added viewing pleasure, the book includes an oversized reproduction of an entire sheet of the 40 centime value! Boulad d’Humières book is available from Hartmann’s store, the Philatelic Bibliopole. A much more concise but still useful guide is Forgery & reprint guide ; 14. Suez Canal, published by J Barefoot c1983. The author apparently is Andrew Hall with assistance of Peter Bottrill. The pamphlet includes an abbreviated plating guide which is helpful in identifying the Saatjian forgeries from the original stone. Unfortunately, the pamphlet appears to be out-of-print. You can find excerpts from the guide though on various websites. Finally, often cited as a reference for these stamps is The Encyclopaedia of British Empire postage stamps, 1806-1948. Vol. II. The Empire in Africa by Robson Lowe, 1949. While this is an absolutely fascinating series, the Suez Canal stamps occupy only two pages and, especially for forgery detection, are superseded by the above two titles. (If you are an APS member, all three can be borrowed from their library.) Some of what is in these books, especially the Barefoot guide, has been summarized on the web by: The Stamps of the Suez Canal Company 1868, www.philatoforge.co.uk/Case%20Studies.htmlTHE POSTAGE STAMPS OF THE SUEZ CANAL COMPANY, www.rjbw.net/SuezCanal.htmlSUEZ CANAL COMPANY, catalogue.klaseboer.com/vol1/html/suez.htmThe Stamps of the Suez Canal Company, www.maf1.com/tsandcc/Stamps_of_the_Suez_Canal_Company.pdfOnce you become familiar with the various forgeries, most of the ones other than Saatjian’s are easily spotted. The most obvious clue is that the lines between the oval and the word “Postes” are vertical on most forgeries. The real stamps have diagonal crosshatching as well as vertical lines. Unfortunately, so do the Saatjian forgeries. To identify these, you’ll need to consult the books or websites listed above. But I do have one test to share that I don’t think has otherwise been illustrated on the web. The real stamps exhibit a distinctive “crackling” of the gum. Many of the forgeries, Saatjian or not, have smooth gum. Of course, if your copy is missing gum or is damaged from heavy hinging or other abuse, this may not be revealing. But here is what the gum should look like: So what was the result of my eBay purchase? Alas, one hundred percent forgeries. The collector who thought most of his copies were real instead had the forgeries made from the original stones, so of course they were quite close to the originals. But if the collector had known about the gum test, he would immediately known what he had were fakes. His (and now my) copies all have smooth gum.
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Post by 1840to1940 on Aug 9, 2014 21:23:46 GMT
Jim, Stolzpup, tomiseksj, thank you for a pleasant diversion, I think. The whole set, as described on one site as Patronato Social Jose Antonio locals of Anadlucia-Cadiz, consists of 7 stamps: 10 cts, 25 cts, 50 cts, 1 pta, 1 pta, and 5 pts. There are two listings for the 1 pta because the denomination is known in two colors: naranja (orange) and rosa fuerte (deep? pink). No year is given. See webs.ono.com/cadiz02/cadiz2.pdfThe site I most often see for Spanish Civil War issues, Colectalis (http://www.colectalia.com/en/), has for sale the 10 cts and lists it as Allepuz 100. I assume this number is from EDIFIL. THE LOCAL OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR STAMPS CATALOGUE. 1936-1939. I’m not certain which volume as both v3 and v4 cover Andalucia. So just guessing, this stamp might be Allepuz 103 or 104?
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Post by 1840to1940 on Aug 9, 2014 14:52:33 GMT
Jim, it looks like you've found one that none of us know. When are you going to put us out of our misery? (My guess would be a Spanish Civil War issue, but I can't identify it.)
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Post by 1840to1940 on Jul 7, 2014 15:00:50 GMT
Welcome. The Stamp Forum seems to attract more of us worldwide collectors than other stamp boards. We must be doing something right. I look forward to learning which albums, if any, you use, etc.
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