Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Are we talking about the boxes on postcards and other stationery or the boxes you post letters in for collection by postal authorities?
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Stamp cases and boxes for holding stamps
https://www.spink.com/research-articles/stamp-boxes.aspx
http://alphabetilately.org/SB.html
Stamp boxes also refers to the ones on postcard to affix stamps
http://www.playle.com/realphoto/
& Post Boxes for mailing letters which go as far back as the 1600's in France
http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part1.html
(Modified by Moderator on 2015-07-02 15:09:14)
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Thanks Nelson I appreciate these links.I am wondering if any stamporama members have seen these or have any in their postal collections.....
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Hi Everyone;
The only stamp boxes of which I'm familiar are wooden cigar boxes or carved wooden boxes,
covered in stamps (decoupage). Collectors use them to store items like mounts, hinges, tools
(tongs, watermark trays, perf gauges, magnifiers) and yes, 811 tape, God save the Queen.
I'm guessing you are not referring to pillar boxes for posting letters but boxes for storing &
dispensing stmaps, probably coils.
Haven't seen the decoupage ones for a few decades now and guess they are now longer
stylish with collectors. If they are not made with a real wooden cigar box, they just don't last.
Just Musin'....
TuskenRaider
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I've got a couple of stamp boxes. This is the neatest one. It was issued around the turn of the centruy. Its approximately 1.5" in diameter about the size of a silver dollar. It was issued by a Funeral Home supply company (cheerful huh?). It has a reeded edge and screws apart into two halves. It is made of German Silver. One side has "Postage Stamps" written around the edge with some sort of a Celtic looking design in the middle. The other side has the advertisement. Stamp boxes are highly collectable. I've seen them in high end auction catalogues many times. I don't have the money to bid on them of course but hey, they are neat. I lucked into this one. Saw it in an antique shop in Virginia. The guy was asking next to nothing for it so I picked it up. 
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These are stamp boxes - very popular from 1880-1920 & some still made today
Good ones (Tiffany, Faberge) auction @ $15-$20,000
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Hi Everyone;
Hate to tell you Ernie, but your boxes, if German silver, contain no silver at all. Here is a
quote form Wikipedia:
"Nickel silver, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca silver,
or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60%
copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance,
but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to
its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese
alloy known as paktong (cupronickel). All modern, commercially important nickel silvers
(such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc,
and are sometimes considered a subset of brass."
This 'scam' has been used in the jewellery trade for decades, and it totally pervades the
internet sales of this junk metal being pawned off as predious metal. Most sellers will not
disclose in their descriptions that silver is not present at all. By the rules on here you
would not be able to even list a German Silver pair of tongs, or stamp boxes.
So sellers beware it you try to sell on here I will so bust you ASAP, unless you give the metals
included in your description, especially that this item "contains 0% Silver". If you claim it to
be silver you would have to show on a scan the stamped designation "925".
Most items made from silver contain 92.5% silver and 7.25% copper. The newer tarnish proof
silvers marketed by RioGrande as casting grain to jewellery makers has 92.5% silver and the
7.25% Beryllium/Aluminum. To be called Sterling it only needs to be 92.5% silver.
Silver items are usually marked as 925, and are almost never pure silver because it is not
easily workable and tarnishes too readily. Another designation for silver would 925/10, or
925/20. this is called "silver filled". The number after the '/' indicates that the item must
contain no less than 10% or 20% silver by weight and volume.
Vermeil is a jewellery term that describes Silver base metal, plated over with Gold.
Gold is labeled as thus: 12K, 14K, 18K etc. or 14K/20, 18K/10, and are Gold alloys for the
first three and the last two are Gold filled, with the number after '/' designating the % of
gold by weight and volume.
Just lurkin'....
TuskenRaider
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I wasn't under any impression that there was any silver in it. "German Silver" is a term used to describe a variety of pig metals. The value isn't derived from the metal content but thanks for looking that up and sharing.
And by the way, it's not for sale. 
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You guys are awesome..Wow ! I think that I have added one to start my collection. I found one on ebay that is silver in colour and not too pricey. The postage will be higher than the cost of the book. Thank you for the pictures as well The Alice in Wonderland stamp box is truly interesting...but probably won`t fit into my budget...
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01:37:38am
The only stamp boxes I have look like this;
And they usually have 13XXX printed on one end.
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And very collectable...I have quite a few...lol
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Hey 2010ccg,
Your thread has got me poking around looking for more information on my stamp box and the company. The company was founded in 1875 so it may be earlier than i thought. Check out this site:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Postcard-John-Murphy-Co-Undertakers-and-Supplies-Pittsburgh-Pennsylvania-/331086851102?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d16506c1e&autorefresh=true
This item would be a great complimentary piece and a way to help authenticate it.
It's not worth $20 to me though. I threw out a low ball offer. We'll see if the seller really wants to let it go.
-Ernie
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interesting..I hope that you are able to get it and add it to your stamp box....I found an old Hallmark stamp box on line.Postage to Canada was more than what the seller wanted for the item...
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CDJ1122, I got a few of those myself...LOL
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I have a few Chocolate boxes I use to collect stamps on paper...lol
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Beautiful item! No patina? Thanks for sharing.
Ernie
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Very nice...I have one similar....but not as old...beautiful
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I have had these since I was a kid...well before people started collecting these old cigarette boxes...which is why they were defaced, marked and had extra stamps stuck on them. Not pristine by any means. But I admit that I like them. Glassines fit perfectly inside, and the boxes are great for storage..you can even use the stamps stuck on to identify what is in them.
Not fancy, but memories of a previous time. And no, no one in my family smoked, but relatives saved their spent cigarette boxes for me.
rrr...
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12:59:39pm
Can anyone pass along their knowledge of stamp boxes? The use of and time period for using stamp boxes is of interest to me... Hmm maybe an addition to my postal history collection is in my future?? thanks
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Approvals
re: collecting stamp boxes
Are we talking about the boxes on postcards and other stationery or the boxes you post letters in for collection by postal authorities?
Login to Like
this post
01:48:13pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
Stamp cases and boxes for holding stamps
https://www.spink.com/research-articles/stamp-boxes.aspx
http://alphabetilately.org/SB.html
Stamp boxes also refers to the ones on postcard to affix stamps
http://www.playle.com/realphoto/
& Post Boxes for mailing letters which go as far back as the 1600's in France
http://www.wicks.org/pulp/part1.html
(Modified by Moderator on 2015-07-02 15:09:14)
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03:27:45pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
Thanks Nelson I appreciate these links.I am wondering if any stamporama members have seen these or have any in their postal collections.....
Login to Like
this post
re: collecting stamp boxes
Hi Everyone;
The only stamp boxes of which I'm familiar are wooden cigar boxes or carved wooden boxes,
covered in stamps (decoupage). Collectors use them to store items like mounts, hinges, tools
(tongs, watermark trays, perf gauges, magnifiers) and yes, 811 tape, God save the Queen.
I'm guessing you are not referring to pillar boxes for posting letters but boxes for storing &
dispensing stmaps, probably coils.
Haven't seen the decoupage ones for a few decades now and guess they are now longer
stylish with collectors. If they are not made with a real wooden cigar box, they just don't last.
Just Musin'....
TuskenRaider
Login to Like
this post
04:55:21pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
I've got a couple of stamp boxes. This is the neatest one. It was issued around the turn of the centruy. Its approximately 1.5" in diameter about the size of a silver dollar. It was issued by a Funeral Home supply company (cheerful huh?). It has a reeded edge and screws apart into two halves. It is made of German Silver. One side has "Postage Stamps" written around the edge with some sort of a Celtic looking design in the middle. The other side has the advertisement. Stamp boxes are highly collectable. I've seen them in high end auction catalogues many times. I don't have the money to bid on them of course but hey, they are neat. I lucked into this one. Saw it in an antique shop in Virginia. The guy was asking next to nothing for it so I picked it up.
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
05:52:05pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
These are stamp boxes - very popular from 1880-1920 & some still made today
Good ones (Tiffany, Faberge) auction @ $15-$20,000
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: collecting stamp boxes
Hi Everyone;
Hate to tell you Ernie, but your boxes, if German silver, contain no silver at all. Here is a
quote form Wikipedia:
"Nickel silver, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca silver,
or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60%
copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance,
but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to
its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese
alloy known as paktong (cupronickel). All modern, commercially important nickel silvers
(such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc,
and are sometimes considered a subset of brass."
This 'scam' has been used in the jewellery trade for decades, and it totally pervades the
internet sales of this junk metal being pawned off as predious metal. Most sellers will not
disclose in their descriptions that silver is not present at all. By the rules on here you
would not be able to even list a German Silver pair of tongs, or stamp boxes.
So sellers beware it you try to sell on here I will so bust you ASAP, unless you give the metals
included in your description, especially that this item "contains 0% Silver". If you claim it to
be silver you would have to show on a scan the stamped designation "925".
Most items made from silver contain 92.5% silver and 7.25% copper. The newer tarnish proof
silvers marketed by RioGrande as casting grain to jewellery makers has 92.5% silver and the
7.25% Beryllium/Aluminum. To be called Sterling it only needs to be 92.5% silver.
Silver items are usually marked as 925, and are almost never pure silver because it is not
easily workable and tarnishes too readily. Another designation for silver would 925/10, or
925/20. this is called "silver filled". The number after the '/' indicates that the item must
contain no less than 10% or 20% silver by weight and volume.
Vermeil is a jewellery term that describes Silver base metal, plated over with Gold.
Gold is labeled as thus: 12K, 14K, 18K etc. or 14K/20, 18K/10, and are Gold alloys for the
first three and the last two are Gold filled, with the number after '/' designating the % of
gold by weight and volume.
Just lurkin'....
TuskenRaider
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06:29:41pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
I wasn't under any impression that there was any silver in it. "German Silver" is a term used to describe a variety of pig metals. The value isn't derived from the metal content but thanks for looking that up and sharing.
And by the way, it's not for sale.
2 Members
like this post.
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08:20:02pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
You guys are awesome..Wow ! I think that I have added one to start my collection. I found one on ebay that is silver in colour and not too pricey. The postage will be higher than the cost of the book. Thank you for the pictures as well The Alice in Wonderland stamp box is truly interesting...but probably won`t fit into my budget...
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
04 Jul 2015
01:37:38am
re: collecting stamp boxes
The only stamp boxes I have look like this;
And they usually have 13XXX printed on one end.
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06:44:20am
re: collecting stamp boxes
And very collectable...I have quite a few...lol
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07:11:47am
re: collecting stamp boxes
Hey 2010ccg,
Your thread has got me poking around looking for more information on my stamp box and the company. The company was founded in 1875 so it may be earlier than i thought. Check out this site:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Postcard-John-Murphy-Co-Undertakers-and-Supplies-Pittsburgh-Pennsylvania-/331086851102?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d16506c1e&autorefresh=true
This item would be a great complimentary piece and a way to help authenticate it.
It's not worth $20 to me though. I threw out a low ball offer. We'll see if the seller really wants to let it go.
-Ernie
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07:32:45am
re: collecting stamp boxes
interesting..I hope that you are able to get it and add it to your stamp box....I found an old Hallmark stamp box on line.Postage to Canada was more than what the seller wanted for the item...
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re: collecting stamp boxes
CDJ1122, I got a few of those myself...LOL
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07:16:41pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
I have a few Chocolate boxes I use to collect stamps on paper...lol
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05:18:11pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
Beautiful item! No patina? Thanks for sharing.
Ernie
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08:34:46pm
re: collecting stamp boxes
Very nice...I have one similar....but not as old...beautiful
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Approvals
re: collecting stamp boxes
I have had these since I was a kid...well before people started collecting these old cigarette boxes...which is why they were defaced, marked and had extra stamps stuck on them. Not pristine by any means. But I admit that I like them. Glassines fit perfectly inside, and the boxes are great for storage..you can even use the stamps stuck on to identify what is in them.
Not fancy, but memories of a previous time. And no, no one in my family smoked, but relatives saved their spent cigarette boxes for me.
rrr...
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