If I were to only acquire only what I needed, I wouldn't be able to have the added enjoyment of seeing everything else firsthand!
Randy
We all have different situations...it would have been nice 40 years ago to have the discretionary income i have now to spend on stamps...my 78th birthday is on New Years Day...how much of my "stuff" do i want to burden my heirs with disposing of ?
my 78th birthday is on New Years Day
Shame on you, Phil! If you had made it on Dec 31, your parents could have used the deduction to good advantage!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Phil
Hey Phil, you and my wife are both party p...!
Merry Christmas!!
" ... If you had made it on Dec 31, your parents could have used the deduction to good advantage! ..."
About forty-eight years ago my wife and I planned on a small wedding in the coming spring. I noticed that we had very unequal incomes and the tax consequences were significant. Yesterday we celebrated our forty-eighth anniversary.
Happy birthday Phil and Happy anniversary Charlie. Phil, is there no interest in the hobby among kids or grandchildren? I had/have a similar problem. My children show no interest. But my grandson (the 4 year old you see to the left) loves working on stamps with me. Now, when I say with me I mean in the stamp room on his own little table. Presently his idea of "collecting stamps" consists on working on them with a piece of looseleaf paper, some very common stamps, scissors, hole puncher, stapler, magic tape and a glue stick. I'm hoping as he gets older this will progress !!
" .... some very common stamps, scissors, hole puncher, stapler, magic tape and a glue stick. ...."
I am glad to see you mention "glue stick". At that age and for a few years longer I have given my kids and grand kids a 75 cent marble note book, some colorful but inexpensive stamps and a glue stick to get them started and ignite their interest. From experience, mine and that of others, the interest will burn brightly for some time and then appear dormant for many years only to burst forth when age and opportunity re-arises.
Too often a youngster is introduced by well meaning adults nto a world of rules that kill the fun.
In 1966 combined we made 9 thousand dollars and were rolling in dough..then in June 67 our first new edition to the family arrived ..i became sole supporter for the next 15 years !!! There is no interest in stamps in our family beyond my wife and myself..the kids have more ordinary pursuits. If i even knew of a child in the area interested in collecting stamps..they would have an advantage i never dreamed of !
"If i even knew of a child in the area interested in collecting stamps..they would have an advantage i never dreamed of !"
Phil:
Contact your local Boy Scouts of America Council (Hudson Valley Council, where we went on our last visit to you & Joopie). You could be a Boy Scout Stamp Collecting Merit Badge Counsellor. One evening per month. Help the lads with their stamp collecting at the Troop meeting.
David
B-P Rover Knight Scout
Baden-Powell Scouts of Canada
&
(Former)
Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner / Unit Commissioner
Comanche Trail Council, B.S.A.
Brownwood, Texas
I find that the term "what I need" changes frequently.
upsguy62, thats what happens when i browse ebay...i saw a great buy on early town postmarks on Netherlands stamps that no one else saw..so i will be archiving them for a while !
"... Too often a youngster is introduced by well meaning adults nto a world of rules that kill the fun ..."
"We all have different situations...it would have been nice 40 years ago to have the discretionary income i have now to spend on stamps...my 78th birthday is on New Years Day...how much of my "stuff" do i want to burden my heirs with disposing of ?"
U.S. first day covers is how my interest in stamps was renewed...i was in the service in Southern Italy and our base would get the Herald Tribune(you remember that ikey) That was a small column on Stamps and it mentioned a first day of issue for Senator Norris and the Norris Dam in Tenn. I sent in an airmail envelope and probably 10 cents for the 2 four cent stamps for airmail. I knew nothing about putting a filler in the envelope..which did arrive..a bit worse for wear..
I'm 86, and I can honestly say that my US stamp collection has done more to keep me interested in seeing the sun rise then anything else left in my life.
Filling in the empty spaces ... completing sets, completing pages ... gave me a lot of satisfaction and some amount of joy. Frankly, it wasn't the pictures of dead Presidents that I liked, but the beautiful (but near worthless) commoratives of the 20th century.
When I decided to dispose of my collection to make life easier for my totally disinterested heirs, I thought that I might be filled with regret.
That hasn't happened. You may call me callous, but I'm actually enjoying the dismatling of my collection. There is a good deal of satisfaction in getting a fair price for the accumulation of decades.
All that is left are about 200 pre-1920 remainder stamps offered in a binder at my EBay store, and 35 cherry-picked stamps also offered at the store.
What's next, when that is gone?
Think I'll just add to my collection of DVD's of old movies. I've got over 100. Don't really watch too many ... I just collect them.
re: My Struggle
If I were to only acquire only what I needed, I wouldn't be able to have the added enjoyment of seeing everything else firsthand!
Randy
re: My Struggle
We all have different situations...it would have been nice 40 years ago to have the discretionary income i have now to spend on stamps...my 78th birthday is on New Years Day...how much of my "stuff" do i want to burden my heirs with disposing of ?
re: My Struggle
my 78th birthday is on New Years Day
Shame on you, Phil! If you had made it on Dec 31, your parents could have used the deduction to good advantage!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday!
re: My Struggle
Happy Birthday Phil
re: My Struggle
Hey Phil, you and my wife are both party p...!
Merry Christmas!!
re: My Struggle
" ... If you had made it on Dec 31, your parents could have used the deduction to good advantage! ..."
About forty-eight years ago my wife and I planned on a small wedding in the coming spring. I noticed that we had very unequal incomes and the tax consequences were significant. Yesterday we celebrated our forty-eighth anniversary.
re: My Struggle
Happy birthday Phil and Happy anniversary Charlie. Phil, is there no interest in the hobby among kids or grandchildren? I had/have a similar problem. My children show no interest. But my grandson (the 4 year old you see to the left) loves working on stamps with me. Now, when I say with me I mean in the stamp room on his own little table. Presently his idea of "collecting stamps" consists on working on them with a piece of looseleaf paper, some very common stamps, scissors, hole puncher, stapler, magic tape and a glue stick. I'm hoping as he gets older this will progress !!
re: My Struggle
" .... some very common stamps, scissors, hole puncher, stapler, magic tape and a glue stick. ...."
I am glad to see you mention "glue stick". At that age and for a few years longer I have given my kids and grand kids a 75 cent marble note book, some colorful but inexpensive stamps and a glue stick to get them started and ignite their interest. From experience, mine and that of others, the interest will burn brightly for some time and then appear dormant for many years only to burst forth when age and opportunity re-arises.
Too often a youngster is introduced by well meaning adults nto a world of rules that kill the fun.
re: My Struggle
In 1966 combined we made 9 thousand dollars and were rolling in dough..then in June 67 our first new edition to the family arrived ..i became sole supporter for the next 15 years !!! There is no interest in stamps in our family beyond my wife and myself..the kids have more ordinary pursuits. If i even knew of a child in the area interested in collecting stamps..they would have an advantage i never dreamed of !
re: My Struggle
"If i even knew of a child in the area interested in collecting stamps..they would have an advantage i never dreamed of !"
re: My Struggle
Phil:
Contact your local Boy Scouts of America Council (Hudson Valley Council, where we went on our last visit to you & Joopie). You could be a Boy Scout Stamp Collecting Merit Badge Counsellor. One evening per month. Help the lads with their stamp collecting at the Troop meeting.
David
B-P Rover Knight Scout
Baden-Powell Scouts of Canada
&
(Former)
Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner / Unit Commissioner
Comanche Trail Council, B.S.A.
Brownwood, Texas
re: My Struggle
I find that the term "what I need" changes frequently.
re: My Struggle
upsguy62, thats what happens when i browse ebay...i saw a great buy on early town postmarks on Netherlands stamps that no one else saw..so i will be archiving them for a while !
re: My Struggle
"... Too often a youngster is introduced by well meaning adults nto a world of rules that kill the fun ..."
re: My Struggle
"We all have different situations...it would have been nice 40 years ago to have the discretionary income i have now to spend on stamps...my 78th birthday is on New Years Day...how much of my "stuff" do i want to burden my heirs with disposing of ?"
re: My Struggle
U.S. first day covers is how my interest in stamps was renewed...i was in the service in Southern Italy and our base would get the Herald Tribune(you remember that ikey) That was a small column on Stamps and it mentioned a first day of issue for Senator Norris and the Norris Dam in Tenn. I sent in an airmail envelope and probably 10 cents for the 2 four cent stamps for airmail. I knew nothing about putting a filler in the envelope..which did arrive..a bit worse for wear..
re: My Struggle
I'm 86, and I can honestly say that my US stamp collection has done more to keep me interested in seeing the sun rise then anything else left in my life.
Filling in the empty spaces ... completing sets, completing pages ... gave me a lot of satisfaction and some amount of joy. Frankly, it wasn't the pictures of dead Presidents that I liked, but the beautiful (but near worthless) commoratives of the 20th century.
When I decided to dispose of my collection to make life easier for my totally disinterested heirs, I thought that I might be filled with regret.
That hasn't happened. You may call me callous, but I'm actually enjoying the dismatling of my collection. There is a good deal of satisfaction in getting a fair price for the accumulation of decades.
All that is left are about 200 pre-1920 remainder stamps offered in a binder at my EBay store, and 35 cherry-picked stamps also offered at the store.
What's next, when that is gone?
Think I'll just add to my collection of DVD's of old movies. I've got over 100. Don't really watch too many ... I just collect them.