What we collect!

 

Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps



What we collect!
What we collect!


General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : A new stamp passion ...

 

Author
Postings
carlberky
Members Picture


07 Feb 2017
02:57:13pm
As I approach the bittersweet final disposal of my US collection, I've been searching for a new way of satisfying the collector instinct that keeps me going every day ... and I think I've found it.

What's needed is something completely collectable, something inexpensive to buy, something of little total value to cause a disposal problem for my heirs ... who might actually become interested in continuation of the collection.

Eureka! The answer that I've found is (drum roll, please)... Olympic postal stamps!

Think about it! Separate years ... separate countries ... even separate seasons! Such joy and satisfaction in completing each small segment of the total year's output ... and then on to the next year!

For all I know such an Album may already exist. If not, then I need lots of advice.

What pages to buy ... what Album to buy ...

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.
Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
AntoniusRa
Members Picture


The truth is within and only you can reveal it

07 Feb 2017
09:16:18pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

There are indeed many people that collect Olympic stamps of the world and it is an excellent choice. As one would expect the first country to print Olympic stamps was Greece, celebrating the first Olympic games of the modern era in 1896. They are also probably the most expensive stamps issued for this topic. In addition to the original set there were also overprinted stamps issued in 1900 of the higher values. Unfortunately there are many forgeries of these so one has to be careful. However, I have found a way, that I have not seen anywhere else, to easily spot the forgeries so they should not be of much worry. No doubt there are probably a few thousand Olympic stamps so collecting them is easier said than done. Since the 1960's most of the countries of the world issue them

Shown are the first sets and some forgeries with tips on spotting them.

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

The 40L, 60L, 1D, 2D, 5D and 10D were counterfeited.
The forgeries were rather good and often fool many collectors as well as dealers.
Comparison of the two is sometimes required for correct identification.
Below is a comparison of a few of the genuine and forged stamps.
The genuine is the first of each pair (shown below), the second being the forgery.
As to be expected, the forgeries are a bit coarser and lack the fine detail of the originals. The wheel of the chariot on the 60L originals is Black while the forgery consists of 3 concentric circles. On the 1D, the sky in the originals has clouds but these are not found on the forgeries.
The back round shading is mostly absent in the forgeries of the 10D, while the genuine clearly shows vertical and horizontal lines.
I believe the easiest way to spot the forgeries is by noting the space between the engravers first initial and last name (imprint at bottom of stamp).
There is no space between the initials on the originals, but is quite obvious on the forgeries. See examples upper left.
Note: that the overprint on the 40L is also bogus. The CDS may or may not be fake.

Image Not Found



Like 
8 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

mitch.seymourfamily.com/mward/collection/mapindex.html
michael78651

07 Feb 2017
10:45:11pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

The American Philatelic Society has many free stamp album pages that anyone can download.

There is one for Olympic Stamps From the United States. Here is the link:

http://stamps.org/userfiles/file/albums/Olympics.pdf

Note that this link will actually download the album in a .pdf file.

Like
Login to Like
this post
ikeyPikey
Members Picture


07 Feb 2017
11:29:00pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Perhaps it would be more manageable to focus on an event, or class of events?

Like
Login to Like
this post

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
ClayMorgan
Members Picture


Member APS.

08 Feb 2017
11:53:15am
re: A new stamp passion ...

I too collect Olympics - sort of.

Actually, as an old judo competitor, I have a small collection of judo stamps and while there is occasionally one issued by the nation hosting the world championships, the bulk of the stamps are issued during Summer Olympic years. Focusing on one sport certainly helps me keep the collection - which is truly a sideline collection - more manageable.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"www.clay-morgan.com "

www.clay-morgan.com
rvangorder
Members Picture


APS life member of 25+ years

08 Feb 2017
03:22:56pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Try the American Topical Society website - I think they have a catalog list if Olympic stamps

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


08 Feb 2017
04:14:14pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Antonius Ra

Thanks for the interesting and educational discussion on forgeries. Since I'm starting my collection by concentrating on just the countries from the 2016 Olympics, and working my way back year by year, I'm not too likely to have a forgery problem for some time ... but ya never know!

michael

Thanks for the heads-up on the APS US Olympic pages. They did a beautiful job ... a great exhibit.

After all the years of specializing in US stamps, I think it's time to go global. Although I don't intend to go into the history of the individual Olympics, I do intend to have Album pages with borders, boxes and alphabetically arranged countries. This is not an overnight project, but perhaps I can get enough done to offer the pdfs to the APS!

IkeyPikey said,'Perhaps it would be more manageable to focus on an event, or class of events?'

Undoubtedly it would be more manageable, but so many of the stamps are offered as sets, with more then one event being in the group.

ClayMorgan

You hang in there, bud. The 2020 Olympics are on their way!

rvangorder

Thanks for the tip!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
2010ccg

08 Feb 2017
05:09:46pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

I put together a 32 page history of the Olympics in stamps just for my personal use
I did enter it in the NOVAPEX I received a Bronze ribbon but the comment of the Quebec judge was that it was too broad...I still like the history behind the different Olympics. That was its purpose....You will have to decide the reason YOU want to do the collection My grandchildren had a history lesson and didn`t even know it ..lol

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Pogopossum

08 Feb 2017
06:29:35pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Michel has an Olympics Games topical stamp catalog, the most recent issue is 2016.

Geoff

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


08 Feb 2017
06:50:43pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

In the 2016 Olympics there were more then 50 countries that produced related stamps. Iraq had at least 12, and Brazil had 24. Although many countries produce 4 or less, I'm estimating that there will be over 50 pages in the 2016 chapter! Game on!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
lemaven
Members Picture


09 Feb 2017
11:43:18am
re: A new stamp passion ...

The Olympics and World Cup (Soccer) are favorites of mine. It is a great collection area if part of your love of the hobby is to share with other people, and have interesting stories behind the stamps. Not so much if they are meant to be compared to the value of your 401K/RRSP account.

It's a big motivator for me. Frankly, much more enjoyable than trying to show friends how the gum on this particular stamp is unmarked by a hinge, or how that one has a watermark 9 vs a 238...

I prefer broad over narrow for that reason and don't mind duplicates. It opens up lots of opportunities to organize according to your interests. So I've started organizing albums by country and by certain sports; and separating host countries for display vs participants vs "others" (Equatorial Guinea World Cup stamps???)

It's also interesting to do the research and create "info pages".

Cheryl: I'd love to see some posts of what you've done. Sounds great!

Cheers, Dave.


Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


09 Feb 2017
06:24:19pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Dave
The whole point in picking the Olympics as a topic is due to the relatively low prices and overall small potential value of a collection ... at least from the 90's and higher.

In just the last 2 days, I've purchased stamps from 59 countries, for only the 2016 Olympics ... with some major countries not having any stamps as yet. There are several minor countries having fairly high face values and I'd like to shop around for those.

I must say that I've been shocked at the professionalism of the dealers overseas. Minutes for shipping notices and feedbacks from most. Of course, delivery will be another matter!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
lemaven
Members Picture


10 Feb 2017
11:25:26am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Hey Carl. I totally agree on the Cost to Fun & Interest Value ratio. Also makes it a lot easier to justify buying large lots and weeding out the duplicates.

Years ago (even PRE-HOARD) I bought a pile of about 1,000 soccer stamps (almost all CTO and with many duplicates) on eBay for only $25. When I got them, about 1/3 were stuck together. After first claiming "it must have happened in the mail, so I'm not responsible" he later noted "at this price obviously these are for collecting enjoyment, not as an investment, so just soak them off and you'll still have nice looking stamps ". He even gave me a $5 credit and I later sold the duplicates for a tiny profit, so it all worked out.

I now routinely bring my books of Soccer stamps (an unholy unorganized mess) to my alma mater every World Cup where the lads love to flip through the pages in between matches. Same with my Olympic stamps which I leave open at home whenever the games are on, and friends are dropping in.

Maybe we should start a little trading club?

Cheers, Dave.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Snick1946
Members Picture


APS Life Member

10 Feb 2017
12:27:25pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Scott at one time had a specialty topical album for Olympic stamps and still have some sections of it for sale at reduced prices on the Amos site:

http://www.amosadvantage.com//product.asp?category=PGSTP&part_no=920SM02&find_category=WEB_ALL&find_description=&find_part_desc=olympic

This is a link to the first section, I did not check but think they go up to 1980 or so. Only the Summer games issues are provided for.

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


11 Feb 2017
03:20:23pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

I can't create all the Album pages until my entire 2016 collection is finalized, so I've ordered a 64 black page Linder hingeless stockbook to house the stamps and souvenir sheets that have been ordered.

As a final version, I'll probably wind up with a 3 ring Album binder for each Olympic year. I'll do each country as a separate section, even though some countries have only one stamp. With looseleaf sheets, I can also be capable of having a display of a group of Olympic years from one country, if I so desired!

Come to think of it, I can actually start creating album sheets for those countries that will fit on one page. It's good to have Stamp Fevercitis again!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
cdj1122
Members Picture


Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

17 Feb 2017
01:10:40pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

" .... but the comment of the Quebec judge was that it was too broad ..."

How does a judge get to decide that an entry on a topic like the Olymkpics is too broad?
Was it intended to be an introductory overview of the wide range of Olympic stamps ?
If there was an attempt to cover one specific part of Olympic stamps; a single sport, a particular country or perhaps drug use among weight lifters, I can see how one might miss the target. But too broad in a general display?
Confused

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
2010ccg

18 Feb 2017
07:55:41am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Yes that was his comment......I was focusing on the history of the Olympics..He suggested that I should have just chosen a sport or country though the years He missed the first stamps (value ...just a tad)of Greece and their reason for issuing stamps (funding) No comment made about the post mark cancel (rare) for the year that Olympics were cancelled It had been prepared and used only a short time before the war prevented the Olympics I had also included the stamps showing the prisoner of war olympics that were recognized and recorded as helping to keep the Olympic movement alive
If I ever get the scanning problem solved I shall post a few pages

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


27 Apr 2017
12:53:17pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Progress Report ...

With stamps and sheets from over 77 countries, I had to order a three inch binder for the current 105 pages.

Still expecting more from 7 countries recently 'discovered'.

In many cases the cost of postage charged has been greater then the cost of the stamps. Even so, the total cost has been over $1000 (including supplies) ... tapping my future budget for several months!

As some of you warned, the project has been much more than I expected ... but well worthwhile in the pleasure it has given me. Still a lot of work to be done. I'm planning to add wikipedia commentary for each country ... eventually.

Would like to show some examples here, but my scans are rejected. If interested, I can email you scans of any country that you would like to see.



Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
michael78651

27 Apr 2017
11:56:51pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

The most common reason for an image not uploading to the Stamporama site is because the size of the image is too large. Make sure that the image is no larger than 1400 by 1230 bytes.

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


28 Apr 2017
02:44:56am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Michael ...

Just posted a few scans over at The Stamp Forum, under the Sports and Olympics thread.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
carlberky
Members Picture


28 Apr 2017
03:12:49am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Michael, I started a thread on Dec 16, 2016 under the Tech Support topic, and Roy had me email some of my scans. He had no trouble uploading them.

It apparently is no problem for anyone else, so it would be wasteful of time and effort to pursue it any further.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
dani20
Members Picture


28 Apr 2017
08:28:10am
re: A new stamp passion ...

The passion and pleasure of this new endeavor is inspirational to me, and I hope for others as well. Thank you all for the sharing and caring shown.
Respect,
Dan C

Like
Login to Like
this post
51Studebaker
Members Picture


Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't

28 Apr 2017
03:00:57pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Carl,
You have a current listing here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-355-unused-PH-OG-Washington-1909-coil-Dealer-List-Price-350-/282449599942

Clark Frazier, one of the leading Washington/Franklin authorities and expertizer for several certification organizations, explained why it was a trimmed stamp and not a coil in this thread last year.
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46891

In that thread you acknowledged that the stamp had trimmed perfs and that you would remove the listing.

I am wondering why you relisted this mis-identified, altered stamp?
Don

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"Current Score... Don 1 - Cancer 0"

stampsmarter.org
carlberky
Members Picture


28 Apr 2017
08:18:43pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Don said'Clark Frazier, one of the leading Washington/Franklin authorities and expertizer for several certification organizations, explained why it was a trimmed stamp and not a coil in this thread last year.
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46891

In that thread you acknowledged that the stamp had trimmed perfs and that you would remove the listing.'

If I made such an acknowledgement, please show the quote. Actually, I removed the listing because the perfs did not line up with the perfs on the other side ... a mistake pointed out to me by ESSAYK in his post in the same thread: Carl, I wonder if you might be overdoing it in your rejection of items due to perf you are doing, then you may be dismissing good stamps due to incorrect procedure.differences. Based on the pics you are giving it would appear that you are lining up the edges of the design and then checking to see if the perfs line up. If that is what yo are doing, then you may be dismissing good stamps due to incorrect procedure.

Don said: 'I am wondering why you relisted this mis-identified, altered stamp?'

Don, I had a glazine envelope marked 'fakes' in which the coil outcasts from that thread were housed. I decided to test them by comparing them to certified copies. My criteria was:
1. Do the plate sizes match?
2. DO the perfs match or mismatch consistantly?
3. Does the height or width match?

Most of the stamps went back into the envelope ... but #355 (and #351) stayed out.

Clark said: The top and bottom edges of the stamp listed as 355 don't appear to be exactly parallel. No imperforate 4 or 5 cent horizontal coils were available to be perforated. Fakes are either trimmed sheet stamps or imperforate stamps trimmed by hand and perforated. Usually the edges don't pass because they are not exactly parallel or the characteristics of the trimmed edges lack the characteristics of hand assembled flat plate coils.

If I used the wrong standard to relist the stamp, and 'don't appear to be exactly parallel' is a strong enough opinion for you to agree that it's a fake, then I'll not only remove the listing, I'll destroy the stamp.

It's up to you, Don.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
51Studebaker
Members Picture


Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't

29 Apr 2017
03:19:27am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Hi Carl,
It is not up to me, you have the stamp in hand. This stamp is, in my opinion, suspect but I would take Clark’s opinion to the bank. Note that Clark was being specific and essayk was offering a general comment about 3-4 of your previous posts where you seemed to be concentrating on just lining up the perfs.

For this stamp it is the bottom edge that would need to be verified. Washington/Franklins coils are very tricky and a very large percentage of them (>80%) floating around are faked and/or trimmed. Coils were not an area that collectors had a good handle on back in the day. Postal demand was high and there were many running production changes which were not well understood by collectors at the time. But as these varieties began to get visibility, they became an ‘easy’ target for faking within a few years. No doubt thousands of fake coils were ‘manufactured’ back in the 1920s and 1930s and this fraudulent behavior continued for decades.

It was great that you sought out opinions and I understand that getting certs was not feasible for you. I think you did a pretty good job of going back and improving quite a few of your listings. But in this case you added an image of a certified example and state, “A partial scan is shown of a PSE certified copy of a #355 (lower), used as a standard to show a comparison of perfs, plate size and overall height.” But unless you had the certified reference stamp in hand and scanned them side-by-side in the same image the comparison is not valid. (Images can be generated at different scales, be resized or otherwise modified. This makes doing a side-by-side comparison with two separate images meaningless.)

This is probably why this listing has not found a buyer over the past year or two. Knowledgeable buyers realize that they would need to invest in a cert and that they would be gambling with the purchase price.
Don

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Current Score... Don 1 - Cancer 0"

stampsmarter.org
carlberky
Members Picture


29 Apr 2017
10:48:02am
re: A new stamp passion ...

(Images can be generated at different scales, be resized or otherwise modified. This makes doing a side-by-side comparison with two separate images meaningless.)

True ... which is why the plate size comparison was part of my criteria.

Clark said(in another post regarding a different stamp): 'I would not give this coil a good cert without examining it. The edges look bad to me. It would be necessary to examine the characteristics of the top and bottom edges to be sure.'

I will NOT remove the listing, but I will add the following statement to it ... and to every other stamp offered for over $100.

IF purchased and you will seek certification, please advise, and an additional 30 days will be allowed for the return of the stamp.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Poodle_Mum
Members Picture


A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).

29 Apr 2017
12:01:13pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Olympics Museum Online

Click on year and then Postal Stamps.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
carlberky
Members Picture


29 Apr 2017
12:06:19pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

....I will add the following statement to it ... and to every other stamp offered for over $100.

If purchased and you will seek certification, please advise, and an additional 30 days will be allowed for the return of the stamp.


Done.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
carlberky
Members Picture


29 Apr 2017
12:43:40pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Poodle Mum ... Thanks so much for the link. I've added it to my list of favorites.

A good friend of my wife named Sandy had two Poodle service dogs. The first, a gorgous white one named Landmark, who was eventually replaced by a beautiful jet-black Poodle named ... what else ... Shadow.

Sandy and Landmark were refused entry to a Las Vegas Hotel ... but Steve Wynn quickly found out not to mess with Sandy!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Poodle_Mum
Members Picture


A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).

29 Apr 2017
01:04:42pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

You are most welcome. I've had 3 Standard Poodle Dog Guides - Cooper (black), Emmett (apricot) and Dayton (apricot). Cooper and Emmett passed away during crisis from Addison's Disease (Cooper aged 8 and Emmett aged 4). Jr (Dayton) just turned 7. He's an oddball and I love him to pieces. I always say God has a sense of humour - first He sent Cooper with all his quirks and said "it is good." Then He sent Emmett with the total opposite quirks and said "it is good." Then He decided to roll everything up, add a few extras and send Dayton. On that day He said "this is very good ... oh ..
And good luck!" Hence his nickname Jr.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
carlberky
Members Picture


02 May 2017
01:28:43pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Posted scans at The Stamp Forum with text added to a couple of 2016 Olympic images.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
carlberky
Members Picture


10 Jun 2017
05:41:42pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

The collection of 2016 Olympic stamps is complete.

The album has 241 stamps and sheets mounted on 128 pages, from 92 entities.

There were 207 participants in the Games, and I google searched every one for 2016 Olympic stamps. It was very surprising to find that some major participants in the Games, such as the US and Russia, did not issue stamps.

Still to be done are an album cover sheet and a forward page.

This has been a fun project, time consuming, and more expensive then I expected, but totally worthwhile. The result is a unique, possibly one-of-a-kind album that I hope to exhibit some day.


Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
TribalErnie

10 Jun 2017
07:37:14pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

That's great Carl. Sounds like fun. Did you discover a neat story while you were assembling the collection? Was there an incredible under dog that ended up winning gold?

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


10 Jun 2017
11:39:07pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Ernie, one incident comes to mind ... here's a quote from the Mongolian section's text:
... Freestyle wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran controversially lost the bronze medal match in the men's division, provoking a protest against the decision by his coaches while stripping their clothes off.

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
TribalErnie

11 Jun 2017
01:31:17pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Carl, that's a crazy story. One way to protest! I think New Zealand and Australia are the only two countries that actually issued stamps in honor of their medalists. Would love to see your pages.

Like
Login to Like
this post
carlberky
Members Picture


11 Jun 2017
07:23:44pm
re: A new stamp passion ...

Ernie, I'll be glad to email you, or anyone else, as may as you like, in pdf form.

Can't upload here ... get error message "application.gif" not "image.gif", even though Roy had no problem uploading the samples he requested.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
jillcrow

04 Jul 2017
05:04:28am
re: A new stamp passion ...

Apart from Australia and New Zealand, the following countries also honoured their Olympic medallists with stamps:

Belarus, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and Colombia. Colombia only showed the names around medals, the others showed the actual medal winners.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
        

 

Author/Postings
Members Picture
carlberky

07 Feb 2017
02:57:13pm

As I approach the bittersweet final disposal of my US collection, I've been searching for a new way of satisfying the collector instinct that keeps me going every day ... and I think I've found it.

What's needed is something completely collectable, something inexpensive to buy, something of little total value to cause a disposal problem for my heirs ... who might actually become interested in continuation of the collection.

Eureka! The answer that I've found is (drum roll, please)... Olympic postal stamps!

Think about it! Separate years ... separate countries ... even separate seasons! Such joy and satisfaction in completing each small segment of the total year's output ... and then on to the next year!

For all I know such an Album may already exist. If not, then I need lots of advice.

What pages to buy ... what Album to buy ...

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
AntoniusRa

The truth is within and only you can reveal it
07 Feb 2017
09:16:18pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

There are indeed many people that collect Olympic stamps of the world and it is an excellent choice. As one would expect the first country to print Olympic stamps was Greece, celebrating the first Olympic games of the modern era in 1896. They are also probably the most expensive stamps issued for this topic. In addition to the original set there were also overprinted stamps issued in 1900 of the higher values. Unfortunately there are many forgeries of these so one has to be careful. However, I have found a way, that I have not seen anywhere else, to easily spot the forgeries so they should not be of much worry. No doubt there are probably a few thousand Olympic stamps so collecting them is easier said than done. Since the 1960's most of the countries of the world issue them

Shown are the first sets and some forgeries with tips on spotting them.

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

The 40L, 60L, 1D, 2D, 5D and 10D were counterfeited.
The forgeries were rather good and often fool many collectors as well as dealers.
Comparison of the two is sometimes required for correct identification.
Below is a comparison of a few of the genuine and forged stamps.
The genuine is the first of each pair (shown below), the second being the forgery.
As to be expected, the forgeries are a bit coarser and lack the fine detail of the originals. The wheel of the chariot on the 60L originals is Black while the forgery consists of 3 concentric circles. On the 1D, the sky in the originals has clouds but these are not found on the forgeries.
The back round shading is mostly absent in the forgeries of the 10D, while the genuine clearly shows vertical and horizontal lines.
I believe the easiest way to spot the forgeries is by noting the space between the engravers first initial and last name (imprint at bottom of stamp).
There is no space between the initials on the originals, but is quite obvious on the forgeries. See examples upper left.
Note: that the overprint on the 40L is also bogus. The CDS may or may not be fake.

Image Not Found



Like 
8 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

mitch.seymourfamily. ...
michael78651

07 Feb 2017
10:45:11pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

The American Philatelic Society has many free stamp album pages that anyone can download.

There is one for Olympic Stamps From the United States. Here is the link:

http://stamps.org/userfiles/file/albums/Olympics.pdf

Note that this link will actually download the album in a .pdf file.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
ikeyPikey

07 Feb 2017
11:29:00pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Perhaps it would be more manageable to focus on an event, or class of events?

Like
Login to Like
this post

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Members Picture
ClayMorgan

Member APS.
08 Feb 2017
11:53:15am

re: A new stamp passion ...

I too collect Olympics - sort of.

Actually, as an old judo competitor, I have a small collection of judo stamps and while there is occasionally one issued by the nation hosting the world championships, the bulk of the stamps are issued during Summer Olympic years. Focusing on one sport certainly helps me keep the collection - which is truly a sideline collection - more manageable.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"www.clay-morgan.com "

www.clay-morgan.com
Members Picture
rvangorder

APS life member of 25+ years
08 Feb 2017
03:22:56pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Try the American Topical Society website - I think they have a catalog list if Olympic stamps

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

08 Feb 2017
04:14:14pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Antonius Ra

Thanks for the interesting and educational discussion on forgeries. Since I'm starting my collection by concentrating on just the countries from the 2016 Olympics, and working my way back year by year, I'm not too likely to have a forgery problem for some time ... but ya never know!

michael

Thanks for the heads-up on the APS US Olympic pages. They did a beautiful job ... a great exhibit.

After all the years of specializing in US stamps, I think it's time to go global. Although I don't intend to go into the history of the individual Olympics, I do intend to have Album pages with borders, boxes and alphabetically arranged countries. This is not an overnight project, but perhaps I can get enough done to offer the pdfs to the APS!

IkeyPikey said,'Perhaps it would be more manageable to focus on an event, or class of events?'

Undoubtedly it would be more manageable, but so many of the stamps are offered as sets, with more then one event being in the group.

ClayMorgan

You hang in there, bud. The 2020 Olympics are on their way!

rvangorder

Thanks for the tip!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
2010ccg

08 Feb 2017
05:09:46pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

I put together a 32 page history of the Olympics in stamps just for my personal use
I did enter it in the NOVAPEX I received a Bronze ribbon but the comment of the Quebec judge was that it was too broad...I still like the history behind the different Olympics. That was its purpose....You will have to decide the reason YOU want to do the collection My grandchildren had a history lesson and didn`t even know it ..lol

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Pogopossum

08 Feb 2017
06:29:35pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Michel has an Olympics Games topical stamp catalog, the most recent issue is 2016.

Geoff

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

08 Feb 2017
06:50:43pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

In the 2016 Olympics there were more then 50 countries that produced related stamps. Iraq had at least 12, and Brazil had 24. Although many countries produce 4 or less, I'm estimating that there will be over 50 pages in the 2016 chapter! Game on!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
lemaven

09 Feb 2017
11:43:18am

re: A new stamp passion ...

The Olympics and World Cup (Soccer) are favorites of mine. It is a great collection area if part of your love of the hobby is to share with other people, and have interesting stories behind the stamps. Not so much if they are meant to be compared to the value of your 401K/RRSP account.

It's a big motivator for me. Frankly, much more enjoyable than trying to show friends how the gum on this particular stamp is unmarked by a hinge, or how that one has a watermark 9 vs a 238...

I prefer broad over narrow for that reason and don't mind duplicates. It opens up lots of opportunities to organize according to your interests. So I've started organizing albums by country and by certain sports; and separating host countries for display vs participants vs "others" (Equatorial Guinea World Cup stamps???)

It's also interesting to do the research and create "info pages".

Cheryl: I'd love to see some posts of what you've done. Sounds great!

Cheers, Dave.


Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

09 Feb 2017
06:24:19pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Dave
The whole point in picking the Olympics as a topic is due to the relatively low prices and overall small potential value of a collection ... at least from the 90's and higher.

In just the last 2 days, I've purchased stamps from 59 countries, for only the 2016 Olympics ... with some major countries not having any stamps as yet. There are several minor countries having fairly high face values and I'd like to shop around for those.

I must say that I've been shocked at the professionalism of the dealers overseas. Minutes for shipping notices and feedbacks from most. Of course, delivery will be another matter!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
lemaven

10 Feb 2017
11:25:26am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Hey Carl. I totally agree on the Cost to Fun & Interest Value ratio. Also makes it a lot easier to justify buying large lots and weeding out the duplicates.

Years ago (even PRE-HOARD) I bought a pile of about 1,000 soccer stamps (almost all CTO and with many duplicates) on eBay for only $25. When I got them, about 1/3 were stuck together. After first claiming "it must have happened in the mail, so I'm not responsible" he later noted "at this price obviously these are for collecting enjoyment, not as an investment, so just soak them off and you'll still have nice looking stamps ". He even gave me a $5 credit and I later sold the duplicates for a tiny profit, so it all worked out.

I now routinely bring my books of Soccer stamps (an unholy unorganized mess) to my alma mater every World Cup where the lads love to flip through the pages in between matches. Same with my Olympic stamps which I leave open at home whenever the games are on, and friends are dropping in.

Maybe we should start a little trading club?

Cheers, Dave.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
Snick1946

APS Life Member
10 Feb 2017
12:27:25pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Scott at one time had a specialty topical album for Olympic stamps and still have some sections of it for sale at reduced prices on the Amos site:

http://www.amosadvantage.com//product.asp?category=PGSTP&part_no=920SM02&find_category=WEB_ALL&find_description=&find_part_desc=olympic

This is a link to the first section, I did not check but think they go up to 1980 or so. Only the Summer games issues are provided for.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

11 Feb 2017
03:20:23pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

I can't create all the Album pages until my entire 2016 collection is finalized, so I've ordered a 64 black page Linder hingeless stockbook to house the stamps and souvenir sheets that have been ordered.

As a final version, I'll probably wind up with a 3 ring Album binder for each Olympic year. I'll do each country as a separate section, even though some countries have only one stamp. With looseleaf sheets, I can also be capable of having a display of a group of Olympic years from one country, if I so desired!

Come to think of it, I can actually start creating album sheets for those countries that will fit on one page. It's good to have Stamp Fevercitis again!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
17 Feb 2017
01:10:40pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

" .... but the comment of the Quebec judge was that it was too broad ..."

How does a judge get to decide that an entry on a topic like the Olymkpics is too broad?
Was it intended to be an introductory overview of the wide range of Olympic stamps ?
If there was an attempt to cover one specific part of Olympic stamps; a single sport, a particular country or perhaps drug use among weight lifters, I can see how one might miss the target. But too broad in a general display?
Confused

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
2010ccg

18 Feb 2017
07:55:41am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Yes that was his comment......I was focusing on the history of the Olympics..He suggested that I should have just chosen a sport or country though the years He missed the first stamps (value ...just a tad)of Greece and their reason for issuing stamps (funding) No comment made about the post mark cancel (rare) for the year that Olympics were cancelled It had been prepared and used only a short time before the war prevented the Olympics I had also included the stamps showing the prisoner of war olympics that were recognized and recorded as helping to keep the Olympic movement alive
If I ever get the scanning problem solved I shall post a few pages

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

27 Apr 2017
12:53:17pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Progress Report ...

With stamps and sheets from over 77 countries, I had to order a three inch binder for the current 105 pages.

Still expecting more from 7 countries recently 'discovered'.

In many cases the cost of postage charged has been greater then the cost of the stamps. Even so, the total cost has been over $1000 (including supplies) ... tapping my future budget for several months!

As some of you warned, the project has been much more than I expected ... but well worthwhile in the pleasure it has given me. Still a lot of work to be done. I'm planning to add wikipedia commentary for each country ... eventually.

Would like to show some examples here, but my scans are rejected. If interested, I can email you scans of any country that you would like to see.



Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
michael78651

27 Apr 2017
11:56:51pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

The most common reason for an image not uploading to the Stamporama site is because the size of the image is too large. Make sure that the image is no larger than 1400 by 1230 bytes.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

28 Apr 2017
02:44:56am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Michael ...

Just posted a few scans over at The Stamp Forum, under the Sports and Olympics thread.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
carlberky

28 Apr 2017
03:12:49am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Michael, I started a thread on Dec 16, 2016 under the Tech Support topic, and Roy had me email some of my scans. He had no trouble uploading them.

It apparently is no problem for anyone else, so it would be wasteful of time and effort to pursue it any further.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
dani20

28 Apr 2017
08:28:10am

re: A new stamp passion ...

The passion and pleasure of this new endeavor is inspirational to me, and I hope for others as well. Thank you all for the sharing and caring shown.
Respect,
Dan C

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
51Studebaker

Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't
28 Apr 2017
03:00:57pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Carl,
You have a current listing here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-355-unused-PH-OG-Washington-1909-coil-Dealer-List-Price-350-/282449599942

Clark Frazier, one of the leading Washington/Franklin authorities and expertizer for several certification organizations, explained why it was a trimmed stamp and not a coil in this thread last year.
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46891

In that thread you acknowledged that the stamp had trimmed perfs and that you would remove the listing.

I am wondering why you relisted this mis-identified, altered stamp?
Don

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"Current Score... Don 1 - Cancer 0"

stampsmarter.org
Members Picture
carlberky

28 Apr 2017
08:18:43pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Don said'Clark Frazier, one of the leading Washington/Franklin authorities and expertizer for several certification organizations, explained why it was a trimmed stamp and not a coil in this thread last year.
http://www.stampcommunity.org/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46891

In that thread you acknowledged that the stamp had trimmed perfs and that you would remove the listing.'

If I made such an acknowledgement, please show the quote. Actually, I removed the listing because the perfs did not line up with the perfs on the other side ... a mistake pointed out to me by ESSAYK in his post in the same thread: Carl, I wonder if you might be overdoing it in your rejection of items due to perf you are doing, then you may be dismissing good stamps due to incorrect procedure.differences. Based on the pics you are giving it would appear that you are lining up the edges of the design and then checking to see if the perfs line up. If that is what yo are doing, then you may be dismissing good stamps due to incorrect procedure.

Don said: 'I am wondering why you relisted this mis-identified, altered stamp?'

Don, I had a glazine envelope marked 'fakes' in which the coil outcasts from that thread were housed. I decided to test them by comparing them to certified copies. My criteria was:
1. Do the plate sizes match?
2. DO the perfs match or mismatch consistantly?
3. Does the height or width match?

Most of the stamps went back into the envelope ... but #355 (and #351) stayed out.

Clark said: The top and bottom edges of the stamp listed as 355 don't appear to be exactly parallel. No imperforate 4 or 5 cent horizontal coils were available to be perforated. Fakes are either trimmed sheet stamps or imperforate stamps trimmed by hand and perforated. Usually the edges don't pass because they are not exactly parallel or the characteristics of the trimmed edges lack the characteristics of hand assembled flat plate coils.

If I used the wrong standard to relist the stamp, and 'don't appear to be exactly parallel' is a strong enough opinion for you to agree that it's a fake, then I'll not only remove the listing, I'll destroy the stamp.

It's up to you, Don.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
51Studebaker

Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't
29 Apr 2017
03:19:27am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Hi Carl,
It is not up to me, you have the stamp in hand. This stamp is, in my opinion, suspect but I would take Clark’s opinion to the bank. Note that Clark was being specific and essayk was offering a general comment about 3-4 of your previous posts where you seemed to be concentrating on just lining up the perfs.

For this stamp it is the bottom edge that would need to be verified. Washington/Franklins coils are very tricky and a very large percentage of them (>80%) floating around are faked and/or trimmed. Coils were not an area that collectors had a good handle on back in the day. Postal demand was high and there were many running production changes which were not well understood by collectors at the time. But as these varieties began to get visibility, they became an ‘easy’ target for faking within a few years. No doubt thousands of fake coils were ‘manufactured’ back in the 1920s and 1930s and this fraudulent behavior continued for decades.

It was great that you sought out opinions and I understand that getting certs was not feasible for you. I think you did a pretty good job of going back and improving quite a few of your listings. But in this case you added an image of a certified example and state, “A partial scan is shown of a PSE certified copy of a #355 (lower), used as a standard to show a comparison of perfs, plate size and overall height.” But unless you had the certified reference stamp in hand and scanned them side-by-side in the same image the comparison is not valid. (Images can be generated at different scales, be resized or otherwise modified. This makes doing a side-by-side comparison with two separate images meaningless.)

This is probably why this listing has not found a buyer over the past year or two. Knowledgeable buyers realize that they would need to invest in a cert and that they would be gambling with the purchase price.
Don

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Current Score... Don 1 - Cancer 0"

stampsmarter.org
Members Picture
carlberky

29 Apr 2017
10:48:02am

re: A new stamp passion ...

(Images can be generated at different scales, be resized or otherwise modified. This makes doing a side-by-side comparison with two separate images meaningless.)

True ... which is why the plate size comparison was part of my criteria.

Clark said(in another post regarding a different stamp): 'I would not give this coil a good cert without examining it. The edges look bad to me. It would be necessary to examine the characteristics of the top and bottom edges to be sure.'

I will NOT remove the listing, but I will add the following statement to it ... and to every other stamp offered for over $100.

IF purchased and you will seek certification, please advise, and an additional 30 days will be allowed for the return of the stamp.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."

A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
29 Apr 2017
12:01:13pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Olympics Museum Online

Click on year and then Postal Stamps.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
Members Picture
carlberky

29 Apr 2017
12:06:19pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

....I will add the following statement to it ... and to every other stamp offered for over $100.

If purchased and you will seek certification, please advise, and an additional 30 days will be allowed for the return of the stamp.


Done.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
carlberky

29 Apr 2017
12:43:40pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Poodle Mum ... Thanks so much for the link. I've added it to my list of favorites.

A good friend of my wife named Sandy had two Poodle service dogs. The first, a gorgous white one named Landmark, who was eventually replaced by a beautiful jet-black Poodle named ... what else ... Shadow.

Sandy and Landmark were refused entry to a Las Vegas Hotel ... but Steve Wynn quickly found out not to mess with Sandy!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."

A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
29 Apr 2017
01:04:42pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

You are most welcome. I've had 3 Standard Poodle Dog Guides - Cooper (black), Emmett (apricot) and Dayton (apricot). Cooper and Emmett passed away during crisis from Addison's Disease (Cooper aged 8 and Emmett aged 4). Jr (Dayton) just turned 7. He's an oddball and I love him to pieces. I always say God has a sense of humour - first He sent Cooper with all his quirks and said "it is good." Then He sent Emmett with the total opposite quirks and said "it is good." Then He decided to roll everything up, add a few extras and send Dayton. On that day He said "this is very good ... oh ..
And good luck!" Hence his nickname Jr.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
Members Picture
carlberky

02 May 2017
01:28:43pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Posted scans at The Stamp Forum with text added to a couple of 2016 Olympic images.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
Members Picture
carlberky

10 Jun 2017
05:41:42pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

The collection of 2016 Olympic stamps is complete.

The album has 241 stamps and sheets mounted on 128 pages, from 92 entities.

There were 207 participants in the Games, and I google searched every one for 2016 Olympic stamps. It was very surprising to find that some major participants in the Games, such as the US and Russia, did not issue stamps.

Still to be done are an album cover sheet and a forward page.

This has been a fun project, time consuming, and more expensive then I expected, but totally worthwhile. The result is a unique, possibly one-of-a-kind album that I hope to exhibit some day.


Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
TribalErnie

10 Jun 2017
07:37:14pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

That's great Carl. Sounds like fun. Did you discover a neat story while you were assembling the collection? Was there an incredible under dog that ended up winning gold?

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

10 Jun 2017
11:39:07pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Ernie, one incident comes to mind ... here's a quote from the Mongolian section's text:
... Freestyle wrestler Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran controversially lost the bronze medal match in the men's division, provoking a protest against the decision by his coaches while stripping their clothes off.

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
TribalErnie

11 Jun 2017
01:31:17pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Carl, that's a crazy story. One way to protest! I think New Zealand and Australia are the only two countries that actually issued stamps in honor of their medalists. Would love to see your pages.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
carlberky

11 Jun 2017
07:23:44pm

re: A new stamp passion ...

Ernie, I'll be glad to email you, or anyone else, as may as you like, in pdf form.

Can't upload here ... get error message "application.gif" not "image.gif", even though Roy had no problem uploading the samples he requested.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

"To paraphrase, Life is but a bird, and the bird of Life is on the wing. Hurry up ... Life is waiting."
jillcrow

04 Jul 2017
05:04:28am

re: A new stamp passion ...

Apart from Australia and New Zealand, the following countries also honoured their Olympic medallists with stamps:

Belarus, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and Colombia. Colombia only showed the names around medals, the others showed the actual medal winners.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
        

Contact Webmaster | Visitors Online | Unsubscribe Emails | Facebook


User Agreement

Copyright © 2024 Stamporama.com