Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
It was a set that you could easily find a few of the values everywhere but the rest of the set seemed elusive and when you found a new value a sense of satisfaction followed. I don't think I knew how many there were but I just wanted to get them all. I would think most all kids who were collectors then would remember them the same way I do. I think there were a lot of sets during the mid 50's mid 60's that were produced mainly for kids. I could be mistaken but it sure seems that way.
I'm sure everyone has tons of similar stories about certain sets, I for one would like to hear some.
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Yes, nice set, Mitch! I had never seen the entire set.
I got so many beginner approval sets (mostly 15c to 35c, I think), mostly from H. E. Harris in the '50s and early '60s...too many to count. But I didn't collect long enough or have money enough back then to fill out the remainder of the sets. When I got reacquainted with collecting in the '80s, I was more focused and that focus was primarily on pre-1940 colonial Africa and, to a lesser degree, the Caribbean.
So, for the most part, I had (still have in some cases) the beginnings of many 1950s sets, but have never seen the complete sets. Thanks for sharing this one. I hope you and others can share more of these sets that trigger fond memories of the old days!
Tom
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Mitch, I have this set to share, but it's incomplete! 
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Am I getting too old or does kewl mean "cool" in the modern idiom or does it stand for something like "known examples of wild life".
Trying to stay sane,
vic
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So Thomas (keesindy)...
I assume those packets were ubiquitous "back in the day". I remember them personally, and also have ton from "The Hoard". My first impression is how these companies must have ripped-off (presumably) kids as some are even now (30-40 years later?) priced at 20% of current CV.
Yet interestingly, some I'm coming across (e.g. "Communist China") that seemed to be priced close to zero back then are now CV at many (sometimes huge) multiples.
Just thinking this is an interesting insight into the market valuations of stamp collecting over time...
Dave.
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Sheepshanks, To old must you be. Kewl = Cool.
Keesindy, Yes, I remember getting those short set approvals as well. As your empty envelopes show the majority of them did seem to be from British colonies with other major country colonies such as France and Portugal following behind. The U.S. was my favorite as a kid with the British colonies being second. I was captivated by the beautiful scenes presented in beautiful colors from every area of the globe. Since I took up collecting again back in the 80's I haven't spent much time trying to complete those sets or working on the earlier issues. It is a pretty overwhelming area and I was saving it for last to concentrate on. I now find myself mostly complete for the rest of the world except for some areas I have no interest in such as Independent African nations. So lately I have been starting to concentrate on the British colonies which will keep me busy indefinitely.
Some other sets that come to mind are from The Belgian Congo, two of which are shown below. Ever kid had a few of these but most had probably never seen the complete sets.
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AntoniusRa, thanks for clearing that one up for me, think it must be something to do with my age.
ps like the Congo set, as you say most of us had some but never all.
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Dave, I suppose it was marketing genius to sell those short sets to those of us living on our allowances and neighborhood lawn mowing enterprises. Or paper routes. H. E. Harris wasn't alone, but they were the ones that took much of my weekly allowance and lawn mowing money. Many years later, I wondered how in the world they managed that business. Many hundreds of approval packets passed through my hands and I don't recall seeing duplicates. How did they manage without today's technology?
Mitch's 2nd Belgian Congo page reminded me that another short set from Belgian Congo of similar design was used as a loss leader by one of the stamp approval companies. I think I had duplicates. Spanish Sahara. Ifni. Hungary. French colonies. I suppose any place that would produce and sell their stamps in bulk to the stamp approval companies.
Eventually, I realized spending that money on short sets was a waste and tried to focus on inexpensive complete sets. Then I stopped collecting for 20 years, but never stopped appreciating those early history and geography lessons. Invaluable!
Mitch, I think any of us could spend a lifetime on the British colonies alone. Is there a larger specialty when it comes to philately?
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Many larger dealers worked with different postal services to get large quantities of the low face value stamp to use in beginners approval selections in the 1950s and 1960s. The US dollar was strong, and foreign currency cheap, so it didn't cost much. Postage costs were low as well as were labor costs.
Beginner stamp albums were designed to concentrate on the lower face valued stamps to keep the "thrill" of filling up an album going for the young collector.
Tom, I'm with you. I eventually realized that buying the short sets only meant that I would have to buy the complete set later on, so I started telling approval dealers that I only wanted to look at complete sets.
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I was looking through a Portuguese colony album when I came to the set shown below. It took me a bit aback taking me back to my early collecting years. It was just a kewl set. Different African animals in beautiful colors from an exotic place, what kid could resist?
It was a set that you could easily find a few of the values everywhere but the rest of the set seemed elusive and when you found a new value a sense of satisfaction followed. I don't think I knew how many there were but I just wanted to get them all. I would think most all kids who were collectors then would remember them the same way I do. I think there were a lot of sets during the mid 50's mid 60's that were produced mainly for kids. I could be mistaken but it sure seems that way.
I'm sure everyone has tons of similar stories about certain sets, I for one would like to hear some.
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re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Yes, nice set, Mitch! I had never seen the entire set.
I got so many beginner approval sets (mostly 15c to 35c, I think), mostly from H. E. Harris in the '50s and early '60s...too many to count. But I didn't collect long enough or have money enough back then to fill out the remainder of the sets. When I got reacquainted with collecting in the '80s, I was more focused and that focus was primarily on pre-1940 colonial Africa and, to a lesser degree, the Caribbean.
So, for the most part, I had (still have in some cases) the beginnings of many 1950s sets, but have never seen the complete sets. Thanks for sharing this one. I hope you and others can share more of these sets that trigger fond memories of the old days!
Tom
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re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Mitch, I have this set to share, but it's incomplete!
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Approvals
re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Am I getting too old or does kewl mean "cool" in the modern idiom or does it stand for something like "known examples of wild life".
Trying to stay sane,
vic
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this post
re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
So Thomas (keesindy)...
I assume those packets were ubiquitous "back in the day". I remember them personally, and also have ton from "The Hoard". My first impression is how these companies must have ripped-off (presumably) kids as some are even now (30-40 years later?) priced at 20% of current CV.
Yet interestingly, some I'm coming across (e.g. "Communist China") that seemed to be priced close to zero back then are now CV at many (sometimes huge) multiples.
Just thinking this is an interesting insight into the market valuations of stamp collecting over time...
Dave.
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re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Sheepshanks, To old must you be. Kewl = Cool.
Keesindy, Yes, I remember getting those short set approvals as well. As your empty envelopes show the majority of them did seem to be from British colonies with other major country colonies such as France and Portugal following behind. The U.S. was my favorite as a kid with the British colonies being second. I was captivated by the beautiful scenes presented in beautiful colors from every area of the globe. Since I took up collecting again back in the 80's I haven't spent much time trying to complete those sets or working on the earlier issues. It is a pretty overwhelming area and I was saving it for last to concentrate on. I now find myself mostly complete for the rest of the world except for some areas I have no interest in such as Independent African nations. So lately I have been starting to concentrate on the British colonies which will keep me busy indefinitely.
Some other sets that come to mind are from The Belgian Congo, two of which are shown below. Ever kid had a few of these but most had probably never seen the complete sets.
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like this post.
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Approvals
re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
AntoniusRa, thanks for clearing that one up for me, think it must be something to do with my age.
ps like the Congo set, as you say most of us had some but never all.
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re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Dave, I suppose it was marketing genius to sell those short sets to those of us living on our allowances and neighborhood lawn mowing enterprises. Or paper routes. H. E. Harris wasn't alone, but they were the ones that took much of my weekly allowance and lawn mowing money. Many years later, I wondered how in the world they managed that business. Many hundreds of approval packets passed through my hands and I don't recall seeing duplicates. How did they manage without today's technology?
Mitch's 2nd Belgian Congo page reminded me that another short set from Belgian Congo of similar design was used as a loss leader by one of the stamp approval companies. I think I had duplicates. Spanish Sahara. Ifni. Hungary. French colonies. I suppose any place that would produce and sell their stamps in bulk to the stamp approval companies.
Eventually, I realized spending that money on short sets was a waste and tried to focus on inexpensive complete sets. Then I stopped collecting for 20 years, but never stopped appreciating those early history and geography lessons. Invaluable!
Mitch, I think any of us could spend a lifetime on the British colonies alone. Is there a larger specialty when it comes to philately?
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10:51:46pm
re: KEWL SETS of the PAST
Many larger dealers worked with different postal services to get large quantities of the low face value stamp to use in beginners approval selections in the 1950s and 1960s. The US dollar was strong, and foreign currency cheap, so it didn't cost much. Postage costs were low as well as were labor costs.
Beginner stamp albums were designed to concentrate on the lower face valued stamps to keep the "thrill" of filling up an album going for the young collector.
Tom, I'm with you. I eventually realized that buying the short sets only meant that I would have to buy the complete set later on, so I started telling approval dealers that I only wanted to look at complete sets.
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