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What we collect!
What we collect!


General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : Wow do I have a story for you !!!

 

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Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

11 Jan 2021
11:10:16pm
I was just looking over a friends collection virtually and I found this. I can’t believe he had itImage Not Found. It’s listed under Sweden’s most valuable stamps.
It’s not in as good as shape but still....Lucky fella!! Also notice the centering it’s a match. So I guess they are still out there.

PS. sorry about the display of the post but I’m tired. Night

Image Not Found

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roy
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11 Jan 2021
11:32:50pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

Did you check the watermark? The watermarked version is a scarce stamp, but the unwatermarked version is one of Sweden's commonest stamps, catalogue value $0.30.

Roy

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Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

12 Jan 2021
09:18:08pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

Well I didn’t per se because I wasn’t psychically there. He was just showing me some. I asked him to check and I guess I’ll just have to take his word. Thanks.

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roy
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13 Jan 2021
10:31:35am
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

This is a story I sometimes hear 5 times a day (in response to my online websites buying collections).

People search for "rare stamps" and come up with these examples of stamps that are visually identical to the stamp they have, with no clue that the stamp exists in two (or more) versions, visually identical, differing in technical details like watermark, perforation gauge etc. The valuable variety is indeed rare, but the one they have is common as dirt. However, they are convinced they have discovered a fortune saved from the trash. I once had a guy tell me he had 7 of the 10 most valuable stamps in the world (according to these websites), found in an old kid's collection.

The Washington Franklin series of the US is the worst example of this.

The websites promoting these "rare stamps" don't help either because sometimes their illustrations are just plain wrong. I saw one site that talked about the Canada 1959 Inverted Seaway stamp (about $12,000), but illustrated the paragraph with the common 5c Seaway commemorative (not inverted center), which I would use for postage, if there was enough room on the envelope.

Thanks for posting this Swedish example. It's another one to add to my "examples list".

Roy

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"Over 7,000 new covers coming Wednesday March 20. See my homepage for details."

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Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

15 Jan 2021
06:07:39pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

I agree a lot of people think they have the lottery ticket. But I still think you have to keep an open mind because believe it or not they do turn up. How about the 6 Sen Japanese 1875 Yo stamp? Do you know the story surrounding it ? Or the 596 ? Sad to say but as the older collectors pass away those collections come out along with others that weren’t properly scrutinized. Or perhaps due to error. I recently obtained a collection with some Finland stamps that were misidentified as Russian stamps. Believe it or not it does happen and rare ones do surface. So people who are quick to dismiss are ignorant in my opinion.

As a matter of fact I was told to go get a perf gauge when I had already measured perfs because you in fact were so quick to dismiss it was 13.5 instead of 12.5. Case in point.

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"APS # 232803"
cougar
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17 Jan 2021
07:02:38pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"As a matter of fact I was told to go get a perf gauge when I had already measured perfs because you in fact were so quick to dismiss it was 13.5 instead of 12.5. Case in point. "



As a collector I am probably supposed to be sympathetic to the woes of all other collector types, but occasionally I only get a laugh out of it.

In my simplistic approach to philately, I only care about the artwork and the cancellation of a stamp. If the stamp was cancelled in some obscure little known place , it adds points/value to me. If it depicts a native animal or plant, again points/value.

But when I see a case where I can spend a substantial amount of money on a stamp of little or zero artistic value and no notable cancellation, just because it has a slightly different perforation, color, overprint, etc.....I pass quickly and never look back.

A secondary issue, worth mentioning with such expensive varieties is that the risk of buying a fake goes up in relation to price.

To return to the original subject; if the cheap variety of the stamp was worth 20 cents, to me personally, the different perforation makes zero difference - 20 cents is all I would pay.
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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

17 Jan 2021
07:34:27pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

To me, it's the thrill of the hunt! I have been a collector of many things for my entire life. I still have my collection of comics, sports cards, etc. from my childhood. When I grew up, if I ever really did, I became an antique dealer. I went to auctions whenever I could and treated them as treasure hunts! I picked up as much knowledge as I could to try to increase the odds of finding treasure, and as Howard Carter said when he first looked in Tut's tomb, I have found some "wonderful things". Finding a stamp with an unusual perforation, color shade, paper type, etc. is like finding a treasure. Imagine how the person felt who found the third known copy of Canada #32 with a group of Canada approval stamps. It's not the greed of money, it's the joy of finding a treasure. They are out there and it really is fun to look!!! So Trevor, keep looking and keep looking! Sooner or later it will pay off.

Edit: Has anyone noticed that as soon as someone mentions that they have found something a bit different that almost immediately someone will automatically pronounce it to probably be a fake. It's as if they want to take away the joy the collector feels as soon as possible. Let the person enjoy the thrill of discovery for a few minutes at least! Then shoot him, or her, down!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
cougar
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18 Jan 2021
02:53:07am
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"I picked up as much knowledge as I could to try to increase the odds of finding treasure"



In a pure collector's world where the only person deciding the value will be you, you will need zero knowledge to find the treasure. You will be the only one deciding what is treasure to you and what is not.

Imagine, in the above situation, you have both stamps side by side; both looking identical. How much pleasure do you get looking at each one of them?

Do you say, oh, I am so happy looking at you, just because you are perforation 13.5 and whoever printed the catalog decided you are valuable, and I do not look at this other one, as it is perforation 12.5 and worthless?Happy


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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

18 Jan 2021
08:50:38am
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

I do find a bit of pleasure out of finding a variety, even if it is just a small difference. Jules, I assume you just collect stamps by picture rather than by Scott's (or some other) numbers. We're all different and do things differently. That's one thing that makes the hobby so interesting, the fact that there are many ways to collect. I like minor differences and you do not, that does not make one of us right and the other wrong!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
hfbaker
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18 Jan 2021
02:21:04pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

According to my Scott catalog there are only two varieties of the stamp pictured. Both are perf 10 vertical. One is watermarked (wavy lines). The other, the common variety, is unwatermarked. There is no perf 13.5 or perf 12.5 version listed.

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cougar
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18 Jan 2021
09:26:57pm
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"That's one thing that makes the hobby so interesting, the fact that there are many ways to collect. I like minor differences and you do not, that does not make one of us right and the other wrong!"



Yes. This actually makes stamp trades more beneficial to all. When I find this stamp I have no use for, but the catalog says it is valuable and when someone buys it at fair market price, it is a win. When I find that other stamp that I have been trying to find for years for only cents, because it doesn't catalog well; it is another win!

Still once in a while a question emerges : Do we value high a stamp just because it is valued high in a catalog and for no other reason?

To put things in perspective and give this story another spin, think about gold for example. Less than 1% is actually used for any meaningful purpose. Most of what comes out of the ground becomes bullions and is stored in vaults somewhere. We destroy land to get to it and burn major amounts of fossil fuels. What happens when all land is destroyed and no food can be grown? How do we eat the gold?
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angore
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Al
Collector, Moderator

19 Jan 2021
05:52:21am
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

These finds tend to always be about value (actual or catalog). The finding of new errors is often front page news on Linn's Stamp News. Most do not collect them but it gets a lot of attention.

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

31 Mar 2021
08:37:00am
re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

" .... Edit: Has anyone noticed that as soon as someone mentions that they have found something a bit different that almost immediately someone will automatically pronounce it to probably be a fake. It's as if they want to take away the joy the collector feels as soon as possible. Let the person enjoy the thrill of discovery for a few minutes at least! Then shoot him, or her, down! ...."

Let me add tgo that the well known German expertizer who declared a stamp I submitted to be a fake and sent a bill for $20 as his fee.
When asked to explain why he declared it "falsch," he said that he had no such example in his collection.
Needless to say, my response did nothing to advance German-American relations.
Had he said the perfs or a watermark was missing, present or different I would have no beef, but the sheer arrogance of his response still annoys me.


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".... 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. .... "
        

 

Author/Postings
Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

11 Jan 2021
11:10:16pm

I was just looking over a friends collection virtually and I found this. I can’t believe he had itImage Not Found. It’s listed under Sweden’s most valuable stamps.
It’s not in as good as shape but still....Lucky fella!! Also notice the centering it’s a match. So I guess they are still out there.

PS. sorry about the display of the post but I’m tired. Night

Image Not Found

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"APS # 232803"

BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
11 Jan 2021
11:32:50pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

Did you check the watermark? The watermarked version is a scarce stamp, but the unwatermarked version is one of Sweden's commonest stamps, catalogue value $0.30.

Roy

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7 Members
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"Over 7,000 new covers coming Wednesday March 20. See my homepage for details."

www.Buckacover.com
Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

12 Jan 2021
09:18:08pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

Well I didn’t per se because I wasn’t psychically there. He was just showing me some. I asked him to check and I guess I’ll just have to take his word. Thanks.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"APS # 232803"

BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
13 Jan 2021
10:31:35am

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

This is a story I sometimes hear 5 times a day (in response to my online websites buying collections).

People search for "rare stamps" and come up with these examples of stamps that are visually identical to the stamp they have, with no clue that the stamp exists in two (or more) versions, visually identical, differing in technical details like watermark, perforation gauge etc. The valuable variety is indeed rare, but the one they have is common as dirt. However, they are convinced they have discovered a fortune saved from the trash. I once had a guy tell me he had 7 of the 10 most valuable stamps in the world (according to these websites), found in an old kid's collection.

The Washington Franklin series of the US is the worst example of this.

The websites promoting these "rare stamps" don't help either because sometimes their illustrations are just plain wrong. I saw one site that talked about the Canada 1959 Inverted Seaway stamp (about $12,000), but illustrated the paragraph with the common 5c Seaway commemorative (not inverted center), which I would use for postage, if there was enough room on the envelope.

Thanks for posting this Swedish example. It's another one to add to my "examples list".

Roy

Like 
11 Members
like this post.
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"Over 7,000 new covers coming Wednesday March 20. See my homepage for details."

www.Buckacover.com
Perf11

Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice !

15 Jan 2021
06:07:39pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

I agree a lot of people think they have the lottery ticket. But I still think you have to keep an open mind because believe it or not they do turn up. How about the 6 Sen Japanese 1875 Yo stamp? Do you know the story surrounding it ? Or the 596 ? Sad to say but as the older collectors pass away those collections come out along with others that weren’t properly scrutinized. Or perhaps due to error. I recently obtained a collection with some Finland stamps that were misidentified as Russian stamps. Believe it or not it does happen and rare ones do surface. So people who are quick to dismiss are ignorant in my opinion.

As a matter of fact I was told to go get a perf gauge when I had already measured perfs because you in fact were so quick to dismiss it was 13.5 instead of 12.5. Case in point.

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"APS # 232803"
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cougar

17 Jan 2021
07:02:38pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"As a matter of fact I was told to go get a perf gauge when I had already measured perfs because you in fact were so quick to dismiss it was 13.5 instead of 12.5. Case in point. "



As a collector I am probably supposed to be sympathetic to the woes of all other collector types, but occasionally I only get a laugh out of it.

In my simplistic approach to philately, I only care about the artwork and the cancellation of a stamp. If the stamp was cancelled in some obscure little known place , it adds points/value to me. If it depicts a native animal or plant, again points/value.

But when I see a case where I can spend a substantial amount of money on a stamp of little or zero artistic value and no notable cancellation, just because it has a slightly different perforation, color, overprint, etc.....I pass quickly and never look back.

A secondary issue, worth mentioning with such expensive varieties is that the risk of buying a fake goes up in relation to price.

To return to the original subject; if the cheap variety of the stamp was worth 20 cents, to me personally, the different perforation makes zero difference - 20 cents is all I would pay.
Like
Login to Like
this post

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
17 Jan 2021
07:34:27pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

To me, it's the thrill of the hunt! I have been a collector of many things for my entire life. I still have my collection of comics, sports cards, etc. from my childhood. When I grew up, if I ever really did, I became an antique dealer. I went to auctions whenever I could and treated them as treasure hunts! I picked up as much knowledge as I could to try to increase the odds of finding treasure, and as Howard Carter said when he first looked in Tut's tomb, I have found some "wonderful things". Finding a stamp with an unusual perforation, color shade, paper type, etc. is like finding a treasure. Imagine how the person felt who found the third known copy of Canada #32 with a group of Canada approval stamps. It's not the greed of money, it's the joy of finding a treasure. They are out there and it really is fun to look!!! So Trevor, keep looking and keep looking! Sooner or later it will pay off.

Edit: Has anyone noticed that as soon as someone mentions that they have found something a bit different that almost immediately someone will automatically pronounce it to probably be a fake. It's as if they want to take away the joy the collector feels as soon as possible. Let the person enjoy the thrill of discovery for a few minutes at least! Then shoot him, or her, down!

Like 
5 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Members Picture
cougar

18 Jan 2021
02:53:07am

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"I picked up as much knowledge as I could to try to increase the odds of finding treasure"



In a pure collector's world where the only person deciding the value will be you, you will need zero knowledge to find the treasure. You will be the only one deciding what is treasure to you and what is not.

Imagine, in the above situation, you have both stamps side by side; both looking identical. How much pleasure do you get looking at each one of them?

Do you say, oh, I am so happy looking at you, just because you are perforation 13.5 and whoever printed the catalog decided you are valuable, and I do not look at this other one, as it is perforation 12.5 and worthless?Happy


Like
Login to Like
this post

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
18 Jan 2021
08:50:38am

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

I do find a bit of pleasure out of finding a variety, even if it is just a small difference. Jules, I assume you just collect stamps by picture rather than by Scott's (or some other) numbers. We're all different and do things differently. That's one thing that makes the hobby so interesting, the fact that there are many ways to collect. I like minor differences and you do not, that does not make one of us right and the other wrong!

Like 
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Members Picture
hfbaker

18 Jan 2021
02:21:04pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

According to my Scott catalog there are only two varieties of the stamp pictured. Both are perf 10 vertical. One is watermarked (wavy lines). The other, the common variety, is unwatermarked. There is no perf 13.5 or perf 12.5 version listed.

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cougar

18 Jan 2021
09:26:57pm

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

"That's one thing that makes the hobby so interesting, the fact that there are many ways to collect. I like minor differences and you do not, that does not make one of us right and the other wrong!"



Yes. This actually makes stamp trades more beneficial to all. When I find this stamp I have no use for, but the catalog says it is valuable and when someone buys it at fair market price, it is a win. When I find that other stamp that I have been trying to find for years for only cents, because it doesn't catalog well; it is another win!

Still once in a while a question emerges : Do we value high a stamp just because it is valued high in a catalog and for no other reason?

To put things in perspective and give this story another spin, think about gold for example. Less than 1% is actually used for any meaningful purpose. Most of what comes out of the ground becomes bullions and is stored in vaults somewhere. We destroy land to get to it and burn major amounts of fossil fuels. What happens when all land is destroyed and no food can be grown? How do we eat the gold?
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angore

Al
Collector, Moderator
19 Jan 2021
05:52:21am

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

These finds tend to always be about value (actual or catalog). The finding of new errors is often front page news on Linn's Stamp News. Most do not collect them but it gets a lot of attention.

Like 
1 Member
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"Stamp Collecting is a many splendored thing"

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
31 Mar 2021
08:37:00am

re: Wow do I have a story for you !!!

" .... Edit: Has anyone noticed that as soon as someone mentions that they have found something a bit different that almost immediately someone will automatically pronounce it to probably be a fake. It's as if they want to take away the joy the collector feels as soon as possible. Let the person enjoy the thrill of discovery for a few minutes at least! Then shoot him, or her, down! ...."

Let me add tgo that the well known German expertizer who declared a stamp I submitted to be a fake and sent a bill for $20 as his fee.
When asked to explain why he declared it "falsch," he said that he had no such example in his collection.
Needless to say, my response did nothing to advance German-American relations.
Had he said the perfs or a watermark was missing, present or different I would have no beef, but the sheer arrogance of his response still annoys me.


Like 
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

".... 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. .... "
        

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