Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
"Stamps are miniature time capsules, really.
Each one captures a specific moment — the political tensions of an era, the cultural heroes people celebrated, the technological leaps that defined progress.
A stamp from World War II might bear the weight of wartime propaganda or patriotic resolve.
One from the 1960s space race? It could feature rockets pointing skyward, a visual reminder of when humanity first dared to leave the planet.
Collectors often say they’ve learned more history from their albums than from any textbook.
There’s something about holding a physical artifact, turning it over in your hands, that makes the past feel less abstract.
It’s tangible.
It’s real.
And it doesn’t require a museum membership to experience."
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Twelve reasons? You're missing a few, Oldguy! Anyhow, perhaps these fit into the ones you listed:
"A stamp from World War II might bear the weight of wartime propaganda…"
A Viet Cong stamp picturing an American helicopter being shot down during the Battle of Ap Bac in 1963. It is a propaganda stamp, and was never used as postage, but the event did happen. In fact, it was the only communist victory over American and South Vietnamese forces in the war, if you don't count America's pyrrhic victories. The stamp was featured on a Life Magazine cover:
"…or patriotic resolve.":
A Polish stamp commemorating the brave defence of the Naval station on the Westerplatte peninsula in Danzig, at the beginning of the Nazi attack on Poland in 1939; the Polish sailors lost the battle of course, but the German commander was so impressed by them that he returned the Polish commanders sword to him after the surrender:
"One from the 1960s space race? It could feature rockets pointing skyward, a visual reminder of when humanity first dared to leave the planet."
Or it could picture Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, launched by Russia in 1957:
Bob
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They can be aesthetically pleasing.
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Indeed they can, Smaugie!:
Bob
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Aesthetically pleasing and never boar-ing. (sorry, that was for David haha).
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11:42:14am
Auctions - Approvals
I find the task of identifying and organizing relaxing, stamps provide endless possibilities
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People do like solving puzzles.
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The main reason I collect stamps has evolved over the years. For the last 6 or 8 years, it has been to understand the advantages and limitations of the various engraving, printing, and perforating processes that were used.
I started by collecting the printings of the DWI Bicolors, and have pretty much completed that collection as far as I want to, with over 100 each of Scott #5 and #6, and #8.
My most recent collection began a few years ago, when I decided to develop a "seated Britannia" reference collection, focusing on Barbados and Trinidad, and largely ignoring Mauritius. These were all printed by Perkins, Bacon and Company, from about 1850 through 1873. Perkins, Bacon also printed the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs are woefully deficient to distinguishing the various 'printings', or "consignments". So, "Pitcher's New Catalog" is a by-product of this research. There were 44 Barbados consignments and 22 Trinidad consignments printed by Perkins, Bacon. I have around 700 seated Britannia stamps in this collection - all of only 2 designs! This is the opposite of a fill-the-album space collection! Used stamps are much more useful than mint stamps, which were mostly printing remainders, and not at all representative of stamps actually used for their intended purpose.
I have been invited to do a Zoom presentation to the British West Indies Study Group on this project on January 14. Stay Tuned for a more formal announcement!
Here is a teaser, one of the 'crown jewels':
It's a margin pair of the green half-penny on piece, which was probably used as a substitute for the blue 1 penny stamp (for intra-island mail) which was constantly in short supply.
-Paul
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12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
"Stamps are miniature time capsules, really.
Each one captures a specific moment — the political tensions of an era, the cultural heroes people celebrated, the technological leaps that defined progress.
A stamp from World War II might bear the weight of wartime propaganda or patriotic resolve.
One from the 1960s space race? It could feature rockets pointing skyward, a visual reminder of when humanity first dared to leave the planet.
Collectors often say they’ve learned more history from their albums than from any textbook.
There’s something about holding a physical artifact, turning it over in your hands, that makes the past feel less abstract.
It’s tangible.
It’s real.
And it doesn’t require a museum membership to experience."
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
Twelve reasons? You're missing a few, Oldguy! Anyhow, perhaps these fit into the ones you listed:
"A stamp from World War II might bear the weight of wartime propaganda…"
A Viet Cong stamp picturing an American helicopter being shot down during the Battle of Ap Bac in 1963. It is a propaganda stamp, and was never used as postage, but the event did happen. In fact, it was the only communist victory over American and South Vietnamese forces in the war, if you don't count America's pyrrhic victories. The stamp was featured on a Life Magazine cover:
"…or patriotic resolve.":
A Polish stamp commemorating the brave defence of the Naval station on the Westerplatte peninsula in Danzig, at the beginning of the Nazi attack on Poland in 1939; the Polish sailors lost the battle of course, but the German commander was so impressed by them that he returned the Polish commanders sword to him after the surrender:
"One from the 1960s space race? It could feature rockets pointing skyward, a visual reminder of when humanity first dared to leave the planet."
Or it could picture Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, launched by Russia in 1957:
Bob
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
They can be aesthetically pleasing.
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
Indeed they can, Smaugie!:
Bob
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
Aesthetically pleasing and never boar-ing. (sorry, that was for David haha).
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
I find the task of identifying and organizing relaxing, stamps provide endless possibilities
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re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
People do like solving puzzles.
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12:07:59pm
re: 12 Reasons People Collect Stamps
The main reason I collect stamps has evolved over the years. For the last 6 or 8 years, it has been to understand the advantages and limitations of the various engraving, printing, and perforating processes that were used.
I started by collecting the printings of the DWI Bicolors, and have pretty much completed that collection as far as I want to, with over 100 each of Scott #5 and #6, and #8.
My most recent collection began a few years ago, when I decided to develop a "seated Britannia" reference collection, focusing on Barbados and Trinidad, and largely ignoring Mauritius. These were all printed by Perkins, Bacon and Company, from about 1850 through 1873. Perkins, Bacon also printed the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. Scott and Stanley Gibbons catalogs are woefully deficient to distinguishing the various 'printings', or "consignments". So, "Pitcher's New Catalog" is a by-product of this research. There were 44 Barbados consignments and 22 Trinidad consignments printed by Perkins, Bacon. I have around 700 seated Britannia stamps in this collection - all of only 2 designs! This is the opposite of a fill-the-album space collection! Used stamps are much more useful than mint stamps, which were mostly printing remainders, and not at all representative of stamps actually used for their intended purpose.
I have been invited to do a Zoom presentation to the British West Indies Study Group on this project on January 14. Stay Tuned for a more formal announcement!
Here is a teaser, one of the 'crown jewels':
It's a margin pair of the green half-penny on piece, which was probably used as a substitute for the blue 1 penny stamp (for intra-island mail) which was constantly in short supply.
-Paul
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