@bestday said:
Stamps have been dead .. are dead ..will not rise ....no kids collect stamps next to no adults collect them.. can still buy mint stamps from the 1940s, at face
That has ALWAYS been the case. Most unused 3-cent commemorative postage stamps issued in the late 1930s on up have ALWAYS been available at face value.
Postage stamps are little bit like rocks. Go outside - there are rocks big and small everywhere. They are not worth anything except as bulk gravel or land fill. Most stamps are nothing but bulk recyclable paper. But there are valuable rocks (mineral specimens, gem stones, meteorites, etc). There are also gems in the stamp world.
@Hydrant said:
No. I played around with stamps when I was a little kid. There was a stationary store in town that sold BIG bags of stamps really cheap. They had to be cheap because I bought them and my family was dirt poor. They were BORING. Then, when I was around 9 years old or so, I spotted a Barber dime for sale in the same store. It was for sale for 12¢-15¢. I bought it with my "milking money." That's what the old folks called the allowance I got for getting up at 5 in the morning to help with the milking. After buying that dime, it was off to the races. I still have that dime. It's the most important thing I ever bought in My life. It's the reason that I'm fabulously wealthy today. No joke. STAMPS SUCK!
No, only the stamps in that bag sucked
Stamp dealers routinely packed low-value stamps into big lots and sold them as "mixed bags". I never bought into any of that junk.
Scarce to rare stamps (valued over $500) are doing just fine and hold their value well (despite the bad rep they have among non-collectors). The market is solid at that level, and as an avid collector, I am glad they are not more popular. I can afford to build a nearly complete set of U.S. at a reasonable cost. I do worry whether the market will hold over the next few years, but it's still a hobby first for me. Siegel is one of the very top (one or two) auction companies, and I recommend looking at their recent APR's to see where the market really is.
Here are a few more examples of philately in my collection that are in a different class than postage stamps.
50-cent Trans Mississippi large die proof on a card. Think of this as a master die trial strike. I like this particular stamp because of the prospecting theme. The first picture shows the whole card:
Another category of philately is "Postal Stationary". Most of the earlier types of US postal stationary have the stamp embossed in relief as an integral part of the entire envelope. This required 3D engraved dies to produce. This is a relatively inexpensive mint (unused) 1-cent Columbian expo issue:
Some revenue stamps are in a category of "Revenue Stamped Paper" where the "stamp" is actually pre-printed (not adhesive) on a document. This is one of the rarer revenue stamped paper types where the stamp shows the obverse and reverse engravings of an "1874" 2-cent piece (which is interesting because the last year that 2-cent pieces were dated was 1873):
Here is a crossover between stamps and currency. These are fairly rare "Postal Notes" which were a type of money order that you could buy at a post office and mail to someone else. Most of these would have been cashed in and destroyed by the Post Office, although there are a number of them purchased for one cent probably so that the purchaser and/or recipient could keep it as a collectible and not cash it in. They have a 3-cent fee stamp as an integral part of the overall design. These are the two basic types, although there are four different sub-types (different printers) of the second one shown below:
This one is a SPECIMEN with all the tabs attached, the only one like it that I have ever seen. The town of issue, "Arkama, PA" is a fictional (non existent) town that the US Postal Service utilized in a fashion similar to area code "555" phone numbers:
Just as coins, stamps come from all over the world and have a large following. Just as coins, stamps served a purpose. A used stamp still connected to a document of some kind is called postal history and while you cannot tell where your NON-PEDIGREED coin ever was, postal history leaves a trail behind. Just as coins, there are essays (patterns), trials (proofs), special printings, errors and varieties of all types. New discoveries are still to be found and also mysteries to be solved such as the identity of Mr. Omega in another thread. Just as with coins, there are specialty clubs and detailed research to absorb - the more you know...
Many valuable stamps leave coins in the dust. Stamps have famous collectors and rarities.
Collecting/selling/buying stamps is basically the same as coins with all the joy and pitfalls. Stamps are even graded and just as "common" coins, they get stupid prices when near perfection. Stamps have crooks who alter and fake them and authentication services, So you see, it is a matter of choice. Don't knock something you personally don't enjoy.
WOW!
Nice examples DC, I just might change my mind about collecting paper after seeing your cool hoard!
My cousin is big into stamps, IIRC his passion is "match and medicine?", I think it has to do with revenue stamps?
@Raybo said:
WOW!
Nice examples DC, I just might change my mind about collecting paper after seeing your cool hoard!
My cousin is big into stamps, IIRC his passion is "match and medicine?", I think it has to do with revenue stamps?
@Raybo said:
WOW!
Nice examples DC, I just might change my mind about collecting paper after seeing your cool hoard!
My cousin is big into stamps, IIRC his passion is "match and medicine?", I think it has to do with revenue stamps?
Thanks !
The "Match & Medicine" stamps were produced to serve the purpose of paying taxes on products, just like the CDV photo card shown earlier with the 3-cent generic revenue stamp on the back. While many products such as that used off-the-shelf US revenue stamps, many of the match makers and medicine purveyors had their own custom revenue stamps made for their specific products. Those stamps typically had fancy engravings showing pictures and the name of the manufacturer.
@goodmoney4badmoney said:
I could easily make a case that I really collect stamps instead of coins. My focus is for misperf errors,
Neat collection.
Those are pretty dramatic errors and generally uncommon. I have a few error booklet panes which didn't cost much. I like the ones that are miscut and show a plate number.
My grandmother saved sheets of 3¢ stamps from the 1940's and 1950's.
I discovered that they were only worth face value or less. (She did better with the silver coins she also saved).
I sold some of the sheets on Ebay in 2010, and the only one that sold for more than face value was a sheet of 70 3¢ 1948 Fort Bliss Centennial stamps, which went for $12.00.
The Fort Bliss stamps probably sold for more than face value because they had a German V-2 rocket on them.
Its been my experience that a lot of coin dealers buy old stamps ......
and use them to ship out their coins. Its a good investment for them, since they buy the stamps at nearly half their face value and then use them at full face value.
@Insider2 said:
If you pick an era (1920's?) or specialty (air mail) and focus on that you will derive more enjoyment from stamps than buying modern issues!
You could even pick numismatic tie in's. That would include everything from coins on stamps to U.S. Mint letters to revenues to match and medicine etc.
@Insider2 said:
If you pick an era (1920's?) or specialty (air mail) and focus on that you will derive more enjoyment from stamps than buying modern issues!
I ended up focusing on Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps - otherwise known as Duck Stamps. Many of my examples came from my grandfather who was a duck hunter and saved them from the '40s to the '60's. I filled in most of the others until I lost interest in the '70's. Enjoyed the set even though I never finished it. Beautiful, large, limited edition stamps.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
@Insider2 said:
If you pick an era (1920's?) or specialty (air mail) and focus on that you will derive more enjoyment from stamps than buying modern issues!
You could even pick numismatic tie in's. That would include everything from coins on stamps to U.S. Mint letters to revenues to match and medicine etc.
Absolutely! Most Expos also issued PPC, stamps, coins, tokens, etc.
@Insider2 said:
If you pick an era (1920's?) or specialty (air mail) and focus on that you will derive more enjoyment from stamps than buying modern issues!
You could even pick numismatic tie in's. That would include everything from coins on stamps to U.S. Mint letters to revenues to match and medicine etc.
Absolutely! Most Expos also issued PPC, stamps, coins, tokens, etc.
Yes! There's some tremendously interesting paper associated with the expos and the coins. Very fine engravings, sometimes done by the BEP. I've actually been buying an estate of expo collectibles. I've had a hard time even selling the paper off, it's so interesting. I've still got all the tokens and so-called dollars.
So riddle me this: What is the difference between collecting pieces of paper that the government issues to mail items (Stamps) vs pieces of paper that the government issues as legal tender (Currency)?
Could currency be the next big loser?
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
@Cameonut said:
So riddle me this: What is the difference between collecting pieces of paper that the government issues to mail items (Stamps) vs pieces of paper that the government issues as legal tender (Currency)?
Could currency be the next big loser?
You can't buy bread with postage stamps
You don't need postage stamps to send someone a letter. You do need money to pay for a connection to email a letter tho.
I had a small stamp collection when I was a kid in the 80s. As I recall a few other youth of my day did as well. I inherited a few stamps from my dad, which included some Third Reich stamps; I thought they were interesting and historical at the time, but I have zero desire to have any of that stuff now. I think they’re decaying in a box in Canada somewhere.
HOWEVER I am putting together a small collection of modern coins, about 30 in total, and I find that some corresponding vintage stamps (and some banknotes) are a cheap and effective way to supplement the collection. For instance I have a 2013 Denmark coin commemorating Niels Bohr and his atom model, and for an extra dollar or so I bought portrait of him on a 1960s stamp to accompany it.
@Cameonut said:
So riddle me this: What is the difference between collecting pieces of paper that the government issues to mail items (Stamps) vs pieces of paper that the government issues as legal tender (Currency)?
Could currency be the next big loser?
You can't buy bread with postage stamps
You don't need postage stamps to send someone a letter. You do need money to pay for a connection to email a letter tho.
@goodmoney4badmoney said:
I could easily make a case that I really collect stamps instead of coins. My focus is for misperf errors,
Neat collection.
Those are pretty dramatic errors and generally uncommon. I have a few error booklet panes which didn't cost much. I like the ones that are miscut and show a plate number.
I think stamp EFOs are great because you can pick up some dramatic looking errors, with neat designs, for little cost (versus coins).
Comments
That has ALWAYS been the case. Most unused 3-cent commemorative postage stamps issued in the late 1930s on up have ALWAYS been available at face value.
Postage stamps are little bit like rocks. Go outside - there are rocks big and small everywhere. They are not worth anything except as bulk gravel or land fill. Most stamps are nothing but bulk recyclable paper. But there are valuable rocks (mineral specimens, gem stones, meteorites, etc). There are also gems in the stamp world.
No, only the stamps in that bag sucked
Stamp dealers routinely packed low-value stamps into big lots and sold them as "mixed bags". I never bought into any of that junk.
Scarce to rare stamps (valued over $500) are doing just fine and hold their value well (despite the bad rep they have among non-collectors). The market is solid at that level, and as an avid collector, I am glad they are not more popular. I can afford to build a nearly complete set of U.S. at a reasonable cost. I do worry whether the market will hold over the next few years, but it's still a hobby first for me. Siegel is one of the very top (one or two) auction companies, and I recommend looking at their recent APR's to see where the market really is.
https://siegelauctions.com/past_sales.php
p.s. 1940's era 3-cent stamps aren't any more an indicator of the stamp market than circ Mercury dimes in ours.
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
My wife inherited a old time collection of stamps. When I have time, I will go thru after all the honey do's.
100% Positive BST transactions
I actually love stamps and currency but they tend to be............."dainty"?
Here are a few more examples of philately in my collection that are in a different class than postage stamps.
50-cent Trans Mississippi large die proof on a card. Think of this as a master die trial strike. I like this particular stamp because of the prospecting theme. The first picture shows the whole card:
Another category of philately is "Postal Stationary". Most of the earlier types of US postal stationary have the stamp embossed in relief as an integral part of the entire envelope. This required 3D engraved dies to produce. This is a relatively inexpensive mint (unused) 1-cent Columbian expo issue:
Some revenue stamps are in a category of "Revenue Stamped Paper" where the "stamp" is actually pre-printed (not adhesive) on a document. This is one of the rarer revenue stamped paper types where the stamp shows the obverse and reverse engravings of an "1874" 2-cent piece (which is interesting because the last year that 2-cent pieces were dated was 1873):
Here is a crossover between stamps and currency. These are fairly rare "Postal Notes" which were a type of money order that you could buy at a post office and mail to someone else. Most of these would have been cashed in and destroyed by the Post Office, although there are a number of them purchased for one cent probably so that the purchaser and/or recipient could keep it as a collectible and not cash it in. They have a 3-cent fee stamp as an integral part of the overall design. These are the two basic types, although there are four different sub-types (different printers) of the second one shown below:
This one is a SPECIMEN with all the tabs attached, the only one like it that I have ever seen. The town of issue, "Arkama, PA" is a fictional (non existent) town that the US Postal Service utilized in a fashion similar to area code "555" phone numbers:
I, too, collect playing cards, especially those with military motifs.
News Flash to the haters...
Just as coins, stamps come from all over the world and have a large following. Just as coins, stamps served a purpose. A used stamp still connected to a document of some kind is called postal history and while you cannot tell where your NON-PEDIGREED coin ever was, postal history leaves a trail behind. Just as coins, there are essays (patterns), trials (proofs), special printings, errors and varieties of all types. New discoveries are still to be found and also mysteries to be solved such as the identity of Mr. Omega in another thread. Just as with coins, there are specialty clubs and detailed research to absorb - the more you know...
Many valuable stamps leave coins in the dust. Stamps have famous collectors and rarities.
Collecting/selling/buying stamps is basically the same as coins with all the joy and pitfalls. Stamps are even graded and just as "common" coins, they get stupid prices when near perfection. Stamps have crooks who alter and fake them and authentication services, So you see, it is a matter of choice. Don't knock something you personally don't enjoy.
I could easily make a case that I really collect stamps instead of coins. My focus is for misperf errors,
WOW!
Nice examples DC, I just might change my mind about collecting paper after seeing your cool hoard!
My cousin is big into stamps, IIRC his passion is "match and medicine?", I think it has to do with revenue stamps?
Revenue Stamps have been hot it seems "forever."
Thanks !
The "Match & Medicine" stamps were produced to serve the purpose of paying taxes on products, just like the CDV photo card shown earlier with the 3-cent generic revenue stamp on the back. While many products such as that used off-the-shelf US revenue stamps, many of the match makers and medicine purveyors had their own custom revenue stamps made for their specific products. Those stamps typically had fancy engravings showing pictures and the name of the manufacturer.
Neat collection.
Those are pretty dramatic errors and generally uncommon. I have a few error booklet panes which didn't cost much. I like the ones that are miscut and show a plate number.
Dcarr, has anyone ever thought of printing impressions of rare stamps on actual current stamps?
My grandmother saved sheets of 3¢ stamps from the 1940's and 1950's.
I discovered that they were only worth face value or less. (She did better with the silver coins she also saved).
I sold some of the sheets on Ebay in 2010, and the only one that sold for more than face value was a sheet of 70 3¢ 1948 Fort Bliss Centennial stamps, which went for $12.00.
The Fort Bliss stamps probably sold for more than face value because they had a German V-2 rocket on them.
I did keep another sheet of Fort Bliss stamps.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
Actually, the top-tier stamp collectors have never been hinged.
Its been my experience that a lot of coin dealers buy old stamps ......
and use them to ship out their coins. Its a good investment for them, since they buy the stamps at nearly half their face value and then use them at full face value.
No... I just never thought that stamps were as interesting as coins.
HAPPY COLLECTING
I guess I was wrong. Stamps are awesome!
Not a snowball's chance in hell.
I used to collect stamps until they started putting out bazillions of commemoratives. Took the fun out of it.
Kind of like what the mint is doing to coins.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
If you pick an era (1920's?) or specialty (air mail) and focus on that you will derive more enjoyment from stamps than buying modern issues!
My dad was really into stamp collecting. I collected stamps and coins as a kid. I ended up in odd coins.
I did get my fathers stamp collection and have never had it valued.
Here is one of the pages .....
You could even pick numismatic tie in's. That would include everything from coins on stamps to U.S. Mint letters to revenues to match and medicine etc.
I ended up focusing on Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps - otherwise known as Duck Stamps. Many of my examples came from my grandfather who was a duck hunter and saved them from the '40s to the '60's. I filled in most of the others until I lost interest in the '70's. Enjoyed the set even though I never finished it. Beautiful, large, limited edition stamps.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
The Silver Tax stamps posted by Dan above are nice. A quick check on the bay shows that these go for quite a bit.
Absolutely! Most Expos also issued PPC, stamps, coins, tokens, etc.
Yes! There's some tremendously interesting paper associated with the expos and the coins. Very fine engravings, sometimes done by the BEP. I've actually been buying an estate of expo collectibles. I've had a hard time even selling the paper off, it's so interesting. I've still got all the tokens and so-called dollars.
I don’t think I could keep the moisture out of them. I did buy the Eclipse stamps but not sure why.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
No interest at all in stamps.
So riddle me this: What is the difference between collecting pieces of paper that the government issues to mail items (Stamps) vs pieces of paper that the government issues as legal tender (Currency)?
Could currency be the next big loser?
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
You can't buy bread with postage stamps
You don't need postage stamps to send someone a letter. You do need money to pay for a connection to email a letter tho.
Money is money.
What about 10 cent stamps only?
I had a small stamp collection when I was a kid in the 80s. As I recall a few other youth of my day did as well. I inherited a few stamps from my dad, which included some Third Reich stamps; I thought they were interesting and historical at the time, but I have zero desire to have any of that stuff now. I think they’re decaying in a box in Canada somewhere.
HOWEVER I am putting together a small collection of modern coins, about 30 in total, and I find that some corresponding vintage stamps (and some banknotes) are a cheap and effective way to supplement the collection. For instance I have a 2013 Denmark coin commemorating Niels Bohr and his atom model, and for an extra dollar or so I bought portrait of him on a 1960s stamp to accompany it.
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232
And fun is fun...money does not buy everything.
Okay, I'm not a fan of stamps, but that was a pretty slick comeback.
Not really. When I send packages the machine prints out the postage....no stamps used.
Looks like coins have licked stamps.
I think stamp EFOs are great because you can pick up some dramatic looking errors, with neat designs, for little cost (versus coins).
meter strips still count. People collect those!