The move to encapsulation is really about protection. Not at master conspiracy on the part of dealers. Many dealers have embraced the TPG concept, however only a few have seen the potential for slabs and handle same. The majority of the graded stamp market is still using the photo certs, but that is starting to change.
Stamps are easily damaged, a slab affords physical protection otherwise absent. There are several potential downsides to photo certificates; Stamp switching, environental damage, accidental damage from handling, etc. Slabs remove these 'issues' from the equation.
I am seeing more collectors, including some of the veteran 'photo cert' type guys, switching to slabs, largely because of the protection aspect.
Steve Crippe Managing Director - Rare Stamp Department Heritage Auctions
Yep Steve I'm definitely one those guys that is going to slabs(definitely less stress in handling). Much easier to sell too with the prices some high grades are getting(Who wants to spend $1000 on a stamp that may have been damaged). I'm glad I am only collecting used now though. I did always wonder about the long term affect of encapsulation on Mint stamps, I guess time will only tell.
Yesterday's Nutmeg Premier Graded auction saw some very high prices realized. Bill Gross of Pimco is one of the brightest investors in the financial markets. He moved into stamps a few years ago and recently raised something like 6 million dollars, as a charity donation for Doctors Without Borders, by selling his Great Britain collection. I think, in the past five years of PSE grading, it's probable the rate of return on quality stamps has exceeded that of US coins.
KJ >>
I won these A lot of stamps like revenues are more closely related to paper money than stamps imo. When people think stamps they think postage. I'm on the hunt for a Silver Tax Stamp next.
This pair sold for $800. The centering is terrible.
Any sightings of counterfeit stamp slabs? These would seem to be a bit easier than fake coin slabs. What are the stamp grading companies doing to ward off counterfeit slabs? Is there an online image registry? Though for stamps, that database might actually be an aid to the counterfeiters instead of a deterrent.
This isn't yet an issue. PSE grading is only about 5 years old. The huge increases seen in better quality graded material might eventually make fakes a problem but individual stamps, like individual currency notes, are much easier to identify than coins.
PSE has free pop reports available online. The PSE registry and PSE grading standards are also online and free. If you submit stamps for grading they will send you a snail copy of the SMQ report (Stamp Market Quarterly).
LanLord your post of the Zeps made me smile. Ive been following the price decline of the Zeps for years... it was always my goal to have a mint never hinged full gummed set with good centering, and I am close to getting it!!
I remember back in the 1970s and early 80s a set like that would fetch $25K... but as of last week I was offered a set for under $5k and told NOT to buy it because prices are still coming DOWN.
by the way, there is a stamp store in North Hollywood Calif that sells sheets of stamps from the 40s and 50s and 60s at FACE VALUE because they buy them from collectors at LESS than face.
IMO it's not a black or white issue. It depends on what you consider "stamp collecting". If you plan to go to the post office every week and buy singles, plate blocks, or sheets of whatever comes out, then yes, you are looking at a losing proposition. Same thing with first-day covers.
On the other hand, if you are restricting yourself to gem-quality graded stamps, the market is vibrant.
By the same token, if you're collecting stamps topically "for the fun of it" then there's never a bad time to start... just don't expect to fund your kids' college education with the proceeds down the line.
Not all areas of stamp collecting are "dead." As an active collector of U.S. revenues, I find that competition and prices for quality material is higher than ever. The revenue area is red hot, and has been increasing for the last 5 years or so. For fun I looked up some pieces in my collection in a 1993 Scott catalog, and quite a few are now 2x to 8x the value they were then. Many of the pieces I still need for my collection are rapidly spiraling out of reach.
Also, there have been discoveries of new varieties in recent years, due to the increased activity in the revenue field, which spurs even more interest.
Frankly, I'm having a blast! (going broke in a hurry, but having fun nonetheless ).
My son is on the dean's list at his college. Last month, he had to ask me about the proper way to address an envelope and where to put the stamp. He's mailed fewer than five letters in his 19 years. Yet, he spends paper money and coins every day...boy does he ever!!!
you may very well ask yourself what happened to model rocketry, metal detecting, train kits, building models, RC cars and planes, and etc..
people used to meet at parks and share all this with kids. the adults were kids. they had fun together.
do kids hang out at the local hobby shop and build things with their hands anymore? do the parents support them in these pursuits?
like stamp collecting, like coin collecting, or whatever.
the fact of the matter is parents are lazy **** who would rather give their kid HALO 3 then to take then downtown for 3 hours to look at model kits or rockets or coins.
so place the blame on the baby lazy *** generation who is letting this stuff die off, but yet the mercedes looks great!
it is up to us to stop this decline of hobbies by finding a kid and giving them some stuff and some supervision on how to use it.
i just spent 50 bucks on estes/flip model rocketry stuff. my girlf friend's niece would love to see this shoot off in the parking lot across the street. maybe i need to give her a peace dollar next week. hm. either way the key is to spark her imagination and maybe she may want to try it next.
the people here on this board, some, do quite a bit. congrats for being a nice person!
This may be slightly off the subject of this thread’s theme, but there is a simple way to bring life back into stamp collecting.
Sometimes best ideas seem to be at a casual glance to be absurd. Are they? Think again. (Columbus believing the world was round. The Wright Brothers believing man could fly.)
There is a simple way to bring back stamp collecting, in earnest.
Also in my modest proposal we can again do to coin collecting what the state quarters did to coin collecting. …and we can help the Bureau of Engraving and Printing recover some of the costs incurred with the printing of the one dollar bill.
All of this can be done so simply.
Think 50 states. Think $50 bills and the need to keep changing them to thwart the counterfeiters. Think 50 cent pieces. Think 50 cent stamps. Think of the state birds of all 50 states. Combine all of these in one simple program.
First, I am sure that it has been at least a couple of months since the post office has issued stamps with the state birds on them. They need to do this again, with the birds on 50 cent stamps. What an obvious connection: 50 states, 50 birds, 50 cent stamps. With the postage only at 41 cents, the extra proceeds could be used on noble projects such as “Save the Birds.”
Next, get to get the public more involved collecting 50 cent pieces, the Mint needs to put a different state bird on the reverse of a half dollar every 3 months. No, I would never suggest replacing our American Eagle on the reverse. We can combine the birds. Imagine the eagle sitting on a branch next to a wise old owl, or the industrious hummingbird hovering next to the eagle’s head.
The 50 dollar bill: Nobody truly appreciates the 50 dollar bill. $20’s and $100’s are all over the place. Who ever goes to the bank and asks for $50 bills?
In my proposal it would be so simple to bring life into the $50 bill and put a spark into Paper Money collecting. We do this through what I would call the “Bird Bill.” You see, we would use the same theme of the state birds. Every 3 months the BEP would print a new $50 bill with a different state bird on the back. And to keep the counterfeiters guessing we don’t have to print the bills in order of each state’s acceptance into the Union. We could start with the largest bird first, or the smallest bird, or the fastest bird. Or we could mix up the birds and print them in no logical order.
With this simple proposal we have changed the negative phrase of “This is for the birds” to a positive phrase.
Here is what we have accomplished:
(1) Millions of new stamp collectors will not only be buying “Bird Stamps,” but they will be running to the bank to pick up the latest 50 cent piece with the birds on the reverse and the new $50 “Bird Bill.” With each stamp sold, 9 cents will be put into our “Save the Birds” project.
(2) Coin collectors and paper money collectors will now be going to the post office to buy the “Bird Stamps.”
(3) With the gathering up of millions of never-to-be-used, only-to-be-saved $50 Bird Bills, the BEP will have additional funds to off-set the cost of the printing of the $1 bills.
(4) Our coin and stamp collecting accessory suppliers would have a boost in sales. New 50 page albums would be produced with each page allowing for the presentation of each state’s bird stamp at the top of the page, the 50 cent piece would be in the middle of the page showing the coin’s reverse with that state’s bird next to the eagle, and at the bottom of the page would be the back of the $50 Bird Bill proudly displaying that state’s bird.
(5) Upon completing each album, a parent, with one album for each of their children – complete with ALL of the Bird Stamps, Bird Coins, Bird Bills – would instantly in the face value of the Bird Coins and Bird Bills would have $2,525 put aside of each of their children’s education. What a simple, fun way to save for your child’s education.
This simple, modest proposal WILL WORK. ...and I am POSITIVE other good things will come out of this project - they are yet to be discovered in the future.
> Ive been following the price decline of the Zeps for years... it was always my goal > to have a mint never hinged full gummed set with good centering, and I am close to getting it!!
I wouldn't want ungraded Zeps. Graded Zeps bring strong money. There was a very nice set in the Saturday Nutmeg sale.
<< <i>Stamps are made to be used for one and only one thing. That's it. And once they're used, they're literally garbage. They are the toothpick, the twist-tie, the tampon of the collecting world. >>
and @ Weiss. >>
Who in the hell would ever think of collecting ivory toothpicks anyway?
U.S. collectors got tired of the post office issuing sheets and sheets of garbage that was only made to sell.
Can anyone think of another hobby that is now facing a similar situation?
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Stamp collecting has a great deal in common with coin collecting. Great rarities are fought over feverishly by rich folk who then enjoy the fruits of their labor by showing it off to other rich and wannabe rich folk, who fawn and/or envy. The vast majority of material is relative sludge that excites few, and usually leads to disappointment and disillusion when the time comes to sell.
Just you hardly see kids playing baseball..I don't ever see any family or friend 's youngsters playing with stamps. talk about a dead hobby just like kids collecting baseball cards
<< <i>Stamp collecting has a great deal in common with coin collecting. Great rarities are fought over feverishly by rich folk who then enjoy the fruits of their labor by showing it off to other rich and wannabe rich folk, who fawn and/or envy. The vast majority of material is relative sludge that excites few, and usually leads to disappointment and disillusion when the time comes to sell. >>
Well then... glad you're enjoying coin collecting. Yeesh....
Good question... when I was a kid (60's - 70's) it was a fairly vibrant hobby. Fast-forward 30 years and now I can't trade off the cr@p I collected for just common date coins... there's simply no interest. Leo
Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
it is up to us to stop this decline of hobbies by finding a kid and giving them some stuff and some supervision on how to use it.
Only if a kid is truely interested in it. I believe in letting a kid be a kid as far as interests go, it is not a good thing for adults to try too hard in pushing a hobby interest on someone.
Regarding the comment about lazy parents and HALO 3, while there are some lazy parents that just give their kids video games and television, there are many non-lazy parents that spend lots of time with their kids doing things like taking them to soccer practice, reading and discussing books and collecting SHQs out of circulation.
Parental interest does not necessarily lead to collecting coins or rocket clubs. Lack of parental interest doesn't necessarily lead to a decline in coins.
While there are some lazy parents, interests may have also changed over the years.
I won the 'lottery' and got a Pickett stamp sheet for face value. Search ebay for 'legends error'. They go for about $175 - $200.
The Bill Pickett incident: A U.S. stamp repeats—and then corrects—an error in the historical record
Artist: Mark Hess Acrylic on canvas, affixed to board
Unveiled in December 1993, the Legends of the West stamps promised to be an extremely popular issuance—but no one expected them to create one of the most infamous stamp errors in U.S. history. One of the stamps honored Bill Pickett, a celebrated African-American cowboy credited with the invention of bulldogging, or steer wrestling. To create the portrait, stamp artist Mark Hess used a famous photograph that bore a clear inscription identifying Pickett. The photograph had been featured in several magazines and exhibitions, and countless books about the American West also identified the handsome cowboy as Bill Pickett.
Unfortunately, the man in the photograph was not Bill Pickett.
In January 1994, the Pickett family informed the Postal Service that the photo depicted not Bill but his brother, Ben. Stunned, the Postal Service announced the recall and destruction of the five million stamp panes that had been shipped to hundreds of post offices.
The error soon became national news. While researchers frantically verified the other stamps, Mark Hess painted the correct face onto the existing artwork, using a 1923 poster publicizing the cowboy’s starring role in the film The Bull-Dogger.
But just as the new stamps were hitting the presses, the Postal Service discovered another error. Some clerks had sold 183 of the incorrect stamp panes, accidentally creating a collectible so rare and valuable that most collectors would never be able to afford one. To give the public a chance to own the incorrect stamps, and to defray reprinting costs, the Postal Service made the controversial decision to sell 150,000 of the faulty panes through a lottery.
<< <i>In fact,common stamps of the 30's and 40's sell for about 75 % of face in mint condition. >>
That is disturbing. Perhaps also why one eBay seller plasters them on the boxes that are sent out for normal postage. Can't see, though, why they would sell for less than 100% of face. I guess it is the Coinstar sort of ways of thinking. >>
I do that. Have you purchased anything from me on ebay? My ebay ID is also clouisejewelers.
Oh and for that matter, I enjoy dabbling in stamps as well. With prices so low on many issues dating back to the 1920s, I realize that they'll never recover - but on the other hand, it doesn't cost much to play.
We carried stamps and stamp supplies for 15 years before we stopped carrying them due to lack of interest. We were carrying a good inventory in both and were selling ZILCH for those last 3-4 years. The local stamp club meetings and shows were basically all old guys trying to get rid of their junk and not buying anything. As far as the market, high end stuff still sells, but any Zep, Columbian, Trans Miss, etc. collector can tell you that even the rare stuff isn't bringing what it did, and that's a fact. Some guys bring up the Jenny that sold for a mil, but let's get real... that's like saying used 1964 nickels are valuable because an 1804 dollar sold for megabucks at an auction. The new "graded stamp" thing isn't about collectors; it's about MAKING MONEY. They see the coin guys doing it and want to promote it like the TV scammers are doing with coins right now. And, if it catches on at all, you'll see 20 "Stamp grading services" come out of the woodwork slabbing junk and selling it for as much as possible, to people with more money than brains.
<< <i>We carried stamps and stamp supplies for 15 years before we stopped carrying them due to lack of interest. We were carrying a good inventory in both and were selling ZILCH for those last 3-4 years. The local stamp club meetings and shows were basically all old guys trying to get rid of their junk and not buying anything. As far as the market, high end stuff still sells, but any Zep, Columbian, Trans Miss, etc. collector can tell you that even the rare stuff isn't bringing what it did, and that's a fact. Some guys bring up the Jenny that sold for a mil, but let's get real... that's like saying used 1964 nickels are valuable because an 1804 dollar sold for megabucks at an auction. The new "graded stamp" thing isn't about collectors; it's about MAKING MONEY. They see the coin guys doing it and want to promote it like the TV scammers are doing with coins right now. And, if it catches on at all, you'll see 20 "Stamp grading services" come out of the woodwork slabbing junk and selling it for as much as possible, to people with more money than brains. >>
Very interesting, but how about some analysis? Why did the interest wane? Certainly, stamps are just as beautiful and interesting as they ever were. Since you were there, what do you think, Telephoto?
<< <i>Very interesting, but how about some analysis? Why did the interest wane? Certainly, stamps are just as beautiful and interesting as they ever were. Since you were there, what do you think, Telephoto? >>
Honestly, I think it was a combination of things... an aging collector base, low resale value for anything except major rarities (even before the Scott revaluations), minimal new blood, too many other distractions for young people leading to less interest, and the USPS cranking out modern stamps like wallpaper, with many if not most being self adhesives that were problematic and costly for collectors of single issues, plate blocks, coil plates, etc. Also the FDC market tanked because of an oversaturation by entities like the postal commemorative society, the gold-stamp producers, Colorano silk covers, Fleetwood, etc. ad nauseum glutting the market with high priced stuff that the buyers found they couldn't give away when they wanted to liquidate.
The "decline" supposition does NOT apply to all of the above areas. I would say that 1 and 3 are definitely on the wane. On the other hand, 5 and 6 are on the upswing in my opinion.
Like many other types of collecting, the days of the brick & mortar dealer are coming to a close, in lieu of online venues and trading circles. Just because a given b&m has ceased supporting a segment of a hobby, that cannot be extrapolated into an overall statement on the state of the hobby.
That being said, if I were a general stamp dealer that operated via B&M and shows only, I would be hard pressed to make a go of it, whereas as a collector, now is a great time to be acquiring material for a collection (whether collecting for enjoyment or investment). Between Ebay, the online APS store, stampwants.com, stamps2go.com, and dedicated dealer web sites, there is an abundance of available material out there, most of which is obtainable at wonderfully reasonable prices.
As with any type of collectible (coins included), regardless of whether the hobby is in a bear or bull market, the savvy buyer can make money by purchasing the right type of material and offering it to the right people in the right places...
This number BELOW is placed on a Stamp in selected intervals. The Statue of Liberty Stamp for GWFDCC has the PNC configuration of 396 stamps per revolution / plate # or 1 for every 11 stamps. That means only 5,000 Units of the 50,000 Units got a PNC#
My dad collected U.S. stamps from when he was a kid in the 1930s, up to the early 1990s. I remember going with him to our local post office every couple months or so back in the 1970s-early 1980s to pick up all the recently issued stamps.
The main reasons he stopped collecting were the incessant new commemorative stamps the USPS issued beginning in the 1990s, along with the fact that a collector could no longer go to their local post office and buy just one of each new stamp. With the advent of pre-gummed and self-sticking stamps, along with the fancy collateral designs on the sheets/selvage, you had to buy a full sheet of each new stamp.
Today, it's even worse. The post office still issues far-too-many commemoratives, and you still can not go to your post office and buy one of each new stamp. You must buy a sheet of 20 or so, and then end up with hundreds of extra, useless stamps that you can't do anything with, and have absolutely no use for.
There just is no reasonable "entry-level" point for kids to begin collecting stamps today.
Sports Cards were the likely end to the collecting of stamps. They came very close to being the demise of coins too, probably only shop at home TV saved coins or at least renewed interest. On the bright side it looks as if Heritage is going to open a stamp auction division.
<< <i>Sports Cards were the likely end to the collecting of stamps. They came very close to being the demise of coins too, probably only shop at home TV saved coins or at least renewed interest. On the bright side it looks as if Heritage is going to open a stamp auction division. >>
For we uniformed, what do you mean by Sports Cards? You mean baseball, football, etc... collectible cards? What would be their relation to stamps and coins--just that they sapped the interest of young collectors?
<< <i>Sports Cards were the likely end to the collecting of stamps. They came very close to being the demise of coins too, probably only shop at home TV saved coins or at least renewed interest. On the bright side it looks as if Heritage is going to open a stamp auction division. >>
Comments
availability.
but if you do not see the coin dealer slabbing mentality invading
the stamp arena you are quite blind?
the only reason it has interest again is due to plastic? weak.
The move to encapsulation is really about protection. Not at master conspiracy on the part of dealers. Many dealers have embraced the TPG concept, however only a few have
seen the potential for slabs and handle same. The majority of the graded stamp market is still using the photo certs, but that is starting to change.
Stamps are easily damaged, a slab affords physical protection otherwise absent. There are several potential downsides to photo certificates; Stamp switching, environental damage, accidental damage from handling, etc.
Slabs remove these 'issues' from the equation.
I am seeing more collectors, including some of the veteran 'photo cert' type guys, switching to slabs, largely because of the protection aspect.
Managing Director - Rare Stamp Department
Heritage Auctions
<< <i>> Someone bought up all the stamps
Yesterday's Nutmeg Premier Graded auction saw some very high prices realized. Bill Gross of Pimco is one of the brightest investors in the financial markets. He moved into stamps a few years ago and recently raised something like 6 million dollars, as a charity donation for Doctors Without Borders, by selling his Great Britain collection. I think, in the past five years of PSE grading, it's probable the rate of return on quality stamps has exceeded that of US coins.
KJ >>
I won these A lot of stamps like revenues are more closely related
to paper money than stamps imo. When people think stamps they think postage. I'm on the hunt for a Silver Tax Stamp next.
This pair sold for $800. The centering is terrible.
Jerry
I hear the market is hot for fresh material, correctly graded... Quality always brings top money, and the really good stuff is in strong hands
BTW, when is the formation of SAC going to be announced?
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
> Any sightings of counterfeit stamp slabs?
This isn't yet an issue. PSE grading is only about 5 years old. The huge increases seen in better quality graded material might eventually make fakes a problem but individual stamps, like individual currency notes, are much easier to identify than coins.
PSE has free pop reports available online. The PSE registry and PSE grading standards are also online and free. If you submit stamps for grading they will send you a snail copy of the SMQ report (Stamp Market Quarterly).
KJ
I remember back in the 1970s and early 80s a set like that would fetch $25K... but as of last week I was offered a set for under $5k and told NOT to buy it because prices are still coming DOWN.
by the way, there is a stamp store in North Hollywood Calif that sells sheets of stamps from the 40s and 50s and 60s at FACE VALUE because they buy them from collectors at LESS than face.
first day covers anyone?? LOL
with cachets?? LOLOLOLOLOL
cheers, Alan Mendelson
BestDealsTVshow.com
www.AlanBestBuys.com
www.VegasBestBuys.com
They are really interesting, they are really cheap, and they are readily available.
I think that too many people equate a hobby with a ROI.
A hobby SHOULD NOT be an investment nor have an investment mentality.
A kid can put together an awesome stamp collection for little money and enjoy it for what it is-A COLLECTION, not a retirement vehicle.
Stamps are not for me, coins are, but to each his own.
As for FDC, I don't know but one person who is into them. And that's a guy from China who started a 'blog' in the Stamps Forum.
Jerry
"Get off my back, I know when I'm licked
Simple fix is to start printing stamps with rare coins on them.
On the other hand, if you are restricting yourself to gem-quality graded stamps, the market is vibrant.
By the same token, if you're collecting stamps topically "for the fun of it" then there's never a bad time to start... just don't expect to fund your kids' college education with the proceeds down the line.
Not all areas of stamp collecting are "dead." As an active collector of U.S. revenues, I find that competition and prices for quality material is higher than ever. The revenue area is red hot, and has been increasing for the last 5 years or so. For fun I looked up some pieces in my collection in a 1993 Scott catalog, and quite a few are now 2x to 8x the value they were then. Many of the pieces I still need for my collection are rapidly spiraling out of reach.
Also, there have been discoveries of new varieties in recent years, due to the increased activity in the revenue field, which spurs even more interest.
Frankly, I'm having a blast! (going broke in a hurry, but having fun nonetheless
www.revenue-collector.com
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
metal detecting, train kits, building models, RC cars and planes,
and etc..
people used to meet at parks and share all this with kids. the adults
were kids. they had fun together.
do kids hang out at the local hobby shop and build things with their
hands anymore? do the parents support them in these pursuits?
like stamp collecting, like coin collecting, or whatever.
the fact of the matter is parents are lazy **** who would rather
give their kid HALO 3 then to take then downtown for 3 hours
to look at model kits or rockets or coins.
so place the blame on the baby lazy *** generation who is letting
this stuff die off, but yet the mercedes looks great!
it is up to us to stop this decline of hobbies by finding a kid and
giving them some stuff and some supervision on how to use it.
i just spent 50 bucks on estes/flip model rocketry stuff. my girlf friend's niece would love to see this shoot off in the parking lot
across the street. maybe i need to give her a peace dollar next
week. hm. either way the key is to spark her imagination and maybe
she may want to try it next.
the people here on this board, some, do quite a bit. congrats
for being a nice person!
Sometimes best ideas seem to be at a casual glance to be absurd. Are they? Think again. (Columbus believing the world was round. The Wright Brothers believing man could fly.)
There is a simple way to bring back stamp collecting, in earnest.
Also in my modest proposal we can again do to coin collecting what the state quarters did to coin collecting. …and we can help the Bureau of Engraving and Printing recover some of the costs incurred with the printing of the one dollar bill.
All of this can be done so simply.
Think 50 states. Think $50 bills and the need to keep changing them to thwart the counterfeiters. Think 50 cent pieces. Think 50 cent stamps. Think of the state birds of all 50 states. Combine all of these in one simple program.
First, I am sure that it has been at least a couple of months since the post office has issued stamps with the state birds on them. They need to do this again, with the birds on 50 cent stamps. What an obvious connection: 50 states, 50 birds, 50 cent stamps. With the postage only at 41 cents, the extra proceeds could be used on noble projects such as “Save the Birds.”
Next, get to get the public more involved collecting 50 cent pieces, the Mint needs to put a different state bird on the reverse of a half dollar every 3 months. No, I would never suggest replacing our American Eagle on the reverse. We can combine the birds. Imagine the eagle sitting on a branch next to a wise old owl, or the industrious hummingbird hovering next to the eagle’s head.
The 50 dollar bill: Nobody truly appreciates the 50 dollar bill. $20’s and $100’s are all over the place. Who ever goes to the bank and asks for $50 bills?
In my proposal it would be so simple to bring life into the $50 bill and put a spark into Paper Money collecting. We do this through what I would call the “Bird Bill.” You see, we would use the same theme of the state birds. Every 3 months the BEP would print a new $50 bill with a different state bird on the back. And to keep the counterfeiters guessing we don’t have to print the bills in order of each state’s acceptance into the Union. We could start with the largest bird first, or the smallest bird, or the fastest bird. Or we could mix up the birds and print them in no logical order.
With this simple proposal we have changed the negative phrase of “This is for the birds” to a positive phrase.
Here is what we have accomplished:
(1) Millions of new stamp collectors will not only be buying “Bird Stamps,” but they will be running to the bank to pick up the latest 50 cent piece with the birds on the reverse and the new $50 “Bird Bill.” With each stamp sold, 9 cents will be put into our “Save the Birds” project.
(2) Coin collectors and paper money collectors will now be going to the post office to buy the “Bird Stamps.”
(3) With the gathering up of millions of never-to-be-used, only-to-be-saved $50 Bird Bills, the BEP will have additional funds to off-set the cost of the printing of the $1 bills.
(4) Our coin and stamp collecting accessory suppliers would have a boost in sales. New 50 page albums would be produced with each page allowing for the presentation of each state’s bird stamp at the top of the page, the 50 cent piece would be in the middle of the page showing the coin’s reverse with that state’s bird next to the eagle, and at the bottom of the page would be the back of the $50 Bird Bill proudly displaying that state’s bird.
(5) Upon completing each album, a parent, with one album for each of their children – complete with ALL of the Bird Stamps, Bird Coins, Bird Bills – would instantly in the face value of the Bird Coins and Bird Bills would have $2,525 put aside of each of their children’s education. What a simple, fun way to save for your child’s education.
This simple, modest proposal WILL WORK. ...and I am POSITIVE other good things will come out of this project - they are yet to be discovered in the future.
Write your Congressman.
Regards,
Ed R.
> Ive been following the price decline of the Zeps for years... it was always my goal
> to have a mint never hinged full gummed set with good centering, and I am close to getting it!!
I wouldn't want ungraded Zeps. Graded Zeps bring strong money. There was a very nice set in the Saturday Nutmeg sale.
KJ
"La Vostra Nonna Ha Faccia Del Fungo"
<< <i>
<< <i>Stamps are made to be used for one and only one thing. That's it. And once they're used, they're literally garbage. They are the toothpick, the twist-tie, the tampon of the collecting world. >>
Who in the hell would ever think of collecting ivory toothpicks anyway?
> If the stamp market has tanked, I'm hoping to pick up an "Inverted Jenny" on the cheap
LOL. The stamp market has tanked for sure. Jay Parrino just sold a nice one for only $1,000,000.00
C3a PSE 80 - One Million Dollars - Sold!
KJ
<< <i>What ever happened to stamp collecting? >>
U.S. collectors got tired of the post office issuing sheets and sheets of garbage that was only made to sell.
Can anyone think of another hobby that is now facing a similar situation?
<< <i>Stamp collecting has a great deal in common with coin collecting. Great rarities are fought over feverishly by rich folk who then enjoy the fruits of their labor by showing it off to other rich and wannabe rich folk, who fawn and/or envy. The vast majority of material is relative sludge that excites few, and usually leads to disappointment and disillusion when the time comes to sell. >>
Well then... glad you're enjoying coin collecting. Yeesh....
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
giving them some stuff and some supervision on how to use it.
Only if a kid is truely interested in it. I believe in letting a kid be a kid as far as interests go, it is not a good thing for
adults to try too hard in pushing a hobby interest on someone.
Parental interest does not necessarily lead to collecting coins or rocket clubs.
Lack of parental interest doesn't necessarily lead to a decline in coins.
While there are some lazy parents, interests may have also changed over the years.
The Bill Pickett incident:
A U.S. stamp repeats—and then corrects—an error in the historical record
Artist: Mark Hess
Acrylic on canvas, affixed to board
Unveiled in December 1993, the Legends of the West stamps promised to be an extremely popular issuance—but no one expected them to create one of the most infamous stamp errors in U.S. history.
One of the stamps honored Bill Pickett, a celebrated African-American cowboy credited with the invention of bulldogging, or steer wrestling. To create the portrait, stamp artist Mark Hess used a famous photograph that bore a clear inscription identifying Pickett. The photograph had been featured in several magazines and exhibitions, and countless books about the American West also identified the handsome cowboy as Bill Pickett.
Unfortunately, the man in the photograph was not Bill Pickett.
In January 1994, the Pickett family informed the Postal Service that the photo depicted not Bill but his brother, Ben. Stunned, the Postal Service announced the recall and destruction of the five million stamp panes that had been shipped to hundreds of post offices.
The error soon became national news. While researchers frantically verified the other stamps, Mark Hess painted the correct face onto the existing artwork, using a 1923 poster publicizing the cowboy’s starring role in the film The Bull-Dogger.
But just as the new stamps were hitting the presses, the Postal Service discovered another error. Some clerks had sold 183 of the incorrect stamp panes, accidentally creating a collectible so rare and valuable that most collectors would never be able to afford one. To give the public a chance to own the incorrect stamps, and to defray reprinting costs, the Postal Service made the controversial decision to sell 150,000 of the faulty panes through a lottery.
<< <i>
<< <i>In fact,common stamps of the 30's and 40's sell for about 75 % of face in mint condition. >>
That is disturbing. Perhaps also why one eBay seller plasters them on the boxes that are sent out for normal postage. Can't see, though, why they would sell for less than 100% of face. I guess it is the Coinstar sort of ways of thinking. >>
I do that. Have you purchased anything from me on ebay? My ebay ID is also clouisejewelers.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
<< <i>We carried stamps and stamp supplies for 15 years before we stopped carrying them due to lack of interest. We were carrying a good inventory in both and were selling ZILCH for those last 3-4 years. The local stamp club meetings and shows were basically all old guys trying to get rid of their junk and not buying anything. As far as the market, high end stuff still sells, but any Zep, Columbian, Trans Miss, etc. collector can tell you that even the rare stuff isn't bringing what it did, and that's a fact. Some guys bring up the Jenny that sold for a mil, but let's get real... that's like saying used 1964 nickels are valuable because an 1804 dollar sold for megabucks at an auction. The new "graded stamp" thing isn't about collectors; it's about MAKING MONEY. They see the coin guys doing it and want to promote it like the TV scammers are doing with coins right now. And, if it catches on at all, you'll see 20 "Stamp grading services" come out of the woodwork slabbing junk and selling it for as much as possible, to people with more money than brains. >>
Very interesting, but how about some analysis? Why did the interest wane? Certainly, stamps are just as beautiful and interesting as they ever were. Since you were there, what do you think, Telephoto?
<< <i>Very interesting, but how about some analysis? Why did the interest wane? Certainly, stamps are just as beautiful and interesting as they ever were. Since you were there, what do you think, Telephoto? >>
Honestly, I think it was a combination of things... an aging collector base, low resale value for anything except major rarities (even before the Scott revaluations), minimal new blood, too many other distractions for young people leading to less interest, and the USPS cranking out modern stamps like wallpaper, with many if not most being self adhesives that were problematic and costly for collectors of single issues, plate blocks, coil plates, etc. Also the FDC market tanked because of an oversaturation by entities like the postal commemorative society, the gold-stamp producers, Colorano silk covers, Fleetwood, etc. ad nauseum glutting the market with high priced stuff that the buyers found they couldn't give away when they wanted to liquidate.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
In what context are people using the term "stamp collecting"?
- Collecting modern issues from the USPS
- Collecting topically
- Investing in stamps
- Collecting classic (pre-1940) U.S. material
- Collecting high-quality graded/certified stamps
- Specialty niches (revenues, cinderellas, perfins, cancels, etc.)
- Worldwide collecting
- Country or era-specific collections
The "decline" supposition does NOT apply to all of the above areas. I would say that 1 and 3 are definitely on the wane. On the other hand, 5 and 6 are on the upswing in my opinion.Like many other types of collecting, the days of the brick & mortar dealer are coming to a close, in lieu of online venues and trading circles. Just because a given b&m has ceased supporting a segment of a hobby, that cannot be extrapolated into an overall statement on the state of the hobby.
That being said, if I were a general stamp dealer that operated via B&M and shows only, I would be hard pressed to make a go of it, whereas as a collector, now is a great time to be acquiring material for a collection (whether collecting for enjoyment or investment). Between Ebay, the online APS store, stampwants.com, stamps2go.com, and dedicated dealer web sites, there is an abundance of available material out there, most of which is obtainable at wonderfully reasonable prices.
As with any type of collectible (coins included), regardless of whether the hobby is in a bear or bull market, the savvy buyer can make money by purchasing the right type of material and offering it to the right people in the right places...
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
Buy some First Day Coin Covers!
This number BELOW is placed on a Stamp in selected intervals. The Statue of Liberty Stamp for GWFDCC has the PNC configuration of 396 stamps per revolution / plate # or 1 for every 11 stamps. That means only 5,000 Units of the 50,000 Units got a PNC#
I have a subscription and have kept these unopened. Maybe I should release them from their cardboard tomb. Does NGC grade all of these at MS65 or ??
Vietnam Vet 1968-1969
The main reasons he stopped collecting were the incessant new commemorative stamps the USPS issued beginning in the 1990s, along with the fact that a collector could no longer go to their local post office and buy just one of each new stamp. With the advent of pre-gummed and self-sticking stamps, along with the fancy collateral designs on the sheets/selvage, you had to buy a full sheet of each new stamp.
Today, it's even worse. The post office still issues far-too-many commemoratives, and you still can not go to your post office and buy one of each new stamp. You must buy a sheet of 20 or so, and then end up with hundreds of extra, useless stamps that you can't do anything with, and have absolutely no use for.
There just is no reasonable "entry-level" point for kids to begin collecting stamps today.
Steve
Chance favors the prepared mind.
<< <i>Sports Cards were the likely end to the collecting of stamps. They came very close to being the demise of coins too, probably only shop at home TV saved coins or at least renewed interest. On the bright side it looks as if Heritage is going to open a stamp auction division. >>
For we uniformed, what do you mean by Sports Cards? You mean baseball, football, etc... collectible cards? What would be their relation to stamps and coins--just that they sapped the interest of young collectors?
Chance favors the prepared mind.
<< <i>Sports Cards were the likely end to the collecting of stamps. They came very close to being the demise of coins too, probably only shop at home TV saved coins or at least renewed interest. On the bright side it looks as if Heritage is going to open a stamp auction division. >>
Ermmm...where's the "I'm joking" smilie?
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
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