Stamp Collecting and Hurricanes ~ Tips for Stamp Collectors in Their Paths

None of us wants to be hit by a tropical storm, or even worse, a hurricane. Right now Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane, possibly to become a Category 5. And Tropical Storm Hanna may be headed toward the Florida, Georgia or South Carolina coastline.

Your first priority when faced with a nasty storm such as these is to save yourself, your family and any pets. Get out early, if you need to or are told to. Your second priority is probably to stock up food and water, secure your house as best as you can, and gather together all of your very important papers in case you need to quickly evacuate.

What does all of this have to do with stamp collecting?

The answer depends on how important your stamp collection is to you. If it's valuable dollar-wise, you need to protect and preserve it as best as you can. The same is true if it's valuable for sentimental reasons and you'd hate to lose it.

Remember that along with very high winds, these kinds of storms bring incredible amounts of rain and flooding. Water is a huge enemy of stamps, so you need to do what you can to protect them from it. Even if you don't experience any actual flooding, the humidity level will be very high during a storm, especially if your power goes out and you lose your air conditioning. But flooding or rain leaking in through windows or doors would be even worse.

Gather up your stamp albums, shoeboxes, stock books, stock pages, glassines and loose stamps. Wrap them up tightly in plastic garbage bags (without any holes in them) and seal them as tightly as you can. Or you can use ziplock bags if they're big enough. Use as many plastic bags as you need to include all your important material. Then find a high and dry location in an interior room of your house - maybe on top of a chest of drawers or on a high closet shelf - and put all your stamp material there.

This will help protect your stamps from humidity and/or flooding. And it also puts them all in one place, so that if you need to evacuate quickly you can grab them along with your important papers, and then go.

You've spent a lot of time - and money - building your stamp collection. Don't let a tropical storm or hurricane destroy it overnight.

Help for Stamp Collectors - Philatelic Societies & Local Stamp Clubs

One of the most valuable assets a stamp collector can have is a reputable, trustworthy, reliable stamp dealer. A good stamp dealer will work with you and go out of his or her way to help you build your stamp collection. A stamp dealer like that will also cheerfully answer questions, help you identify "toughies," look for specific stamps that you want, and otherwise act as a great stamp resource.

Other types of help are also available. Some of the best resources are philatelic societies and local stamp clubs.

For American stamp collectors, the "Great-Great-Granddaddy" of all philatelic societies is the American Philatelic Society (the "APS"). Take a look at their website. There's a wealth of information there and it's not expensive to join.

More specialized societies also exist. Three that come quickly to mind are the Plate Number Coil Collectors Club ("PNC3"), the American Plate Numbers Singles Society ("APNSS") and the American Topical Association ("ATA"). Hundreds of additional specialty stamp societies exist.

Local stamp clubs can also be a wealth of information as well as camaraderie. They allow stamp collectors to get together in person for informative meetings (often including presentations by the members), exhibitions and stamp bourses. Check your local area to see if there's a stamp club. If there is, join it.

Stamp Collecting Tips - Dead Countries

What's a "dead country," you might ask. Well, in the stamp collecting world, a dead country is a country that either used to issue its own stamps and no longer does (for example, Bavaria) or a country that does still issue stamps but under a different name than it did before so that the old name is no longer used on its stamps (for example, the old U.S.S.R. is now issuing stamps as Russia).

Philatelists who collect dead countries enjoy a couple of extra benefits:

1. Since the country they collect no longer issues stamps, they know exactly how many stamps they will need to have a complete collection - there will be no more stamps from that country in the future.

2. These stamp collectors don't need to deal with the flood of new stamp issues by many countries during recent years.

Taking Proper Care of Your Stamp Collection

There are a number of different ways that you can use to store or display your stamps. These methods include:

stamp albums
stock books or stock pages
envelopes
boxes (the famous shoebox, not recommended!)

We recommend that you use either stamp albums or stock books/pages.

Loose stamps are very fragile and they are too easily damaged in envelopes or boxes. If you do choose to use envelopes, you should use paper envelopes of archival quality to avoid problems. Glassine envelopes are ok for very short-term storage but they are not intended for long-term use and will eventually damage stamps.

But no matter how you keep your stamps, they should always be stored in a way that protects them from excessive heat and humidity. This means keeping your stamps in an air conditioned environment during hot weather. You may also want to consider de-humidifying the air if humidity is high.

Stamps also should always be protected from direct sunlight - strong sunlight can cause colors to fade.

Excessive heat - whether it originates from strong sunlight or the room is just too hot - can cause softening of the gum on stamps. This sometimes results in a stamp "licking itself" to whatever is beneath it. Heat can also cause other damage to the gum.

Albums, stock books and stock pages should always be stored upright (not flat and horizontal) as the weight of the pages can also cause stamps to stick down. Leaf through the pages of your stamp albums and stock books from time to time - this "airs out" the stamps and is very healthy for them.

Generally, you should use album pages that are designed for stamps to be mounted or hinged on only one side, not both sides. When stamps are mounted on both sides of an album page, they sometimes "grab" each other and become torn or dislodged when pages are turned.

Don't drink any kind of liquid - water, coffee, soft drinks, etc - when near your stamps. Liquids are the enemies of stamps, especially mint stamps. Any sort of liquid will either damage or entirely remove the gum from a mint stamp.

Stamp Collecting Abbreviations Explained

If you're new to stamp collecting you may well be confused by what some cryptic-looking abbreviations that you run into really mean. Here's a guide to help you decipher at least some of this code:

Centering

F: Fine condition
VF: Very Fine condition
XF: Extra Fine condition

Gum Condition

NG: No Gum
OG: Original Gum
HH: Heavily Hinged
LH: Lightly Hinged
VLH: Very Lightly Hinged
NH: Never Hinged

Certain Types of Covers (stamped envelopes)

FDC: First Day Cover
FFC: First Flight Cover

Certain Multiples

PB: Plate Block
LP: Line Pair
JLP: Joint Line Pair

Miscellaneous Abbreviations

SS or
S/S: Souvenir Sheet

SE: Straight Edge

CTO: Canceled to Order

Ovpt: Overprint

APO: Army Post Office

FPO: Fleet Post Office

HPO: Highway Post Office

RPO: Railway Post Office

BEP: Bureau of Engraving and Printing

UPU: Universal Postal Union

CDS: Circular Datestamp (cancellation)

EFOs: Errors, Freaks and Oddities

Stamp News - Sale on US Stamps

United States stamp sets and single stamps are on sale right now at The Stamp People. The sale ends August 31st.

Every single US stamp and every US stamp set that is offered for sale by The Stamp People is on sale.

Kiloware, off paper stamp mixes and other bulk stamp lots are not included in this sale.

British Empire & Early British Commonwealth Stamps Skyrocket in Value

British Empire stamps and early British Commonwealth stamps are setting a notable positive trend in stamp values. While there are some exceptions, overall the value of these stamps is rising steadily. In some cases, values are steeply increasing.

Take a look at your stamp catalogs (if they're recent editions) and if you have a record of earlier values, you'll see what I mean when you compare them. Increases of 25% to 300% - and even more - over previous values from just a few years ago are not uncommon.

This recent trend in higher stamp values appears to hold true for stamps from all periods, not just those from the Queen Victoria and Kind Edward VII periods. In fact, stamps as recent as those issued during the reigns of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II (in the 1950s) are also rising in value. And it's true for mint (unused) stamps and also postally used stamps.

Moral of the story? Buy now, before prices go up again.

An Exciting Announcement for US PNC Collectors:

The Stamp People

has just started offering for sale individual mint and used plate number singles, strips of 3 and strips of 5. They will be adding more and more PNCs, PNC3s and PNC5s to their website on an ongoing basis.

And even better, they will soon be offering two different sets of custom-designed plate number coil album pages for sale. One set of stamp album pages will be a comprehensive set of pages for all PNC singles other than the Transportation Issue, and all plate numbers known for those PNCs. The second set of stamp album pages will focus exclusively on the Transportation Coils for those who only collect PNCs from that issue, and will also include all plate numbers known for each of those stamps.

If you're looking for stamp album pages, check The Stamp People in a few days.

If you're looking for plate number coil stamps, check The Stamp People now, and often, as more and more will be added regularly.

Buying Stamps Online For Your Collection - Some Stamp Purchasing Tips

Are you wondering how to go about purchasing stamps online? Here are a few guidelines.

Tip Number 1 for Buying a Stamp Online: Read the complete description and study any and all pictures that are available. Carefully consider these vital pieces of information about the stamps you're interested in.

How else could you learn pertinent details such as gum condition (never hinged, lightly hinged, hinge remnant, etc.), centering, perforation condition, any faults (thins, tears, creases or bends)? After all, you don't have the stamp itself right in front of you.


Tip Number 2: Find an online stamp dealer (or a few stamp dealers) that you trust, and stick with them.

Good online stamp dealers will post thorough and accurate descriptions and provide pictures that accurately portray their stamps. They also will provide superior customer service: they'll respond quickly to any questions you might have, acknowledge your order and your payment, and let you know when your order has shipped.

Try to build an ongoing relationship with this type of stamp dealer. You'll be able to trust the accuracy of their descriptions and pictures, and if you buy from them again and again, you just might get more favorable prices, too.


Tip Number 3: When in doubt, ask questions before buying.

This will actually serve two purposes. The first, of course, is to get the answer to your question before you buy (rather than finding out after your purchase). But you can also ask questions for another reason: to determine how responsive a dealer is. A good online stamp dealer will respond quickly, professionally and as thoroughly as possible. Some other stamp dealer may not respond at all, may take an undue amount of time to reply, or otherwise not provide good customer service.

Keep the first type (the good stamp dealers) on your short list of stamp sources. Don't bother ordering from the unresponsive ones.


Tip Number 4: When you find good online stamp dealers, cherish them.

Recognize that good online stamp dealers are worth their weight in gold to your stamp collection. By definition they're trustworthy and reliable stamps sources. But in addition to those golden qualities, they will often go out of their way for you. Don't abuse this valuable relationship.

Tropical Storm Fay ...

Has nothing to do with stamps, but we hope and pray for good luck and safety to all in its path.

It's currently forecast to pass just about right over our heads, so if we don't post much in the next few days that's probably why. Rest assured we'll be back as soon as possible if that happens.

Good luck to all, and boo hiss upon Fay.

Top 10 Stamps We'd Buy If We Hit The Lottery

Just for fun, we thought we'd post some thoughts on the stamps we'd most like to buy if we got rich by hitting the lottery. Here's the countdown of our "top 10" stamp wants (if we could afford them):

10. US Scott # 122 - the 90 cent carmine & black Abraham Lincoln stamp issued in 1869.

It features the great wartime President who fought to hold our country together during the Civil War and who met an untimely death via assassination.

9. US Scott # 245 - the $5 Columbian Exposition stamp, issued in 1893, that features Christopher Columbus.

A stamp that was never intended for postal use, but we like it anyway. What we'd REALLY like is to find this stamp on a non-philatelic cover. Maybe a commercial cover.

8., 7. & 6. US Scott # C13-C15 - the complete Graf Zeppelin issue of 1930.

Beautiful stamps, what more can we say.

5. Canal Zone Scott #1 - the Map of Panama stamp issued in 1904.

The Panama Canal was a great engineering (and public health) achievement by the United States. We honor those achievements with this selection.

4. Canada Scott # 158 - the beautifully engraved Bluenose stamp issued in 1929.

One of the most beautiful stamps ever designed by any country, and a national symbol of Canada.

3. US Scott # CL1 - the "Buffalo Balloon" air post semi-official stamp issued in 1877.

Privately issued, very scarce, but a piece of early airmail history.

2. US Scott # 262 - the bright blue $2 James Madison stamp issued in 1894.

The father of the US Constitution, the last of the founding fathers to die, and President at a pivotal point in history.

1. US Scott # 292 - the $1 Western Cattle in Storm stamp from the Trans-Mississippi Exposition Issue of 1898.

A gorgeous stamp that reflects some of the struggles endured during the settlement of the Great West of the United States.

The Hidden Value of Postage Stamps


Postage stamps can be quite educational without realizing it - kind of like postcards. You (or your child) can learn geography, history and all sorts of interesting tidbits about places and events. If you collect foreign stamps (or postcards) you even pick up some bits of foreign languages along the way. I could probably name the currencies of 50 different countries without even thinking about it because I collect and sell stamps.

Stamp collecting (and postcard collecting) is great for kids because of that - they learn and don't even know that they're learning about things until it's "too late" and they've already learned it.

Stamps and vintage postcards are a gateway to history.

There are different ways to either start a stamp collection - or continue one - that can be very inexpensive. You can buy stamp assortments, available for a lot of different types of stamps, that are often priced at less than a penny per stamp, far below what you would pay for them if you bought them individually. It's a great way to start a new collection or to fill in gaps in an existing collection. And you learn along the way!

Stamp Collection Organization - Do's and Don'ts

The manner in which you organize the stamps in your collection is entirely up to you, but here are some things the typical stamp collector should do ... and not do.

DO:

Keep your stamps in a safe and secure location. They may be in a stamp album or on stock pages, but keep them away from large swings in temperature or humidity. A house that's maintained in a temperature- and humidity-controlled way (heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer) should be adequate to protect most stamps from these dangers.

DON'T:

Store your stamps in a place where they are easily damaged. This means don't just toss loose stamps (or even gently place them) into a box. After all, stamps are small pieces of paper, and as such, they are very fragile. They bend (crease) and tear very easily. Even stamps that are still affixed to the paper they were mailed on are somewhat fragile, with corners or perforations being fairly easily damaged. Also, don't store stamps in glassine envelopes for very long - move them into your stamp album as soon as you can. Glassines are not acid-free and are not intended for long-term stamp storage - leaving stamps inside them for too long can cause damage.



More stamp collecting "do's and don'ts are coming!