Inside are 20,000 stamps, including examples from every single country that has ever had them, including some like Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) which no longer exist. There is also the only letter ever postmarked from the moon and one sent to John Hancock on July 4, 1776.
Also, there is a letter recovered by settlers after Indians captured the Pony Express rider carrying it.
Of course, there is a block of "inverted Jenny" stamps, like a set that sold for nearly $3 million, which feature an upside down airplane. It became one of the most famous ever U.S. stamps after a 1918 misprint and quick recall.
Lick Me. --Cooter
Showing posts with label Philatelic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philatelic. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Are Stamps Licked?-- Part 1: Is Stamp Collecting On Its Way Out?
From the Nov. 4, 2013, Time Magazine "Are Stamps Licked? by Katy Steinmetz.
Baltimore's Philatelic Society had their 75th annual stamp show did not have a lot of young collectors. But stamp collecting isn't over. Rarest stamps are increasing in value and the hobby is spreading abroad. But, in the U.S., philately is down. Membership in the largest stamp society continues to wane.
Billionaire Bill Gross, who owns the world's most-valuable private collection says, "It's not necessarily obvious that kids even know what a stamp is." Not surprising in these days of e-mailing and texting. He even gave $10,000,000 to build a new 12,000-square-ft. stamp exhibit at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Revenue at philatelic auctions is up. Collections worth $5-$10 million were almost unheard of before, but now there are several dozen.
Doing well in the world, but not so much at home. The market lacks young collectors to make it thrive. The Boy Scouts issue a merit badge for stamp collecting. In 2012 it issued 1,000 of them (compared with 22,000 for basketry and 92,000 for first aid).
New memberships at the American Philatelic Society have shrunk about 30% after peaking in the 1980s.
--DaCoot
Baltimore's Philatelic Society had their 75th annual stamp show did not have a lot of young collectors. But stamp collecting isn't over. Rarest stamps are increasing in value and the hobby is spreading abroad. But, in the U.S., philately is down. Membership in the largest stamp society continues to wane.
Billionaire Bill Gross, who owns the world's most-valuable private collection says, "It's not necessarily obvious that kids even know what a stamp is." Not surprising in these days of e-mailing and texting. He even gave $10,000,000 to build a new 12,000-square-ft. stamp exhibit at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Revenue at philatelic auctions is up. Collections worth $5-$10 million were almost unheard of before, but now there are several dozen.
Doing well in the world, but not so much at home. The market lacks young collectors to make it thrive. The Boy Scouts issue a merit badge for stamp collecting. In 2012 it issued 1,000 of them (compared with 22,000 for basketry and 92,000 for first aid).
New memberships at the American Philatelic Society have shrunk about 30% after peaking in the 1980s.
--DaCoot
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