Ron Wood, Rolling Stone and stamp collector

In the October 2006 edition of Scott Stamp Monthly, Editor Michael Baadke writes about celebrity stamp collectors in The Editor's Forum.

One of those mentioned is The Rolling Stones guitarist and recovering alcoholic Ron Wood.

According to a report on the ContacMusic.Com last April, the veteran rocker admitted he found life without booze "boring", but his new passion for collecting and painting rare postage pieces has got him hooked.

The site says, "A source told British newspaper The Sun, "He is fascinated by it. Since he's out of rehab and trying to stay on the straight and narrow he has to find things to occupy his brain. He gets assistants to go to specialist shops trying to buy the best stamps. He's very proud of his collection."

Shown above is a 2003 minature sheet from Austria showing all the band members. Wood is pictured in the lower right hand corner stamp.

According to a Rolling Stones Website maintained by Wolfgang Morscher, the minature sheet are the first stamps in Austria's postal history in several aspects:

- They are the first stamps in Austrian postal history with living persons on it, besides the Pope or the president.

- They are the first stamps of the Rolling Stones that was personally authorised by the group.

- They are the first stamps in Austrian postal history that uses the word "Austria" (instead of "Österreich")

To visit Wolfgang's Website and more on the Austrian Rolling Stones minature sheet, click here.

Meter stamp catalog

According to the Meter Stamp Society, the soft-bound,1300 page, "The International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog" by Joel A. Hawkins & Richard Stambaugh is the first comprehensive worldwide meter stamp catalog published in over 50 years, and contains a great number of stamps cataloged nowhere else.

The book is lavishly illustrated with over 6500 figures that simplify type identification, and most stamps are valued in US dollars.

The catalog includes a tremendous amount of meter stamp history beginning with the first issue of 1897 up to the turn of the 21st century. The emissions of over 300 stamp issuing entities are covered.

Also included are helpful references and collecting tips that will benefit even the most advanced stamp collectors, postal historians, and stamp dealers.

To order and learn more about meter stamps, click here.

Supporting our troops

The Hilltop Times (Hill AFB, UT) reports the Postal Service has made it easier for families and loved ones to stay in touch with U.S. troops stationed overseas.

USPS offers free “care kits” that include five small boxes, five large boxes, five Tyvek envelopes and a roll of tape — all labeled for Priority Mail — as well as Customs forms and envelopes. The article noted that those shipping must still pay postage.

The kits can be ordered by calling 1-800-610-8734.

According to the paper, "When calling the 800 number to order the packaging, select option one — “Express Mail, Priority Mail or Global Express Guaranteed products — and ask a customer service agent for CAREKIT04 or military kit. You will be asked to leave your name, address, and phone number and the kit should arrive in seven to 10 days."

To read the entire article, click here.

For more tips on packing, addressing and shipping items to U.S. troops, click here.

Blue Mauritius

Released earlier this month, Helen Morgan's Blue Mauritius: The Hunt for the World’s Most Valuable Stamps looks like a must read anyone interested in a good philatelic adventure.

It is the story of some of the world's most fascinating stamps - the 1847 'Post Office' stamps of Mauritius.

According to the British Library Philatelic Collections Web site, "Altogether, only fourteen copies of the 1d orange-red and twelve copies of the 2d deep blue are known to exist today. These stamps are considered as some of the most famous and important of all the philatelic rarities."

For more on Blue Mauritius: The Hunt for the World’s Most Valuable Stamps, click here.

For more on the 1847 'Post Office' stamps of Mauritius, click here.

Postmark Katrina

In a first-ever television event of its kind, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has teamed with The Weather Channel to produce an extraordinary story.

Postmark Katrina pays tribute to the heroic struggles of Postal Inspection Service and Postal Service employees to restore mail service to residents of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Airing tonight, Sunday,August 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with an encore performance tomorrow, Monday, August 28, this episode of Storm Stories follows Postal Inspectors, Postal Police Officers, and other Postal Service employees, many of whom were themselves homeless, as they overcame overwhelming obstacles to safeguard mail from devastated areas and deliver it to the needy victims of this unprecedented natural disaster.

For more on Postmark Katrina, click here.

Faroe Islands

Where in the world are the Faroe Islands?

If you don't know, surf on over to Postverk Føroya (Faroese Stamps).

According to the Faroe Island Study Group, the Faroe Islands have a wealth of interest for the philatelist. The Faroes have issued their own postage stamps since 1975 but the islands' postal history goes back much further.

Provisional overprints from 1919 and the 1940s, bisects, wartime postal markings (the islands were occupied by British forces during the Second World War) and a range of postmarks with Danish and, after 1962, Faroese place names, all add to the fascinating philatelic history.

For more on the postal history of the Faroe Islands, click here.

Swiss Army knives

Shown above are two stamps Switzerland issued earlier this summer honoring the venerable Swiss Army knife made by Victorinox. The one on the left is the first model that was produced. On the right is one of the 100 different models manufactured today.

According to the Swiss Post's Focus on Stamps,Victorinox, Europe’s biggest knife factory, turns out approximately 25,000 “Swiss Army Knives” every day.

Victorinox has been supplying the Soldier’s Knife to the Swiss Army for over a century. In 1909, after the death of his mother, entrepreneur Karl Elsener chose her first name –Victoria – as his trademark.

With the advent of the newly invented material stainless steel in Switzerland in 1921, the word “inox” (the international term for stainless steel) was added on the Victoria brand stainless-steel knives,and the combination of these two words produced the current trademark and corporate name of Victorinox.

To see more Swiss Army knives, click here.

Rembrandt booklet

The Associated Press and Canada.com report collectors are snapping up a commemorative book of stamps after Dutch postal authorities suspended the print run because it copied a German stamp without permission.

According to the report, "The offending stamp, featuring a portrait of Rembrandt's first wife Saskia, was part of a booklet published by TPG Post to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch painter's birth on July 15."

TPG spokesman Toby Ellsen is quoted as saying "TPG had an agreement with German postal authorities to create a stamp with a picture of the German stamp. Instead, TPG inadvertently reproduced the German stamp for the Dutch version."

Only 45,000 copies of the booklet were printed. Customers who bought the booklet could return it and get their money back, "but as you can imagine, there is probably nobody who has done so because the market value is five to six times the regular value," Ellsen said.

Copies of the booklet (shown above) are being offered on eBay by BookletKing.

Click here to view their listing along with additional information, photos and background.

Sir Rowland Hill

Mark Andrews of Expressandstar.com wrote a nice piece on Sir Rowland Hill as the first major changes to the British postal system since 1840 took effect this week (see my post of July 31).

Hill was the driving force behind British postal reform and the adoption of the Penny Postage Act which was passed in August, 1839. The Penny Black, the world's first pre-paid postage stamp, was introduced in May, 1840 as one of the reform measures.

Hill was born in December, 1795. He was the third of six sons born to schoolteacher Thomas Wright Hill, and his wife Sarah.

According to Andrews, it was the fear of the postman which left its mark on young Rowland and later inspired him to come up with the idea of having the sender pay the postage with a stamp.

"At that time, it was the recipient of mail rather than the sender who was charged for the service, and the fees depended on distance. On many occasions Rowland witnessed the burden the high charges placed on the poor, and had seen his mother in fear of a letter arriving with heavy postage to be paid. On one occasion he was sent to sell a bag of rags to pay for the postage," writes Andrews.

Andrews also mentions that another one of Hill's lesser known reforms was persuading people to install a slit in their doors for the mail, so the postmen did not have to knock on each one individually.

Sir Rowland Hill died in August, 1879, and was given a full state funeral. There is a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey, and a statue of him (shown above) outside the Town Hall in his home town of Kidderminster. There's also a pub called The Penny Black in his honor.

To read the entire article, click here.

Revenue stamps to be auctioned off

Associated Press is reporting that The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum is planning its second auction of excess revenue stamps on Sept. 30 at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York.

According to AP, at the first auction, held in 2005, some 35,000 revenue stamps were sold raising more than $3 million for the museum, considerably more than had been expected.

Museum registrar Ted Wilson is quoted in the report as saying, "When the Smithsonian acquired these revenue stamps, it was with the intention that they would be made available to the public and that the proceeds of any sale would be used for the benefit of the national philatelic collection."

The auction will be conducted by Matthew Bennett International.

Shown above is one of rare items that will be auctioned off - the 1949 $4 Wine (RE175), mint block of four. It is the only recorded block of four of this revenue stamp known to exist.

For more on the auction and photos of some of the other items in it, click here.

How to Quilt an American Stamp

Over the weekend Life magazine ran a three-page article, How to Quilt an American Stamp, on the women of Gee's Bend, Alabama and how the new stamps (see my post of August 8), being issued next Friday, came to be.

There is also a interesting side-bar article and photographs on how the stamps were printed.

Shown above is Lorreta Pettway, who created one of the quilts featured on the stamps. According to the article, Gee's Bend quilts are made largely freehand with few guidelines. The shape, color, and design are left to the maker and reflect a certain mood.

The article points out that Pettway's quilt feature blues and grays in which sadness pervades, hinting at a hard life.

Life magazine is now distributed with certain weekend newspapers around the country. It is not available for purchase by itself and there is no on-line link.

However, I will be glad send a copy to anyone who sends me a #10, self-addressed envelope along with a $1 to cover copying, postage and handling.

If you live outside the United States, you can just send me some nice, recent, mint commemoratives (worth a $1 or so)from your country along with a self-addressed envelope and we'll call it even.

Send your request to:

Stamp Collecting Round-up
Att: Don Schilling
P.O. Box 712165
Bunker Hill Station,
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Grinnell Missionaries

One of the longest-running controversies among stamp collectors has made the main stream media.

The New York Times reports,"Ken Lawrence and Richard C. Celler, both respected for their expertise in 19th-century stamps, have found evidence that a group of stamps long held to be fakes may be genuine and potentially worth as much as $10 million."

Times reporter Matthew Healey writes, "The discovery concerns one of the early Hawaiian stamps known as the Missionaries, printed by the islands’ nascent postal service in 1851 largely for correspondence from missionary settlers to the United States."

According to Healey, "A group of about 80 Missionary stamps was found in 1918 by a Los Angeles schoolteacher and stamp collector, George Grinnell, who believed the stamps were genuine and sold some of them to a New York dealer for $65,000. One of the dealer’s clients compared Mr. Grinnell’s stamps with genuine Missionaries and declared them fake, because they differed in details from the printed design and postmarks. In a 1922 court case, a judge agreed that the Grinnell stamps were forgeries."

Healey goes on to say Mr. Grinnell and his descendants have spent decades to prove otherwise.

Shown above in a New York Times photo is a Grinnell Missionary and cancellation (top)thought to be geniune and along with another copy which is reputed to be a fake.

To read the entire article, click here.

Advertising Walk of Fame

USPS's NewsLink reports that the USPS advertising slogan,“We deliver for you,” has been nominated for election to the Advertising Walk of Fame.

Last year's slogan winners were General Electric's “Imagination at work,” and Hallmark's “When you care enough to send the very best.”

According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA),anyone can vote for any of 26 nominees. Two winning slogans will be announced during “Advertising Week,” at the AAAA’s annual convention being held Sept. 25-29.

The winners will be immortalized with a sidewalk plaque (similar to the one shown above)on the Advertising Walk of Fame which is located on Madison Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in New York City.

If the Postal Service wins can a special ad slogan stamp be far behind?

To vote, click here.

Electronic duck stamps

Up to now hunters and stamp collectors could only purchase federal duck stamps at a U.S. Post Office or at a local sporting goods store.

This may be about to change according to Mike Rahn, a PineAndLakes.com columnist.

Rahn writes, "Thanks to recently passed legislation to create a pilot electronic duck stamp program. This three-year trial program, set to begin in 2007, will allow 15 states to apply for the right to participate. Hunters in the chosen states will be able to purchase Federal duck stamps by phone or by computer with a credit card number - presumably also at electronic license outlets. A paper stamp will then be sent by mail to the purchaser. In the meantime, the electronically-purchased validation, or "e-stamp," will be valid for 45 days."

He adds, "If you hunt ducks or geese, this stamp had better be on your license. It had better be signed across its face properly, too; no signatures in barely-visible ink, or tiny writing strategically placed to avoid covering the stamp's artwork, as I have been told directly by an examining federal warden."

Shown above is the 2005 - 2006 Hooded Mergansers - Federal Duck Stamp by Mark Anderson.

To read the entire article, click here.

To view the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Duck Stamp Collection, click here.

Post offices at airports

Apparently there's a move to get postal kiosks and automated postal centers at the nation's airports as quickly as possible due to the number of personal items no longer allowed to be carried on.

Postal employee Janet Blair, Kearny, NJ writes in the USPS NewsLink, "Manned USPS kiosks at airports should be created as soon as possible. With all the security issues confusing passengers with what is an allowable carry-on, many are forced to leave their possessions at the airport. If passengers knew an outlet was available to mail their possessions back home, they would gladly use our convenient services at the airport. Banned items left at airports are big business."

Shown above is a 1982 stamp (SC 2022) showing Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.

According to FreeWeb's Airports on Stamps website, it is the only U.S. stamp depicting an airport. To see other airports on stamps and postal stationary, click here.

Year of the Three Kings

Royal Mail will issue a special miniature sheet on August 31 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Year of the Three Kings.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, George V died in January 1936, and his eldest son, Edward, the popular prince of Wales, came to the throne as Edward VIII. Before his coronation, the king announced his intention of marrying an American, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, as soon as her second divorce became absolute. Parliament and the dominions' governments disapproved. Edward abdicated on Dec. 11, 1936, and his brother, the duke of York, was proclaimed king as George VI.

Shown above is a spectacular cacheted cover being offered by British First Day Covers featuring the minature sheet with stamps from the reigns of each monarch and a £3 definitive stamp featuring the Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II along with the first day cancellation.

All That!

USPS NewsLink reports that Delohn Collins, son of Somerville, OH, Postmaster Steve Collins, is a member of ALL THAT, a dance group that is about to become famous.

"That’s because this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET, the group will perform for all the marbles (and $1 million) on the NBC Television show, “America’s Got Talent.”

Delohn is pictured above, second from the left.

Since the public decides who will win the championship, the word has gone out for USPS employees to show their support for one of their own.

Us stamp collectors should do the same.

Paul McCartney – stamp designer

According to UK's Stamp Magazine,"In July 2002 the tiny island in the Irish Sea – the Isle of Man – sprang a philatelic surprise with a set of stamps designed by the musician Sir Paul McCartney. Philatelic bureau officials on the island had discovered that the former Beatle had spent some time on the island as a boy, and promptly wrote to him to suggest the possibility of a stamp design. To their delight McCartney agreed."

"McCartney spent some time studying stamp designs from around the world and, in the end, plumped for a simple design as he felt that other issues he’d seen had more impact when they were kept simple."

The result was six floral style designs which are entitled ‘Happy Memories of the Isle of Man’ which are shown above.

Proceeds from the sale of the issue have been donated to the Adopt A Minefield UK anti-landmine charity which is fronted by McCartney and his second wife Heather Mills-McCartney.

VIP visits Cayman Islands philatelic bureau

Shown above is British Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell presenting Cayman Islands Postmaster General Sheena Glasgow (far right) with a poster of the Queen's 80th birthday (Jubilee) celebration. He recently visited the British territory which is located just west of Jamaica in the Carribean.

While there, Rosindell was also presented with Cayman Islands' Aquatic Treasures stamps and miniature sheet from Cayman Islands Philatelic Manager, Karen McField (pictured on the left).

According to Cayman NetNews, Rosindell is an avid stamp collector.

The website quotes Rosindell as saying he enjoys collecting stamps, especially those with the Royals or British overseas territories themes, and added that stamps issued by the Cayman Islands Postal Service impressed him.

"Cayman Islands stamps are beautiful. Stamps are wonderful teaching tools. They can teach children about geography, culture and looking at details," Rosindell said.

For a closer look at the Aquatic Treasures issue Rosindell received, click here.

For more on the Cayman Islands, click here.

Perfins

According to the Filahome Stamp Collecting Encyclopaedia, firms and governmental departments sometimes punched holes in their stock of stamps to prevent theft. These holes can form letters or an image.

"At first the name of the firm was printed on the stamps. Later, after the invention by the Englishman John Sloper of a machine to punch holes in stamps, mainly punched holes were applied for this purpose."

"Till 1950 perfins were regarded as worthless by serious stamp collectors. The opinion was that the holes made by firms damaged the stamps. Nowadays these stamps are considered to be interesting additions to a stamp collection."

To learn more about perfins, click here.

Canada honors graphic designers

Next week, Canada will issue a rather unusual stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada.

The design features a stylized lower case “g” that also forms a unique graphic of a beaver, a treasured Canadian symbol and the subject of Canada’s very first postage stamp according to a Canada Post press release.

If you look closely, you'll see the orgranization's initials "GDC" together with "50".

David Coates, one of three designers who collaborated on the artwork, is also quoted as saying, “When you first look at it, you see simple lines, you see the type treatment. But then you look closer and you see the other levels, you recognize the iconic aspects. That’s what design is about.”



To read the entire press release, click here.

Stamp market up because of Washington 2006

Randy Neil writng in his MarketView column at Stamps.net reports, "Dealers and collectors involved in the commercial end of the hobby should be watching the philatelic marketplace more closely than usual in the wake of the most successful international stamp show ever held. If history is any indication, the stamp market will enjoy a period of better-than-normal growth and more activity for a number of months following this great event."

As a result of Washington 2006 (and the massive media attention it received) Neil feels, the stamp market has received a "major shot in the arm."

"Because dealer stocks have been decently depleted---because of this high demand---and the demand on the part of collectors remains at a spiked level, we are going to witness higher prices and even more increased demand for good quality, better-priced stamps and covers."

To read his entire column, click here.

Jewish War Veterans

The Palm Beach Post reports that the Jewish War Veterans west of Boca Raton, Florida are in need of used stamps for hospitalized veterans across the country.

It’s a pastime that allows veterans to exercise their motor skills and imagination, said Marty Kaufman, founder and former chairman of the national stamp program. Some veterans use the stamps to make collages or decorate plastic bottles; others collect them.

“One of the worst things a person has in the hospital is boredom,” Kaufman said. “With stamps, they are physically working with their hands and minds... creating a brotherhood. If a person is shy and has no interests, this can create an interest.”

The stamps should be cut off envelopes, but do not have to be removed from the paper. Soaking stamps off paper and sorting them into categories is part of the therapy.

Since 1991, JWV has collected nearly 10 million stamps from corporations, private collectors and individuals...including a box from San Quentin State Prison.

Shown above is an interesting optical illusion that one of the veterans made with donated stamps.

Canceled stamps can be mailed to Bill Ruchman, JWV of the United States, Snyder-Tokson Post 459, 1021 Yarmouth B, Boca Raton, FL 33434.

To read the entire story, click here.

Gee's Bend quilts

The Montgomery Advertiser of Montgomery, Alabama quotes Derry Noyes, one of the Postal Service's six art directors, as saying, "The minute I saw the Gee's Bend quilts, I thought they were fantastic. If these aren't American treasures, I don't know what is."

Noyes said the difficult part was choosing just 10 from so many wonderful quilts.

According to the paper, the tradition of quilting in Gee's Bend (a rural community southwest of Selma,Alabama) was passed down from generation to generation by African Americans who were descended from slaves.

"The fact that they made them with the materials they had available to them and came up with patterns that were lively, fresh and innovative just bowled me over," said Noyes.

Part of the American Treasures series, commemorative stamps depicting 10 Gee's Bend quilts will be issued Aug. 24 and will be available nationwide the next day.

To read the entire article,New stamps Cut From Old Cloth,
click here.

For more on the quilts of Gee's Bend, click here.

Bottled water on stamps

I was sorting through some stamps the other day when I came across this interesting one from Fiji. It caught my eye because it looked like an advertisment for the bottled water I sometimes drink.

The stamp is, in fact, part of a 2002 set of four (SC 967-970) promoting Fiji Natural Artesian Water.

It was surprising to me to learn that Fiji bottled water actually comes from Fiji and, according to Pacific Magazine, "is poised to surpass national revenues in Fiji from gold production, fisheries and the sugar industry."

The magazine reports that since the first quarter of 2002, Fiji Water has been the second largest imported bottled water into the U.S. by revenue and by volume.

Fiji Water is bottled at the source in a state-of-the-art plant sitting atop a gigantic aquifer, volcanic rocks rich with minerals that have stored water from rainfall some 450 years ago.

To learn more about the stamps and the water, click here.

Buried treasure

Nice write-up in Southern Oregon's Mail Tribune by Glenn Paterson who, while visiting his grandmother in Florida, was given his mother's stamp album (shown in photo) from the 1940s when she was a girl.

After carefully scanning pictures of each stamp into his laptop, he decided to go to Washington 2006 to find out if the album contained any "buried treasure."

There he met Jacques Schiff.

For the rest of the story, click here.

George Tsunis and his philatelic Harley

According to the USPS NewsLink, George Tsunis wouldn’t dream of missing Monday’s American Motorcycles stamp dedication.

He’s the owner of the 1965 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide that USPS used as a model for one of its four motorcycle stamps. The dedication is set for Aug. 7, when The Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club kick-starts the 66th rendition of its Black Hills Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD.

Tsunis’ Electra Glide (which is shown above along with Tsunis in an official USPS photo) is in mint condition. It’s one of several antiques in his Harley collection, which includes Knuckleheads, Panheads and Shovel heads dating back to 1936.

“I’m so excited one of my bikes is commemorated on a stamp,” Tsunis said. “I wish the Postal Service issued a motorcycle stamp every year.”

After the ceremony, Tsunis — with the owners of the three other antique motorcycles featured in the USPS stamps — will be on hand to sign autographs and to discuss their bikes at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, located in the town’s Old Post Office building.

For more photos and information on the vintage bikes featured in the American Motorcycles stamps, click here.

Disabled Collector's Correspondence Club

The Disabled Collector's Correspondence Club (DCCC) was formed in May, 1991 to offer disabled stamp collectors an opportunity to communicate with each other and to share their philatelic interests.

According to their Web site, the group has over 80 members and issues a newsletter, Stampabilities , at least four times a year with member profiles and articles pertaining to philately. It also has a sales and exchange program.

The DCCC is International Society of WorldWide Stamp Collectors (ISWSC) Associate Club #2 and American Philatelic Society (APS) Affiliate #214, and American Topical Society (ATA) Affiliate #88.

To visit their Web site, click here.

Hawai'i Post and surfboard mail

On August 24 2002, 500 covers were produced by and carried by "Surfboard Mail". Each cover had a cachet along with a special postmark and $3 local surfing stamp.

For the past 10 years Hawai'i Post has been picking up and delivering urgent documents and packages weighing up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) anywhere in Waikiki, O'ahu. They have also been issuing a variety of colorful and interesting
stamps.

Throughout their website the word " Hawai'i" has what looks like an apostrophe between the last 2 letters. Apparently this is the correct spelling in the Hawaiian language. The apostrophe is actually called a "glottal stop". The glottal stop is used as a pause and also to differentiate words. For example, Lana'i is the name of a Hawaiian island. Lanai (without a glottal stop) means a balcony.

To visit their web site, click here.

Carter announces candidacy for APS president

Dr. Nicholas G. Carter of Bethesda, Maryland, the American Philatelic Society's Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors since 2003, has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for APS president. The election will take place in early 2007 with the term running for two years.

A graduate of both Harvard and MIT, Carter's 37 year career as an international economist and management specialist took him to many parts of the world, especially throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He retired from a senior position with The World Bank in 1998 after 32 years of service, and then spent 5 years as an independent consultant.

Carter is a 40 year member of the APS and a third-generation stamp collector. His grandfather was Postmaster of The Gambia in West Africa. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London, and belongs to a number of APS affiliates, including the West Africa Study Circle, United States Stamp Society, The Classics Society, the Collectors Club of New York, the American First Day Cover Society and the Great Britain Collector's Club and a variety of other societies.

Click here to see the Carter for President web site.

Making friends at the post office

In the latest edition of Linn's, U.S. Notes columnist John M. Hotchner writes you can make a contribution to the future of the stamp collecting hobby by giving your Linn’s to your local postal window clerk.

He says, "Tell them that you want to share your Linn’s in order to help them understand the hobby and how important the U.S. Postal Service is to it. Because much of the content is not time-sensitive, I know that even copies a few weeks old are appreciated, even months old."

Hotchner points out that postal clerks often look at collectors in an unfavorable light. By passing on your old stamp newspapers and magazines, you are making friends at the post office and promoting the hobby at the same time.

"It costs you nothing but the effort, and it might create good will for you by promoting a dialogue with those who serve your postal and collecting needs."