Selling Advertising on Stamps

"Some say the U.S. should follow the lead of the many other countries that have privatized the post office. Short of that politically unlikely solution, about the only money-making strategy left is to follow Heinlein’s advice and sell the moon. Which is to say: It’s time for the Postal Service to monetize its most valuable tangible asset and offer advertising space on the 22 billion stamps it sells each year," writes Stephen L. Carter, a professor of law at Yale University, on the Bloomberg.com website.

Professor Carter says, "The idea isn’t entirely new. In 1981, the USPS proposed selling advertisements on the booklets holding stamps (not on the stamps themselves), an idea that went nowhere. Beginning in the late 19th century, several other nations, including Great Britain, began to allow advertising on the obverse side of stamps, as well as on what is known as the selvedge (the page edges that are left when you tear out the stamps)."

Now? Who knows? "A stamp bearing the Nike logo or images from 'Mad Men' might be a huge seller," suggests Carter. Maybe they could sell space on their vehicles as well?

To read the entire article, click here.

Belgian Chocolate Flavored Stamps

Thejournal.ie website asks "FEEL LIKE having chocolate at Easter in Belgium? Well, send a letter and really lick that chocolate-flavoured postal stamp.

According to the article the Belgian post office has issued 538,000 stamps "that have pictures of chocolate on the front – but the essence of cocoa oil in the glue at the back for taste and in the ink for smell."

Belgian stamp collector Marie-Claire Verstichel is quoted as saying while the taste was a bit disappointing, “they smell good.”

To read the entire article, click here.

Scouts Earn Their Stamp Collecting Merit Badge

Eleven Scouts graduated from my Stamp Collecting Merit Badge workshop today in Northridge, Calif. 

Scouts learned how to soak, hinge, and mount stamps. The found out about first day covers, where to get stamps, how to use tongs, preserving their collection and various types of albums. They also designed their very own stamp. 

Congratulations to all the Scouts and a big thank you to The American Philatelic Society, The Los Angeles Philatelic Society, The National Association of Stamp Dealers, and Mystic Stamps for providing materials and/or financial support.

For more on attending or putting on a Stamp Collecting Merit Badge workshop, click here.

Vatican Issues Stamps for the 'Sede Vacante'

The Euronews website reports, "The Pope may have left, but the tourists remain in the Vatican city to get their hands on the hottest souvenir going. A limited edition stamp for the  'sede vacante' has been issued by the Vatican post office."

Reporter Fabien Farge writes, "Marking the first papal resignation in 600 years, the stamp is expected to become especially valuable if postmarked on the first day. Designed by Daniela Longo it depicts an angel with two keys under a canopy. It is the seventh time that a stamp has been issued to mark the vacant see since the tradition began in 1939."

The stamps, shown above, cost the same as regular Vatican postal stamps which come in four denominations.The image on the stamps depicts an angel holding an umbrella and a set of crossed keys, the coat of arms for the Holy See during the Sede Vacante. A total of 200,000 such sets of stamps were printed.

To watch video about the new stamps, click here.

Preservationists Protest Sale of Historic Post Offices

"The Santa Monica [Calif.] post office, with its distinctive PWA Moderne style, is one of about 200 post offices around the country, dozens of them architecturally distinctive buildings, that the Postal Service has indicated it may choose to sell in coming years because of its financial problems, " writes reporter Robin Pogrebin the the Art and Design section of the New York Times.

According to the article, "Eleven historic post offices are already on the market in places like Yankton, S.D.; Gulfport, Miss.; Norwich, Conn.; and Washington. In many cases the buildings have not only been community hubs, but also remain among the most architecturally distinguished buildings in their towns, legacies of New Deal efforts to put America back to work."

When these post offices close, preservationists say, important public buildings become private preserves as they are refurbished into commercial spaces like high-end retail stores. Though many of the buildings’ exteriors are protected by local landmark laws, many of the interiors are not and developers tend to make changes like renovating lobbies, "pens Pogrebin.

Shown above, Josh Kornbluth, in character as Ben Franklin, speaking to protesters fighting the possible sale of a post office in Berkeley, Calif.

To read the entire article, click here.

Philatelic Quilt and Pillow

Cathe Holden of Petaluma, Calif. shares her creative ideas, crafty projects, original designs, artistic inspiration, product reviews and loads of free stuff (including how to make this postage stamp quilt and pillow for a cigar box doll bed) on her JustSomethingIMade.com website.

Illinois Stamp Dealer Featured in Paper

The Rasdale Dale Stamp Company of Westmont, Illinois is featured in an article that appeared in suburban Chicago's Daily Herald.

Kim Kellermann, the 55-year-old grandson and part of the third generation of family members running Rasdale Stamps is quoted in the piece as saying, ""Whether a collector focuses on 19th-century stamps from his ancestors' homeland or on the latest pop culture stamps featuring 'The Simpsons,' stamps help collectors understand a region, an era, politics and art."

He goes on to say, "I've never touted stamps as an investment. It's a hobby. It takes time. It takes patience. Instant gratification? There isn't that with stamps."

Reporter Burt Constable writes,"At Rasdale, Kellermann handles U.S. stamps, while his brother, Kevin Kellermann, 52, is a licensed auctioneer and expert in foreign stamps. Their sister, Kristin Maravelias, 49, who has a law degree and lives in Mount Prospect, manages the office and handles the accounting. Their mother, Joanne, still was employed in the family business in 2011 when 'she died working on her stamp collection' in her Lombard home..."

Shown above, Kim Kellermann in Rasdale's 7,800-square-foot warehouse with boxes of material for one of their stamp auctions.

To read the entire article, click here.

Free copy of "Postal Facts- 2013"

The U.S. Postal Service has released on-line a nifty little 24-page, color booklet filled with interesting information about what it does.

Titled "Postal Facts-2013" it includes the following sections...

• Size and Scope
• A Decade of Facts and Figures
• This Post Office Is Always Open — USPS.COM and USPS Mobile 
• History. Foundation. Art. Preservation 
• People. Community. Social Responsibility
• Postage Stamps 
• A Simpler Way to Ship 
• Innovation in the Mail 
• What the Postal Service Wants You to Know
• Postal Blue Goes Green 
• Innovative Technologies — Systems at Work 
• Information Technology 
• Security. Law Enforcement. Preserving the Trust 
• Forensics. Crime Scenes. Evidence.
• Postal Facts 2013 
• One Day in the Life of the U.S. Postal Service

Click here to download your free copy of "Postal Facts-2013."

Recycling Center Helps 'Stamps for the Wounded'

Paris, Tennessee's Post-Intelligencer reports two employees of the Henry County Recycling Center have been awarded certificates of appreciation from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames XVII Century, and  Daughters of American Colonists. for their work helping wounded veterans by providing stamps for Stamps For The Wounded program.

The center retrieved stamps from recycled envelopes, delivering them to the three local groups, who then passed them along to Stamps for the Wounded.

According to the article, "Stamps for the Wounded, in its 71st year, is a volunteer group that collects millions of stamps and related materials and gives them to wounded veterans for stamp collecting and stamp-based crafts. The organization was founded in 1942 by stamp collector Ernie Kehr."

Kehr had philatelic columns in numerous newspapers, including the New York World-Telegram, the New York Herald Tribune, and Long Island’s Newsday. On radio and television, he promoted philately in over two thousand shows. He wrote several books, with the most popular one being “The Romance of Stamp Collecting” published in 1947.

Shown above, representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames XVII Century, and  Daughters of American Colonists help package stamps at the Henry County Recycling Center.

For more on this story, click here.