Memorial Day 2013

Remember the men and women that gave their lives in service to their country today and everyday.

To search the Vietnam Memorial Wall, click here.

Borneo Collector Likes Stamps and Standing in Line

The Borneo Post reports, "It was the trend of pen pal letter-writing in yesteryears that gave local antique collector Lucas Johnny a boost to continue with his hobby of collecting stamps since his childhood days. He started on stamps since he was seven years old in 1953 during his school days."

Lucas, shown above, is quoted as saying, "My interest to collect stamps actually started after I was encouraged by my primary school teacher and continued my hobby up to secondary school at Methodist School Sibu."

According to the article, "Currently, he is ‘sharing’ his stamp collection by holding an exhibition at Pustaka Miri which started on May 6 until end of this month. He explained that the hobby of stamp-collecting was a popular hobby back in the 1960s and 1970s."

"Meanwhile, Lucas is also involved in the effort to break the record for the longest philately line at Miri Civic Centre on May 25. The event, which part of the events to mark the 8th Miri City Day is organised by Pustaka Miri and Miri City Council (MCC). In order to be eligible for the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR), the philately line has to be more than 300 metres," the article goes on to say.

To read the entire article, click here.

Boy Becomes Swiss Gaurd Because of Postage Stamp

The Catholic News Service reports, "One young man’s dream of becoming a Swiss Guard began with a postage stamp."

Michael Odermatt is quoted in the article that "when he was a small child, his godfather gave him a stamp depicting the ornately dressed papal soldier and I was fascinated by that image and wanted to know everything about the Swiss Guard.” 

According to Wikipedia, "Only unmarried Swiss males of the Catholic faith - historically, mainly from the four original Swiss cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Luzern) and Valais - are eligible for service. Moreover, they must all be between 19 and 30 years of age, at least 174 cm tall and must have fulfilled their basic military training in the Swiss Army." 

Shown above, 2005 Swiss stamp showing members of the Swiss Guard. 

To read the entire article, click here.

Happy Mother's Day

Shown here is a Mother's Day stamp issued by Austria on May 1, 1935 (SC#376).

It features a painting by J. Danhauser titled Mother's Love and was engraved by Hans Ranzoni.

To see some other stamps engraved by Ranzoni, click here and scroll down.

Stamp Catalogue Prices Are Misleading

Britain's Guardian reports, "Stamps valued in professional catalogues at hundreds of pounds are fetching just a few quid on auction sites. But local philately clubs are still thriving."

Reporter Patrick Collinson quotes airline pilot Paul Sanderson who back in the 1960s "amassed a sizeable collection of mint or near-perfect British stamps" as saying...

"We are told that postage stamps are a good investment, and this may well be true for very old rare stamps. However, when it comes to less rare stamps we should treat Stanley Gibbons' catalogue values with a large pinch of salt, as in many cases they appear to be absurdly high. I have been selling some of my stamps and the prices raised have been a fraction of their catalogue values."

John Baron, chair of the Association of British Philatelic Societies is also quoted in the piece.

He advises collectors to regard the Gibbons catalogue as a guide to what is available rather than the real market price. "I had a text just this morning from a major collector. He says he takes the Stanley Gibbons price and divides it by between three and 10 so he knows what to expect. It's only if you go over £1,000 or so that the prices become more reliable."

According to a spokeswoman for Stanley Gibbons, "The catalogue is a guide to values at the higher end of the market. What your stamps fetch is all about the quality of the items – whether they're mint, the quality of the colour, the perforations, the condition of the gum, to how clearly and centrally a postmark has been stamped. It is a common fallacy that the prices in our catalogues show what a stamp is 'worth' should you wish to sell it. They are, instead, the price at which Stanley Gibbons will sell a fine example of the stamp in question."

To read the entire article, click here.

NY Man Pedals to Post Offices Around Nation

The Associated Press reports, a northern New York man is bicycling around the lower 48 states in a quest to visit the most eastern, southern, western and northern post offices.

According to the AP, "...67-year-old Floyd Lampart of Lake Clear left his home outside Saranac Lake on April 4 and rode to Lubec, Maine, home to the easternmost post office in the nation.

"He then headed south, and arrived at the post office in Key West, Fla., earlier this week. Key West is the southernmost point in the U.S.

"Lampart plans to pedal to San Diego, then head up the Pacific Coast to La Push, Wash., to visit the most western continental U.S. post office. Then he'll go to the northern-most post office in Angle Inlet, Minn., before heading home."

Annual USPS Food Drive This Weekend

This Saturday, the U.S. Postal Service will conduct its 21st annual  "Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.

Washington state's Yakima Herald reports, "The food drive, which the USPS says is the largest single-day food collection event in the country, aims to provide relief for the nearly 50 million people in the U.S. who struggle with hunger. That’s about 1 in 6 people."

To donate to the food drive, community members can leave a bag of nonperishable food at their mailbox or wherever the letter carrier normally delivers their mail. Local carriers will pick up the food throughout the day and bring it to the food bank. 

According to the article, "Last year, the drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food, making it the ninth consecutive year that brought in at least 70 million pounds. In its 20 years so far, Stamp Out Hunger has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food."

Acceptable nonperishable food items include canned soup, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, canned meats and fish, pasta, rice and boxed goods such as cereal. 

Joining the Postal Service in this annual effort are the National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Carriers Association, AFCIO, Feeding America, United Way and Campbell Soup. All food and donations collected will go directly to local charities and food pantries associated with the individual Post Offices.

For more on the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive, click here.