Stamps
Amazing German FDC – Tag der Briefmarke 2020
I acquired an impressive German FDC recently, courtesy of a fellow collector in Germany. He posted a message on a stamp collecting forum about a special ...
New Mary Riter Hamilton stamp – Oct 28, 2020
Canada Post will honour Canadian artist Mary Riter Hamilton at the end of the month. Her 1919 painting Trenches of the Somme will appear on a permanent ...
Keeping an eye on 2 rare pioneer airmail lots at auction
Vance Auctions never disappoints, and their two pioneer airmail offerings are no exception. The auction is going on today, Oct 15, 2020 and I'm eager ...
Alcock and Brown – 1st terrifying Atlantic flight
The original Alcock and Brown article was published in 2008, when I purchased the Daily Mirror newspaper on display here. After 12 years, and the 100th ...
Early Austrian airmail & a great cancel
I rediscovered an early Austrian airmail gem while rooting through my collection, looking for something. It's a great little cover, primarily because ...
What are your essential stamp collecting tools?
Stanley Gibbons posted an interesting question on their Facebook page about essential stamp collecting tools: What tools do you use the most? A good magnifying ...
Maresch prices realised for the Apr 22/23 auction
Well, this was fascinating. I kept an eye on the Maresch & Son auction from earlier this week. I suggested in my post from the 21, the stamps might ...
2020 spring stamp auctions
The pandemic has many of the 2020 spring stamp auctions on hold. The few slated will be online only and no floor bidding. My favourite Canadian auction ...
Looking at an early mail scam
I stumbled across an interesting early mail scam while reading through supplements to the Canada Post Guide. I came across a reference to a scam that ...
Suzor-Cote #492i line from knee error – bonanza!
Sometimes you can look at a stamp over and over and not spot an error. This happened on the weekend when I posted a set of plate blocks on the Facebook ...
Canada’s last airmail stamp – Canada Geese in Flight
I have a classic airmail for you. Canada’s last airmail stamp issued 73 years ago on Sept 16, 1946. It was part of the post WW2 issues highlighting ...
Scotland’s Experimental Postage Packet
I’ve been sorting through random boxes, clearing stuff I’ve been hanging onto for no particular reason. You know the boxes, they go from move to move, ...
6 new Canadian stamps – celebrating Canadians in Flight
Canada Post’s latest release, Canadians in Flight honours 5 significant Canadians and Canadian creations. This has to be my favourite subjects - Canadian ...
Moon mail – anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing
It’s been 50 years since the Apollo Moon landing, and this little stamp captured the world’s excited glimpse of humans stepping out beyond earth. I ...
1937 Australia airmail cover to Austria – C3 & C4
Decided to share an early airmail from my collection. It’s a little ratty around the edges, but I love this ’37 Australian airmail cover. The Scotts ...
Canada Post’s gardenia stamps
Spring is in the air for stamp collectors, courtesy of Canada Post's gardenia stamp. Maybe, but not today. To help break up the winter doldrums and usher ...
Canada’s Bee Stamp 2018
I’m not sure if Canada Post will have a new bee stamp for International Bee Day for May 20th, but they issued a couple of interesting ones last year. ...
Why yes, you can find Love – 53°29′9.44″N 104°10′2.94″W
Nothing says romance and love like Valentine’s Day, right?. Unless you’re a stamp collector. Then Love can be found in Saskatchewan, Canada. That's ...
Oh what a beauty – Chalon head vignette for auction
Collectors of early Canadian (and British colonies) will recognise the phrase “Chalon head”. There is only one - the famous Queen Victoria Chalon ...
Collecting Canada’s new cannabis revenue stamp
Revenue collectors have a new stamp to look for with Canada's cannabis revenue stamps. The moment the Canadian government legalised marijuana, I knew ...
Diving into pioneer aviation with the amazing Antoinette Flyer
Originally published Oct 4 2018. Updated Oct 1, 2020 Updates include more reference links, updated details and additional information on pioneer aviation ...
Aero Club of Canada stamp & more
I'm back lurking around Vance Auction's October listings, this time looking at the airmails. Oh and be still my beating heart! The first offerings in ...
Psst – have a spare 8 grand for a slightly damaged postal cover?
Here's something you don't see every day: Have you figured out what it is? Here's a hint: Think Zeppelin mail. This chance to own a piece of history ...
Cancel hound alert: Canadian town cancels did very well at Sparks
Sparks Auctions has released realised prices for their May event. Just before the auction, I wrote about a couple of lots that were intriguing, but before ...
Update on WW1 poster #FWS1-4 at Sparks auction
The realised price sheet is up for the May 29th-30th, 2018 Sparks Auction #27 so I checked out the WW1 poster I wrote about a few weeks back. #FWS1-4 ...
USPS cool summer treat – scratch ‘n sniff stamps
The USPS is offering up a booklet of popsicle scratch n' sniff stamps to kick off the summer. On June 20th, the US post office will roll out new stamps ...
Sparks Auction gem – WW1 war saving poster up for grabs
I wrote about this World War I War Savings Stamps Poster back in 2015 Canada war revenue poster – Great War propaganda. I put it up as my wallpaper ...
Good value lots at Sparks early Canadian pence issue auction
Sparks Auctions in Ottawa, Ontario has 41 lots of early Canadian pence issues up for auction at the end of May. There are the usual "out of my league" ...
Newest Talman auction May 20th
I have a soft spot for John Talman auctions. Any time I've visited his offices in the past, John Talman has been a fountain of amazing information. He ...
What’s up – this month’s Vance auction
Time to ogle the latest Vance Auction catalogue for Wednesday, March 21, 2018!. A cursory look popped up dozens of gems. One of my favourite categories ...
Managing my stamp collection in a computer age – not what you expect
I look at computer based programs offered for stamp collectors and give them a whirl now and then. I'll go through a passionate period of "WOW, this is ...
RMS Nascopie salvaged mail – Vance Auctions offering
I look forward to ogling the latest auction catalogue from Vance Auctions. Their Aug 23, 2017 offering is now online and hosts the usual excellent offerings. ...
Well Hell – I live in the wrong country! Sandafayre Stamps
Doing an internet whip around the various auction houses to see what's happening and spotted this: Well, Hell. I guess Toronto is a bit too far away to ...
The possible sale of an icon – Stanley Gibbons on the auction block?
A BBC article passed by my desk yesterday afternoon that raised my eyebrows a bit - World's oldest stamp business Stanley Gibbons up for sale. SG and/or ...
Over 100 Zeppelin LZ 127 covers coming up for auction this month
I spotted a couple of interesting covers up for auction. If you’re a Zeppelin collector, Daniel F. Kelleher auction house might be worth a quick look. ...
A Canadian stamp that collectors dream of having – rare stamp emerged for auction
Canadian stamp collectors had a rare chance to see the first British Columbia & Vancouver Island stamp go to auction last week. Daniel F. Kelleher ...
Nifty present for stamp collectors – mail them a balsa plane
Have any airmail stamp collectors on your Christmas list? I've been lurking on the Suck UK website again and found the ultimate philately related gift. ...
Before drones – delightful oat driven parcel post mail
Parcel post mail is still here, despite constant chatter about replacing it with drones. Forecasters see the skies filled with drones dropping off orders. ...
Canada’s 1969 sad little stamp commemorating the 1919 transatlantic flight
Canadian stamp: First Transatlantic flight celebration 1919 issued June 13, 1969 .15c Scotts #494 / SG #636 #494i (dull florescent paper) Perf. 12 X 12.5 ...
The magnificent cork stamp from Portugal
How much time do you spend thinking about the little stopper in wine bottles? Most of us don’t think about it, beyond the fact it’s keeping our ...
BC Airways semi-official stamp & Canada’s first passenger plane crash
Buckle up stamp fans, time for a story about BC Airways and another foray into my favourite area - Canadian history and airmail. If you are an airmail ...
Toronto’s first post office, rebellion & a little Upper Canada history
Trivia time: Where is the first post office in Toronto located? 260 Adelaide Street East. It’s a small, lovingly restored building across the road ...
A little philately, climbing in Nepal & a trip down memory lane
Over Christmas I was rooting around my book shelf, debating whether to get rid of some old text books I’ve had hanging around since my Queen’s ...
North Borneo State – where I torture a bit of history & show a few stamps
Ready for a history lesson? Buckle up, this one gets confusing at times. Some of the world’s beautiful stamps came from the State of North Borneo. The ...
3 Rocket mail stamps & explosive packed tubes
Over the years, attempts at using new technology to deliver messages has been tried. There’s nothing new about co-opting technology to improve the speed ...
George V St Helena Cleft Rock Flaw
George V St Helena Colony Badge Cleft Rock Scotts # 79 doesn’t list flaws | SG # SG 97c St Helena is a tiny speck in the ocean, best known for it’s ...
Soruth 1868 – two stamps from a Princely State
Here are a couple of lovelies - Soruth 1868. I acquired them about a year ago at auction. Soruth (or Sorath, Junagadh, and Saurashtra ) was a small Princely ...
Canadian Small Queens – ink variations
While doing research on the Small Queens awhile ago, I ran into a couple of articles that listed what inks were used for the Small Queens. Problem is, ...
Queen Victoria – small queens
Not in a pithy mood lately so I'll just share some of my Small Queen's collection with you. I have a couple hundred - collected mostly for the various ...
Canada war revenue poster – Great War propaganda
BOBs, or Back of the Book stamps are a fun, and often over looked area of collecting. Revenues and war stamps are represented in my collection, but I’m ...
Territory of New Guinea airmail 1932
One of my favourite sets of stamps comes are the New Guinea airmails. The former German colonies were taken by Australian forces in WW1 and remained ...
Hungarian airmail – the great Turul
A couple more nifty Hungarian airmail stamps for today's offering - 1927-1930 airmails (Scott's C12-17). I'm missing C14, so I'll have to go hunting for ...
Hungarian Zeppelin Airmail – C24 C25
I recently acquired a small collection of Zeppelin Airmail stamps from a friend who fled Hungary during the '56 Uprising. When he was preparing to leave ...
Early French airmail
I don't own any of the very first French airmail stamps. They are a bit out of my price range. The first 2 airmail stamps were issued June 25, 1927 ...
Early Canadian Airmail Routes
I'm an inveterate collector of all things airmail - maps, stamps, tags, etiquettes, covers, pamphlets detailing airmail routes, especially Canadian airmail ...
Canada – 1859 5c beaver stamp & fancy cancels
I picked up a small set of the 1859 Canadian beaver stamp (Scott's #15) years ago. Top qualify ones were out of my budget range at the time, so I looked ...