About me
Image of me...
Hi,
I’m Keijo Kortelainen, the “casual stamp collector” behind all the stories of Stamp Collecting Blog.
I’m a 30+ years old family man, small business owner (in B2B consulting & training services) and above all, a stamp collector, from Sumiainen, Finland.
I have collected stamps since the mid 1980’s – sometimes more, sometimes less passionately. Like most collectors I have started with wholeworld, but then specialized to my own country (Finland)… After few years with Finland stamps, I swiched back to wholeworld collecting as it is simply much more fun. And unlike most advanced wholeword collectors, I collect all eras – from classics to modern.
If you want to get in touch with me, just leave a comment / message to some blog entry and I will response you in one way or another… You can also get in touch with me trough StampBoards.com, FaceBook, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn and several other online communities.
About Stamp Collecting Blog
I started Stamp Collecting Blog in late January 2009. It’s my “personal hobby project” without any timelines or goals… I write new posts when (and if) I have the time, or a good story to share.
In March 2010 the site has about 4,000 monthly unique readers (about 150 of whom subscribe the newsletter or feed), 270 posts and roughly 800 reader responses/comments.
Hello!
I have the complete collection of stamps from 1961 to 1991. What exactly are you interested in?
Thanks, Alex
Hi Alex,
I took the liberty of editing your message to remove links to your “selling page”… I think I’ve written enough many times that “NO commercials and NO exchange ads (or similar)” to user responses. >:o
But to make this discussion worth something… If you (or anyone else) has a specific interest to promote their personal/business website on this blog, please leave a contact request (with your email) that you’d like to discuss about advertising possibilities.
best,
-keijo-
Dear Keijo,
I was reading your web site about rare Austrian stamps and found something in my collection inherited from my father. It is of a very early Austrian orange embossed oval imperforated 5 Kreuzer, hinged sadly, but appears to be mint although a little grubby… from your pages it is a profile (looking right) of Emporer Franz Joseph. I do not know if it is original, have no certificates etc and am a starting amateur at this so your advice is sought on the best appraoch to selling and realising the maximum potential for this, if indeed it has some value. I also do not have access to a Stanley Gibbons… so my apologies if this is of no worth.
[message edited by admin/keijo]
John Williamson
Hi John,
Without an image, there is no way to tell anything specific. The easiest way to show the item for me (and everyone else reading this blog) is upload it some photosharing site (like Photobucket, Flickr or Google Picasa) and share the URL/address of the image file.
best,
-keijo-
Hi Keijo, good idea! I have loaded it to my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnpw22/
John
Hi John,
and thank you.
For starters, I can say that is is not a postage stamp. The design, nominal value and color don’t match to anything listed with stamp catalogs. And in addition it is cut to shape (round/oval) with scissors.
Very likely it is cutout from postal stationary (cover). A lot of these were cut to shape by collectors of the old days . If so, then it’s not likely to contain any large value.
best,
-keijo-
I wonder if you could send me your excel template.
Thanks
Hi Paul,
please check your mail for template and instructions.
best,
-keijo-
Hi Keijo,
Great story on how you got started with this blog etc.
I was wondering if there could be a topic on New Zealand Stamps as in over far right on Browse by topic, I would be happy to supply some stamp photo’s and some info if you wish.
Please let me know.
Happy Stamp Collecting,
Gerard Kay.
Hi Gerard,
it’s possible, but I’m not giving out any timelines (or more specific plans). But some day… As for photos, I like to display items from my personal collection. So far I’ve “bend” this rule only twice while referring to “big $$$ worldwide rarities” (like the Austrian Red Mercury).
best,
-keijo-
Hi to you,
I would like to see a Browse by topic for New Zealand Stamps and also Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and Ross Dependency. Is all of this or some of this possible, I can supply some information on all if you would like, but I am sure that there are many other people who collect these countries, so what can you do for us all.
Kind regards,
Gerard.
Hi Gerard,
please see my above reply for your (previous) wish of same/similar topics on part of NZ.
But small oceanic islands / countries are something that I have none or very few items in my collection. Yes, I’d love to make an article of Tonga’s banana-shaped stamps (or Kings of Tonga), but with one or two stamps in my collection it is pretty hard…So any future articles of these are entirely dependent on IF I manage to get any interesting stamps in used condition to my collection (a very precise hint for anyone willing to try the stamp exchange
)
best,
-keijo-
Question:
I am just a collector, no website. May I submit a photo to your website for help in identifying stamps? If so, how? I find no information on your site explaining how to submit “new” material(with photos)… only to comment on already posted articles. I’m new to blogging & chat rooms.
Hi cba,
The answer to your question depends on what you have.
If the item you have is related to some post/article on this blog, then
a) Take a photo of the item
b) Upload it into some kind of photo sharing website (such as Photobucket, Flickr or Picasa)
c) Write down (or copy) the address (URL) of the image
d) Come back to this blog, and add a comment that contains the image address (but it may contain other text as well). The blog system will automatically convert the URL into a clickable link.
If the item you have that is NOT related to some post/article on this blog, then
a) Make a visit to some stamp related chat room / board (such as StampBoards, StampCommunity or MyPhilately), and follow instructions found on those specific sites. For stamp identification purposes I’d say that StampBoards is by far the best choice.
Keijo,
Thank you for the help. What I have is NOT related to anything posted on your blog. I will acquaint myself with the workings of chat rooms, specifically those you suggested.
Hello Keijo,
I am an Spanish collector and I like also the worldwide collection, but my basic problem is organisation. I have got a big accumulation of stamps and covers but I don’t know what I have neither where place . Can you help me a little? How is your organisation of stamps?
My best wishes
Hi Jesus,
I don’t have any magic method or approach. I just simply sit down and sort what I have stamp by stamp.
But these are some posts where I show how my collection is stored/built:
1) A matter of storage
2) Storage for worldwide stamp collection: stock books
3) Keeping a stamp collection safe from dangers of natural surroundings
Above all, give yourself time to work your way with the stmaps. If you have reached the “state of complete chaos”, then it will very likely take weeks, possibly months to get everything sorted out and stored properly.