Stamp Collecting Blog - the premier resource for exclusive stamp information and news
Postage stamps and philately of USA and related areas
This is index page for articles about Postage stamps and philately of USA and related areas . Below you find excerpts on available stories. To read the full stories, please subscribe or sign in.
Soak US - what US stamps You can soak, and what not
Few years back I wrote a general rant about unsoakable stamps, but this time I'm narrowing my focus a bit, and I'll share a few words of the wise about recent US stamps. Namely what US stamps You can soak with traditional methods (hot water), and what not.
...(296 words,3 images, 15 comments)
A primer on organizing US Washington-Franklin stamps of 1908/1922
The Washington-Franklin series of 1908-1922, also known as the Third Bureau Issues, are said to be one of the most difficult US stamps to identify correctly. To sum up the essentials, there are only 29 face different stamps in 5 different designs. Sounds simple, but when You add up the different watermarks, print methods, perforations, paper types etc, the total runs to well over 200 collectible items. And as all these come happily mixed, the series seems like a daunting challenge.
...(633 words,3 images, 27 comments)
About USA 60c Rickenbacker stamp
For few last nights I've been adding new items to my US stamp collection. While going through a pile of duplicates I noted that the 60c Eddie Rickenbacker (Aviation pioneer) stamp had clearly two different types. I quickly picked up my Michel stamp catalogue, and true. There was a statement this stamp exist in multiple types, and advice to see Michel USA SpezialKatalog for further details. Alas, I really dislike when general stamp catalogs tip off like this. Fortunately I have a copy of Scott Specialized catalog for US stamps and covers, and I was able to check the details from there. It turned out that I had spotted a well known variety.
...(349 words,1 images, 12 comments)
Czechoslovakian 1945/47 definitive postage stamp series: Portraits
In the past weeks I've been digging my way through the gigantic lot of of Czechoslovakian stamps I bought on start of the year. One of the most common designs in this mixture has been the 1945/47 definitive series displaying portraits of Czechoslovak independence movement key figures: Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Edvard Beneš and Milan Rastislav Štefánik.
...(555 words,4 images, 17 comments)
USA "A partridge in a pear tree" Christmas postage stamp - EFO or color changeling?
For last couple of weeks I've been on a business trip to Southern Finland. Fortunately it has not all been work without a play, as during the weekends I've had the possibility to visit all the local stamp shops. Most of the time I've simply looked around as most shops are specialized in Finnish stamps, but below is one of those few items I picked from one of the few worldwide approval books available. Anyone familiar with this stamp will immediately notice the bizarre color change it has. But is it a true EFO, or a color changeling?
...(353 words,3 images, 45 comments)
Merry Christmas
Just to wish all the blog readers A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year! Hope You all like this "stampy greeting" displaying one of my all-time favorite Christmas postage stamps.
...(71 words,1 images, 3 comments)
The US 4c Dag Hammarskjold invert stamp error
Though errors on stamps are usually rare and expensive, there are luckily few exceptions. The United States "Dag Hammarskjold invert" error of 1962 was the first invert error to occur on any United States stamp since 1918 Inverted Jenny. And AFAIK, it is the second deliberately mass-produced error stamp worldwide (the first one I believe is DDR 5-year plan 20/24pfg definitive stamp).
...(452 words,2 images, 17 comments)
Non-inverted Jenny - the less rare counterpart of worlds best known postage stamp error
I believe most stamp collectors are familiar with Inverted Jenny, one of the worlds rarest and most prestigious stamp printing errors. But how many has seen the non-inverted version of it and other stamps of the same set?
...(197 words,2 images, 4 comments)
US 40c Philip Mazzei airmail stamp
I think most worldwide (and US) collectors recognize the US airmail postage stamp I'm writing today. In 1980 US post (along with Italian Post) issued a commemorative stamp to honor the 280th anniversary of Philip Mazzei's birth.
...(103 words,2 images, 6 comments)
US First Man on the Moon stamp
Do you remember the Swiss stamp cancelled in UK I showcased last month? Here is equally bizarre "accident" - a US airmail stamp cancelled in Germany.
...(136 words,1 images, 29 comments)
Introduction to United States Precancels
According to dictionary definition a precancel is any postage stamp, stamped stationery, or revenue stamp cancelled prior to affixing on mail matter or before being deposited at the post office which allows the item to bypass the usual canceling process. Precancels are used to expedite the large bulk mailings of permit holders. Classic US precancels can be put to two basic categories: Bureau precancels, which were printed and precancelled by Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, and local (or City-type) precancels, which were (usually) precancelled in the town they were used.
...(858 words,8 images, 20 comments)
US 8c Eisenhower stamp misperf error
About few years back I bought a mixed bag of worldwide stamps from eBay. This was a real 'look what the dog ate for breakfast' mix containing all sorts of odds and ends. But there was also something a bit more special items: two misperforated 1971 8 cent Eisenhower booklet stamps (Michel#1032D, Scott#1395a).
...(101 words,1 images, 0 comments)
1997 American Holly greeting stamp color error
Color errors are one of those things where one can never be sure if it's real thing or a changeling. Below is 1997 US Christmas greeting stamp (Michel #2902BD,Scott#3177) with red color missing. The result is strikingly looking like "raw berries".
...(141 words,1 images, 0 comments)
Used US stamps high values
Below are few scans of postally used modern US stamp high values. Once again, tough these are not highly valuable, they are surprisingly hard to come by. I've received these from a friend of mine who orders auction catalogues from United States as a printed matter.
...(108 words,2 images, 1 comments)
1912 US Parcel Post stamp
Many say that eBay box lots / mixtures never contain good finds. I think this is just a question of opinion. I consider the following US Parcel postage stamp as a good and interesting find.
...( 0 comments).
Q&A: stamps of US and related territories
Do you have a question about stamps / philately of USA and related areas (Canal Zone, Philippines,Hawaii etc)? Your questions answered.
...( 80 comments).
Article categories
- Generally speaking about stamps, philately and collecting
- Learn the basics of stamp collecting - advice on how to get started
- How to preserve and build a stamp collection
- Philatelic knowledge base
- Stamp forgeries, philatelic fakes and other counterfeits
- Stamp collecting software (inventory programs and databases, online stamp catalogs etc)
- Straight talk about stamp values (both catalog and real world)
- Back of book stamps and other unusual stamp-like items
- EFO-stamps: errors, freaks and oddities on postage stamps
- Q & A - Ask anything about stamps and collecting
- Article index by country and topic
- SCB's Digital Perforation Gauge