While not a really new to stamp collecting, I'm new to this forum. In digging up my old collection from over thirty years ago (or so) to show my kids, the spark kicked up inside me to start collecting again. My old collecting showed the limitations I had while collecting as a 7-10 year old. No money, other than a skimpy allowance, and no real understanding of what I was collecting. Mostly I was collecting stuff from envelopes sent to my family from around the world and the US, and occasionally, purchasing something from the Mystic Stamp catalog- which their ads were seemingly in every single one of those old comic books (which I wish I kept too!) Now my focus is on late 19th and early 20th century US stamps. I'm learning a lot about the stamps I'm interested in, and looking to really expand my collection to hand down to my kids when they get older (or old enough to appreciate them!) So, it's great to be here and meet you all!
Hi Notional: Welcome! It's good to have you with us. I used to collect U.S., but threw it over for used world-wide collecting. Still have my U.S. though. There are a couple of other knowledgeable U.S. collectors that post frequently. They will probably be welcoming you soon and will identify themselves as U.S. collectors. Lots of interesting U.S. stamps/covers and sub-collecting fields. I hope you will post some of the stamps that interest you. I still collect some U.S. covers from time to time. Don
Hi and Welcome! I collect mostly U.S. I like the banknotes and 2nd Bureau issues. Lately I've become interested in newspaper & periodical stamps and covers to-and-from well-know stamp dealers. Lots of great info here at StampExchange; you can use the Search Forum in the menu to poke around.
Greeting & Salutations right back at'cha, Welcome to this 'august' group. I believe you will not only enjoy the banter, but be impressed w/ the expertise of many of it's members. Reading your intro to the group reminded me of my early collecting days with only limited (allowance) funds. Recently, I came across one of those small bright orange bags of '1000 foreign stamps' advertised in the back of many 1950-1960 magazines for ONLY $1.00. I recall buying one just like it full of stamps when I was 10 or so. It included many on-paper and I recall having a great time sorting by country. This empty bag was only a dime, so I added it to my 'Great Memory' collection. Funny what triggers those 'way-backs! Sorry for the ramble and adding TMI, Welcome again to the group, Harry Houston TX
Welcome Notional! Good to have you on the forum. I too am a U.S. collector having returned to collecting in '93 after a long hiatus. I collect a broad swath of areas within U.S. philately: revenues, officials, private dies, Hawaii....you name it. Looking forward to reading about your interests, questions and acquisitions.
Newspaper stamps! You didn't mention Newspaper stamps, <HOCH>. I trust you must have a few? Speaking of which, Doc Pepper has revised all four of his wonderful books on the N & P stamps - tho he advises me some of the revisions are minor. His are the current best single source for the N & Ps tho Frank Braceland's series in the U.S. Specialist 1966-74 is still very important.
Yes Molokai I have a number of Newspaper stamps, a couple of the large ones, a half dozen or so of the black and charcoal ones as well as the last set complete. While I find them very interesting it has been a while since I pursued any of them. The stamps I am most avid for at this time are the private die stamps, the patent medicines and match stamps primarily.
Howdy <HOCH> - Sounds like a decent representation of them! I purchased 'Christopher West's' book on the Private Dies awhile back, but haven't gotten to it as yet. Obviously a fascinating field.
