Tag: Collection

State of the Collection - July 2024

Almost a year.  Almost a year since my last article.  I've been busy!  Should I feel guilty?  I don't think so, it is my pet fun project after all.  Life has been very busy and my stamps are now splitting time with collecting records and CDs, trying to learn a

Using a Microscope to Identify Austria's National Costume Series

Wow...3 months have flown by.  No articles for 3 months...I've been busy.  Part of the delay however was that I discovered after beginning this article that it was going to be a completely different article than I had originally intended...you'll see why below. The National Costume series

Research Swap with Mike at Feature Philately

Mike at the Feature Philately YouTube channel reached out to me and suggested doing a research swap.   He is a specialist in Bulgarian items, so he sent me a large packet of Bulgarian material, and I sent him some interesting Austrian stuff.  He will be releasing a video on his

A Wonderful Packet from Foxridge Philately

Once again, life has gotten in the way — and it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I didn’t want to let this one wait any longer. Jeff at Fox Ridge Philately sent me a wonderful packet of goodies! I’ve gone through and identified almost all

Austrian Cover Featuring Reich Obliteration Series (Stampex Purchase)

The above cover is the first post-war obliterated Reich stamp cover I’ve ever purchased (I did get another at Stampex as well). This series of stamps were issued immediately after WWII — the postal authority used the existing stock of Reich stamps and obliterated Hitler’s face (as well as

Forgery? Reprint? Other? The Bosnian Oddity

I have been going through and cataloguing my Bosnia-Herzegovina material lately. This mostly isn’t material that I’ve gone out of my way to get, but rather stuff that would be in the back of other Austria collections that I’ve broken down. I think there’s a single

State of the Collection - September 2022

It’s already been 5 months!  Time flies, and it keeps getting faster.  I’ve been busy with life in general, but I’ve also been busy with my stamps.  I’ll round out the highlights below. Worldwide Material Probably the biggest accomplishment over the last several months was finally

The Intriguing Covers of Hideaki Nakano

Hideaki Nakano is (was? — keep reading to see why that’s a question) a cachet cover artist that has done some really interesting and different covers.  I’ve been struggling to find more detailed information on him via a few cursory searches, but I will continue to search…I’ve

Muddy Waters? This Stamp Lacks the Blue(s)

There are 4 distinct shades of the Map imperfs — lavender, grey, pale blue and deep blue; 600 pairs are thought to exist. The so-called muddy water variety is a colour changeling caused by oxidation and is NOT a printing variety. This is a note in the Unitrade Canada specialized catalog

Austrian Parcel Post Receipts - Istanbul or Constantinople?

These are some of my favorite pieces.  These vary in date, but display several stamps from late in the Franz Joseph reign.  All three are to Istanbul, but it is curious that some of them have both “Istanbul” and “Constantinople” written on them.  I’m not sure exactly when the

State of the Collection - April 2022

So I have a ton of work on my hands.  I’ve been scooping up material that I find interesting as well as bulk items that I feel like I’m getting a good deal on…  I should really set a moratorium on new purchases until everything I have is

My Family in Philately

I never knew my grandfather was a stamp collector. Ok, so maybe that isn’t totally accurate. I vaguely remember him giving me a bunch of stamps and some tongs as a young kid…but I had no interest. I was too busy playing DOOM and playing around with Windows