Sociable Stamp Society

This is our blog for current stamp news and views of interest to the philatelist and beginner. Daily updates provide items on shows, new issues, events, what's selling, and timely facts.

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Sociable Stamp Society

This is a philately people blog. It’s about you and your stories from the philatelic world, sort of a social stamp blog --- which harkens back to the old days when this site had a chat room called the “Sociable Stamp Society.”

In fact, I’ll be changing the name of this column to the “Sociable Stamp Society” because nothing makes more sense than clarity.

All around, we know that person-to-person stamp collecting is best. Two people meet. They trade and swap stamps. They answer each other’s questions about their specialties and wants, passing on tip and suggestions. It doesn’t get much better than that and along the way they’re both the wiser. (The questioner learns from the teacher who hones his knowledge honing his answers.) And heck, we can never have too many friends.

Anything stamps is fair game for note and comment, even new stamp issues, which I’m not very keen on these last two decades.

There was a time I followed the release of the postal system’s new annual schedule, and quibbled about them: too many stamps, too many frivolous ones, commemorable events shunned, designs from hell, fouled-up data and ideas. It was to no avail. The USPS has a bottom line and it means printing a sales price on small pieces of paper on more and more “products.”

If I’d wanted to collect cereal boxes or cartons of waste paper, I would have, but I collect stamps that matter, that are reminders of history and their impact upon average and not so average people's lives.

The reason for stamps was better communication. If the stamp issue’s primary use isn’t connecting people, thoughts, and ideas, it’s just pricey paper, and if we had a classics era that ended after 1945, the dead stamp era began around 1990.

Excuse the rant, but the only reason I can see to pick up any new issues is for a topical reason so you can collect as many Elvis-things or Dinosaurs on stamps as you like.

Today’s dead stamps aren’t part of the history of philately but rather new novelties patriotically marketed to addicted collectors. As you can see, I’m a re-constructed 12-stepper in this regard, and something of a proselytizing missionary too.

the lanai guy | 10:15 AM | 0 comments |  

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