Auction News: VF Auktion Auction 1207, August 30th, 2011

Danish auctioneer "VF Auktion" has started their Weekly Auction Nr. 1207.

According to the online catalogue, there are almost 6500 lots in this auction, with the majority of them being Danish stamps, but also with a representation of the rest of the world. Most lots are illustrated with color photos, particularly individual stamps... but also many of the "lots and collections." As is typical for this auction firm, there is pretty much "something for everyone" offered in this sale, with lot opening bids running from around 50,- DKK (less than US $ 10.00) to the thousands.

For those outside Denmark, the online catalogue is available both in Danish and English. Bids can be submitted online, once potential bidders have set up an account.

The stamp at the right caught my eye-- a beautiful copy of the 4 skilling "Arms" issue from 1864, with a pretty strike of a Hellerup "star" cancel. It would fit well in my collection as not only "classic Denmark," but also an interesting cancel in top quality. I don't often buy individual stamps, but I'm tempted!

In the remainder of the sale, I noticed some nice smaller lots of Norway's "Posthorn" issues. In the section for Sweden, quite a few lots with high quality town cancels. There's also a good showing of GB with Victorian classics, along with good sections of Germany, France and Switzerland.

Bidding for this auction ends on August 30th.

Auction News: Philea Auction 297, August 24th, 2011

I've spent part of today looking at Swedish Auction firm AB Philea's online catalogue listing for their August 24th public auction.

As usual, there are thousands of lots offered, with the majority of the weight being on Sweden. I've found that summer auctions are often a good time to buy, as many collectors in Scandinavia are preoccupied with things other than stamp collecting, while the weather is nice.

6 öre Ringtyp with two pre-printing paper folds

I am always looking for interesting and unusual items for my collection of the "Ringtyp" series; in this particular sale, I am considering a copy of the 6 öre perf. 14 stamp, with TWO pre-printing paper folds. With an opening bid of 500:- Swedish Kr. (about US $78.00) it's by no means cheap, but I've not seen one like it before (photo at left).

Of course, it's typically "lots and collections" that really catch my interest. However, since I made quite a few "box lot" purchases this spring, I am in a rather "picky" frame of mind, these days... but by no means so picky I'm going to pass up what appears to be a true bargain. Naturally, true bargains are rare, when you are looking at the auction catalogues of firms with thousands of clients worldwide.

One lot that caught my eye is a collection of "ringtyp" stamps chosen for cancels. Although the online photos suggest that maybe one-in-ten stamps meet my own criteria for cancel quality, the appeal of a lot like this is that most cancel collectors are not interested in plate flaws... and so, once I'd removed any desirable cancels, I would be able to go back through the lot a second time and scan for varieties. That said, the opening bid of 4000:- Swedish Kr. (about US $625.00) is a bit "stout" during these meager economic times. I'll have to consider whether or not I'd be able recover some of the cost of the lot with subsequent sales on eBay... seems like a fair percentage of the cancels still look "collectible" enough to warrant interest from those not quite so particular about obtaining perfect strikes.

Over in the Denmark section, I noticed several very nice lots of duplicates. When looking for Danish stamps, I prefer lots that only run to about 1960, 1970's at the very latest... as I just don't have much interest in more modern material. Unfortunately, several of these lots already have gone 50% past opening bid from online bidding and I feel hesitant to place a bid beyond that. These higher prices are no doubt due to the fact that the economic recession in most of the world is fairly mild in the Scandinavian countries.

I took a brief look at Overseas lots, because I do collect a few items from outside Scandinavia-- and found a fairly appealing lot of used Australia, which is now up for serious consideration... part of the appeal here was the descriptive text that it includes "more than 200 kangaroo stamps." One of my specialized collections is the Kangaroo and Map issue, and finding these stamps in quantity outside Australia (where specialists have already picked over most lots) holds a lot of appeal.

A New Forum for Stamp Collectors: Stamp Bears

From time to time, I have written on these pages about the need to bring new collectors into the stamp hobby.

This week, I'd like to introduce a fairly new stamp forum and community named Stamp Bears.

A lot of (older, mostly) collectors are worried about the state of the hobby... and as the "old guard" slowly dies off (yes, I know, that's a bit morbid), how there seem to be very few younger people coming in to take over the space they leave behind.

A hobby-- on a large scale-- is also a community. And when it comes to communities, the ones that thrive are the ones that appear vibrant and "happening." I realize a lot of old-timers would be set in their ways and dismiss "vibrant and happening" as nonsense... because THEY don't need it. True enough.

But attracting new people to stamp collecting isn't about what appeals to "old philatelists," but about what appeals to youngsters and newcomers.

What I like about the Stamp Bears community is that its intent is to be a "family forum" for stamp collectors... and NOT "yet another forum for Serious Philatelists." The forum's focus and mission is very much about the fun and joy of simply "collecting stamps." This is not to say that you wouldn't enjoy it, if you were a "serious" collector... nor that "serious" philately isn't discussed.

The community was created and is run by a 30-something couple who are both stamp collectors, and they have two young daughters, who are also getting into collecting... thereby being a living example of a stamp collecting family.

As a collector with 40-something years of experience, I found the "atmosphere" of the forum very refreshing and friendly-- and I'd like to encourage you to click here and check it out!

Facelift

I have spent this past week giving the Scandinavian Stamps blog a major "face lift."

I was looking at my posts, and realized that the site had not been "modernized" since I started it, back in early 2006. That's 4 1/2 years ago.

On the greater scale of things, 4 1/2 years is not a long time. As stamp collectors, we look at "4 1/2 years ago" and think it is "new." Yet, in the modern age of the Internet, 4 1/2 years is a huge amount of time.

For one, there are LOADS of easy-to-use features you can add to blogs, that simply weren't there, in early 2006. Also, monitor technology has come a long way since then... and the old blog format-- built to conform with a standard that a web page is best left "under 1028 pixels wide" was out of date... and the blog looked "dated" and "tired" by today's standards.

It also made me think a little bit about stamp collecting, itself... and the "crisis" a lot of people seem to think the hobby is facing, in this technological age. And it occurred to me that we cannot hope to attract young "fresh blood" to the hobby if we come across as "old" and "out of date" and not technologically savvy.

I'm not saying we shouldn't collect "old stamps" anymore-- I'm just saying we need to get with the times and present our collection of "Queen Victoria plate varieties" in a manner appropriate for today, and not in a manner best left back in Queen Victoria's time...

Stamp Collecting Seasons

When I was little and growing up in Denmark, stamp collecting was more of a wintertime hobby.

Winters in Denmark were dark, wet, often cold and generally the period between the end of October and mid-March involved a lot of indoor activities, because being outside was pretty miserable. Stamp collecting was a good way to keep the "young ones" occupied inside, in a way my mother felt wouldn't destroy the house. My best friend Henrik and I spent many a winter afternoon after school "playing" with our stamp collections.

Summertime in Denmark! 

Come about mid-April, the days (and sunbreaks) would get longer, and we would increasingly often be kicked outside to play. So we went out to play soccer, play in the street, go to the beach, or the woods, or whatever. When I think back to those days, I realize that I rarely looked at my stamp collection during the summer-- even when school was off.

Now that I'm an adult, I don't exactly have a time when I completely put away my collection for the summer. Let's face it... it's summer where I live, right now, and I'm writing these words on a stamp collecting blog! But I'm not really doing much with my collections, these days: any new acquisitions get put into a glassine and tossed into a box with brief notes about what I need to do with them, later. I haven't been anywhere near eBay in about eight weeks. Tomorrow will more likely be given to working in the garden, getting house projects done and even going for walks with my wife or beach combing. Other days are given to going on holiday, or on short trips.

For some, there are no "seasons," of course. If you call Key West, Florida "home," the idea of long cold dark winters is alien to you. Others, who might be retired, experience seasonality as less important. For some, stamp collecting is their primary interest, and so they are always at it.

How about you? Are you a seasonal collector, or someone whose collection is going ALL the time? Do you completely stop during the summer, or just cut back your time? Does "holiday" mean you have more time for your collection, or that you put it away completely?

Please share your thoughts and comments!

Postmarks: Hackås, Sweden

Pictured to the right is a copy of Sweden Facit nr. 31, the 6 öre lilac Ringtyp, perf 13, with a very nice cancel from the village of Hackås. The postmark is very crisp and clear, and reads "HACKÅS 3.4.1879." This is an example of the Swedish "normalcancellation 16;" in the small diameter with "thin" writing, typical of small postal places.

What is the value of this stamp? The stamp itself is a copy of Facit no. 31c which has a catalogue value of 45:- Swedish kr. A clear readable Hackås cancel from this time period carries a premium of another 50:- Swedish kr. The stamp is sound although a little off-center, but it is an unusually nice and clean example of the cancel. A stamp like this would probably sell for about 150-200:- Swedish kr. (about US$23.50-31.25) at auction; probably more from a specialist dealer.

About the village: Hackås is located in Jämtland county in central Sweden. The town itself has about 500 inhabitants; with a total of 1100+ if you count the outlying surrounding municipality. There has been a settlement in this area for many 100s of years, and it was considered one of the "central points" for community connection in Jämtland county. Later, it became a stopping point for the railway, as well a ferry landing for boats on nearby Storsjön which is Sweden's 5th largest lake. The nearest major population center is Östersund, some 25 miles to the north.

The church and bell tower at Hackås with Storsjön in the background.

Local lore suggests that the name Hackås is derived from the word "haknas," which is believed to actually be a misrecorded written entry in local records for the name "Hakuas," as the place was locally called in the early 1300s. "Hakuas" was most likely a compound word formed by the words "hake" (meaning a "point," as in, the point into the lake) and "ås" (meaning a ridge, or shallow mountain range). So, it could be said that the town's name was the result of poor penmanship, almost 700 years ago!

Hackås is best known for its very unusual and richly ornamented church, dating back to the 1100s-- along with the nearby belltower built in 1750. Although the church was rebuilt and expanded later, the structure still includes part of the original church, the altar, and frescoes dating to the 1200s. There are also a number of well-preserved paintings from the 1600s.

The church is located near the shore of the lake, a little bit away from the village, which is set back about 500 meters from the water's edge.

Scandinavian Stamp Specialist shop on Bonanza

This is to announce the opening of my new online stamp shop on the "Bonanza" web site. Formerly known as "Bonanzle," Bonanza is a web site where sellers can create online stores to offer items for sale.

Bonanza is not specifically a "stamps venue," but the new shop I've opened is ALL about stamps... and the web site has other stamp vendors, as well.

The focus of the store is "Better Scandinavia." You can expect to find some of my higher quality stamps there-- especially from Denmark and Sweden-- all listed with good descriptions and large clear photos. The stamp pictured is just one example of the type of material you can expect to find.

I hope you'll check it out, and bookmark it to check back, from time to time. Click on this link to visit the stamp shop!

eBay Time: Denmark

I recently purchased some collections of Danish stamps, and this week will be selling off the better stamps I didn't use for my own collection.

It's a relative modest group of "somewhat better" values, running the range from classic issues to mid-period, and  also with some back-of-the-book items.

Like is the case with most of my eBay auctions, everything starts with an opening bid of just 99 cents, and there is NO reserve on any lot-- and there are some items here with catalogue values running to US$60.00.

I hope you'll stop by and check out this week's offerings! The auctions end on Sunday, May 22nd.

Click here to visit my eBay page!

eBay Time: Worldwide bits and pieces at auction

It is already May, and only now am I getting around to listing my first set of stamp auctions on eBay, this year!

Up for grabs are 50 better items, predominantly Western Europe with most of the weight on Scandinavia. Lots include some Danish Bicolours, Swedish with better cancels on classics, some better Germany, France and Switzerland. There are also a few bits and pieces from the US.

This group is not typical of how I like to offer things for sale on eBay, but these were a bunch of "leftovers" I just didn't have any other place to put.

Like is the case with most of my eBay auctions, everything starts with an opening bid of just 99 cents, and there is NO reserve on any lot-- and there are some items here with catalogue values running to US$700.00.

I hope you'll stop by and check out this week's offerings! The auctions end on Sunday, May 15th.

Click here to visit my eBay listings!

How NOT to Ship Stamps

I usually try to leave my personal gripes at the door, when I sit down to write-- whether it is an article on spirituality, an eBay auction description, or a post on this blog.

Today, however, I am in a rather grumpy mood. Let me explain...

Most of my collections have been built through a slow process of buying large "box lots," sorting my way through them to pick out any individual "gems," or varieties, or other kind of specialist material. When I am done with a box, I "recycle" the remains back to the collector market... usually through eBay or a similar venue.

Many of my box lots and collections come from overseas-- specifically from about 5-6 large sellers in Scandinavia. Not surprising, since my primary philatelic interests are Denmark and Sweden.

I recently won several collections from a sale by a large well-known auctioneer in Scandinavia. Understanding from the description (and photos) that I was buying a lot of stamps on loose stock leaves, I took the time to write to the auction firm to recommend that they "cross-strap" each album/stockbook with heavy rubber bands to put the pages "under pressure" and to prevent the stamps from falling out and getting damaged. Most auctioneers and dealers I do business with ship albums this way. Some even insert the albums into individual padded envelopes, before putting them into the shipping box.

The stamps, as I received them... one of 12 albums

Some three weeks later, my box of new acquisitions arrived! All excited, I opened the box... and found a horrible mess. Not only had the various albums been stacked rather carelessly in the shipping box, a couple had been put in upside-down, and there had been lots of loose space for the albums to rattle around, during trans-Atlantic shipping. And absolutely no sign that the albums had been strapped, to keep them closed.

The result?

100s of loose stamps floating around the box-- many of them damaged by being beaten between heavy albums. It just made me angry, and sand... and begs the question "just HOW hard is it to take just a little care, before shipping a box of valuable stamps across the Atlantic?"

Of course, I find myself with rather a "Catch-22" situation, because complaining would do little good. I have already complained about this issue, once before. But the rest of the "problem" is that this auction house is one of the very best sources for Danish bulk lots in the world... so deciding to no longer do business with them would also mean cutting myself off from one of my best suppliers.

I guess sometimes there's just no winning...

Where Collectors Come From

I have long had an interest in "community building," as a central part of ensuring the continuance of the stamp collecting hobby. I strongly believe that if we make an effort to be more connected-- as collectors-- we present an image to potential newcomers as having something they'd "want to become part of."

If we portray an image of being "solitary and antisocial hermits in our dark studies," it will not serve us well, in this modern world where the Internet increasingly connects us all.

As "keeper" of this blog for some five years, I periodically sit down with the site's "visitor logs," which help give me a sense of "what's going on" and who's reading these pages.

Whereas Google (searches) has always been the primary referrer to this site, I noticed something interesting, the last time I looked at the site logs:

"Spanning the Globe"

"Google.com" (the "main," USA- and worldwide-based site) is not my top Google referrer. In fact, it's not even in the top three:

Google.co.uk (United Kingdom)
Google.ca (Canada)
Google.se (Sweden)
Google.co.in (India)
Google.com.au (Australia)
Google.com (US/World)

Of course, it's open to interpretation what this really means.

It could mean that stamp collecting is more "active" in top five countries listed, than in the US-- even though they all have much smaller populations.

It could mean that Scandinavia-- as a collecting area-- is more popular in the top five countries listed, than in the US.

It could mean that stamp collectors in the top five listed countries are more likely to use the Internet, than collectors in the US.

What it does tell me, however, is that we have the ability to connect globally, these days. There can still be "stamp clubs," even if they become increasingly online-based, and they may be stronger and more focused than ever.

It's all about connecting across common ground!

Classic Swedish Cancels

I started collecting town cancels on classic Swedish stamps in the mid-1980's.

A nice "SKENINGE" cancel on 5ö green

The collection started more or less "by accident:" I was at university in the US at the time, and had gone "home" to Denmark for the summer-- in part to visit family, and in part to work (I didn't have a work permit for the US, at the time) to make money for school.

One day, I found myself strolling through the streets of central Copenhagen, looking at stamp shops. This was back in a time where "street level" retail stamp shops were still fairly numerous; there were at least 12-15 shops I liked to check out, on a regular basis.

One stretch of Gammel Kongevej had several dealers clustered together-- one of them was a favorite: Usually a "cluttered mess" of boxes and albums; this dealer's specialty was to take in people's collections-- and even entire holdings-- on consignment "as is." His opening hours were... well... sporadic, and I expected depended on whether he was out making a "house call" to an estate or someone who wanted to get out of the stamp collecting business. I don't think more than maybe 1/4 of the shop's stock was actually the dealer's own material. Anyway, this shop offered a constantly rotating "treasure hunt" for stamp collectors-- no knowing what might show up.

Of course, being just 24 at the time and a "starving student," my stamp budget was quite limited. Besides, I was in the business of saving money... not spending it; I needed to pay for my classes. However, I was working the 11pm to 7am shift at a factory AND taking on all holidays and weekends I could get (at the time called "antisocial hours"), and making a rather good wage-- so I had allowed myself a little "stamp money."

At the time, my primary stamp collections were Denmark, Sweden and France. I had pretty good collections for someone my age, and had even (hesitantly) started a couple of specialized collections... Danish numeral cancels and the Danish "Bicolours" issue.

As I looked through the shop's endless piles of boxes and albums, I came across a battered shoebox marked "old Sweden." Inside was an unruly mess of old yellowing glassine envelopes with thousands of classic Swedish stamps, from the "Arms" issues to the "Oscar" issues. Some seemed sorted by stamp; some seemed all mixed together. Mostly, I noticed that there was extreme duplication on some stamps-- and I guessed that was why the box was only marked at 1200,- Danish kr. (about US $200, but still a hefty sum in 1984, to a young man with little money). After all, who would want 1000+ copies of a 10ö red Oscar II stamp? I didn't know much about classic Sweden, but I did know that "bundleware" (even old) tended to be cheap.

Originally, I included the Oscar II series

I am not sure what possessed me to take a second look-- but as I scanned through the old glassines, I noticed a few had been marked "better cancels" (in Danish) in pencil. I also noticed that these "better" cancels were lovely strikes, by any measure-- most of them were on 12 öre blue "ringtyp" stamps, as well as the "Oscar II" issue. Having recently started my collection of Danish numeral cancels, I decided that collecting old Swedish cancels might be a fun sideline-- since I had reached a point with my Sweden collection where adding more stamps generally required me to spend $20 or more, per stamp.

I should add that I really "didn't know what I was doing," at the time. In my mind, I had a notion that perhaps I'd get a hold of a map of Sweden and cross off (or highlight) town names as I found them. I should also add that I found this box before cancel collecting in Sweden really became "a big deal."

My Swedish cancel collection started quite humbly. I bought a 32-page stockbook, which gave me a page per letter of the alphabet, with enough left over to make a separate page for major cities like Stockholm and Göteborg. Aside from that, all I did was put stamps in the stockbook, alphabetically, by place name.

It was actually several years before I learned that there was such a thing as a Swedish cancel catalogue-- the "Facit Postal" catalogue, issued every 4-5 years. And then I was amazed to discover that quite a few of my original "shoebox cancels" had considerable value... and they went on to form the basis for my Swedish cancel collection.

That was 27 years ago. A some readers may know, Swedish cancel and postal history collecting has since become a "big deal." Although "ortstämplar" and "hembygdsfilateli" are mostly Swedish philatelic interests collected in Sweden, I have met many fellow specialty collectors around the world-- from Denmark, to the UK, to the US, to Australia.

"Finds," like my original shoebox lot, are rare these days because awareness of this type of material is so much higher than it used to be. Top quality classic cancels sometimes sell for extraordinary prices at large Swedish philatelic auctions. Even those from relatively common (large) towns have been known to sell for many multiples of their catalogue values.

"WESTERÅS" on an early printing of 20ö red

About ten years ago, I decided to narrow down the scope of my Swedish cancel collection, limiting the stamps to only the "Vapentyp" (arms type) and "Ringtyp" (circle type) issues, Facit numbers 1-51. I still have many of my Oscar cancels, but am not actively collecting them any more-- and periodically have sold off some of the better items on eBay. Even so, my collection has grown to several thousand stamps and continues to grow-- albeit slowly-- as I visit stamp shows and pick up an occasional "box lot" or collection from a stamp auction.

Part of the slowness of the collection's growth can be directly attributed to my own rather particular requirements of the quality of cancel I am willing to include. From time to time, I realize that I may have put unreasonable constraints on myself-- but I am in no great hurry, and hopefully have at least another 30 years of collecting ahead of me!

Along the way, I have had the good fortune to pick up a few rarities-- at least within the limited context of Swedish cancels. That said, I am still missing quite a few "fairly common" cancels... just waiting for examples to show up, in the right condition.

Auction News: Goodbye Thomas Høiland?

I recently clicked on my bookmark to go visit the web site of Danish stamp and coin auctioneer Thomas Høiland.

The Thomas Høiland Auctions building

For many years, this has been one of my favorite "big" auction firms in Scandinavia, offering some of the finest material from the Nordic countries and beyond. I've particularly like them, on account of their extraordinary offerings of Denmark, especially as accumulations and box lots.

Much to my surprise, I found myself looking not at what I expected-- a spring auction catalogue-- but a notice that the company had sold its stamp operations to Danish art auctioneer Bruun-Rasmussen.

Meanwhile, Høiland's "web auction" division has already been transferred to Norwegian stamp and coin auctioneer Skanfil A/S. As a long time client of Skanfil, I know the web division is in capable hands.

Now, I know the Bruun-Rasmussen firm because my father was an art collector, and he'd sometimes take me to auctions with him. I realize they are a highly respected firm, and are certainly capable of conducting high quality auctions. What concerns me is that a "stamps only" firm is becoming part of a "general" art auction house... how will this affect the quality and quantity of material offered? I have previously seen Bruun-Rasmussen's stamp auctions and they were very nice, but small affairs with maybe 800-1000 very "exclusive" items... not the giant 10,000+ lot offerings of a Thomas Høiland auction.

The news release from the Høiland firm also stated that founder Thomas Høiland-- along with a number of his staff members-- would be moving along to the Bruun-Rasmussen company.

I have hopes that the quality of Thomas Høiland stamp auctions will find its way to Bruun-Rasmussen... but, for the moment, I am taking a "wait and see" approach.

Variety Focus: Denmark's 5 Kr. Central Post Office

On September 16th, 1912, Denmark issued it's fist true "high value" stamp: The 5 Kroner Central Post Office stamp. Printed from a copper engraved plate, this was also Denmark's first "large format" stamp, being exactly twice the size of normal definitive stamps. The primary use of the stamp was to pay postage for large heavy parcels, and for high value insured letters.

This stamp was actually printed twice, on different types of paper, albeit from the same printing plate. The original printing from 1912 was made on paper with watermark III, large crown, and perforated 12 3/4. A subsequent printing was made on May 3rd, 1915, this time on the new paper with watermark multiple crosses, and with perforation 14 x 14 1/2.

Since only about 86,000 stamps were produced in each printing (yes, stamps, not sheets of stamps), this has never been a "common" stamp in Danish stamp collecting... and being able to afford a "Post Office" for my Denmark collection was a "big deal" until quite a long way into my collecting-- and work-- career. For many years, the market price for this stamp-- even for an inferior copy-- stubbornly stayed ahead of my collecting budget... and this remains true for a significant number of Denmark collectors.

Normal inscription (top) and KJØBFNHAVNS at bottom

This stamp also has one of Denmark's best known and most significant stamp varieties: Under the motif of the Central Post Office building in Copenhagen is the inscription "KJØBENHAVNS CENTRALPOSTBYGNING 1912." However, on the stamp in position 44, the word "KJØBENHAVNS" is mis-engraved as "KJØBFNHAVNS." Since the same printing place was used for both the 1912 and 1915 printings, the error occurs on both versions of the stamp.

The example from my own collection-- pictured at top-- is from the 1915 printing. It is listed in the Danish AFA stamp catalogue as no. 81x. This variety is also included in other European stamp catalogues. Because the "base" stamp already carries a fairly high value, the variety is even more expensive-- and quite difficult to find. It currently lists for 4200,- Danish Kr. (about US $805.00).

Stamp Collecting: Wanting vs. Having

I was emailing with a stamp collecting friend, and mentioned that I had received the fall catalogue from a major European philatelic auction, and had been drooling over all the marvelous and beautiful rarities up for sale.

I can't afford this stamp!

Marvelous and beautiful rarities, I might add, which there is no chance in hell I can afford.

Rather bluntly, my friend offered: "I don't know why you bother. What's the point of wasting time looking at stuff you're not going to buy, anyway?"

His words made me pause and think, for a bit.

It strikes me that collectors-- and not just of stamps-- come in two basic varieties: Those primarily focused on acquiring and having (like my friend), and those for whom a large part of the hobby is about seeing and learning... but without an attachment to "owning" what we see.

Many years ago, I used to keep shop and we sold a number of "collectible" items, including vintage fountain pens and hand crafted glass paperweights. The store had quite a reputation among these specialized collector communities, and people would travel hundreds of miles out of their way to visit our shop. And yet, there were those collectors whose only objective was "to buy," while others would spend hours looking at every single item... but eventually would leave either with nothing, or with an inexpensive item.

Personally, my enjoyment of stamps-- and stamp collecting-- is not tied to "owning" what I look at. Odds are I will never have enough money to acquire a mint copy of Sweden's 3 Skill Bco with the "double 3" error, like the one offered for sale in the auction catalogue I was looking through. But that's OK! I enjoy stamps, regardless of whether they can be "mine" or not.

Random Stamp Musings: "Postally Used"

I collect used stamps.

To be specific, I collect postally used stamps. No CTO's for this boy... and I don't care, even, if said CTO's are from a "good" country.

When I was little, my father tried to get me interested in collecting mint stamps. The points he made was that (A) when you have a mint stamp, you can see the whole design, and (B) there are going to be far more used stamps than mint stamps-- in the long run-- so mint will be more valuable.

I did try-- briefly-- to collect mint stamps from France, but it "annoyed" me because I had to be so careful when putting them into my album. Besides, I just like used stamps-- to me, they are stamps that have done what "they are supposed to do:" they have carried a piece of mail from one point to another.

Whereas I don't spend too much time waxing philosophical about the "romantic" nature of a stamp's journey from one place to another, I do like used stamps for one simple reason: collecting postmarks allows collectors to form inexpensive collections... AND if you decide to collect town cancels, you can form a pretty extensive collection without ever having to spend more than a few cents a stamp. Well... for the most part.

It does sadden me a little that collecting used stamps is getting harder and harder to do. In days gone by, I could go to the local post office, make my way to the area with banks and banks of P.O.Boxes, and on any given day retrieve 15-50 perfectly good used stamps (and sometimes covers) from the garbage cans. Nowadays? Not so much. In fact, it's a rarity that commercial mail (of the kind that gets thrown away at the post office) is franked with stamps.

Collecting postally used stamps has also gotten more difficult on account of the proliferation of self-adhesive stamps. Never mind what different postal administrations might tell you, self-adhesives are more difficult to soak off paper... and a greater proportion of them get damaged during soaking... Some issues are all but impossible to get off paper in one piece, and some countries (like the UK) now issues stamps with built-in "security features" that adds to the difficulty of removing the stamp from the envelope.

These difficulties aside, I will continue to collect postally used stamps, and especially those with interesting and really nice postmarks. I will continue to buy kiloware from different parts of the world, as long as a supply exists. It may be true that newer postally used stamps are getting more difficult to find, but in a sense that adds to the challenge of building a collection.

If all else fails, I may end up getting back to the boxes of old kiloware "I never quite got around to" soaking!

Variety Focus: Denmark's 4RBS classic with "Kranholds Retouch"

4 RBS brown, Ferslew printing, with "Kranholds retouch"

Although considered to be "number 2" in many parts of the world, Denmark's 4RBS Brown has always been regarded as "Denmark's first stamp" by collectors in Denmark. In the Danish AFA catalogue, it is listed as no. 1, and was issued on April 1, 1852, a month before the 2 RBS blue-- which is regarded as no. 2 in Denmark, but no. 1 in some parts of the world. It's a bit confusing-- but I personally believe the Danish approach is the correct one, as these stamps were not issued as "a set," so numerically treating them as such is incorrect.

The 4 RBS stamp is widely collected by specialists, and offers a wealth of printings, colors and plate flaws. Although a "number one" stamp from the 1850's, it remains reasonably affordable, with a catalogue value in the range of US$40.00 and up depending on the printing and color. Collectible quality copies (maybe with 3 margins, or some tiny flaw) can generally be had for about US$10.00, although premium quality 4-margin copies sell for considerably more.

I obtained my first copy of the 4 RBS stamp in 1973, at the age of 13-- when my maternal grandfather passed away, and I inherited his modest collection of Danish stamps. Subsequently, I have become a far more "serious" collector of Danish stamps... and this has included a growing interest in this, Denmark's first stamp.

Kranholds retouch (top) and normal stamp

As I mentioned, many varieties exist on this stamp, but perhaps the best known-- and most coveted by collectors-- is named "Kranholds Retouch." This variety came about when the printing cliché in position 5 of plate II had the word "POST" re-engraved... but the end result was a "POST" that looked quite different from the original design. Although definitely sharper and more readable, the letters "O" and "S" were shorter and quite different in shape from the originals.

This variety exists on the Ferslew (first) printing, and the first two Thiele printings. As you can see from the side-by-side photo (left), there is a considerable difference in appearance between the variety (top) and the regular design (bottom).

A stamp with the variety, from the Ferslew printing, currently has a catalogue value of 3500,- Danish kroner, or about US$675.00.

The "Graded Stamps" Craze

In recent years, the idea of "graded" certificates seems to have taken off. From where I am sitting, the whole things feels like it has gone a bit overboard.

Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand the idea of "grading" a beautiful and valuable 100+ year old stamp in superb condition, when I am getting a certificate for it, anyway. Quite a few European experts already grade stamps as part of their certificate services, although not with a numerical grade like PSE. The closest would be the standardized grading system of the Swedish Philatelic Federation (SFF) which has been in use for over three decades.

For the moment, the "grading madness" seems to be primarily limited to US stamps. And sure, if I had an XF MNH 15c Columbian, I'd be all about getting a standardized certificate of "just HOW XF" it is.

Grading common stamps from the 1940s and expecting people to pay 300x catalogue value for it? I'm really struggling to connect those dots-- makes me want to ask "what's the point?" and then ponder the issue of whether collectors are actually getting fleeced by the issuers of the certificates.

In my opinion (which may or may not be valid, in the greater scheme of things), common "wallpaper" in beautiful condition is still "wallpaper." What is happening here sounds less like collecting than a marketing attempt to "create value" where there is none. As my grandfather told me when I was little and starting my collection: A very common stamp that old is just that... an OLD COMMON STAMP.

Postmarks: Hagelsrum, Sweden

Pictured here is a copy of Sweden Facit nr. 33, 20 öre bright red Ringtyp perf 13, with an attractive "HAGELSRUM 18.12.1883" town cancel. It looks a bit like the cancel is from 1888, but the line at left is stray cancel ink-- when viewed from the back, you can clearly see the "3" of the date stamp. This is a nice example of the "normalcancellation 16," widely in use in Sweden during the latter part of the 1800s.

What is the value of this stamp? This is Facit 33e, the orange-red shade on "soft" paper, which has a catalogue value of 11:- Swedish Kr. The slightly yellowish shade of the stamp is normal on the soft paper printings-- the paper was typically slightly "cream" colored. The Hagelsrum cancel is a difficult one for cancel collectors to find, and this is a very nice example. Readable cancels from this postal place carry a premium value of 100:- Swedish Kr. and up. Given the quality of the cancel on a fault-free (although a bit off-center) stamp and the scarcity of the place, I'd estimate this stamp would sell for about 200:- to 250:- Swedish Kr. (US $31.50-39.50) at auction, perhaps higher if you were to buy it from a specialist dealer.

A bit about the place this stamp was postmarked: Hagelsrum is located just outside the small town of Målilla in Kalmar county in southeastern Sweden. Strictly speaking, it cannot even be characterized as a village; it is more like a "manor" with associated buildings, and a very small iron smeltery. However, it was-- in the 1800s-- significant enough to warrant its own postal collection point, most likely due to the commercial activity from the iron ore mill.

The blast furnace at Hagelsrum

Local accounts suggest that the first settlements here were by Viking chieftains who'd "rest" in the area between long trips overseas. The first written accounts referring to the manor at Hagelsrum date to 1320, when the farming was most likely in care of a monastery based in the city of Vadstena. There were at the time three farms, a grain mill and an eel fishery in the vicinity.

Between 1447 and 1748, the property changed hands a number of times, was periodically claimed by the Swedish crown, and was burned down/ destroyed and rebuilt several times. There may have been a small castle built during one reconstruction, but this is uncertain as there are no remains found, today. For a while, the buildings were used for a munitions works; the iron smelter oven (basically a "blast furnace")-- which remains largely intact today-- was built from the ground up in 1853, and was in operation till 1877. The furnace is the only one of its kind in Kalmar county to remain well-preserved.

The postal station at Hagelsrum was active from December 1877 until January 1963. Today, mail from the area is processed at nearby Målilla. The current population of Hagelsrum is about 30 people.

Fewer Stamps on the Market?

This past weekend marked Thanksgiving, in the USA.

As a result, I had a little spare time on my hands, which I used to peruse some of my favorite stamp selling venues around the www.

It seems to me that there's less "worthwhile" material for sale, these days. Initially, I thought more people might be selling stamps because the economy is less than brilliant, and selling stamps would be a way to make more money. However, it actually seems there are fewer stamps listed on eBay and in other places, and the items I found were not very good quality, either.

I noticed that several online auction sites have fewer stamp listings than they did at this time, last year.

A fellow collector pointed out to me that perhaps people are LESS likely to let go of their "good stuff" to pay for groceries, when things are economically difficult. Rare stamps have previously been seen as a "safe haven" during uncertain economic times. That said, I was under the (mistaken?) impression that people mostly "invested" in stamps during times of high inflation.

I think it may also be true that more of the "good" material is being consigned to traditional "brick and mortar" professional auctioneers, than to "self sale" locations. Recent sales at Thomas Høiland in Denmark and Postiljonen and Philea in Sweden had some very high quality items on offer, and prices have been quite good.