The truth is within and only you can reveal it 27 Sep 2016 07:23:16pm
Time to start a new thread to help keep down load times.
I've shown right around 200 different countries or areas so far. It looks like their are about 80 left of the ones I show on my site. Most of these are minor countries or ones that are pretty weak, so there's not as much to be expected.
I've been missing the last couple days as I've been building my new super fast computer.
Hopefully I can get it on the web in the next couple days.
The country for today is the Dutch colony of Suriname.
Shown are the first page and a couple other later ones,
About the first page of Surinam: is there a story behind the stamp at the very bottom from 1892? It seems very different from all the others. Is it a postage stamp or something else?
Thanks for posting all these over the last months (?year) - very interesting. Hope you enjoy your new computer!
The 1892 issue is a locally produced provisional postage stamp.
Stamps were normally printed in the Netherlands but it could take over a month to get supplies of stamps from there. In 1892, Surinam ran short of 2½ cent stamps. They overprinted one value, but these sold out in 5 days (stamp speculators even then), so they produced this issue locally.
This happened on two other occasions and some people (cynically) suspect that it might have been done on purpose.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 29 Sep 2016 02:45:28am
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Jan, I always thought that stamp looked out of place also. Sorry but I do not know why.
Got the new computer pretty much finished with transferring all the programs and files and bookmarks. I think it is just in time as my old computer is barely running now. Hopefully this one should last a long time. All the components are very recent and rated 5 stars.
Super fast as it opens webpages files and programs in the blink of an eye. All I have left is to find my copy of Photoshop which is the program I use most.
For today the Portuguese colony of Angra which is part of the Azores.
Shown are the only two pages.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 30 Sep 2016 08:26:02pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Today French Cameroons. My collection is complete except for one stamp on the first page.
This is a real bummer because the stamp catalogs for $25,000 and I will never be able to complete the country.
Shown are the first, third, fourth, fifth and a nice airmail page.
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant 30 Sep 2016 09:34:32pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
"What set of circumstances came together to make the 10 c value such a scarce item?"
Same question, although the rest of the stamps on the 1915 French Occupation page are no bargains either.
I noted that Scott had the prices for the 10c printed in Italics. Wonder why too.
rrr...
PS Outstanding collection Mitch. Every day I am more in awe!
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"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."
SG lists the 10c with "Congo Francaise Gabon" as SG 5 and the 10c with "Afrique Equatoriale Gabon" as an error, SG 5a, i.e. an overprint on the wrong stamp.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 05 Oct 2016 09:07:47pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Today the British possession of Heligoland. Reprints of these are much more numerous than the originals. What I have are about 50-50 original and reprints.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 06 Oct 2016 09:55:01pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Today Eastern Silesia. Part of Austria before WWI it was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia after the war. Stamps are Polish and Czech with SO overprints.
Shown are the only three pages.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 10 Oct 2016 02:25:11pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Randy, Not only did they produce Zeppelin stamps, I believe they made more than any other country with a total of 23. Including Germany, Russia, Brazil and Argentina but excluding any modern wall paper.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 12 Oct 2016 08:35:26pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
For today something you will likely never see. In 1992 I bought 8 sets of the Columbian reprints. I wanted a couple sets cancelled on Columbus day but October 12, 1992 fell on a Sunday and all of the post offices were closed. I drove into Kansas City to the main P.O. and found a guy behind a closed window sorting mail. I was able to get his attention and he agreed to let me use his CDS cancellor and so I was able to cancel 2 sets on the correct date for the sets. I imagine there are some others who were also able to get some sets on this date but I have never seen any.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 16 Oct 2016 10:12:32pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Today another country that I have not spent much time on; Somoa. However I'm working on New Zealand and Australia so I'll be searching most of the Islands in the area including Samoa. The first set is heavily counterfeited, as most of the ones I have are. They're space fillers but I rather doubt many of them will ever get replaced.
Shown are the first three pages.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 18 Oct 2016 09:22:15pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Philb, Yes I agree, they're real beauties. There are a lot of great Italian colony sets, most of them back of book. Unfortunately they're rather hard to come by and usually somewhat pricey.
For today another French colony; Togo. It is fairly easy to complete with many nice sets.
Shown is the first page and a couple more early regular issue pages and a nice airmail page.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 20 Oct 2016 12:24:25am
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Nigel, Thanks, I like the airmail set as well, They are a larger format and appear as water colors. I don't think they are all that scarce but finding might not be that easy.
For today the Portuguese colony of Congo. Not to exciting as all of the stamps are regular issues of Portugal with Congo inscribed and some with overprints.
You mentioned counterfeits in the Samoa post. How do you deal with them? The Scott catalog mentions in some cases (e.g., Persia), that 90% of some sets are counterfeit. It hardly seems reasonable to get certs for what amount to lower valued or even common stamps. Have you developed the experience to identify fakes? Do you mark them in your albums in any way?
Thanks! Great posts as always.
-Steve
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"What are you waiting for? Those stamps aren't going to collect themselves."
Among all the splendor of the stamps you are showing, I just noticed the Fiji stamps 1891/2 with the VR Royal Cypher -- very cool indeed. Interesting to see the cypher as the main design element! And of course Victoria did not need a numeral between the V and the R. The one and only Vicky, long did she reign.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 21 Oct 2016 11:50:26pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Steve, The Samoa counterfeits are fairly easy to distinguish between the originals. Yes I do note the stamps in my collection that are fakes. Persia is a different story. They are not as easy to tell apart, because of this I do not take early Iran very seriously. Fakes are usually mint and very fresh. Although there are fake postmarks I think there is a better chance of a stamp that looks like it's been around the block and has a convincing looking postmark to be legitimate. I find the majority of fakes to be easily identifiable but there are always exceptions to the rule.
Eric, those Fiji stamps seem to be unique. I can't recall seeing that design on any other
British Commenwealth stamps and one has to wonder why.
For today the British Colony of Nova Scotia. The stamps that are not in mounts are catalog cut-outs, just for reference. They are quite expensive and rather doubt I will ever get any of them. The stamps on the second page are some of my favorite designs of all the Queen Victoria stamps.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 23 Oct 2016 10:26:59pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
For today, what I consider the most difficult European country to collect; Spain. There are a great many stamps and many of them are quite expensive. One of the only ways to get many of them is with bar or punch cancels, which are remainders. On top of that there are many rather convincing forgeries. Most of my European countries are 98-99% complete but I would be happy to get close to 95% with Spain. Along with Great Britain it is the last Euro that I am concentrating on.
Shown are the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th pages of regular issues and the first page of airmails.
I see the common thread of several Spain sets that are impossible to find in centered condition. That appears to be the search of a lifetime of collecting.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 25 Oct 2016 08:56:19pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Today the colorful French Colony of Senegal. There are a couple earlier overprinted sets than shown on my my first page. They are mostly quite expensive and I've chosen not to collect them at least for no.
Shown are my first three pages and the first page of postage dues.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 28 Oct 2016 10:21:29pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
The country of the day is Portuguese Guinea. Because of all the similar but different overprinted stamps, searching for stamps I need is rather difficult leaving this collection pretty weak.
Shown are the first page and a few later ones.
Hey Mitch, always glad to see your posts. This may be a dumb question but were those stamps on the last page of Curacao designed by the same folks that did the British Commonwealth stamps of the same era. They just look strikingly similar with the design elements, lay out and bi color design.
I think you are correct. If I am not mistaken, those stamps were printed by Bradbury Wilkinson. Other Curacao stamps of that period were printed at the American Bank Note Co. and are also recognizable as such.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 10 Nov 2016 08:52:41pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
The showing for today is the Portuguese colony of Funchal. It is part of the Madeira island change in the Atlantic Ocean, NW of Africa.
Shown are the only two pages of issued stamps.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 21 Nov 2016 07:36:33pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
For today the Spanish dominion of Philippines. The Islands were ceded to the U.S. in 1898 after the Spanish American War. Shown is the first page and a few latter ones.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 23 Nov 2016 07:44:57pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
In 19it46 the Philippines attained full independence from the United States of America.
The Republic of the Philippines then started issuing it's own stamps. Shown are the first page of regular, semi-postals and airmail stamps.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 03 Dec 2016 01:21:37am
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
I received a small lot of several nice mid 1930's sets from Italy today. Within them was the 1937 Green Stradivarius (4th stamp second row)which was the last commemorative stamp I needed for Italy. It was only a $16.00 stamp but proved for me to be the hardest one to find. It's addition leaves me with only 6 overprinted difinitives to complete the regular issues of Italy up through 1980. Te second page shows one of my favorite sets that I was able to upgrade to all mint by adding a few from the lot.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 03 Dec 2016 09:56:27pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
dollhaus, Thanks, here is another beauty I received yesterday. It is Vatican, Scott #C17.
It is one of the scarcest stamps from The Vatican and is missing from most collections. With this addition it leaves me with only three stamps from the pricey 1934 Pope Pius XI set to complete my Vatican collection thru my cut-off date of 1980.
Could someone give me a recent Scott catalog value of this stamps. My post 1940 catalogs are not accessible right now. It's lightly hinged. I paid $42.50 for it and C16, which, if memory serves, was around 7.5% of cat
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 04 Dec 2016 11:24:59pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
For today some of my top favorites, U.S. Proofs. Proofs are the first images printed made from the newly completed plates. Since they have seen no wear and were very carefully printed the images are perfect in every detail. They were printed in limited quantities but contrary to what one might think they are most often valued mch less than the later printed stamps.
Shown are the issues through 1869.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 05 Dec 2016 06:48:25pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
For today the proofs of the next U.S issues called the Banknotes. The difference between them are with and without secret marks and color or shades. The 1870 issue was not issued with grills. In my mind, as handsome a set has never been issued.
Mitch,
I agree, very handsome. They are my favorite series especially with fancy cancels. Their size is a plus with fancy cancels because they have more area for the cancel. I still have a scan of you 7c Stanton with the keyhole cancel.
Vince
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 06 Dec 2016 10:08:32pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Here are some more off those handsome stamps. These official stamps were of the same format but with different borders and all of the stamps of a department were the same color.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 08 Dec 2016 08:34:41pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Thanks guys but there is not much cause for drooling here, although they make a beautiful showing. The official proofs are actually quite cheap. Most catalog at $8 each while the highest, the $20 State department is $35.00. The complete set can be had for around $900. I got mine around 25 years ago when they were half the price. One thing to consider when bidding or buying is that proofs almost always sell for full catalog. The issued official stamps are generally cataloged at much much more than the proofs. They are also quite difficult to get nice copies of due to the typically poor centering and killer cancels. Today I'm showing my official stamps.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 20 Dec 2016 06:51:52pm
re: A-Ra's Page of the Day Part X
Kajones and Alllen, Thanks much for the kind words. Although I've been collecting for the better part of 50 years, it was not until 15 yeas ago that I thought my collection good
enough to show on the internet. One of my favorite things to do is look at stamps and I'd imagined it was the same with other collectors. Whether it be used for just looking, reference or creating interest. I think it has accomplished these as well as many others things. On my daily posts I usually just show the first or better pages from a country but all the pages I have scanned are available for viewing at any time. You can see the collection at the following link Antonius-Ra.com