My name is Rich and I live in Missouri, USA. I recently inherited a whole bunch of stamps, plate blocks, and covers. The stamps are world wide with the bulk of them being 1920-1950, with some late 1800's. The plate blocks are USA 1940-1970, not a complete collection. The covers are mostly USA and Great Britain, same time period.
I am an avid collector of civil war weaponry and native american stone tools. So the fascination with stamps was immediate. Diving into the German stamps became an education in history, art, and stamp collecting jargon. It is also a bit like treasure hunting, as that is how I felt when I found a cancelled 9N19 and a 9N20 in the lot!
So what next? I call myself an owner because I have never collected stamps. And I don't think I will, but the door is still open. I know that I have many months of sorting to do as Germany has taken a month alone with my head buried in the Scott. My wife has started to miss me.
Anyway - its good to be on a forum for helps. Thanks.
there are still immense troves of Civil War postal history waiting not far from the surface. It's not unusual to find covers with Regimental addresses in the dollar boxes at burses; just gotta look.
one of my favorite dealers in stamps (seals, actually) also deals in Ohio Indian artifacts: John Denune. So the two can go hand in glove.
glad you enjoyed your foray into Germany. That alone, given all the occupation issues, could keep you busy for a lifetime.
and, if you opt to abandon the US covers, let me know
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 18 May 2017 08:50:59pm
re: New stamp owner from Missouri
Richard, Welcome to StampoRama. I live West of Kansas City near Lawrence. It seems youo have already discovered many of the reasons tat attract us to collecting stamps. It's is probably the best way to discover the world and everything in it. There are no good reasons not to collect stamps and hope you continue. Don't hesitate to ask questions, there are many here to help you.
I collect the world by country and have a website that shows most of the stamps of the world up to the latter part of the 20th century. You should find it most interesting in discovering what is out there and also it will serve as a reference and help putting what you have in perspective. The link to the site is below.