I'm new to this. I'm not even sure if collecting envelopes with stamps and cancellations are even collectible items, but I have come across several letters from the 1950s the stamps are in good condition with clear and readable cancellation marks with readable address and return address what I'm looking for is to find out what these would be called, and if there is a way to collect them.
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
Joseph, there are many people, myself included, who save entire envelopes with the stamps attached. The erudite term for us is postal historians; more plebian, we're called cover collectors. And, yes, what we do is well recognized in the philatellic community, even if we are a decided minority.
There are people who collect a given year, like 1953, or broader period to document either rates or stamp series.
I, for one, collect envelopes with seals on them as well as envelopes that document the various domestic and international rates, plus covers that document special services and problems in delivery. I barely collect stamps anymore, instead concentrating almost exclusively on covers.
So, welcome, Joseph. If you need to ask more questions, go right ahead. And feel free to start sharing images of those things that you find interesting.
David
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer 08 Nov 2013 08:45:28am
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
Joseph,
One of the great aspects of this hobby is you can collect what you like. So if your just starting have fun and enjoy. In time you'll figure out what part of this hobby suits your fancy. Here's a simple cover from Barbados.
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
Joseph, what all the others have said is so true; something is "collectible" if you choose to collect it. How you narrow down the scope of your collecting will likely change over time. As a kid I had collected US first day covers, but later I started collecting unusual covers, like Tin Can Mail, Rattle Snake Island canceled covers, British royalty omnibus stamps on covers, etc. The permutations are almost endless! That's the fun of it. Enjoy and share some of your covers with us here.
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
This will give you an idea of what I collect, Joseph:
They are front and back of an post card sent from the USS Texas during the First World War. It's especially nice because it includes a Christmas seal, it has a rather rare pair of stamps, and is military in nature. I wrote this up here and in an online magazine: http://juicyheads.com/link.php?PLJOLIFG
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
"They are front and back of an post card sent from the USS Texas during the First World War. It's especially nice because it includes a Christmas seal"
Not only that, it's addressed to Christ! Not to quibble, David, you're the cover expert, er postal historian, but isn't that cover FROM Detroit and TO the USS Texas?
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
Joseph I find covers are interesting on a few levels, the stamp, the cancel, the date, the number of cancels, the address and the person receiving the letter. It is a bonus if the letter is still in the evelope. This one was added to my collection this week.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 13 Nov 2013 06:36:41pm
re: Envelopes that have clear addresses and cancellation marks and stamps. From 1953
A simple cover.
But a treasure.
It was not prepared as a souvenir.
It is franked by a stamp that only paid that particular postage rate, during a short time when that rate was in effect.
The stamp while cancelled does not have the image obscured.
My twins were born late on the night or June 20th, 1984. It could only be better had the envelope been cancelled East Meadow, Nassau, LI, NY.
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