eBay Chat: Stamps

eBay chatboard archive: Nov-26-07 to Dec-02-07 week

Posted by manhattanconcepts ( 9 ) on Dec-02-07 at 23:18:36 PST

bjourmu,

Thanks so much for checking on that Bayern dividing line thing. If Michel says the dividing lines surround four groups of 45 stamps, does that mean there were 11 1/4 stamps in each group? kinda' odd, literally.

And if this were the case, what do you think they would call the spaces between pairs without the dividing lines. (Scott vaguely differentiates pairs with gutters between.) Would this internal space fit the definition of gutter on an imperf like this?

And, doesn't this also mean that there would be pairs with 0 dividing lines, pairs with 1 dividing line and pairs with two dividing lines where two groups meet?

FYI "Scott" says "Full margins = 1mm. There are dividing lines between stamps."

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-02-07 at 21:33:39 PST

jim_lawler
Hi there if you still are there. Have a question about Duck stamps. I have a sheet of 30 on auction and I did some research about them. On one website are talking about errors , shifting position, and a "star" on the sky.How I never see a genuine copy , error or varietes how is called can you take a look at this and give me your opinion? Thank you
http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyeBay&CurrentPage=MyeBaySelling&ssPageName=STRK:ME:LNLK

Posted by afeht ( 1182

)

on Dec-02-07 at 21:00:38 PST

Jim Lawler,

You have mentioned once that you may have a spare copy of a specialized South African catalog. Could you email me about it at afeht@aol.com, please?

Posted by jim_lawler ( 1441

)

on Dec-02-07 at 20:53:50 PST

infla-alec
An EUSC member did set up an alternate chat site when eBay began blocking members who were bringing to light the large quantity of bad material being sold on eBay. Ultimately they were able to get several thrown off of eBay. But, several paid the price for their service to the hobby. During that time it was impossible to discuss any questionable lot without eBay blocking members from posting, some were even blocked from bidding or selling, for up to 30 days. Eventually eBay would implement the Stamp Watch group. While it’s considerably improved, you can still find questionable material on eBay without a lot of effort. So, I expect that if eBay pulled the plug for having Liveworld run this site we’d quickly find another created (again) for our chat, or we’d go back to the old one.

Check out knuden’s link to that web site, you’ll see my familiar “Greetings” from 2005.

Jim L.

member

Posted by copakebri ( 185

) on Dec-02-07 at 17:55:35 PST

Antonius, I just loaded the webiste and put in for membership. Thanks again!!

Posted by copakebri ( 185

) on Dec-02-07 at 17:51:22 PST

Thank you very much Antonius. I am having trouble loading the webiste though. Are you sure thats the correct URL? What does IUSC stand for? Thanks again for your assistance.

Posted by abt1950 ( 229

)

on Dec-02-07 at 17:34:12 PST

Evening/morning/afdternoon from a snowy NJ.

Happy birthday to all young and old philatetic farts. You know who you are.

re EUSC and disaster planning The StampChat+ website that K-E linked to is the continuation of a site that was originally to serve as an alternate site for discussing eBay listings, back in the bad old days before the SWC. It's still there and available should the need arise.

Posted by antonius-ra ( 663

)

on Dec-02-07 at 17:23:31 PST

copakebri Welcome!
You should try here: http://iusc.org/ You should find several with like collecting interests as your own.

Posted by copakebri ( 185

) on Dec-02-07 at 16:20:30 PST

Hi all. I am a collector of US sheets (panes). I've been at it for a number of years, but I really never met anyone with the same collecting niche. however, the sheet category on Ebay seems to be very active. I also know a number of dealers who specialize in US sheets. I'm reaching out to ask if there are any other similar collectors out there. If so, I'd love to chat and compare notes.

Posted by knuden ( 2399

)

on Dec-02-07 at 14:39:39 PST

Davd. S. - Congratulation with the day. :O)

NOIP. this are my kind of Christmas decoration. *he he*

K.E

I'm a catalog king, expert and philatelist - whoopee!!

Posted by bjornmu ( 956

) on Dec-02-07 at 13:30:14 PST

stoopsitter2, if I read my Michel catalogue correctly regarding the first stamps of Bavaria, the dividing lines were not between each stamp, but between the four groups of 45 stamps in the sheet. So most pairs would not have this between them.

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-02-07 at 13:21:10 PST

David S…Happy birthday! Same goes to Rainer in case I forget later. Fifty ain’t so bad. You can always say you merely went from forty-nine to forty-ten.

?

Jim

Posted by paperhistory ( 1991

)

on Dec-02-07 at 12:44:13 PST

steve: thanks. I decided $20 was worth the look and joined up with Steiner -- the US revenue pages look like an easy and cost-effective start. I'll run off a set and see where it goes. (and hopefully I won't be convinced by the presence of pages into collecting too much else).

Posted by smolcott ( 231

) on Dec-02-07 at 12:32:31 PST

Paperhistory-
Steiner currently lists 297 pages for US Revenues.
Steve

Posted by malolo ( 869

)

on Dec-02-07 at 11:48:19 PST

Aloha - Michel

Happy Birthday - David S

Good Luck - deannamerrill
and may you sell your stamp. I have it in good stead that if the stamp sells eBay will use the commission fees to fund a part time stamp expert to review listings on eBay.com. They will also buy equipment ( called Scott's Specialized) allowing eBay buyers to determine authenticity on a computer screen. In the mean time read all you can about stamps, not rubber!

Roger

Posted by mendelbrot ( 45

)

on Dec-02-07 at 11:15:32 PST

Greetings to you all

Michel

Posted by bits-n-pieces ( 3159

)

on Dec-02-07 at 11:08:30 PST

Greetings all: stamps are not my area, but I like to try new things when I can pick up stuff at auction that is different than my normal interests. Bought a bunch of stamps and nothing much in the lot stands out except this little group.

About 20 Argentinian stamps, mounted on a sheet and dates noted under each. The dates are from 1892 to 1911. Just wondering if these are worth listing as a lot or if I should just toss them in with the group of South American stamps when I list. TIA for any advice. Pat.

Posted by matthew1999 ( 177

)

on Dec-02-07 at 10:14:25 PST

Happy Birthday David
from a young fart,

Posted by iomoon ( 1055

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:45:33 PST

Happy birthday DJS!!

Posted by djs127 ( 634

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:42:54 PST

22028 Happy 50th birthday in advance!!

Today in fact is my 49th birthday so we are not far apart in age. I see from your posts that you collect stamps from Tibet.
I have a small collection of Nepal stamps mint on scott specialty pages and used in my international pages. I picked most of them up in Middletown New York when I once visited the offices of Henry Gittner.

David Snyder

Posted by djs127 ( 634

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:36:12 PST

paperhistory I also do not like making my own album pages so since I collect worldwide I often purchase scott pages I see on Ebay like the Big Brown reproductions and Scott specialty pages. In fact last week a new international binder I won on Ebay arrived in the mail and since yesterday I have been inserting some Big Brown pages into my Scott internationals.
David Snyder

Posted by knuden ( 2399

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:27:15 PST

infla-alec - There has for a long time been an alternative chat here. What about to get this to be better? :O)

K.E

I'm a catalog king, expert and philatelist - whoopee!!

Posted by paperhistory ( 1991

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:22:27 PST

Jim and bill: thanks. I happen to hate making my own pages with a passion, unless it's for an exhibit, in which case I view the process as a necessary evil. Just not one of my favorite things to do. :) I suppose I should pony up for the Steiner website (there's probably something else I want there anyway) and see what the pages look like.

That 2cent Harding auction is amusing. If they are claiming a PSE 90 grade they should at least find a stamp without readily apparent damage. :)

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:10:18 PST

Also, some of us are neither young nor old, nor necessarily farts, just cranky…

Jim

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-02-07 at 09:08:00 PST

Matt… I made my own album pages for both regular stamps and revenues. That way I can display more than one copy of a type of stamp, for instance I mounted two US Scott #70 stamps certified as “red lilac” but with distinctly different colors. I also prefer the catalog number to appear below the stamp rather than under it, so it doesn’t have to be lifted to see what it is.

Making pages is not hard to do. I do it in Word, using simple drawing tools.

Jim

Posted by stamphick! ( 338

) on Dec-02-07 at 09:03:15 PST

Why would anyone even go to the bother of reporting that auction?

Posted by iomoon ( 1055

)

on Dec-02-07 at 08:52:59 PST

3. EBay wants the listing fee - some hope!!

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-02-07 at 08:47:26 PST

balkania… For eBay to pull an auction, someone has to complain about it first. If someone complained about that one, and eBay let it run anyway, I can think of only two reasons:

—Someone at eBay is enjoying the joke as much as we did on the board, or
—Someone at eBay is as naïve as the seller and left the lot running in hopes at least one buyer will be dumb enough to fall for it.

?

Jim

Posted by wrd3 ( 100

) on Dec-02-07 at 08:31:30 PST

paperhistory when I last had a subscription to Steiner's pages (probably 3-4 years ago), he had 8 files titled united_states_revenues_documentary (103 pages), united_states_revenues_future (6 pages), united_states_revenues_proprietary (11 pages), united_states_revenues_rest (40 pages), united_states_revenues_stock (44 pages), united_states_revenues_wine (23 pages), united_states_savings (11 pages) and united_states_semi_official_airs (16 pages, but probably not items you were asking about).

I would guess these pages are pretty complete, especially to house a sideline collection.

Bill D.

Posted by infla-alec ( 562

)

on Dec-02-07 at 08:10:23 PST

Chores for the weekend completed and now what time is left of the weekend is mine. Yippee !!

Mitch Should ebay ever decide to end the stamp board as we know it then I would indeed be sad to see the Eusc fold.The time for the Eusc to stand alone is, NOW and not before ebay decide to change the whole chat boards set up currently in place. Yes we should be grateful to ebay for allowing such sites to exist but I really do believe that it is only a matter of time before this site is closed down.

Yes the Eusc needs to stand on it's own and that is why I am of the strong opinion that it needs a philatelic Forum with a chat room of it's own.

I know Rainer has had difficulty in trying to stimulate interest on his own web Forum for Nepal etc but when such a site is dedicated to a specialist field then you are automatically ruling out thousands of potential members. Lets face it your average collector isn't into collecting by speciality. Most people tend to generalize and that isn't something I'm against in any shape or form. The point being that everyone here has an interest in Philately and that is what people want to discuss and talk about, no matter what the area.

Yes most Forums rely on the regulars to start off debates and exhibit material but that has always been the way with every society/ club worldwide. So it's not just a US or English speaking countries problem.

One way for the Eusc to stand alone I feel would be to have a yearly subscription. The amount raised could I think perhaps help with the set up costs of running a really good Forum and chat room. In this day and age most could easily pay via Paypal.

I'd suggest access be by password given to paid up members. With the password being changed yearly and ony given to those renewing subscriptions. New visitors to such a Forum could have limited posting capabilities. Thus not denying the inexperienced collector the chance to ask questions.

Another way for any Eusc Forum to survive is to accept limited sponsored advertising from dealers.

If I had the computer skills I would gladly set up such a Forum but sadly I don't.

As everyone knows the German ebay board was closed down a few weeks ago but thanks to a few it has resurfaced as the Briefmarken Cafe. Ok it's more a place where regulars get to chat about any subject under the sun but at least they have somewhere to go. Many there meet regularly now at stamp shows all over Germany which is never a bad thing. Especially when I get invited over for a free beer and Wurst :-) Then of course there is the Philaforum set up also in Germany which in my opinion is very successful. So it can be done "IF" the volunteers are forthcoming. I'm quite happy to vounteer my services in any way possible. It doesn't include computer skills I know but every little helps. If not then it is only a matter of time before we all lose contact with each other.

Anyway that is just my initial thoughts on the matter. Dare say others will have differing opinions but lets hear what they have to say and once and for all make some decisions about where the Eusc is going to go.

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-02-07 at 07:36:50 PST

Good morning e1,

Jaywild,
Why ebay did not cancel this auction?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230196797168&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013

Posted by paperhistory ( 1991

)

on Dec-02-07 at 07:35:08 PST

and a question -- anyone familiar with the steiner pages for US revenues? I've been pondering finally breaking down and buying the Scott revenue pages, but if Steiner has decent pages that is probably a better option. I enjoy revenues but this would definitely be a sideline collection.

Posted by paperhistory ( 1991

)

on Dec-02-07 at 07:33:21 PST

Matt H: As you know, some of us are cranky young farts, thanks very much.

balkania: I perused your links fairly quickly. Some of the stampless covers are very common and unless there is interesting content will probably sell in the $5 range. I agree with sayasan that the early links -- the military items -- will be of some interest (I rather like the 1793 Fort Henry item, which looks to have been carried by a military courier).

Some of the later items have a lot of potential -- for example the strip of 1 cent 1851 imperforates and the confederate cover at the end -- but they have serious condition problems. Hard to guess what else there may be.

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-02-07 at 07:02:15 PST

Jeff-raff… Thank you very, very, very much for sharing!

Jim

Posted by postalhysteria ( 3826

)

on Dec-02-07 at 06:28:53 PST

here is today's Barn Bargain Please note, it is not just rare, or very rare, but very, very rare.

Posted by sayasan ( 734

)

on Dec-02-07 at 05:16:19 PST

balkania - if you're still there. Just a thought, but maybe some of the Massachusetts militia orders, or the correspondence from Fort Henry, might be of interest to military history collectors? Try googling the Company of Military Historians, and see if you can post a query on their site.

Richard W.

Posted by jim_lawler ( 1441

)

on Dec-02-07 at 04:08:12 PST

Greetings
and an Indiana "Good Morning"
to you all

Jim L.

member

Posted by claghorn1p ( 413

)

on Dec-02-07 at 03:32:23 PST

Welcome to the eBay Stamps Chat Board!

It would be greatly appreciated if chat board participants
provide LINKS to pictures
rather than posting them directly to this board.
Here's how to post a LINK. Thanks.

Yellow Boxes

Philatelic Links and Other Resources

You're new to stamp trading?
You've acquired a stamp collection you want to sell on eBay?
Check out these links:

Links for New and Non-Collectors

Chosen links will open in a new window

This is a community creation by eBay Stamp Board users. Thanks to all who contribute!
Click here for board code download.

06/28/07

Posted by 22028 ( 1666

)

on Dec-02-07 at 01:08:40 PST

David,

I am only 49 years old (i fact, in less then one month i turn 50!!!) and do not need the money. So I am not considering selling my collection unless i receive an offer i can not resist.

Posted by 22028 ( 1666

)

on Dec-02-07 at 01:06:58 PST

Philaweb,

I agree with you. On my web site I host since many years a discussion forum for the Nepal and Tibet Philatelic Study Circle and even invite memeers with direct email campaigns to participate. But apparently no one has something to say not even a reply to my invitations i receive. On the other hands, I find many of them activly buying and selling on ebay so it is not a matter of time but apparently lack of interest.

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-02-07 at 01:05:10 PST

22028,

It takes two to tango even in Tibet and high realisations have to do with competitive bidding. You will have to follow the market and react when new bidders with bankrolls have entered the market and then that is the time to sell,

David B.

Posted by philaweb ( 344

)

on Dec-02-07 at 00:43:19 PST

Good Morning/Day/Afternoon/Evening!

Unfortunately, my experience from the internet is that stamp collectors is not a sociable group. Too many different fields of interests, too many niches and when you finally find someone with the same interests, they live a world apart. But then again, that is also the strength of the interenet - you can find material you would otherwise never have a chance of finding anywhere else.

Posted by matthew1999 ( 177

)

on Dec-02-07 at 00:30:03 PST

Mitch,

I hear ya. I really found when I wandered away from the board that I kind of missed the cranky old farts who hang around here. It is a real community, with a stability and longevity that is remarkable, if you think about it. Too, lots of members have met offline for socializing and trading. So it stands apart from eBay, though we are indebted to the firm for providing the free venue.

I've had a lot of ideas for where else it could go. A better-designed website, or a 3D world like Second Life, or a YouTube group, would provide a richer media environment for us to gather in. There is really nothing exciting on the web for stamp people - VSC is poorly designed and hard to navigate, and the sites for the APS, Collector's Club and Linn's are pretty thin. SG offers more, but it's tightly controlled by one company and there's no sense of community from what I can see. I don't know what else there is.

We'll talk more. Insomnia is giving way to exhaustion. Alas I have to work tomorrow...

Mh

Posted by matthew1999 ( 177

)

on Dec-02-07 at 00:20:21 PST

balkania,

At the risk of sounding pompous, I'd like to tell a little story from my own experience.

When I was getting back into stamps as an adult, about 10 years ago, I used to visit some of the bourses in Prague. To my naive eyes, a lot of what I saw often seemed to be very low-priced material. Once, for example, I saw a United States Zeppelin cover for about $15. This seemed like a bargain, and I was sure I could resell it for more. After all, it was a Zeppelin cover! The legendary Zeppelin! So I bought it, emailed a scan to a dealer in the US and asked him what he would pay me for it.

He said about $15.

So I sent it to him. I made no profit; but for the investment of my time and effort, I was rewarded with learning something about postal history in general and LZ 129 covers in particular (they're not as scarce as I imagined).

Moral of the story: generally, if someone is offering to sell you something for X, that's about the most it is worth. Bargains don't fall from the sky. When you buy stamps, consider it all an investment in fun and learning. Your covers look fun to me, but then again, I know nothing about them.

Bill Gross (who has spent more on stamps than every member of this board put together) said to me not long ago that whenever he takes out his expensive stamps to peruse, he "pays" himself for the pleasure of looking at them. In this way, he reckons, some of his best treasures have "earned" back many times what he paid for them - just from his enjoyment of looking at them.

I like that attitude.

Mh

Posted by antonius-ra ( 663

)

on Dec-02-07 at 00:11:27 PST

MH Matthew my friend

First off the "Yellow boxes" are not really a subsidary of the EUSC. That is not to say the Eusc dosen't have some "direction" in what they contain? However, it is all rather murky to me, due to an incident that happened about 9 months ago (which I do not feel comfortable discussing)
Perhaps Bill S. can clarify this point.
The Eusc needs to stand by itself and the Yellow boxes need to stand, (by itself) as a extemely helpful repository of knowledge for people who read this board (whether they are EUSC members or not).

The first meeting of my tenure was dedicated to seeking a direction for the EUSC. To this date I have not recieved any solid ideas as to what that might be. Except for Peter, Matt and Bill and Alec (who kindly donated $100 to the club for whatever might be worthwile) no one has offered any substantial ideas (or help) to make the club
what it should and could be!
I have been thinking lately that it would be nice to add a database to the club site which would contain things that many collectors cannot find elsewhere. I thought a cross reference of catalog numbers for different countries from pertinent catalog publishers would be a great thing. Of course we would need volunteers who specialize in certain countries (and have the various catalogs) to implement this idea.
ANY TAKERS????

Your idea of a datbase for stamp shops would be great also.
Who wants to volunteer to assemble that?

The Eusc.org site contains info on all of its members. I have oftened wondered if anyone ever used that information?
It was no small task putting that together (by the people who came before me). But has anyone ever contacted another member with similar collecting fields to see about trading and sharing information between themselves. I would guess a couple but few more!

If they kill this board the EUSC will probably die. The question is; will anyone really care???
Very few were interested in making a dedicated EUSC chat board, which I cannot understand.

I really think the EUSC could develop into one of philately's best resources but who is going to do the work.
Maybe all those rich retired guys with nothing else to do but get those stamps they could not afford when they were kids.
I'm not one of them (rich) but I still like the hunt. Unfortunately I will still mostly be consummed with how to pay the monthly bills when I'm 80 (if I get that far) without a bi monthly paycheck from the MAN.

Mitchell
Duh Prez

Posted by 22028 ( 1666

)

on Dec-01-07 at 23:47:47 PST

I just have added a new review/guide on ebay, dealing with the Private Mail Carriers of Colombia, on of my collecting areas.
Have a look at:
http://reviews.ebay.com/The-Private-Mail-Carriers-of-Colombia-Bogota-May-2006_W0QQugidZ10000000004709031

Posted by infla-alec ( 562

)

on Dec-01-07 at 23:46:16 PST

Balkania My understanding of the covers you showed below is to be honest not worth my trying to give you an opinion on as they are not an area I know much about. However as Richard F correctly tried to inform you they are only worth what someone else is willing to pay you whenever the time comes to sell. That is true for every single item in any of our collections.

You asked was $750 a lot to have paid ? In my opinion yes it was especially if you don't really know what exactly you have been buying. It's hard to explain in simple enough English but let me try.

For example I recently paid $1000 for a collection of German inflation covers. Now I only bid that much because I decided it was worth that amount to me. Before deciding my maximum amount I made sure I did some research and so I knew which items were the better rates, what I could use in my own collection and what could be sold / traded on at a later date. When buying I don't pay attention to what any of the catalogue's give as values. I know from years of specializing in one small collecting field what is common and what is rare or even unique. Likewise when selling I have no illusions about the value of something. I know I'll only get what someone else is willing to pay. I don't really worry about selling prices as I'm only a collector. If I was a dealer then it would obviously be a different story.

So in summary you only need to justify to yourself if the amount you paid is worth it or not. I know English isn't your native tongue and so many will make allowances for that. This is very much an International stamp board where for many English is not their native tongue. So don't feel shy or put off by lack of language skills about posting here. My German is far from perfect as it's self taught but I write in German boards all the time. At first what I wrote there was very difficult to understand but hopefully now I can express myself better than before & most German speakers can understand me.

Katrina Yes Walzendruck does mean exactly the same thing as cylinder / rotary printings. Cylinder is how native United Kingdom English speakers would describe the type of printing and Rotary American English.
I don't have a Scott catalogue so can't comment on how they describe stamp values. I can tell you that that the stamps on that particular parcel card are by themselves not very rare or even scarce. With postal history it is not always the stamps that make something scarce or valuable. It could be a cover franked with very common stamps but is also at the same time a very unusual or difficult postal rate. Of course sometimes you can combine a rare rate together with rare stamps but those are items you simply don't see every day. Yes I have a few rare or even unique items in my collection as do many others here. But most I think will tell you that they have found such things only after years of collecting and researching their own collecting area. Bottom line philately is a fun hobby & at the end of the day if it ever came to the point where money was all that mattered then that is the day I will give up.

Enough of my ramblings for now. I'll be offline a few hours as today is the day my wife has set aside for me to redecorate the spare bedroom. Usually a sign that she has the idea of guests coming to stay but has failed to tell me about it .....

Posted by 22028 ( 1666

)

on Dec-01-07 at 23:15:20 PST

David, this makes me think if I should sell my Tibet collection...

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 23:07:51 PST

Matthew,

that makes sense, the items I noted are all in the high $100s or $1000s and not the cheaper items which have hardly changed at all. It seems those with fat wallets are emptying them for good stamps.

David B.

Posted by matthew1999 ( 177

)

on Dec-01-07 at 22:06:06 PST

D2, IO,

My sense from talking to people after a couple of recent sales is that in fact, there are some new stamp collectors out there at the top end of the market. People aged around 60 who have had successful careers and put away some nice cash, still have a competitive streak (hence the successful careers) and are looking to recapture a bit of the fun they had when they collected stamps as a kid - only now they can afford the good stuff.

I don't think this trickles down much to the ordinary stuff, except where grading has made it possible for them to competitively aquire splendidly graded copies of common stamps. That's where you see the $6 stamp go for $350 - it's the "nobody's gonna beat mine" attitude, and money's no obstacle.

I wrote about this recently here.

saphilatelics
Yes, it would be a great idea for the yellow boxes (which, by the way, are in desperate need of updating and redesigning!) Maybe that would be a good topic for a meeting Mitch? "Stamp shops and philatelic points of interest in my home town/state/country"
Then we could collect all the posts and make a little website out of them all at once...

Here, here and here are some scans of stamp shop listings from a philatelic directory I bought when I lived in Prague four years ago (2003). I think it's mostly up to date. Some shops had to relocate after the floods in 2002. (Po=Monday, Ut=Tue, St=Weds, Ct=Thur, Pa=Fri, So=Sat, Ne=Sunday)
The shop in Legerova I mentioned in my earlier post is actually the Filap shop in Sokolska (I was off by a block). You have to walk through to the courtyard in the back. Nice friendly old guys, they speak German, one of them speaks decent French too. They have some good stock in some areas.

Below are the bourses, from the same 2003 book. I can't vouch for whether the info is still correct, but I would guess that it mostly is:

Monday: Urxova street no 11, Praha 8 - Karlin. Even-numbered Mondays, except holidays (18:00-20:00)
Tuesday: Palac Charitas, Karlovo nam. 5, Praha 2. Every Tuesday except holidays (15-17)
Tuesday & Sunday: Dum armady, Vitezne nam. 4, Praha 6. Every 2nd and 4th Tues. of the month (17-18:30), and every 2nd Sunday of the month (9-11:30)
I never visited the above three, so I can't vouch for them. I did visit the following two quite often:
Wednesday: menza VSE, Italska street (look for the broad stairs of the modern building on the left as you go up the hill from nam. W. Churchill). Every Weds. (15:30-19). This is the one I used to frequent. It has 30-40 dealers with all kinds of good stuff. Also they have floor auctions, and you can get a beer in the hall next door if you get there before 5. Lots of fun!
Saturday & Sunday: Kulturni dum barikadniku, at the end of Mrstikova street by the Strasnicka metro in Praha 10. A little out of the center but worth visiting. Big and busy. Sat (7-12) and Sun (8-11).

Enjoy your trip!

Mh

Posted by de66 ( 1169

) on Dec-01-07 at 21:33:51 PST

What nice Confederate cover with a $3000 estimate doing in an OZ auction which sold yesterday for $29,000! A new find i believe.

http://www.prestigephilately.com/catlot.php?acode=237605&auctionnum=132&sortcode=usaph&lim=

D1

Posted by 22028 ( 1666

)

on Dec-01-07 at 21:31:23 PST

Thanks for all who answered on the photo corners but they are not the ones I remember, anyway, the next issue of "The American Philatelist" is on the way, will go thru then.

We had a fire alarm in our building yesterday evening and the building was evacuated. An apartment burned out in 9th. Floor while i am living in 11th Floor. No casualties..., fire fighters were on seen fast. A friend of mine took some shots with his video camera but the police asked him to delete the movie...(what he has not done of course but moved away silently..), well, no bad image should escape the Emirates...

Posted by stoopsitter2 ( 0 )

on Dec-01-07 at 20:31:33 PST

balkania05

I think what you posted is fascinating. I for one will enjoy looking them up, getting confused, looking again, writing someone, getting all excited about a find, getting all deflated when wrong, wondering who the writers were and if I know their relatives and if I am one of them because one of your covers has my last name on it, on and on. Covers are great like that. The task of understanding covers is not just arduous. It is impossible and therefore perfect. No right, no wrong. Probably no dough. So what?

Katrina

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-01-07 at 20:09:25 PST

jaywild
I have lots of Chronicles printings about stamps and cancels. I've tried to understand some of the cancels shown there and couldn't. Do you think it's a bad idea to use printing matter ( Chronicles) like reference book?

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-01-07 at 20:04:10 PST

Thank you jaywild.

Posted by 1covers ( 1370

)

on Dec-01-07 at 20:02:39 PST

Jim - What I was trying to say politely is that the covers shown are not worth $750 unless he can find another person who wishes to buy a pig-in-a-poke. The value is only in the play time he can spend on them to learn.

Posted by jaywild ( 1028

)

on Dec-01-07 at 19:56:33 PST

balkania… I’d afraid I don’t know the value of your covers, but I think what 1covers was suggesting was doing some research yourself and learning about the postal systems of the time period, and rates and routes and markings. I must tell you however that is a daunting task, which would take years and years of study. Although your items appear to be in good shape overall, this doesn’t mean they are automatically valuable. Only a specialist would know.

I will say this—if you have any 18th Century covers with October 5 dates on them I would be most interested in them.

?

Also, American covers with March 4th dates on them might be of great interest to me as well.

Jim

Posted by stoopsitter2 ( 0 )

on Dec-01-07 at 19:43:35 PST

infla-alec

Thanks so much for all the information on the Kreuzers. I will get a scan up soon and look forward to your kind offer of help.

I enjoyed researching your parcel card: Are cylinder (Walzendruck) printings the same as rotary press printings? Because Scott's has color variations for the base stamp 50m without overprint: I assume yours is the bl and green rotary) If this is the correct base stamp, then the value with the surprint plus the 4x = ????.?? per stamp plus the other cool stuff? omg.

Is it tacky to choke on value on this board?

Katrina

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-01-07 at 19:30:42 PST

1covers

Thank you one more time for your "help" but I really don't need to write a " poem " about this covers. My English is bad and that's why sometimes words or phrases do not match with what I think. For you my words have a diferent mean for me other. How do you think I have an idea about this covers value if I don't have couple opinions? Probably your answer will be : Scott or ebay auction. I don't have a Scott catalog about this kind of cancels + for me it's hard to describe an early stamp because are to many varieties on one scott number. have a nice Sunday

Posted by 1covers ( 1370

)

on Dec-01-07 at 19:15:07 PST

balk - Maybe my understanding of English isn't so good. What did you mean by your question "I paid $750, do you think it's a lot?" I didn't read that as "please tell me about these interesting covers so I can appreciate them".

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-01-07 at 19:03:26 PST

1covers

If you had the time to read one of my message before to post my pictures "I'm not originally from U.S.A". Very well if you post now some European stamps and ask the opinion to the members , how you would feel when one of the members gives you a similar answer to yours? Thank you for your answer but sounds more like sarcastic. My reason here is to learn and not to sell or buy !

Posted by 1covers ( 1370

)

on Dec-01-07 at 18:49:40 PST

balkania - The covers are worth what you get paid for them when you sell them. So, I guess they were worth $750. to you. Have fun and maybe learn something about them.

You aren't going to make any money when you sell them whenever that is so might as well get some "play" value for your money.

Posted by de66 ( 1169

) on Dec-01-07 at 18:37:48 PST

D2
Will do
D1

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 18:33:25 PST

D1, try the APS complaints about dealer members and ethical describing,

David B.

Posted by balkania05 ( 596

) on Dec-01-07 at 18:02:27 PST

iomoon
can I ask your opinion about this covers?

Posted by balkania05 ( 593

) on Dec-01-07 at 17:05:32 PST

de66

I know this guy from an auction.You better open a claim Via Paypal vs. him. Guess this is the only way to have your money back. He's from "bad boys" class so words or e-mails do not fix your problem.

Posted by de66 ( 1169

) on Dec-01-07 at 16:58:53 PST

Keeping up to date and it's been a week and no reply from NYstamps[re the rebacks Queensland item] via paypal to me, last two questions which basicly said 'REFUND MY MONEY'

D1

Posted by balkania05 ( 593

) on Dec-01-07 at 16:39:33 PST

Here are some of the covers from the album I've purchased today. Honest I've paid 750 USD. Do you think it's a lot? what is the market price for this kind of covers? Which one do you think is more valuable? Enjoy the pictures:
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2531/31810910wc2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1007/89559946vc5.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9981/31576523kt4.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8061/58875201pb5.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9056/96545548za6.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6100/64199694jb4.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8190/20598541mv9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1454/82323749wb9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/655/12817985hv1.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9634/42443946xa3.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1668/11ws8.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/843/12rj0.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4209/13vu1.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7493/14np7.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5043/16vq9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2995/17zt2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6383/18dq3.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5707/19me5.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9356/20ug2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7296/21ri7.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6825/22un7.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2284/23vc7.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5518/24yc3.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/308/25yj5.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2873/26qj8.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1861/27tw1.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4636/28cu0.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2109/29pp9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/421/30jf1.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5016/31ai9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4881/32qt2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8083/33lp9.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8343/34vc1.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2964/35sc6.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8502/36cx2.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2307/37hq2.jpg

Posted by iomoon ( 1055

)

on Dec-01-07 at 16:19:33 PST

D2

Interesting.

It is usually the dealers who follow the buyers rather than vice verse, unless of course, they have potential customers who are unable to keep track of the market.

Posted by rclwa ( 978

) on Dec-01-07 at 16:17:30 PST

Jaywild / Alec -- Just doing my usual drive by and noticed the mention of the 720 milliarden card. I have a large parcel wrapping piece containing about 800 mlrd, at the 4x rate, hard to tell as there are obviously a few stamps missing, which could be different denominations. I don't have it at hand (I'm at the library) but as I recall it is either Nov 29 or 30 date. A wonderful piece I snagged on eBay a few years back.

I see now instead of Bidder 1, Bidder 2, they disguise the IDs but leave a couple of letters, I presume so you might recognize a friend or rival, but not enough to contact a stranger. An improvement, I guess, but I'd still prefer full disclosure.

Bob in WA

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 15:20:55 PST

IO, p.s. the buyers were dealers not collectors,

David B.

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 15:19:38 PST

IO, not covers, not postal history, not bulk lots, better single stamps and some of the realisations were mind boggling, 3 or 4 times Gibbons catalogue value. It is only the two areas I have noticed so far and they were for a limited time frame of the countries involved,

David B.

Posted by balkania05 ( 593

) on Dec-01-07 at 15:10:31 PST

I'm asking you because original I'm from Europe and U.S. stamps are tricky for me and need second opinion.

Posted by balkania05 ( 593

) on Dec-01-07 at 15:09:21 PST

I just got an album with early covers, 1810-1870, and don't know how to sell this ones. How do you think is better? To sell each cover or entire album? Can I show you some pictures about this covers?

Posted by iomoon ( 1055

)

on Dec-01-07 at 15:04:27 PST

balkania

It doesn't matter whether jaywild is here or not.
Just ask your question.
When he gets online he will read and perhaps answer it.

D2

It depends on what you define as "better items".
Covers are unique and the market price depends on how many people are interested in a particular item.

Stamps are generally not unique but the price is still dependent upon how many people collect them and how many want them.

Perhaps an influx of investors buying graded stamps has driven up the prices of ungraded stamps, but I doubt it.

I also doubt there has been a sudden increase in stamp collectors.

If anything, it may be a greater accessibility to stamps via the internet has increased the prices of stamps due to greater competition.

I may be wrong!!

Posted by balkania05 ( 593

) on Dec-01-07 at 14:52:11 PST

Hello e 1

jaywild ? Are you here? Have a question for you.balkania05

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 14:47:20 PST

NOIP, I have been watching some prices realised at various auctions and have noticed a huge jump in realisations for certain better items, some in multiples of catalogue values. There was also a comment at last Wednesday's Gibbons sale in Sydney where the Auctioneer realised the increases and informed the dealers in the room to quickly raise their pricelists to confrom with the realisations. Some of the catalogues are getting way out of hand with the published prices and the realisations and somewhere in the future printed catalogues will be a thing of the past and the web will be better suited to keep the prices up to date as they can be altered within days whilst printed catalogues can take years,

David B.

p.s. I am keeping shtoom what material it is but the fluctuations of the exchange rates have nothing to do with them.

Posted by mini*lindy ( 536

)

on Dec-01-07 at 14:15:42 PST

thanks David, I cleared out a very old wardrobe this weekend and found an Album of Christmas Stamps. Mostly just run of the mill dross, but I should do SOMETHING with it, as I refuse to put any more unwanted items back into any of my cupboards. I must DECLUTTER !!

L. (with her correct sign in this time!)

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 13:53:33 PST

L.

http://www.stanleygibbons.com/priceguide/index.asp?page=results&country_id=99&keyword=&issue_year=1970&issue_year2=&sg_number=&sc_name=&xFilter=1&pg=2

David B.

Posted by putney32 ( 1781

)

on Dec-01-07 at 13:15:55 PST

Well David, maybe JayJim needs to start posting all his links to USA stamps under his signature once again.

Do you have a Part 1 handy? what do the 1970 and 1971 Guernsey Xmas sets cat. at MUH? ta!

L.

Posted by dbenson ( 8744

)

on Dec-01-07 at 12:38:08 PST

Joke of the day,

comment on another Stamp Chat board,

" The eBay board is generally dominated by posts on foreign-stamp subjects "

David b.

Posted by iomoon ( 1055

)

on Dec-01-07 at 12:07:49 PST

Interesting that everyone posting so far today has a

page.

Good idea about stamp shops and bourses.

Posted by mini*lindy ( 536

)

on Dec-01-07 at 12:05:17 PST <