Blocks of Used Stamps

Blocks of used stamps fascinate me more than blocks of mint stamps, especially if these are with clean postmarks. Here are some used blocks from my collection.

Clean Postmarks 2

I had posted about clean postmarks a little while ago. As I rearrange my collection, I discovered some more gems.

And I recently acquired a US Postage Airmail envelope.

Falkland Islands

It's funny how some countries get stuck in your memory because of events that were in the news many many years ago. I was a young boy when I first heard about Falkland Islands in news. It was the war between England and Argentina. I have been fascinated by Falkland Islands ever since because of this ancient memory of the news.

Unfortunately I don't have stamps of the island but I find them fascinating and beautiful pieces of postal stationery. One day maybe I will manage to get my hands on some of their stamps.

(pics courtesy Martin Tan's posts in STAMP COLLECTING Facebook group)

Margins / Selvages

Margins / selvages : To keep or not to keep, that is the question.

Are stamps with margins necessarily better to retain than ones without? If I remove the side bar will it lose significant value? I asked this question on Facebook as I found them terrible for displays in albums.

As always, it was great to get some good responses.

If it wasn't for them, some stamps couldn't be properly identified or verified, especially Imperf stamps. It probably is not an issue with more modern stamps - but older stamps can have specific plate flaws or printing flaws. If you have an example with the margins you know exactly which position in the sheet this stamp had.

While they probably make no difference in value in common stamps, the general consensus seemed to be to not tear them off. One good suggestion was 'If it really bothers you how they display, just carefully fold over the selvage but don't tear it off.' which seemed to make sense.

Visiting Stamp Exhibition

Yesterday I visited the Exhibition of Stamps by by Philatelic Dealers Association of India. Naively I thought it would be an exhibition with mounted exhibits by specialized collectors. I was also expecting a few stamp dealers selling stamps at the exhibition. That's the image I had from the last exhibition I visited more than 30 years ago. Well, it wasn't actually an 'exhibition' per se. It was two rooms full of stamp and coin dealers selling their wares, like a stamp and coin market. While I was a little disappointed by my naive thoughts of expecting an exhibition, I wasn't disappointed actually going there. It was a great opportunity to get to know so many stamp dealers and buy stamps. I ended up spending a lot of money there and still be left wanting for more. Surely, I need to find a better way to collect stamps without spending my fortune on them. Anyway, more on that later.

There were some large dealers with multiple stalls and then many dealers who shared a single stall. Kolkatta seems to be the hub of philately dealers in India as I found most large dealers from Kolkatta.

I didn't get any bargains. The stamps were being sold on Indian catalogue prices with specific discount rates on them (I was primarily looking for Indian stamps). One seller lamented the philately was dead, that buyers just don't pay the prices, and some sellers have spoilt the market by giving deep discounts on the catalog prices. And some stamps I could find significantly cheaper on eBay. Anyway, it was still a great experience seeing so many dealers in one place from all over the country. I managed to get many visiting cards for dealers from different cities that I might visit in the future.

Treasure Hunt 2 - Shimla

My work requires me to travel across India. Having restarted my hobby of stamp collection, I now use the time on my hand for treasure hunting. I am not exactly sure what treasure I am expecting to find but I guess it is to find some scrap/junk dealer or an old antique shop where I can pick up old stamps and postal stationery at a bargain.

My very first treasure hunt took me to streets of old Hyderabad. This time around, it was Shimla. We traversed the roads of Shimla searching for antique shops. We found one somewhere in Lakkad Bazar, selling brass artefacts. He suggested we look for a shop called Maria Brothers on Mall Road. He told us that the shop doesn't open regularly and if we are lucky we might find the shop open. And so we began walking searching for Maria Brothers. We did find the shop but unfortunately it was closed.

Not completely disheartened as this time I had asked our local colleague to find out possibles places for us to check out. He took us further down to Lower Mall Road saying there is a place where dealers set up their temporary stalls. So we marched down searching for the place. Finally we reached the stairs opposite Nandan Shawls only to find it empty. We waited there for some time, sipping tea as we sat on the stairs.

We ran out of time as we had a train to catch.. On our way back we found that Maria Brothers shop was open now. Excited we entered the shop. There was a gentleman inside, who I assume was Maria. "Do you have old stamps or postal stationery?" we asked, only to hear a single word response "No". The gentleman continued to sit at the back of the shop not interested in making conversation. The shop had old magazines, books, paintings, and maps. I asked for prices of a few items and soon knew this wasn't a bargain shop. The gentleman in his soft voice told me prices that might get quoted by a museum or an upmarket art gallery. We quietly beat a hasty retreat after requesting to take a few pictures as memories of our trip there.

And so yet another unsuccessful treasure hunt came to an end. Until next time, in a different city....

Clean Postmarks

I am beginning to value clean post marks on my used stamps. Unfortunately I don't seem to have too many of these. Here are some beauties.