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Childhood revisited...
Nov. 4th, 2012 09:02 pmWhatever else may be true for the hobby of stamp collecting, the number of walk-in, brick-and-mortar stores has shrunk dramatically, to the point where, as of the last time I visited Manhattan, there was only one street-level store devoted to philately in the borough. Out on Long Island, there is a store in Huntington devoted to both stamps and coins, with most of the business due to the latter if the clientele present during my visit there was any indication.
In fact, about the only stamps on display was a shoebox of old US commemoratives on sale for a nickel apiece. I fished out a mass of them, all stuck together, and offered the proprietor fifty cents, which was accepted.
Yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in probably half a century: I took that mass of stamps and soaked them. Back in the day, you see, soaking was the standard method of separating stamps from the envelopes they had been adhered to. Soaking diluted the gum holding the stamp to the paper, to the point where the stamp either floated free or could be easily separated. After rinsing to remove all traces of gum, the wet stamps were then placed between pieces of blotting paper (to dry them out) under a few books (to keep them flat).
My "haul" consisted of a number of stamps from the Famous Americans series issued in 1940, with surprisingly few duplicates. Also three stamps from the National Parks issue of 1934. A couple of the stamps I had never seen before, such as the 1937 stamp issued to commemorate the birth of Virginia Dare in 1587 (the first child of English parents to be born at Roanoke Island).
There were, as expected, no rare "finds" among the stamps. Among the "high" values were several duplicates of a 1924 stamp showing William McKinley, another from the same series depicting James Garfield, two stamps from the Famous Americans series, and the 7-cent National Parks stamp showing Great Head in Acadia Park in Maine. According to my 2008 Scott's catalog, the last four stamps alone are worth about $8.00, which means that on a good day—maybe—I might get a buck for them in an eBay auction, which would double my investment.
Not exactly a path to retirement, but fun nevertheless.
Photos later, maybe.
In fact, about the only stamps on display was a shoebox of old US commemoratives on sale for a nickel apiece. I fished out a mass of them, all stuck together, and offered the proprietor fifty cents, which was accepted.
Yesterday, I did something I hadn't done in probably half a century: I took that mass of stamps and soaked them. Back in the day, you see, soaking was the standard method of separating stamps from the envelopes they had been adhered to. Soaking diluted the gum holding the stamp to the paper, to the point where the stamp either floated free or could be easily separated. After rinsing to remove all traces of gum, the wet stamps were then placed between pieces of blotting paper (to dry them out) under a few books (to keep them flat).
My "haul" consisted of a number of stamps from the Famous Americans series issued in 1940, with surprisingly few duplicates. Also three stamps from the National Parks issue of 1934. A couple of the stamps I had never seen before, such as the 1937 stamp issued to commemorate the birth of Virginia Dare in 1587 (the first child of English parents to be born at Roanoke Island).
There were, as expected, no rare "finds" among the stamps. Among the "high" values were several duplicates of a 1924 stamp showing William McKinley, another from the same series depicting James Garfield, two stamps from the Famous Americans series, and the 7-cent National Parks stamp showing Great Head in Acadia Park in Maine. According to my 2008 Scott's catalog, the last four stamps alone are worth about $8.00, which means that on a good day—maybe—I might get a buck for them in an eBay auction, which would double my investment.
Not exactly a path to retirement, but fun nevertheless.
Photos later, maybe.
