Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
As you might have noticed I've been trying to dispose of some of the bulkier items in my accumulation. I have had several discussions with Adrienne (My wife, not THE wife
), and we laugh at the tendencies of collectors (ME Included), to keep everything related to stamps. I got to the point of saving every wedding RSVP envelope as a piece of Postal History. I was going to log the time in transit to get back the cards!! (uber nerd).Well, what do you think? Is it possible for a minimalist to be a stamp collector? I mentioned in an earlier post that I was focusing on the wrong things collecting-wise. I had too many starts and stops and my interests changed on a dime. This resulted in a large accumulation with no cohesion. I was way too much into supplies and not stamps. Disposing of supplies is heartbreaking (and wallet breaking), but I have no use for these now that I'm simplifying!
The decision was made earlier this week in an epiphany. Instead of wrangling with my accumulation, I took out a few choice items related to my collecting memories and boxed up 14 moving boxes. Today my 18 month and I drove 3 1/2 hours to a dealer and signed the papers. I feel so liberated being released from the weight of it.
I love stamps and I love stamp people. But my mishmash was too much! When I start over it will be with intense focus. Let me raise some of these youngins first, however..
Don "new focus" Hearl
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"Is it possible for a minimalist to be a stamp collector?"
Yes, they collect only the small stamps.
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haha - my favorite kind!!
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10:22:38am
Don, did you sell your entire collection? 
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I'm in the process. Everything but key items where I had made memories with people. I saved the exhibition covers from the 1989 World Stamp Expo in DC where my Dad and I rode the Metro for the first time, or the stamps my Grandmother went to the post office to get for me. There are also some stampless postal history items related to the county where my ancestors settled. It was definitely a "clean sweep." Nothing of monetary value was saved.
Nothing is finalized yet, but i have absolutely no regrets. none. I'm 41 years old, two kids and one on the way. If I survive the next 20 years, I may start another collection!!!
Don
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01:34:24am
Well, Don, I certainly hope you do survive the next twenty years and the twenty that follows as well. But I'd bet you an upside down Jenny that in twenty-five or thirty years when you decide to retire you will wish you had kept the basic collection at least.
I'm there now and this hobby has given me something to do for the last fifteen years. My children are all off on their own, married (some divorced) and have children of their own. They visit often (sometimes staying for many moons til they get back on their feet, so to speak) and the grand children not only like to look at my albums but all save "Stamps for Gramps" from their mail and from their trips elsewhere. In fact some seem to manage to get envelopes and stamps from their friends when they can.
When I was forty one and in great health I never anticipated that I'd know so many doctors and nurses by their first names, but the hobby has provided me with an activity to give me a purpose besides waiting for my next pension checks.
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I wouldn't describe myself as a minimalist but I do have OCD and hate mess. I would rather have surfaces clear of clutter and cupboards neat and tidy with little in them. I collect French Stamps and find the hobby great for my OCD. There are few hobbies that take up as little space as a well organised stamp collection.
Of course if you let it get out of hand and have boxes of unsorted stamps etc then it would probably offend the Minimalist and the Neat Freak equally.
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Thanks Charlie! I fully see your point. I kept some "seed items" as there's never totally getting out of it!
I'm totally OCD with some things. I think it is so I can bring order to something in my life!!
Cheers!
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Call me a minimalist..i am probably still spending a month what i did in 1987 on stamps..i should look at it this way...if i smoked a pack of cigarettes at 9 dollars a pack..i would be spending 63 dollars a week on smokes...i don't smoke..so if i could convince myself to spend 63 dollars a week on stamps..think of the possibilities !
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Don, You are still going to stick with the APS right ? It took them around 33 years to give me my life membership and free dues...but its all good now !
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Hi Phil!
I'm sticking with the APS! I'm still a stamp collector. I just needed to lighten the load and the false starts in 80 different directions. oh my!
Don
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09:07:06am
Don
I think you have your priorities in the right place. Put family first, and all else will fall into place. However, be sure and keep something for yourself, or you'll die of boredom. It can be the seed of stamp collecting, golf, fishing, whatever, but if you do not reserve a niche for now and later in some interest, you'll lose focus.
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Thanks Bobby!!
Well there is one avocation that will not go away. I have a full analog studio in my house and I'm continuing to acquire vinyl records. A dirty little secret is that I've been much more into music creation (production, writing, playing, gigging, recording) than any other hobby. I have to admit that when my 17 month old was keeping a beat while I was playing guitar and now is playing the drums (like an 18 month old), something clicked. I can go into it more off topic.
Did I say that I love stamp people?!? 
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"Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??"
Yes.
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"Quote:
"Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??""
If you are a "stamp" collector, yes if you collect "stamps" no.
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My personal experience on this subject is 'No'!
I'm kind of a minimalist in most other things, when but when it comes to stamps I find it difficult to restrict myself!
And - as expected - my wife hate it!!
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But you are a minimalist. You use small binders!
Nice organization, by the way. I have once again run out of room and need to build more shelving.
Male stamp collectors often have one thing in common when it comes to how much space we use for the collection: "our wives hate it"!
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05:41:55pm
Damn, Jon, you have more binders than I have stamps!
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I would like to have matchng binders..but then it comes down to do i spend the buck on the binder or the stamp..but i really like your lay out of shelves and binders .
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Are those Lighthouse stock books or binders with pages in them?
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Don,
Can't believe you sold your collection
-Chris
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Blaamands collections is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!!! 
Speaking of wives hating it, my wife didn't hate my accumulation. She embraces the hobbies I am interested in, although she didn't really understand stamp collecting. Adrienne is into cake decorating now. She goes head first into activities too!
Chris,
When I think about it, I didn't really have all that much. just alot of BULK!!! What I have though is 33 years of knowledge, alot of memories and some excellent friendships. I'm now calculating how much wall space 10,000 vinyl records will take up
I already have 3,000.
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Thank you all for positive feedback!
Michael - you nailed it! I have a feeling I am not the only one with a non-understanding-wife/spouse issue!!
Bobby - 
philb -
"to have matchng binders"
Guess I 'm kind of lucky - at age 18 I did just what Don did - sold my entire collection. Then at 30 - with small kids needing babysitting at nights - I started at fresh. With the former experience off too many different albums and ever-lasting problems with lack of space and the need to shift the stamps in the albums, I simply started by an investment in what I hoped would be sufficient number of stock books for storing a WW collection. So, that's my 'fortunate' reason for having matching binders
ChrisW - All Lighthouse 64 pgs stockbooks
donhearl - Thanks for the compliment
, but probably quite exaggerated. It's supposed to have been issued some 600 000 different stamps, so that's 600 000 more beautiful things
Good luck with your vinyl. 1 Member
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My wife has no problem with me having hobbies. She has problems with all the space I take up! Of course, I always want more space.
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Investment in matching binders..bold move, like Cortez burning his ships..now you had to collect !!!
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I still say "Yes". Here is a fairly comprehensive collection of US stamps stored in a closet. It can be done.
Lars
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I recognize those mousepads. I have one myself. Those were the better days.
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I counted 185 albums/stockbooks on Jon's shelves (who knows how many more he has upstairs!). As the proud possessor of two decades' worth of collecting stamps housed in one-tenth that number, I confidently lay claim to be recognised as a minimalist!
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Lars - that's very neat and well organised! It seems to me your wording 'fairly comprehensive' is quite and understatement!! Whats that in the frame on your desk - interesting covers?
Guthrum - 
Yeah, guess everything is relative as Albert said! btw - the two shelfes on the lower right (not-matching binders) are not mine. They belong to my children, somewhat more easy-going but are starting to get the infected by the stmping-virus as well
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"Whats that in the frame on your desk - interesting covers?"
The frame at left just has a couple of oddball items I thought were funny. The frame at right is a photo of my wife and me at Golden Gate Bridge and then a stamp of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lars
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Good thread..evidently others enjoy it also...minimalist..maximist we can all relate..a fellow i know will spend 4 figures for an item to complete an exhibit...good for him !
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I agree with Phil. With the ability to make your own pages and choose your own binders, you can have anything from a neat and tidy topical collection to a hoard of stuff you may never get through. I really like the freedom to define the scope of what I collect, and for me, the process of deciding what should, and should not, be included led to a LOT more knowledge than just filling in empty spaces of a pre-printed album.
Happy hunting!
Lars
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Philb said,
"...a fellow i know will spend 4 figures for an item to complete an exhibit...good for him!"
I would never spend four figures on any stamp or a cover! I won't go a dime over $999.99!
Seriously, I get so much pleasure from my philatelic purchases that the price is almost immaterial. Virtually all of my personal, very middle middle-class discretionary income goes to stamps and covers, and I don't regret spending a dime of it, especially considering that some of my most expensive and cherished items are unique and just crammed full of history. It's almost like having a world-class museum right on my desk. I also like the idea that, as hobbies go, philately has a minuscule footprint on our environment.
Bob
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"I also like the idea that, as hobbies go, philately has a minuscule footprint on our environment."
Bob - I also find that aspect comforting. We collect the waste of others, not too much greenhouse gases produced in that
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Well how about the fuel used to attend stamp shows ? Today we travel 60 miles down the Taconic Parkway to Westchester county and transfer to Bob Gioias vehicle for a trip to the New Jersey Meadowlands. We stamp collectors have to be held accountable for our acts !
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Lars, it would take me two hours to clean up my stamp desk before I could take a picture like that!
And Jon, I actually think my wife would be okay with your beautiful collection. She is anti-clutter, and your collection is anything but clutter. Me on the other hand, I am the definition of clutter.
-Steve
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Steve - thanks for the compliment. Well, the shelf looks quite tidy - but my workplace on the other hand? It's more like you say, I would not be able to provide a neat picture like Lars for some time!! And I never allow anyone but myself using the vacuum cleaner in there
philB - Absolutely, the fuel is a concern, so I simply don't travel. I attend anything local (which is quite rare) and otherwise take the advantage new technology and forums like this offers for seeing others beautiful work and collections, sharing reference material and sharing some of my own stuff. IMHO the shows are getting a bit obsolete as one can find almost anything in the forums to get inspiration, information or share experiences. This hobby is perfectly suited for forums like this, the downside is one might get even more physically isolated in the 'office' 
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"I would never spend four figures on any stamp or a cover! I won't go a dime over $999.99!"
Bob is my hero! The most I have EVER spent is $612.50 on O71. I have proofs for O69 and O70, but if I replace them with the real thing, I won't spend over $999.99 for either of them. The tricky one is 356. The best price I've seen in 10 years is $1037.77 with a pulled perf. (Of course, I only consider that stamp with a cert). If I can meet Bob's criteria on that elusive 356 some day, that will be a happy day!
Lars
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Upon my next go, I'm going to be a minimalist, in that I select each piece and really think about how it fits before I add it. Bob's approach is terrific. I truly feel that he is getting a great deal out of every acquisition. Lars is my hero, in that he has built a very comprehensive US collection, on what he calls a budget. My budget is lower!! I have his webpage bookmarked and go there often. I also love Jon's approach - very uniform in look, and while the goal is ambitious, I'm sure brings alot of joy.
My seed collection should point me in some interesting directions. I'm debating on postal history vs. stamps. But, I think the basic stamp can be compelling on its own.
Update: the offer for the accumulation was accepted. What I had were many many stamps in the $1-4 range with few over $25. Some of my early US had hidden faults. I expected this, as several were purchased on eBay without certs. I am really learning some valuable lessons in buying stamps.
Don
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Aw shucks, Larsdog! 
OK, here goes. This is a cover that was originally priced at $900 (I bought it for $810 after a 10% discount):
For that kind of money, a stamp or cover has to be appealing some way! In this case, it's a cover posted by a soldier involved in the Pershing Punitive Expedition against the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, whose rag-tag force attacked and burned Columbus, New Mexico in March, 1916. Eighteen American soldiers stationed at Columbus were killed, as well as 10 civilians; 90 "Villistas" were killed, and five who were captured were hanged soon after the attack. I grew up not far from Columbus. My dad used to drive through Columbus and across the border to Las Palomas where he bought gallon jugs of tax- and duty-free gin.
The U.S. government responded to the attack by nationalizing the National Guard units in every state and sending them to the U.S.-Mexico border to repel future "invasions," and sent General Pershing to Columbus, from which he launched the expedition to kill or capture Villa, neither of which goals he achieved. His expedition featured the first use of aircraft by the U.S. Army — Curtis Jennies were used as surveillance aircraft. Concerned that war in Europe would soon involve the U.S., and aware that the day of the cavalry charge had passed, he started training his cavalrymen to get off their horses and learn the fighting techniques of foot soldiers.
My paternal grandfather, a member of the New York State National Guard, was sent to Pharr, Texas where he and his fellow soldiers cooled their heels for the next several months.
Grandpa's main challenges were coping with weather, poor sanitation, and boredom. Many soldiers died of disease. My grandfather was never paid, and my grandmother, my father, and my uncle had to beg their neighbours for food.
Below is an image of a real-photo postcard that my grandmother sent to my grandfather during his time in Texas. The postcard was apparently sent as an enclosure, so there's no stamp or address on the back, my father is at the right.
Bob
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I love covers with great stories! Thanks for sharing, Bob!
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03:54:21pm
Wow Bob, that is amazing!
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Very cool history Bob! Make sure that the cover is well marked as to what it is in your collection. Lest it be mistaken for just another old postmark in your estate sale!
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i guess i am a minimalist..i paid 50 cents for this u358 cover at Nonjex Friday. I do not know why..i am not a U.S. collector...i guess the Booth Bay postmark appealed to me !
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That's why I try not to look at covers. I know I won't be able to resist them, and I have plenty of examples of covers to show that I in fact did not resist them!. Covers are really made by The Borg!
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I love old covers! Note that your cover was mailed to an "Edna", an old fashioned name that has long gone out of style. If you know an Edna, she's probably your grandmother's sister!
Now what's great is that I collect this era and see a lot of cards and covers addressed to these old tyme names like Edith, Mildred, Chester and Bertha, all popular names of that era. History.com has an article on popular names through out the eras that addresses this exactly. Fun reading.
And why not have a fifty cent cover that is just interesting? I have a new album that I'm devoting just to those covers and such, things that don't fit anywhere in my collection, but I just enjoy having them!
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05:56:09pm
Liking something is reason enough to collect it. Everyone should have a random collection of random items just because they like it! 
Yes, you don't see many Edna's or Berthas unless they are the little old church ladies.
Now you have people competing "Who can name their baby the weirdest name ever"
Kardashian and Kanye West's baby? North. The kid is called North West. Seriously? Were you watching Hitchcock when you named her?
Katniss is a popular name right now. Yes, lets all name our kid after the protagonist in an anti-utopian novel. Charming.
Hennessy.... Just so everyone knows what you were drinking when you baby was conceived.
Simba. Oh, I just cannot wait to be king!
and last but not least.... Abcde. Yes you read that right. Aparently it's pronounced "Ab-Si-dee"
Bertha doesn't sound so bad anymore.
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X, You have a sense of humor...i gave you a thumb ! I went to school with Majories(Jerry) Nancys,Ellens Barbaras !
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Bob, I'd appreciate more information on the sender of the Villa 'vope. Who and what unit?
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Hello to my favorite forum!
As you might have noticed I've been trying to dispose of some of the bulkier items in my accumulation. I have had several discussions with Adrienne (My wife, not THE wife ), and we laugh at the tendencies of collectors (ME Included), to keep everything related to stamps. I got to the point of saving every wedding RSVP envelope as a piece of Postal History. I was going to log the time in transit to get back the cards!! (uber nerd).
Well, what do you think? Is it possible for a minimalist to be a stamp collector? I mentioned in an earlier post that I was focusing on the wrong things collecting-wise. I had too many starts and stops and my interests changed on a dime. This resulted in a large accumulation with no cohesion. I was way too much into supplies and not stamps. Disposing of supplies is heartbreaking (and wallet breaking), but I have no use for these now that I'm simplifying!
The decision was made earlier this week in an epiphany. Instead of wrangling with my accumulation, I took out a few choice items related to my collecting memories and boxed up 14 moving boxes. Today my 18 month and I drove 3 1/2 hours to a dealer and signed the papers. I feel so liberated being released from the weight of it.
I love stamps and I love stamp people. But my mishmash was too much! When I start over it will be with intense focus. Let me raise some of these youngins first, however..
Don "new focus" Hearl
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11:58:03pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
"Is it possible for a minimalist to be a stamp collector?"
Yes, they collect only the small stamps.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
haha - my favorite kind!!
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
24 May 2015
10:22:38am
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Don, did you sell your entire collection?
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I'm in the process. Everything but key items where I had made memories with people. I saved the exhibition covers from the 1989 World Stamp Expo in DC where my Dad and I rode the Metro for the first time, or the stamps my Grandmother went to the post office to get for me. There are also some stampless postal history items related to the county where my ancestors settled. It was definitely a "clean sweep." Nothing of monetary value was saved.
Nothing is finalized yet, but i have absolutely no regrets. none. I'm 41 years old, two kids and one on the way. If I survive the next 20 years, I may start another collection!!!
Don
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
26 May 2015
01:34:24am
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Well, Don, I certainly hope you do survive the next twenty years and the twenty that follows as well. But I'd bet you an upside down Jenny that in twenty-five or thirty years when you decide to retire you will wish you had kept the basic collection at least.
I'm there now and this hobby has given me something to do for the last fifteen years. My children are all off on their own, married (some divorced) and have children of their own. They visit often (sometimes staying for many moons til they get back on their feet, so to speak) and the grand children not only like to look at my albums but all save "Stamps for Gramps" from their mail and from their trips elsewhere. In fact some seem to manage to get envelopes and stamps from their friends when they can.
When I was forty one and in great health I never anticipated that I'd know so many doctors and nurses by their first names, but the hobby has provided me with an activity to give me a purpose besides waiting for my next pension checks.
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08:03:28am
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I wouldn't describe myself as a minimalist but I do have OCD and hate mess. I would rather have surfaces clear of clutter and cupboards neat and tidy with little in them. I collect French Stamps and find the hobby great for my OCD. There are few hobbies that take up as little space as a well organised stamp collection.
Of course if you let it get out of hand and have boxes of unsorted stamps etc then it would probably offend the Minimalist and the Neat Freak equally.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Thanks Charlie! I fully see your point. I kept some "seed items" as there's never totally getting out of it!
I'm totally OCD with some things. I think it is so I can bring order to something in my life!!
Cheers!
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Call me a minimalist..i am probably still spending a month what i did in 1987 on stamps..i should look at it this way...if i smoked a pack of cigarettes at 9 dollars a pack..i would be spending 63 dollars a week on smokes...i don't smoke..so if i could convince myself to spend 63 dollars a week on stamps..think of the possibilities !
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Don, You are still going to stick with the APS right ? It took them around 33 years to give me my life membership and free dues...but its all good now !
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Hi Phil!
I'm sticking with the APS! I'm still a stamp collector. I just needed to lighten the load and the false starts in 80 different directions. oh my!
Don
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
26 May 2015
09:07:06am
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Don
I think you have your priorities in the right place. Put family first, and all else will fall into place. However, be sure and keep something for yourself, or you'll die of boredom. It can be the seed of stamp collecting, golf, fishing, whatever, but if you do not reserve a niche for now and later in some interest, you'll lose focus.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Thanks Bobby!!
Well there is one avocation that will not go away. I have a full analog studio in my house and I'm continuing to acquire vinyl records. A dirty little secret is that I've been much more into music creation (production, writing, playing, gigging, recording) than any other hobby. I have to admit that when my 17 month old was keeping a beat while I was playing guitar and now is playing the drums (like an 18 month old), something clicked. I can go into it more off topic.
Did I say that I love stamp people?!?
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
"Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??"
Yes.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
"Quote:
"Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??""
If you are a "stamp" collector, yes if you collect "stamps" no.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
My personal experience on this subject is 'No'!
I'm kind of a minimalist in most other things, when but when it comes to stamps I find it difficult to restrict myself!
And - as expected - my wife hate it!!
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04:18:01pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
But you are a minimalist. You use small binders!
Nice organization, by the way. I have once again run out of room and need to build more shelving.
Male stamp collectors often have one thing in common when it comes to how much space we use for the collection: "our wives hate it"!
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
27 May 2015
05:41:55pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Damn, Jon, you have more binders than I have stamps!
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I would like to have matchng binders..but then it comes down to do i spend the buck on the binder or the stamp..but i really like your lay out of shelves and binders .
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Are those Lighthouse stock books or binders with pages in them?
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Don,
Can't believe you sold your collection
-Chris
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Blaamands collections is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!!!
Speaking of wives hating it, my wife didn't hate my accumulation. She embraces the hobbies I am interested in, although she didn't really understand stamp collecting. Adrienne is into cake decorating now. She goes head first into activities too!
Chris,
When I think about it, I didn't really have all that much. just alot of BULK!!! What I have though is 33 years of knowledge, alot of memories and some excellent friendships. I'm now calculating how much wall space 10,000 vinyl records will take up
I already have 3,000.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Thank you all for positive feedback!
Michael - you nailed it! I have a feeling I am not the only one with a non-understanding-wife/spouse issue!!
Bobby -
philb -
"to have matchng binders"
Guess I 'm kind of lucky - at age 18 I did just what Don did - sold my entire collection. Then at 30 - with small kids needing babysitting at nights - I started at fresh. With the former experience off too many different albums and ever-lasting problems with lack of space and the need to shift the stamps in the albums, I simply started by an investment in what I hoped would be sufficient number of stock books for storing a WW collection. So, that's my 'fortunate' reason for having matching binders
ChrisW - All Lighthouse 64 pgs stockbooks
donhearl - Thanks for the compliment
, but probably quite exaggerated. It's supposed to have been issued some 600 000 different stamps, so that's 600 000 more beautiful things Good luck with your vinyl. 1 Member
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09:45:14pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
My wife has no problem with me having hobbies. She has problems with all the space I take up! Of course, I always want more space.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Investment in matching binders..bold move, like Cortez burning his ships..now you had to collect !!!
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I still say "Yes". Here is a fairly comprehensive collection of US stamps stored in a closet. It can be done.
Lars
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01:59:48am
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I recognize those mousepads. I have one myself. Those were the better days.
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I counted 185 albums/stockbooks on Jon's shelves (who knows how many more he has upstairs!). As the proud possessor of two decades' worth of collecting stamps housed in one-tenth that number, I confidently lay claim to be recognised as a minimalist!
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Lars - that's very neat and well organised! It seems to me your wording 'fairly comprehensive' is quite and understatement!! Whats that in the frame on your desk - interesting covers?
Guthrum - Yeah, guess everything is relative as Albert said! btw - the two shelfes on the lower right (not-matching binders) are not mine. They belong to my children, somewhat more easy-going but are starting to get the infected by the stmping-virus as well
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"Whats that in the frame on your desk - interesting covers?"
The frame at left just has a couple of oddball items I thought were funny. The frame at right is a photo of my wife and me at Golden Gate Bridge and then a stamp of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lars
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Good thread..evidently others enjoy it also...minimalist..maximist we can all relate..a fellow i know will spend 4 figures for an item to complete an exhibit...good for him !
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I agree with Phil. With the ability to make your own pages and choose your own binders, you can have anything from a neat and tidy topical collection to a hoard of stuff you may never get through. I really like the freedom to define the scope of what I collect, and for me, the process of deciding what should, and should not, be included led to a LOT more knowledge than just filling in empty spaces of a pre-printed album.
Happy hunting!
Lars
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Philb said,
"...a fellow i know will spend 4 figures for an item to complete an exhibit...good for him!"
I would never spend four figures on any stamp or a cover! I won't go a dime over $999.99!
Seriously, I get so much pleasure from my philatelic purchases that the price is almost immaterial. Virtually all of my personal, very middle middle-class discretionary income goes to stamps and covers, and I don't regret spending a dime of it, especially considering that some of my most expensive and cherished items are unique and just crammed full of history. It's almost like having a world-class museum right on my desk. I also like the idea that, as hobbies go, philately has a minuscule footprint on our environment.
Bob
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"I also like the idea that, as hobbies go, philately has a minuscule footprint on our environment."
Bob - I also find that aspect comforting. We collect the waste of others, not too much greenhouse gases produced in that
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Well how about the fuel used to attend stamp shows ? Today we travel 60 miles down the Taconic Parkway to Westchester county and transfer to Bob Gioias vehicle for a trip to the New Jersey Meadowlands. We stamp collectors have to be held accountable for our acts !
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Lars, it would take me two hours to clean up my stamp desk before I could take a picture like that!
And Jon, I actually think my wife would be okay with your beautiful collection. She is anti-clutter, and your collection is anything but clutter. Me on the other hand, I am the definition of clutter.
-Steve
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Steve - thanks for the compliment. Well, the shelf looks quite tidy - but my workplace on the other hand? It's more like you say, I would not be able to provide a neat picture like Lars for some time!! And I never allow anyone but myself using the vacuum cleaner in there
philB - Absolutely, the fuel is a concern, so I simply don't travel. I attend anything local (which is quite rare) and otherwise take the advantage new technology and forums like this offers for seeing others beautiful work and collections, sharing reference material and sharing some of my own stuff. IMHO the shows are getting a bit obsolete as one can find almost anything in the forums to get inspiration, information or share experiences. This hobby is perfectly suited for forums like this, the downside is one might get even more physically isolated in the 'office'
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
"I would never spend four figures on any stamp or a cover! I won't go a dime over $999.99!"
Bob is my hero! The most I have EVER spent is $612.50 on O71. I have proofs for O69 and O70, but if I replace them with the real thing, I won't spend over $999.99 for either of them. The tricky one is 356. The best price I've seen in 10 years is $1037.77 with a pulled perf. (Of course, I only consider that stamp with a cert). If I can meet Bob's criteria on that elusive 356 some day, that will be a happy day!
Lars
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Upon my next go, I'm going to be a minimalist, in that I select each piece and really think about how it fits before I add it. Bob's approach is terrific. I truly feel that he is getting a great deal out of every acquisition. Lars is my hero, in that he has built a very comprehensive US collection, on what he calls a budget. My budget is lower!! I have his webpage bookmarked and go there often. I also love Jon's approach - very uniform in look, and while the goal is ambitious, I'm sure brings alot of joy.
My seed collection should point me in some interesting directions. I'm debating on postal history vs. stamps. But, I think the basic stamp can be compelling on its own.
Update: the offer for the accumulation was accepted. What I had were many many stamps in the $1-4 range with few over $25. Some of my early US had hidden faults. I expected this, as several were purchased on eBay without certs. I am really learning some valuable lessons in buying stamps.
Don
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Aw shucks, Larsdog!
OK, here goes. This is a cover that was originally priced at $900 (I bought it for $810 after a 10% discount):
For that kind of money, a stamp or cover has to be appealing some way! In this case, it's a cover posted by a soldier involved in the Pershing Punitive Expedition against the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, whose rag-tag force attacked and burned Columbus, New Mexico in March, 1916. Eighteen American soldiers stationed at Columbus were killed, as well as 10 civilians; 90 "Villistas" were killed, and five who were captured were hanged soon after the attack. I grew up not far from Columbus. My dad used to drive through Columbus and across the border to Las Palomas where he bought gallon jugs of tax- and duty-free gin.
The U.S. government responded to the attack by nationalizing the National Guard units in every state and sending them to the U.S.-Mexico border to repel future "invasions," and sent General Pershing to Columbus, from which he launched the expedition to kill or capture Villa, neither of which goals he achieved. His expedition featured the first use of aircraft by the U.S. Army — Curtis Jennies were used as surveillance aircraft. Concerned that war in Europe would soon involve the U.S., and aware that the day of the cavalry charge had passed, he started training his cavalrymen to get off their horses and learn the fighting techniques of foot soldiers.
My paternal grandfather, a member of the New York State National Guard, was sent to Pharr, Texas where he and his fellow soldiers cooled their heels for the next several months.
Grandpa's main challenges were coping with weather, poor sanitation, and boredom. Many soldiers died of disease. My grandfather was never paid, and my grandmother, my father, and my uncle had to beg their neighbours for food.
Below is an image of a real-photo postcard that my grandmother sent to my grandfather during his time in Texas. The postcard was apparently sent as an enclosure, so there's no stamp or address on the back, my father is at the right.
Bob
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I love covers with great stories! Thanks for sharing, Bob!
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Wanting to bring the joy of stamp collecting to younger generations
31 May 2015
03:54:21pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Wow Bob, that is amazing!
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Very cool history Bob! Make sure that the cover is well marked as to what it is in your collection. Lest it be mistaken for just another old postmark in your estate sale!
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i guess i am a minimalist..i paid 50 cents for this u358 cover at Nonjex Friday. I do not know why..i am not a U.S. collector...i guess the Booth Bay postmark appealed to me !
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05:19:10pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
That's why I try not to look at covers. I know I won't be able to resist them, and I have plenty of examples of covers to show that I in fact did not resist them!. Covers are really made by The Borg!
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
I love old covers! Note that your cover was mailed to an "Edna", an old fashioned name that has long gone out of style. If you know an Edna, she's probably your grandmother's sister!
Now what's great is that I collect this era and see a lot of cards and covers addressed to these old tyme names like Edith, Mildred, Chester and Bertha, all popular names of that era. History.com has an article on popular names through out the eras that addresses this exactly. Fun reading.
And why not have a fifty cent cover that is just interesting? I have a new album that I'm devoting just to those covers and such, things that don't fit anywhere in my collection, but I just enjoy having them!
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Wanting to bring the joy of stamp collecting to younger generations
31 May 2015
05:56:09pm
re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Liking something is reason enough to collect it. Everyone should have a random collection of random items just because they like it!
Yes, you don't see many Edna's or Berthas unless they are the little old church ladies.
Now you have people competing "Who can name their baby the weirdest name ever"
Kardashian and Kanye West's baby? North. The kid is called North West. Seriously? Were you watching Hitchcock when you named her?
Katniss is a popular name right now. Yes, lets all name our kid after the protagonist in an anti-utopian novel. Charming.
Hennessy.... Just so everyone knows what you were drinking when you baby was conceived.
Simba. Oh, I just cannot wait to be king!
and last but not least.... Abcde. Yes you read that right. Aparently it's pronounced "Ab-Si-dee"
Bertha doesn't sound so bad anymore.
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X, You have a sense of humor...i gave you a thumb ! I went to school with Majories(Jerry) Nancys,Ellens Barbaras !
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re: Can a Minimalist be a stamp collector??
Bob, I'd appreciate more information on the sender of the Villa 'vope. Who and what unit?
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