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What we collect!
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Canada/Stamps : It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

 

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

09 May 2022
03:25:17pm
The stamp dealer I've been using since 1972, first the father and now the son, bought an amazing collection of British Columbia / Vancouver Island stamps. It's almost complete and I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to buy them (one at a time) at about 20% CV. It's still a lot of money, but I'll probably never see them again!! I just picked up #1 today. Even at 20% it was a crazy price, but I've been told that you can't take it (money) with you so what the Hell!! I really can't stop staring at it, collectors really are an odd bunch! I can never get this program to copy-and-paste so I really can't show you a picture, but it has all four margins and wonderful color. One of these days I must set a camera up again!!! I must take out my Canada album and look at my stamp again!

Edit: Before all the negative comments about the stamp start I'll mention it came from the Maresch Auction house in the 1980's - so a very reputable source. I also know it is a controversial stamp in that it is not known used so it was probably never issued. I can live with that!
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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

09 May 2022
06:51:07pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Harvey,

if it's your positive dream category, why not. and congratulations.

of course, I gulped when i read these two things in the same sentence:

"you can't take it (money) with you so what the Hell!"



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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

09 May 2022
06:56:39pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I probably should have said "what the heck", doesn't say quite as much about the direction you will be going - my bad!!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
philb
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09 May 2022
07:28:40pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Harvey, a friend who lives near Ottawa showed me his collection of Canadian provinces and they are something to behold..like the 1851 series of New Brunswick...just breathtaking. I know which direction you are headed on judgement day...but i am not allowed to say. phil

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

10 May 2022
12:11:13pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I really like the look of most of the provincial stamps, especially those of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia of which I am missing three from each province. Most of these are of very large expense - it might be very difficult. When I picked up my BC #1 yesterday he told me he has all the others I need and I can pay them off a bit at a time. The only one I bought outright was #1 and now that that is done the others can be bought by making payments on the 20% CV basis. Having a complete BS / Vanc. Island was something I never thought could happen!! I consider myself a serious collector and this will seriously influence my Canada collection! It's actually a bit nerve racking having a stamp with CV $18 500 in my album! The hard part is not having someone to pass it on to, knowing that all the hard work will be dispersed a bit at a time when I am no longer around to enjoy it. I guess the key is to enjoy things as long as you can, I really hate the word "downsize". I used to hear that word all the time when I was an antique dealer and tried to convince people to enjoy their treasures as long as possible. Any opinions?

Edit: The only down side is that I'll have to stay away from E-Bay for a few months and probably cut down on a few other luxuries (like food) for a while. But after all, isn't our hobby more important than anything else?

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
philb
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10 May 2022
02:08:19pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

You are a true believer...you know what you have and were willing to pay the price.

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

11 May 2022
09:15:41am
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

One good thing about collecting Canada's provinces is that, except for Newfoundland, there are no airmail stamps to mess with. And again, except for Newfoundland, there are no postage dues. The bad thing is that, because of some prices, it is very difficult to finish a province. I got lucky with BC / Vancouver Island, but it will certainly cost me!!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
philb
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11 May 2022
02:44:16pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

i would not mind having a Balbo cover from Newfoundland !

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

11 May 2022
03:16:37pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I think that's Scott's C18. I don't have that one either, I think it's somewhere in the $400 range. I know that's a lot of money but at least it's sort of affordable. I'm also missing C1, C4 and C5 which are MUCH more. Unless I get real lucky those are way out of reach, five figure prices for each!!

Edit: There are also many of these stamps (c18 and others) out there with forged overprints, unfortunately!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
jbaxter5256
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12 May 2022
12:06:10pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

WOW! Congratulations on your British Columbia and Vancouver Island #1 acquisition!

In posting images to Stamporama you have to have a file with the image on your computer and use the Upload Image button at the bottom of the message entry to include an image, no cut and paste is supported. There are some fairly strict limits on the resolution of the image but if you have problems you can use the Microsoft Paint or other image editing applications to save the image to a different resolution so that the Upload Image option will succeed. I would love to see the stamp if you are able to get it added to this thread.

Jerrel

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

12 May 2022
12:43:17pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

What I plan to do is wait until I have the complete BC. My dealer has all the ones I'm missing including the rather pricey #3. He's letting me pay them out over the next couple months every two weeks, probably about $500 a pop. It just means I'll have to cut out E-Bay for a while and maybe cut back on SOR a bit as well. Kind of a pain actually since one of the SOR sellers had a nice lot of US revenues for me that he has kindly agreed to hold onto for a while. Might also have to cut down on other luxuries like food!!! There's a local restaurant that has an incredible corn beef and cabbage meal as Thursday's special and this might be my last one for the next while, more cans of beans, Kraft dinner and bologna sandwiches!! Anyway, when I have BC complete and mounted nicely I'll try to post a few pictures. Right now I have #'s 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and #11. I'll look much better when I have all 18 of them. I'm not too worried about whether everything is authentic since the original owner bought from well known auction houses and kept immaculate records of his purchases. He bought back in the early 1980's when people were buying stamps as investments. I know this is a lot of $$$$ but the chance will probably never come up again.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

21 May 2022
10:02:07am
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I've been really good lately. I told myself I'd cut back on other purchases until my BC is complete. There was a book (Vol 1 of Simeon Perkin's diary) on Etsy I really wanted, but rather than buy it I got a friend to buy it for me in exchange for a local crock (a Liverpool N.S. George Snaddon crock) I had that he really wanted. I collect a Sandwich Glass pattern called Bellflower and I have most of the pieces I want but there is a huge glass auction about to happen that has a piece I really want - a beautiful decanter with matching pattern glass stopper, a piece I've been searching for for quite a while! I told myself that if it came up once it will come up again. I also have quite a few saved searches on E-Bay and for the last couple weeks I've been just deleting the notifications without checking them. I've even put off checking out the local antique shops as they open for the year. I still check the new items on SOR and picked up an Australia stamp yesterday - you can't ignore everything!! The things we do just to get a few stamps for our collection. So far I haven't given up eating and am even going out to a local lobster supper with a friend tomorrow. How many of you have changed your life for a while so you can buy a few stamps you "want"?

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

14 Jun 2022
03:42:54pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I now have 10 of the 18 BC stamps - #1, #2 (2 used copies, one with Lytton #7 postmark), #5, #6, #7 ( 2 used copies, one with Willow's Creek #10 postmark), #8, #9, #11 ( Victoria #35 postmark), #12 and #16 (Victoria #35 postmark). I still have a way to go including an expensive #3. When the collection is finished I'll try to post pictures, the collection should be very impressive! Every two weeks I get another stamp in the mail and some will have to paid for in a couple payments so I won't be finished for a while.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
rrraphy
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Retired Consultant APS#186030

15 Jun 2022
12:12:39pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

"The hard part is not having someone to pass it on to, knowing that all the hard work will be dispersed a bit at a time when I am no longer around to enjoy it. I guess the key is to enjoy things as long as you can"



Feel the same Harvey, but really most of us do not collect with the intention to make lots of money for our heirs, and the passion comes from finding those rare gems, and sharing with other collectors who appreciate it. Passing on a complete collection removes this aspect of the process, and to be honest, there is a bit of a letdown when you can post "COMPLETE" on the first page of your album!

Now for sharing the gems, I for one would love to see them one by one, as you acquire them rather than just when it is all complete. There is a real thrill getting these one by one, so why not!

rrr...

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

15 Jun 2022
01:43:43pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

"There is a real thrill getting these one by one, so why not!
"


I'm afraid that the why not is because of me. I have a very sensitive computer with an old operating system that should all be updated before I attempt to re-install a camera. I have friends who take pictures for me and forward them but they are always too large to upload into SOR. So I need to figure out how to reduce the size of the image. Can any one of you pros tell me what sized images SOR will take and how I can reduce my images to that size - in layman's language please. My days of being a computer geek ended a long time ago and I don't have any geek friends either. Sorry!!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Bobstamp
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15 Jun 2022
11:41:12pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I could have bought a chocolate cookie at a farmers' market today, but I didn't — $5.25 seemed just a bit much for something I didn't need. But stamps that you really, really, really want to own, how much is too much? If your family can't afford medical prescriptions or goes without socks because you can't afford them, stamps are a luxury. But if you have "money to burn," better to burn it on stamps (or covers!) than on less "green" expenses like cruises to places you'd never want to live so you can see people who probably hate you but love your money.

For a long time, I resisted spending more than $10 on any stamp or cover. But when I realized that stamp and cover collecting was one of the most important things in my life, I realized that contented stamp collectors may sometimes spend a lot more than $10 on any given item, and never regret doing so. Twice now I have sent payment for covers that might cause Jeff Bezos to blanch. Well, maybe not. But I'm glad I spent that money.

I don't collect British Columbia stamps, even though I've lived in British Columbia for 50 of my 79 years, but if I'd never moved to BC I wouldn't likely own one of these:

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It's a vermeil (small gold) medal that I won for a ten-frame, 160-sheet VANPEX exhibition about the Battle of the Atlantic. The VANPEX medalS have a history dating back to the earliest years of the British Columbia Philatelic Society, which first met in 1919. The medal is based on British Columbia (Scott) #7:

Image Not Found

The medals (gold, vermeil, silver, and bronze) are made by Birks of Canada. I was not interested in exhibiting until I saw the silver VANPEX medal that one the BC Phil's members won; I decided on the spot to earn a medal for myself. I enjoyed the process of putting the exhibit together, and went on to mount three other exhibits. In my opinion, there is no better way to learn about your collections than exhibiting them.

Bob


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BenFranklin1902
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Tom in Exton, PA

21 Jun 2022
12:37:26pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found

A 3 Pence stamp?? Big Hug



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Dakota
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21 Jun 2022
09:44:05pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Congratulations Harvey. Good for you.

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

25 Jun 2022
03:10:22pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Now up to 11 out of 18! I picked up a beautiful copy of #3 at my dealer's home on Thursday. It was way too expensive to trust to the postal "service" so a road trip was called for. It has 4 even margins and another #35 Victoria numbered cancellation. It'll also take 3 payments to pay for it, this is the last of the BIGGIES!! I'm not good with cameras and can never get the image small enough so when the collection is finished I'll get Steve to do a slide show of the collection and forward it to any one who is interested. It'll be amazing to see when it's complete; the only thing I have that compares slightly is the complete Victoria Jubilee series. It'll still take a while to finish it, but it should be worth waiting for!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

26 Jun 2022
06:59:50am
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... It'll still take a while to finish it, but it should be
worth waiting for!! .... "


I believe that the basic underlying premise of " "a good
thing"
is that it, or she, be worth waiting for. I look
forward to seeing your BC collection when it is complete
and able to use a scanner.

Years ago, the radio operator on whatever ship I was sailing
on discovered my budding re-interest in stamps and showed
me his Newfoundland collection, which, he said was just a
few short of completion. To be honest, while I was very
impressed by the really neat issues displayed, I only had a
vague idea of what I was looking at.
I'd love to see it again, sixty-seven years later, and much
more aware of the difficulty and expense he must have had
accumulating those issues.
About a year earlier, on a lazy, rainy afternoon, so common
on Eastern Long Island, I had discovered my parent's
twenty-five year old Scott Junior Blue and my children's
albums on a shelf in my attic bedroom. I was enthusiastically
moving their stamps from the, by then, out of date, Scott
Album into my newer and much fatter Harris Citation.
On a voyage a few month later, the radio operator,
Louis, came to my stateroom with a bag of Wildings in his
hand, and told me that the officer's steward found the clear
plastic bag in my trashcan, but knowing that he was interested
in stamps, brought the bag to his room.
We exchanged pleasantries as he showed me the bag.
"Why are you throwing all these stamps away ?' he asked.
"Because I have just finished mounting a nice lightly cancelled
example of them."
"Do you know that there are three distinct varieties of these
issues? "
" HUH ?" was the best I could do then.
""Do you see the red stamps with the black lines?"
"The cancels, yes, why?"
"Those are not cancels, you have a pair of UK red 2½ penny
Wildings with 'Graffite Lines,' they are a collectable variety,
especially a pair."
"I guess the quizzical look on my face answered for my
ignorance so he explained more and took the pair out as well
as several others from the bag.
That is when I learned that there were three different watermarks
often visible under the desk's reading light against the glossy black
desk top.
"Where did you get them?"
"In Southampton on our last trip to Bremerhaven and England.
'I saw a stamp store 'G. Sanders Stamp Shop' and spent the
afternoon looking through one of his stock books.".
He had given me the plastic bag back and was showing me
things I did not know at that time, such as that my folk's 1944
(or 1945) Scott W/W Catalog needed to be replaced.
He gave me a Stanley Gibbons UK stamp catalogue that was
only a few years old.
Then he stopped and said, "The pair is not only a Graffite line
issue, it has inverted multi-crowns and is probably worth more
than the entire balance of Wilding stamps in the bag.
That is how, and when my interest in Wildings, and about four
years later, in the new Machin series began.
"Tomorrow afternoon when you get off watch, stop by and I'll show
you one of my favorite albums."
That turned out to be the almost complete set of Newfoundland
issues.
Since then, I have been adverse to discarding any stamps until
I have learned everything about them, that I could.
Just thinking, ..... that was the SS Beaver State, a refitted WW II
Victory Ship that had been in one of our reserve fleets since the
Korean War armistice had been signed. We were on a cross-Pacific
voyage to either Saigon or Pusan, Korea with military stores.
After one additional trip, we were in a collision in the Chesapeake
Bay with an old Liberian vessel that was carrying 'feldspar' a
chrystaline component of aluminum production. The SS Bodero
sank there near Smith Island and we were towed back to
Baltimore where the Beaver State was decommissioned and sold
for scrap.
But that is another story.




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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

26 Jun 2022
08:04:57am
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Thanks Charlie, great story and insights into collecting. I wonder how much we throw out or pass on that we should look at more carefully. After the BC is done Steve has a couple mint Jubilee's that I have only used. I'm not sure about upgrading but he is willing to take the used stamps partially on trade. One that he has is the $3 and that is probably the hardest one to find. I remember it was the last one I got. I really don't mind used stamps and with the BC I really like the numbered postmarks because of the history. But a couple of my higher valued Jubilee's have nasty blurred post marks and if I get a chance I might try to replace them - depending on the price of course. I bought a beautiful used Bluenose "man on the mast" from a SOR seller and it is one of my favorite pieces.
The almost complete Newfoundland collection must have been something to see. I imagine he was missing the early special flight airmails, most of them are very pricey. There's a couple of the early regular stamps that are way up there as well. I'm missing 18 Newfy stamps and most of those are out of reach. A couple are way out of reach!!
When I finish the collection I'll have a slide show made up and email it to whoever wants it! Have a great day everyone!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

01 Jul 2022
02:18:06am
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... I imagine he was missing the early special flight airmails, most of them are very pricey. ...."

I only made abut four or five voyages on the Beaver State, and I was making three to four times what my father earned as an electrician, with my room, bard, medical and retirement thrown in.
Lou and , often chatted during my watch on the ships bridge or afterwards. He seldom went ashore and would ask me to pik up current newspapers or magazines so he did not have to leave the ship. once he told me that his wife had died in a auto accident and he had been hospitalized for several months. Between his base and overtime salary, several times what an average working man earned he should have been able to acquire even pricey stamps. addition, he had a some sort of insurance settlement for his wife's death.
There were many seamen who, once they had a permanent berth, seldom switched ships. I was very much younger at the time so after a few repeat voyages somewhere, I would go to the union hall and seek a ship sailing to some new, and sometimes exciting destination.

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

04 Oct 2022
12:39:22pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Got another BC stamp today, #15, only three more to go, #'s 13, 14, and 18. This is the 4th one so far that has the #35 Victoria postmark. There must have been an awful lot of mail going through Victoria at that time. I have one #7 postmark for Lytton, one #10 for William's Creek, 2 oval New Westminster postmarks and one oval Vancouver Island. The last two are unnumbered. Does anyone out there have any of the other numbered BC postmarks? If so, could you post a scan? Any that I can find on line are either the #35, one of the ovals or undecipherable. I did find one cover with both a BC and US stamp, not sure what's going on there even though maybe sine BC was so close to the US that US postage was used in BC, and possibly visa versa. Does anyone know? When my collection is complete I'll send a set of pictures out to whoever is interested. It'll be another month or so.
Edit: I was doing a bit of digging online and came up with a very cool article that explains the cover with US and BC stamps. It would be great to find one but it would probably be very pricey!!
https://www.westerncoversociety.org/earl ...
Found a very interesting cover on E-Bay - seems a bit pricey, but very interesting!! The only complete cover there!!
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/262491742859?has ...

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

19 Oct 2022
12:27:46pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Just got #18 (the #35 post mark again!!) today - only two more to go. This one was a bit pricier than some so I'll have to slow down and do two payments. Gettin' there!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

15 Nov 2022
12:59:49pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Just got #14, only one more to go!! By this time next month I will have them all!! I'm not sure why I'm so excited over little pieces of paper, I really do have to get a life!! Big Grin

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

15 Nov 2022
02:55:35pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... I'm not sure why I'm so excited
over little pieces of paper, I really do
have to get a life!! ...."


I have no idea why you do, but
I sure wish I knew, as that might
shed light on the thrill I feel when
I finish a page or complete some
obscure set.
As Colonel Greene, the famous rotund
collector of the 1920s and '30s, once
declared to an inquisitive interrogator,
"You do not know what stamps can do
to a person."

There is a feeling, much akin to what
we experience the first time we see
and meet the one person with whom
we want to spend the rest of our lives,
only equaled once some years later
when I delivered my son and held him
in my arms.
Somehow, and for some internal,
emotional, hormonal reason.
the right stamp, at the right time,
brings forth a bit of that, or those,
heart thumping feelings, feelings
that make life with all its trials
and tribulations worthwhile.

I am sure that others have felt that way
at those times. For those who have not,
I am sorry, for you do not know what a
simple postage stamp can do to men,
and women as well.

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

14 Dec 2022
03:05:54pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Well, the BC collection is finished! I got a beautiful copy of #13 in the mail this morning. Some time in the new year I'll take a trip to "The Valley" and Steve will do up a set of pictures for me and when he sends them to me I'll forward a set to anyone who is interested. It was an expensive enterprise, but well worth the money. It really is a gorgeous set of 18 stamps plus a few more with interesting numbered postmarks!! Thanks for putting up with the running commentary, it was really difficult not getting excited and I tried to share that with my on-line friends!!Rock On

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

22 Mar 2023
04:51:29pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I went up to see my dealer today and he did a couple great photos of my BC collection and forwarded them to me. They really would not show well here so if anyone would like me to forward the slide show to you please let me know and I will send it to you. I'm very proud of this very difficult collection to complete. Steve Nickerson is a wonderful person and I have been dealing with him or his father since 1972 with never a complaint. I'm sure he would be glad to pick up another customer or two as well!! I'll include the two pages here to give an idea but if you had the slide show you could zoom to see the stamps better - if you wish! I know it doesn't look very elegant with my hen scratchings but it is what it is. Also there is no question of authenticity since they came from an excellent source - trust me!!!
Edit I just picked up the 2023 Canada Specialized Unitrade and they have an amazing section with the BC stamps on the numerical cancels. Many more have been identified and they are given rarity factors from 1 to 10. Obviously Victoria (#35) is a 1, Litton (#7) is a 6 (good), Clinton (#8) is a 7 (better), New Westminster (#1) is a 1 and the only other one I have William's Creek (#10) is a 1. I guess my only treasures are my Litton and Clinton as far as rarity goes. There are several 10's but most of them are of unknown origin, they have examples of the number but no idea where it is! There are still a few numbers that they think must exist ( 4 of them ) but no examples exist yet. I'd love to find more of the numbers but I'm afraid that's a sport for people richer than I! They also warn that forgeries of some of the rarer #'s exist - of course!Angry
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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

28 Mar 2023
07:00:44pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

My dealer, Steve Nickerson, still has some BC material left because the collection I was buying from had multiple copies of several of the stamps. If anyone wants Steve's contact information get in touch with me by regular E-Mail or SOR message and I can give you his contact information.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
jbaxter5256
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29 Mar 2023
07:08:00pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Congratulations! And, simply, wow.

No apologies needed as I, for one, have been awaiting the images for this complete collection for British Columbia which is an extraordinarily difficult collection to complete. Thanks for sharing your project with us.

Jerrel

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

29 Mar 2023
07:17:29pm
re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Thanks Jerrel! I look at those two pages often! If anyone wanted me to forward Steve's original pages to you with zoomability and excellent picture quality please let me know. He really doesn't mind if I forward them to whomever is interested. Let me know either here, by message or by e-mail and I'll send the slide show to you! I had to spend the money, you never get a second chance at something like this!

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
09 May 2022
03:25:17pm

The stamp dealer I've been using since 1972, first the father and now the son, bought an amazing collection of British Columbia / Vancouver Island stamps. It's almost complete and I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to buy them (one at a time) at about 20% CV. It's still a lot of money, but I'll probably never see them again!! I just picked up #1 today. Even at 20% it was a crazy price, but I've been told that you can't take it (money) with you so what the Hell!! I really can't stop staring at it, collectors really are an odd bunch! I can never get this program to copy-and-paste so I really can't show you a picture, but it has all four margins and wonderful color. One of these days I must set a camera up again!!! I must take out my Canada album and look at my stamp again!

Edit: Before all the negative comments about the stamp start I'll mention it came from the Maresch Auction house in the 1980's - so a very reputable source. I also know it is a controversial stamp in that it is not known used so it was probably never issued. I can live with that!

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amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
09 May 2022
06:51:07pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Harvey,

if it's your positive dream category, why not. and congratulations.

of course, I gulped when i read these two things in the same sentence:

"you can't take it (money) with you so what the Hell!"



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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

juicyheads.com/link. ...

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
09 May 2022
06:56:39pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I probably should have said "what the heck", doesn't say quite as much about the direction you will be going - my bad!!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
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philb

09 May 2022
07:28:40pm

Auctions

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Harvey, a friend who lives near Ottawa showed me his collection of Canadian provinces and they are something to behold..like the 1851 series of New Brunswick...just breathtaking. I know which direction you are headed on judgement day...but i am not allowed to say. phil

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
10 May 2022
12:11:13pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I really like the look of most of the provincial stamps, especially those of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia of which I am missing three from each province. Most of these are of very large expense - it might be very difficult. When I picked up my BC #1 yesterday he told me he has all the others I need and I can pay them off a bit at a time. The only one I bought outright was #1 and now that that is done the others can be bought by making payments on the 20% CV basis. Having a complete BS / Vanc. Island was something I never thought could happen!! I consider myself a serious collector and this will seriously influence my Canada collection! It's actually a bit nerve racking having a stamp with CV $18 500 in my album! The hard part is not having someone to pass it on to, knowing that all the hard work will be dispersed a bit at a time when I am no longer around to enjoy it. I guess the key is to enjoy things as long as you can, I really hate the word "downsize". I used to hear that word all the time when I was an antique dealer and tried to convince people to enjoy their treasures as long as possible. Any opinions?

Edit: The only down side is that I'll have to stay away from E-Bay for a few months and probably cut down on a few other luxuries (like food) for a while. But after all, isn't our hobby more important than anything else?

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
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philb

10 May 2022
02:08:19pm

Auctions

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

You are a true believer...you know what you have and were willing to pay the price.

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
11 May 2022
09:15:41am

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

One good thing about collecting Canada's provinces is that, except for Newfoundland, there are no airmail stamps to mess with. And again, except for Newfoundland, there are no postage dues. The bad thing is that, because of some prices, it is very difficult to finish a province. I got lucky with BC / Vancouver Island, but it will certainly cost me!!!

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philb

11 May 2022
02:44:16pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

i would not mind having a Balbo cover from Newfoundland !

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
11 May 2022
03:16:37pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I think that's Scott's C18. I don't have that one either, I think it's somewhere in the $400 range. I know that's a lot of money but at least it's sort of affordable. I'm also missing C1, C4 and C5 which are MUCH more. Unless I get real lucky those are way out of reach, five figure prices for each!!

Edit: There are also many of these stamps (c18 and others) out there with forged overprints, unfortunately!!

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jbaxter5256

12 May 2022
12:06:10pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

WOW! Congratulations on your British Columbia and Vancouver Island #1 acquisition!

In posting images to Stamporama you have to have a file with the image on your computer and use the Upload Image button at the bottom of the message entry to include an image, no cut and paste is supported. There are some fairly strict limits on the resolution of the image but if you have problems you can use the Microsoft Paint or other image editing applications to save the image to a different resolution so that the Upload Image option will succeed. I would love to see the stamp if you are able to get it added to this thread.

Jerrel

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
12 May 2022
12:43:17pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

What I plan to do is wait until I have the complete BC. My dealer has all the ones I'm missing including the rather pricey #3. He's letting me pay them out over the next couple months every two weeks, probably about $500 a pop. It just means I'll have to cut out E-Bay for a while and maybe cut back on SOR a bit as well. Kind of a pain actually since one of the SOR sellers had a nice lot of US revenues for me that he has kindly agreed to hold onto for a while. Might also have to cut down on other luxuries like food!!! There's a local restaurant that has an incredible corn beef and cabbage meal as Thursday's special and this might be my last one for the next while, more cans of beans, Kraft dinner and bologna sandwiches!! Anyway, when I have BC complete and mounted nicely I'll try to post a few pictures. Right now I have #'s 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and #11. I'll look much better when I have all 18 of them. I'm not too worried about whether everything is authentic since the original owner bought from well known auction houses and kept immaculate records of his purchases. He bought back in the early 1980's when people were buying stamps as investments. I know this is a lot of $$$$ but the chance will probably never come up again.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
21 May 2022
10:02:07am

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I've been really good lately. I told myself I'd cut back on other purchases until my BC is complete. There was a book (Vol 1 of Simeon Perkin's diary) on Etsy I really wanted, but rather than buy it I got a friend to buy it for me in exchange for a local crock (a Liverpool N.S. George Snaddon crock) I had that he really wanted. I collect a Sandwich Glass pattern called Bellflower and I have most of the pieces I want but there is a huge glass auction about to happen that has a piece I really want - a beautiful decanter with matching pattern glass stopper, a piece I've been searching for for quite a while! I told myself that if it came up once it will come up again. I also have quite a few saved searches on E-Bay and for the last couple weeks I've been just deleting the notifications without checking them. I've even put off checking out the local antique shops as they open for the year. I still check the new items on SOR and picked up an Australia stamp yesterday - you can't ignore everything!! The things we do just to get a few stamps for our collection. So far I haven't given up eating and am even going out to a local lobster supper with a friend tomorrow. How many of you have changed your life for a while so you can buy a few stamps you "want"?

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
14 Jun 2022
03:42:54pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I now have 10 of the 18 BC stamps - #1, #2 (2 used copies, one with Lytton #7 postmark), #5, #6, #7 ( 2 used copies, one with Willow's Creek #10 postmark), #8, #9, #11 ( Victoria #35 postmark), #12 and #16 (Victoria #35 postmark). I still have a way to go including an expensive #3. When the collection is finished I'll try to post pictures, the collection should be very impressive! Every two weeks I get another stamp in the mail and some will have to paid for in a couple payments so I won't be finished for a while.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
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rrraphy

Retired Consultant APS#186030
15 Jun 2022
12:12:39pm

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re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

"The hard part is not having someone to pass it on to, knowing that all the hard work will be dispersed a bit at a time when I am no longer around to enjoy it. I guess the key is to enjoy things as long as you can"



Feel the same Harvey, but really most of us do not collect with the intention to make lots of money for our heirs, and the passion comes from finding those rare gems, and sharing with other collectors who appreciate it. Passing on a complete collection removes this aspect of the process, and to be honest, there is a bit of a letdown when you can post "COMPLETE" on the first page of your album!

Now for sharing the gems, I for one would love to see them one by one, as you acquire them rather than just when it is all complete. There is a real thrill getting these one by one, so why not!

rrr...

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"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
15 Jun 2022
01:43:43pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

"There is a real thrill getting these one by one, so why not!
"


I'm afraid that the why not is because of me. I have a very sensitive computer with an old operating system that should all be updated before I attempt to re-install a camera. I have friends who take pictures for me and forward them but they are always too large to upload into SOR. So I need to figure out how to reduce the size of the image. Can any one of you pros tell me what sized images SOR will take and how I can reduce my images to that size - in layman's language please. My days of being a computer geek ended a long time ago and I don't have any geek friends either. Sorry!!!

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Bobstamp

15 Jun 2022
11:41:12pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I could have bought a chocolate cookie at a farmers' market today, but I didn't — $5.25 seemed just a bit much for something I didn't need. But stamps that you really, really, really want to own, how much is too much? If your family can't afford medical prescriptions or goes without socks because you can't afford them, stamps are a luxury. But if you have "money to burn," better to burn it on stamps (or covers!) than on less "green" expenses like cruises to places you'd never want to live so you can see people who probably hate you but love your money.

For a long time, I resisted spending more than $10 on any stamp or cover. But when I realized that stamp and cover collecting was one of the most important things in my life, I realized that contented stamp collectors may sometimes spend a lot more than $10 on any given item, and never regret doing so. Twice now I have sent payment for covers that might cause Jeff Bezos to blanch. Well, maybe not. But I'm glad I spent that money.

I don't collect British Columbia stamps, even though I've lived in British Columbia for 50 of my 79 years, but if I'd never moved to BC I wouldn't likely own one of these:

Image Not Found

It's a vermeil (small gold) medal that I won for a ten-frame, 160-sheet VANPEX exhibition about the Battle of the Atlantic. The VANPEX medalS have a history dating back to the earliest years of the British Columbia Philatelic Society, which first met in 1919. The medal is based on British Columbia (Scott) #7:

Image Not Found

The medals (gold, vermeil, silver, and bronze) are made by Birks of Canada. I was not interested in exhibiting until I saw the silver VANPEX medal that one the BC Phil's members won; I decided on the spot to earn a medal for myself. I enjoyed the process of putting the exhibit together, and went on to mount three other exhibits. In my opinion, there is no better way to learn about your collections than exhibiting them.

Bob


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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
21 Jun 2022
12:37:26pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found

A 3 Pence stamp?? Big Hug



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Dakota

21 Jun 2022
09:44:05pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Congratulations Harvey. Good for you.

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
25 Jun 2022
03:10:22pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Now up to 11 out of 18! I picked up a beautiful copy of #3 at my dealer's home on Thursday. It was way too expensive to trust to the postal "service" so a road trip was called for. It has 4 even margins and another #35 Victoria numbered cancellation. It'll also take 3 payments to pay for it, this is the last of the BIGGIES!! I'm not good with cameras and can never get the image small enough so when the collection is finished I'll get Steve to do a slide show of the collection and forward it to any one who is interested. It'll be amazing to see when it's complete; the only thing I have that compares slightly is the complete Victoria Jubilee series. It'll still take a while to finish it, but it should be worth waiting for!!

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
26 Jun 2022
06:59:50am

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... It'll still take a while to finish it, but it should be
worth waiting for!! .... "


I believe that the basic underlying premise of " "a good
thing"
is that it, or she, be worth waiting for. I look
forward to seeing your BC collection when it is complete
and able to use a scanner.

Years ago, the radio operator on whatever ship I was sailing
on discovered my budding re-interest in stamps and showed
me his Newfoundland collection, which, he said was just a
few short of completion. To be honest, while I was very
impressed by the really neat issues displayed, I only had a
vague idea of what I was looking at.
I'd love to see it again, sixty-seven years later, and much
more aware of the difficulty and expense he must have had
accumulating those issues.
About a year earlier, on a lazy, rainy afternoon, so common
on Eastern Long Island, I had discovered my parent's
twenty-five year old Scott Junior Blue and my children's
albums on a shelf in my attic bedroom. I was enthusiastically
moving their stamps from the, by then, out of date, Scott
Album into my newer and much fatter Harris Citation.
On a voyage a few month later, the radio operator,
Louis, came to my stateroom with a bag of Wildings in his
hand, and told me that the officer's steward found the clear
plastic bag in my trashcan, but knowing that he was interested
in stamps, brought the bag to his room.
We exchanged pleasantries as he showed me the bag.
"Why are you throwing all these stamps away ?' he asked.
"Because I have just finished mounting a nice lightly cancelled
example of them."
"Do you know that there are three distinct varieties of these
issues? "
" HUH ?" was the best I could do then.
""Do you see the red stamps with the black lines?"
"The cancels, yes, why?"
"Those are not cancels, you have a pair of UK red 2½ penny
Wildings with 'Graffite Lines,' they are a collectable variety,
especially a pair."
"I guess the quizzical look on my face answered for my
ignorance so he explained more and took the pair out as well
as several others from the bag.
That is when I learned that there were three different watermarks
often visible under the desk's reading light against the glossy black
desk top.
"Where did you get them?"
"In Southampton on our last trip to Bremerhaven and England.
'I saw a stamp store 'G. Sanders Stamp Shop' and spent the
afternoon looking through one of his stock books.".
He had given me the plastic bag back and was showing me
things I did not know at that time, such as that my folk's 1944
(or 1945) Scott W/W Catalog needed to be replaced.
He gave me a Stanley Gibbons UK stamp catalogue that was
only a few years old.
Then he stopped and said, "The pair is not only a Graffite line
issue, it has inverted multi-crowns and is probably worth more
than the entire balance of Wilding stamps in the bag.
That is how, and when my interest in Wildings, and about four
years later, in the new Machin series began.
"Tomorrow afternoon when you get off watch, stop by and I'll show
you one of my favorite albums."
That turned out to be the almost complete set of Newfoundland
issues.
Since then, I have been adverse to discarding any stamps until
I have learned everything about them, that I could.
Just thinking, ..... that was the SS Beaver State, a refitted WW II
Victory Ship that had been in one of our reserve fleets since the
Korean War armistice had been signed. We were on a cross-Pacific
voyage to either Saigon or Pusan, Korea with military stores.
After one additional trip, we were in a collision in the Chesapeake
Bay with an old Liberian vessel that was carrying 'feldspar' a
chrystaline component of aluminum production. The SS Bodero
sank there near Smith Island and we were towed back to
Baltimore where the Beaver State was decommissioned and sold
for scrap.
But that is another story.




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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jun 2022
08:04:57am

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Thanks Charlie, great story and insights into collecting. I wonder how much we throw out or pass on that we should look at more carefully. After the BC is done Steve has a couple mint Jubilee's that I have only used. I'm not sure about upgrading but he is willing to take the used stamps partially on trade. One that he has is the $3 and that is probably the hardest one to find. I remember it was the last one I got. I really don't mind used stamps and with the BC I really like the numbered postmarks because of the history. But a couple of my higher valued Jubilee's have nasty blurred post marks and if I get a chance I might try to replace them - depending on the price of course. I bought a beautiful used Bluenose "man on the mast" from a SOR seller and it is one of my favorite pieces.
The almost complete Newfoundland collection must have been something to see. I imagine he was missing the early special flight airmails, most of them are very pricey. There's a couple of the early regular stamps that are way up there as well. I'm missing 18 Newfy stamps and most of those are out of reach. A couple are way out of reach!!
When I finish the collection I'll have a slide show made up and email it to whoever wants it! Have a great day everyone!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Jul 2022
02:18:06am

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... I imagine he was missing the early special flight airmails, most of them are very pricey. ...."

I only made abut four or five voyages on the Beaver State, and I was making three to four times what my father earned as an electrician, with my room, bard, medical and retirement thrown in.
Lou and , often chatted during my watch on the ships bridge or afterwards. He seldom went ashore and would ask me to pik up current newspapers or magazines so he did not have to leave the ship. once he told me that his wife had died in a auto accident and he had been hospitalized for several months. Between his base and overtime salary, several times what an average working man earned he should have been able to acquire even pricey stamps. addition, he had a some sort of insurance settlement for his wife's death.
There were many seamen who, once they had a permanent berth, seldom switched ships. I was very much younger at the time so after a few repeat voyages somewhere, I would go to the union hall and seek a ship sailing to some new, and sometimes exciting destination.

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
04 Oct 2022
12:39:22pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Got another BC stamp today, #15, only three more to go, #'s 13, 14, and 18. This is the 4th one so far that has the #35 Victoria postmark. There must have been an awful lot of mail going through Victoria at that time. I have one #7 postmark for Lytton, one #10 for William's Creek, 2 oval New Westminster postmarks and one oval Vancouver Island. The last two are unnumbered. Does anyone out there have any of the other numbered BC postmarks? If so, could you post a scan? Any that I can find on line are either the #35, one of the ovals or undecipherable. I did find one cover with both a BC and US stamp, not sure what's going on there even though maybe sine BC was so close to the US that US postage was used in BC, and possibly visa versa. Does anyone know? When my collection is complete I'll send a set of pictures out to whoever is interested. It'll be another month or so.
Edit: I was doing a bit of digging online and came up with a very cool article that explains the cover with US and BC stamps. It would be great to find one but it would probably be very pricey!!
https://www.westerncoversociety.org/earl ...
Found a very interesting cover on E-Bay - seems a bit pricey, but very interesting!! The only complete cover there!!
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/262491742859?has ...

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
19 Oct 2022
12:27:46pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Just got #18 (the #35 post mark again!!) today - only two more to go. This one was a bit pricier than some so I'll have to slow down and do two payments. Gettin' there!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
15 Nov 2022
12:59:49pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Just got #14, only one more to go!! By this time next month I will have them all!! I'm not sure why I'm so excited over little pieces of paper, I really do have to get a life!! Big Grin

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
15 Nov 2022
02:55:35pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

" .... I'm not sure why I'm so excited
over little pieces of paper, I really do
have to get a life!! ...."


I have no idea why you do, but
I sure wish I knew, as that might
shed light on the thrill I feel when
I finish a page or complete some
obscure set.
As Colonel Greene, the famous rotund
collector of the 1920s and '30s, once
declared to an inquisitive interrogator,
"You do not know what stamps can do
to a person."

There is a feeling, much akin to what
we experience the first time we see
and meet the one person with whom
we want to spend the rest of our lives,
only equaled once some years later
when I delivered my son and held him
in my arms.
Somehow, and for some internal,
emotional, hormonal reason.
the right stamp, at the right time,
brings forth a bit of that, or those,
heart thumping feelings, feelings
that make life with all its trials
and tribulations worthwhile.

I am sure that others have felt that way
at those times. For those who have not,
I am sorry, for you do not know what a
simple postage stamp can do to men,
and women as well.

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
14 Dec 2022
03:05:54pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Well, the BC collection is finished! I got a beautiful copy of #13 in the mail this morning. Some time in the new year I'll take a trip to "The Valley" and Steve will do up a set of pictures for me and when he sends them to me I'll forward a set to anyone who is interested. It was an expensive enterprise, but well worth the money. It really is a gorgeous set of 18 stamps plus a few more with interesting numbered postmarks!! Thanks for putting up with the running commentary, it was really difficult not getting excited and I tried to share that with my on-line friends!!Rock On

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
22 Mar 2023
04:51:29pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

I went up to see my dealer today and he did a couple great photos of my BC collection and forwarded them to me. They really would not show well here so if anyone would like me to forward the slide show to you please let me know and I will send it to you. I'm very proud of this very difficult collection to complete. Steve Nickerson is a wonderful person and I have been dealing with him or his father since 1972 with never a complaint. I'm sure he would be glad to pick up another customer or two as well!! I'll include the two pages here to give an idea but if you had the slide show you could zoom to see the stamps better - if you wish! I know it doesn't look very elegant with my hen scratchings but it is what it is. Also there is no question of authenticity since they came from an excellent source - trust me!!!
Edit I just picked up the 2023 Canada Specialized Unitrade and they have an amazing section with the BC stamps on the numerical cancels. Many more have been identified and they are given rarity factors from 1 to 10. Obviously Victoria (#35) is a 1, Litton (#7) is a 6 (good), Clinton (#8) is a 7 (better), New Westminster (#1) is a 1 and the only other one I have William's Creek (#10) is a 1. I guess my only treasures are my Litton and Clinton as far as rarity goes. There are several 10's but most of them are of unknown origin, they have examples of the number but no idea where it is! There are still a few numbers that they think must exist ( 4 of them ) but no examples exist yet. I'd love to find more of the numbers but I'm afraid that's a sport for people richer than I! They also warn that forgeries of some of the rarer #'s exist - of course!Angry
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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"

This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
28 Mar 2023
07:00:44pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

My dealer, Steve Nickerson, still has some BC material left because the collection I was buying from had multiple copies of several of the stamps. If anyone wants Steve's contact information get in touch with me by regular E-Mail or SOR message and I can give you his contact information.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
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jbaxter5256

29 Mar 2023
07:08:00pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Congratulations! And, simply, wow.

No apologies needed as I, for one, have been awaiting the images for this complete collection for British Columbia which is an extraordinarily difficult collection to complete. Thanks for sharing your project with us.

Jerrel

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
29 Mar 2023
07:17:29pm

re: It was a crazy thing to do, but I couldn't help it!!

Thanks Jerrel! I look at those two pages often! If anyone wanted me to forward Steve's original pages to you with zoomability and excellent picture quality please let me know. He really doesn't mind if I forward them to whomever is interested. Let me know either here, by message or by e-mail and I'll send the slide show to you! I had to spend the money, you never get a second chance at something like this!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
        

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