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General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : What have stamps done for you?

 

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michael78651

17 Jan 2012
08:58:23am
I do have to say that stamp collecting is one of those few hobbies where it is relatively easy to liquidate for money when needed. I am also involved in model railroading, which is also easy to sell for cash when needed. I too have sold off portions of my collections when my financial situation got too tight, and it helped keep things somewhat level for the short time it was needed. Once the financial problems are gone, it is easy to resume collecting again too!

Right now, I have been toying with the idea of selling my collection as I am getting ready for retirement. This would provide a nice, additional nest egg, and also let me do some traveling. It is hard to make that final decision to dispose of the entire collection (or even a part of it) that I have been working on since 1962. One of the reasons is the friends I have made both locally and through online interactions. I do know, however, that if I ever wanted to sell, that I can, so there is no reason to be rash in doing so as I would not be selling now because of a financial need.
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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

17 Jan 2012
09:07:31pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Michael,
If you must sell all or a part of your collection, sobeit.
However let me just say that as the years pile up for me after retiring, my stamping activities have provided me with a way to pass the time, acquiring, sorting and mounting, trading and exchanging both letters, covers as well as stamps.
Age allows ( causes) the body and sleep patterns to change.
There are many nights when I wake up and can sit at my desk and play with my stamps without disturbing anyone else in the house for hours on end. Also as the body changes certain activities that had been normal for most of one's life become limited if not impossible, but stamping seldom become physically impossible. And then there are the letters and notes from other collectors all around the world that open a wide vista for the mind and the immagination.
Before computers made the old Dick Tracy Wrist Radio an antique, I wrote letters by hand and now with the word processor and internet access the entire world is reopeed.
So if you have to sell, that might be something you will regret.

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michael78651

17 Jan 2012
10:29:35pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I fully understand what you say, and yes, that would be a big regret, as well the loss of something that has been a lifelong activity. Fortunately, I do not have to sell in order to retire. Selling, if I choose that option, would offer me the chance to visit those locales from which I had collected stamps. Sort of putting the imagination of the image of the stamps into reality. It's an interesting thought, and certainly an incentive, but it is not yet pulling on me to do it.

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rgnpcs
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18 Jan 2012
12:34:55am
re: What have stamps done for you?

CDJ has hit the nail on the head with his response. i find that as I age (will be 89 in nine days, I still find working on the stamps to be relaxing, and I
too get up sometimes late at night, and work on something. I am only selling, and have not purchased a stamp since 2000, with exception of a small US collection that I could not turn down. My eyesight is not great, and it is tough to read the catalog numbers, even with a glass, my hands shake, and placing stamps into glassines is a chore, and as I have trouble getting up from a chair & walking, every time I have to get something, it is not easy, but working on the stamps keeps my mind active. I have to watch the amount of time I spend on the chats, as it takes away my limited time from getting my orders out, nd right now I am way behind.
Good night.
Richaard

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joelgrebin

18 Jan 2012
08:00:59pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I too Have to agree with cdj1122. As I have gotten older and the body and its clocks have changed, I have found that my collecting activities have allowed me to pursue a love of learning which emerged when I opened my first Social Studies book in grade school and learned about Henrik Hudson and his new world discoveries. Ever since that time I have had an abiding interest in how people live and work in different parts of the world. As I got older those interests expanded to mankind's accomplishments. I have delved into primary sources for historical information which was an opener for me. As my eyes have aged, I switched to collecting covers, FDC's, postmarks and postal history. I don't think any other hobby would have presented such a potpourri of learning opportunities. I don't think that I would ever stop collecting. There is always a new facet to this hobby to explore.
Joel

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ScanStamps
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28 Jan 2012
12:01:43am
re: What have stamps done for you?

Back in the late 90's, stamps kept me "afloat" financially for a while.

I had a business that went bankrupt in 1997, and stood facing the possibility of losing pretty much everything. On top of that, my (now) ex had just been laid off (they called it "managed attrition") as a senior engineer at a major computer manufacturer... so we were without income.

It was the early days of eBay, and I started selling off my GB, France, Germany and Swiss collections (and duplicates), which were quite "good," and it paid for mortgage and living expenses for almost 18 months, until we were both employed again.

So yeah, stamps have "done" something for me, too.

~Peter

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NJW7

08 Mar 2012
08:08:04pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

What have stamps done for me? They helped (and are still doing so) me maintain sobriety. In July it will be four years, and in those four year, boredom has struck many, many times. During my affair with the bottle, I didn't do much more than dabble with my collection, but in the last four years, I've had loads of fun. I don't know how to financially quantify my stamps in regard to sobriety.
That being said--I've been cataloging my collection of late, and truly believe myself to be in possession of a US Scott 170 or 195--just have to get my hands on a color guide to verify this one, as well as a few others. If those come to fruition in my favor, I'll return to this thread and let you know what my stamps have done for me.

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lisagrant87
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis

09 Mar 2012
06:54:06am
re: What have stamps done for you?

I'm a newbie here and my story seems to pale in comparison to others but stamps have already helped me tremendously. I am now able to remember my sister who has passed on by continuing and growing her stamp collection. I am also a 31 year old woman who was diagnosed with MS a little over a year ago. I'm unable to work and I feel like I've found a wonderful hobby and a wonderful group of people to get to know and to learn from. I'm already sharing things that I don't share with many people because I feel right at home here. That's what stamps have done for me. Ask me in a year and I'm sure it will be getting even better!

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Tim
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10 Mar 2012
08:12:08am
re: What have stamps done for you?

@NJW7, well done !!! It is a hard road that you are on and it is wonderful that your stamps are helping you so much.

@Lisa, you also have your share of problems. I know the MS won't get easier for you, but there are a number of people here in SOR that share your struggle with MS. Watch for posts from Luis (AVI).

Regards ... Tim.

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lisagrant87
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis

10 Mar 2012
10:01:11am
re: What have stamps done for you?

Thank you Tim. I will watch for Luis.

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LiberianTriangle
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30 Mar 2012
08:26:30pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I hesitate to get too maudlin in here, but I'm about to anyhow. My father passed away recently, luckily at a ripe old age and after a life richly lived, but of course I felt a loss from his passing. When I recently rummaged through old boxes I've stored away for literally decades, I came upon my stamp collection, and it, unlike anything else, brought back in vivid detail memories of wonderful times with my dad (who funded my stamp collection for the first 8 years or so). There really is something intangible about the power my stamp collection has to make old memories seem so powerful in my mind, and I am not going to over think it, I'm simply going to enjoy it.



Brad

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Tim
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30 Mar 2012
08:43:38pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Hi Brad,
I understand your feelings completely. I picked collecting again a few years back initially because it reminded me of good times with my Dad who died back in '75. I still use the Australian album that he gave me.

Regards ... Tim.

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

01 Apr 2012
09:27:25pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

As Brad wrote, an old collection does generate that mystical sense of Déjà vu that I, for one, treasure so much. At times I can almost smell the memories.

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02 Apr 2012
06:22:34am

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re: What have stamps done for you?

We call those smellories, Charlie

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06 Jun 2012
08:09:12pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I started collecting stamps when I was about 8 years old when you used to get some of those CTOs in the cereal boxes and I loved learning about the countries from where they came. That grew over the years to a small worldwide collection that was abandoned when I went off to university. I have a spinal cord injury and when my world seemed to crash, I remembered my stamps and had them dug out for me amongst all my pre-university cartons stashed at my parents' house. Working on my stamps and building a worldwide collection during those times really helped me get through some hard times and was good physical therapy too as I had to find a way to use the tongs again, figure out how to manage the hinges, etc. Then once my life got back on track, my stamps were put aside for a while and only brought out to admire and enjoy them but not to work on them. Now I've found my niche of time and I can once more enjoy them and look at them from a different perspective.

Kelly


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michael78651

06 Jun 2012
10:47:06pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I forgot about the small stamp packets in the cereal boxes. I remember them also in packages of pencils. My first East German stamps came that way!

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Stampaholic
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07 Jun 2012
09:08:47am

Auctions - Approvals
re: What have stamps done for you?

Am sure I have wrote about this somewhere in the discussion section over the last couple of years but will reiterate. started collecting at about 10 years old. My Dad said it was a waste of time. When I went to college, I couldn't afford books and so I majored in Geography.
the majority of my college degree was due to my stamp collection. Not the stamp collections fault there were 120 teachers for every job opening. As for recent times started selling stamps at flea market and on internet about 6 years ago. have sold a lot of stamps (I originally had a figure here but decided to delete it for EX reasons, IYKWIM.) right now, the stamp sales are helping to pay for a hearing aid.
Also, It's a fact, that stamp collecting helps to prevent Alzheimer's by keeping the mind active. Also, it's a Hail of a lot of fun. Every day is like a treasure hunt where you find a treasure.

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PeterG
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07 Jun 2012
02:26:59pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Stamps helped me keep sane when my brain threatened to explode and drugs were used on a daily basis. Stamps was what I fled to when drugs didn´t suffice. In a period of my life stamps were the only thing I bought except drugs. And stamps were the only thing in my life that I didn´t sell in my youth. So when I started turning normal again in my 30s, stamps were the only thing I had. Now they fill my life even more, the main difference being: Now I can afford to buy the stamps I want when I want them

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webweaver
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08 Jun 2012
12:19:28pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I have struggled with being disabled for several years now and being that I don't generally get out much there isn't much to do to occupy ones mind. I decided to start collecting stamps and now the days are not so long but there is a lot of dang not enough for this stamp or that ( lol ) I genuinely love this hobby especially the amazing artwork and coloration's, all the information one can get from collecting about history etc.
Now I have a three album set which I look forward to filling ( well not the ones that are #1 to ? I could sell all I own and still not afford one of them. Now if only I had stayed with this hobby when I was 12 maybe but motorcycles and computers got the better of me.

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

14 Jun 2012
12:46:52pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

For my tenth birthday I received a World Globe and spent hours locating the countries where stamps I had been collecting came from.

Image Not Found

I still handle a world globe with the reverance some people might provide to the Holy Grail. My desk was a cardboard folding table in the corner of my bedroom and the result was the beginning of my determination to travel around the globe, something that eventually I managed three or four times.
My cousins and I had a game that involved one of us finding some strange sounding name printed on that globe, and then after it was spun, the other player would try to find it.
I had a list of the most intriguing stamps and spent many rainy afternoons mesmerised by some view of a French Colony or wondering who that Sun Yat Sen guy was and how come his face was on so many stamps.

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Tim
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14 Jun 2012
08:04:50pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

You really haven't changed much Charlie.

Regards ... Tim.

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

14 Jun 2012
08:08:34pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Sure, what's a little thing like 300 pounds added matter ?
LOL
Next month I hope to enter a test program that might solve that weight issue.

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musicman
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16 Jun 2012
10:46:21am
re: What have stamps done for you?

Charlie,

Although I'm a bit younger than you (no disrespect intended) I share your reverence for world globes as well.

As a youngster, I was in awe when I first went to our public museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan with the elementary school class; there in the entry hall was a 6 ft. tall rotating globe of the world - complete with raised relief mountain ranges; I was hooked!

I still handle a globe with great care and reverence to this day....and that giant globe at the museum is still there - saw it again just last year...love that place....


Thanks for bringing back some fond memories, Charlie!




Randy


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MBriggy
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15 Jul 2012
07:41:20pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Just reading this thread evokes memories - my dad was an avid collector and he started collections for my brother and me when we were quite young, as in nearly fifty years ago. He bought kiloware on a regular basis so we spent a LOT of time soaking and sorting. We used masonite boards about 18 by 24 inches covered with wax paper, then the stamps, and then a covering of newsprint. We had a coupe dozen of those boards so we could do big batches at a time and the heft of the boards guaranteed nice flat stamps. When it was time to do the sorting, we would take over the dining room table for several hours at a time. In the process of sorting, Dad would always tell us about the countries we were working on, so we learned quite a bit of geography. It was definitely quality time! And I still enjoy soaking stamps, though I don't do those huge batches any more!

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pre1940classics

15 Jul 2012
10:26:43pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Charlie, I just notice the picture you posted on this thread last month. Excellent photo! I received my first album and stock book with a large pack of WW stamps for my 10th birthday in 1970 and remember fondly looking through all the stamps from around the world on the floor of the living room in our 1950s split level. I can say the hobby helped to foster my love for Geography, which was my college major!

Mary, welcome aboard, and it is nice that stamps were a part of your family. My dad was a collector when he was a teenager, so I did receive encouragement from him!

THOM

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

16 Jul 2012
04:46:52pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

My first "major" was Marine Transportation, that is a at the Merchant Marine Academy where the actual goal was, for me, a deck officer's license which made geography an integral part of the work day.

There are few things that can provide a better grip on world geography than doing the Magellen thing a few times. And philately only adds to the understanding of both Geography, World Politics and Social Studies.

As my grand kids reach about ten years of age they all get a similar globe from me for the X-mas holiday.


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Bujutsu
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11 Sep 2012
01:52:15pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

There are a lot of interesting postings in this thread.

Stamps opened up a whole new world to me and that was many moons ago. The computer and the internet widened that world and has made me all the happier for it.

I too have pondered the idea of selling but, did come down to one decision: That was to cut down, or, re-size my collection so that I can concentrate on any given areas of my specialties.

If I had to sell all of my collection, I think that would be heart-breaking for me. If by choice, I was to sell, it would only be a portion of it.

Chimo

Bujutsu

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

11 Sep 2012
09:25:23pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

Unless you have a box of stamps you absolutely hate sitting under your desk, Larry, selling any portion of your collection will be painful and sooner or later full of regrets.

In the late 1970s as the country was slipping into the Carter recession I felt it was necessary to sell off my collection of early US stamps so I could liquidate a loan that threatened my business and indirectly our home. It was a wise decision as it eliminated a monthly payment and kept us in business but I regret it still and for several years could not bear to collect early USA.

No it will be painful regardless of the reason.

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13 Sep 2012
07:24:44pm
re: What have stamps done for you?

I agree with what you are saying Charlie. To be honest though, I have so many that selling a portion would not make much of a dent.

I had the opportuninty in August of 2010 to buy 2 plastic bins filled with stamps to the top with off paper WW. Without any exaggerating, they were estimated to contain 250,000 stamps. That was a bargain I don't look back on either. A great deal of stamps for my collecting interests plus good dupes as well.

This is on top of what I already had.

Chimo

Bujutsu

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

14 Sep 2012
12:56:47am
re: What have stamps done for you?

That's the kind of purchase I like, along with an album stuffed with used stamps from an old time collector.
I once bid on and won forty pounds of used Machins on reasonably close clipped paper. I was surprised that my low bid, actually less than the shipping charge, won it but I think it was just too big a project for many other collectors.
One of the great things about a lot like the mixed plastic bin lot is that so much will be glanced at and set aside, somewhat forgotten only to be rediscovered months later on some lazy rainy day when the wave of pleasure is regenerated all over.

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michael78651

17 Jan 2012
08:58:23am

I do have to say that stamp collecting is one of those few hobbies where it is relatively easy to liquidate for money when needed. I am also involved in model railroading, which is also easy to sell for cash when needed. I too have sold off portions of my collections when my financial situation got too tight, and it helped keep things somewhat level for the short time it was needed. Once the financial problems are gone, it is easy to resume collecting again too!

Right now, I have been toying with the idea of selling my collection as I am getting ready for retirement. This would provide a nice, additional nest egg, and also let me do some traveling. It is hard to make that final decision to dispose of the entire collection (or even a part of it) that I have been working on since 1962. One of the reasons is the friends I have made both locally and through online interactions. I do know, however, that if I ever wanted to sell, that I can, so there is no reason to be rash in doing so as I would not be selling now because of a financial need.

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
17 Jan 2012
09:07:31pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Michael,
If you must sell all or a part of your collection, sobeit.
However let me just say that as the years pile up for me after retiring, my stamping activities have provided me with a way to pass the time, acquiring, sorting and mounting, trading and exchanging both letters, covers as well as stamps.
Age allows ( causes) the body and sleep patterns to change.
There are many nights when I wake up and can sit at my desk and play with my stamps without disturbing anyone else in the house for hours on end. Also as the body changes certain activities that had been normal for most of one's life become limited if not impossible, but stamping seldom become physically impossible. And then there are the letters and notes from other collectors all around the world that open a wide vista for the mind and the immagination.
Before computers made the old Dick Tracy Wrist Radio an antique, I wrote letters by hand and now with the word processor and internet access the entire world is reopeed.
So if you have to sell, that might be something you will regret.

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michael78651

17 Jan 2012
10:29:35pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I fully understand what you say, and yes, that would be a big regret, as well the loss of something that has been a lifelong activity. Fortunately, I do not have to sell in order to retire. Selling, if I choose that option, would offer me the chance to visit those locales from which I had collected stamps. Sort of putting the imagination of the image of the stamps into reality. It's an interesting thought, and certainly an incentive, but it is not yet pulling on me to do it.

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rgnpcs

18 Jan 2012
12:34:55am

re: What have stamps done for you?

CDJ has hit the nail on the head with his response. i find that as I age (will be 89 in nine days, I still find working on the stamps to be relaxing, and I
too get up sometimes late at night, and work on something. I am only selling, and have not purchased a stamp since 2000, with exception of a small US collection that I could not turn down. My eyesight is not great, and it is tough to read the catalog numbers, even with a glass, my hands shake, and placing stamps into glassines is a chore, and as I have trouble getting up from a chair & walking, every time I have to get something, it is not easy, but working on the stamps keeps my mind active. I have to watch the amount of time I spend on the chats, as it takes away my limited time from getting my orders out, nd right now I am way behind.
Good night.
Richaard

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joelgrebin

18 Jan 2012
08:00:59pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I too Have to agree with cdj1122. As I have gotten older and the body and its clocks have changed, I have found that my collecting activities have allowed me to pursue a love of learning which emerged when I opened my first Social Studies book in grade school and learned about Henrik Hudson and his new world discoveries. Ever since that time I have had an abiding interest in how people live and work in different parts of the world. As I got older those interests expanded to mankind's accomplishments. I have delved into primary sources for historical information which was an opener for me. As my eyes have aged, I switched to collecting covers, FDC's, postmarks and postal history. I don't think any other hobby would have presented such a potpourri of learning opportunities. I don't think that I would ever stop collecting. There is always a new facet to this hobby to explore.
Joel

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ScanStamps

28 Jan 2012
12:01:43am

re: What have stamps done for you?

Back in the late 90's, stamps kept me "afloat" financially for a while.

I had a business that went bankrupt in 1997, and stood facing the possibility of losing pretty much everything. On top of that, my (now) ex had just been laid off (they called it "managed attrition") as a senior engineer at a major computer manufacturer... so we were without income.

It was the early days of eBay, and I started selling off my GB, France, Germany and Swiss collections (and duplicates), which were quite "good," and it paid for mortgage and living expenses for almost 18 months, until we were both employed again.

So yeah, stamps have "done" something for me, too.

~Peter

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NJW7

08 Mar 2012
08:08:04pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

What have stamps done for me? They helped (and are still doing so) me maintain sobriety. In July it will be four years, and in those four year, boredom has struck many, many times. During my affair with the bottle, I didn't do much more than dabble with my collection, but in the last four years, I've had loads of fun. I don't know how to financially quantify my stamps in regard to sobriety.
That being said--I've been cataloging my collection of late, and truly believe myself to be in possession of a US Scott 170 or 195--just have to get my hands on a color guide to verify this one, as well as a few others. If those come to fruition in my favor, I'll return to this thread and let you know what my stamps have done for me.

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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
09 Mar 2012
06:54:06am

re: What have stamps done for you?

I'm a newbie here and my story seems to pale in comparison to others but stamps have already helped me tremendously. I am now able to remember my sister who has passed on by continuing and growing her stamp collection. I am also a 31 year old woman who was diagnosed with MS a little over a year ago. I'm unable to work and I feel like I've found a wonderful hobby and a wonderful group of people to get to know and to learn from. I'm already sharing things that I don't share with many people because I feel right at home here. That's what stamps have done for me. Ask me in a year and I'm sure it will be getting even better!

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Tim
Collector, Webmaster
10 Mar 2012
08:12:08am

re: What have stamps done for you?

@NJW7, well done !!! It is a hard road that you are on and it is wonderful that your stamps are helping you so much.

@Lisa, you also have your share of problems. I know the MS won't get easier for you, but there are a number of people here in SOR that share your struggle with MS. Watch for posts from Luis (AVI).

Regards ... Tim.

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10 Mar 2012
10:01:11am

re: What have stamps done for you?

Thank you Tim. I will watch for Luis.

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"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou"

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LiberianTriangle

30 Mar 2012
08:26:30pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I hesitate to get too maudlin in here, but I'm about to anyhow. My father passed away recently, luckily at a ripe old age and after a life richly lived, but of course I felt a loss from his passing. When I recently rummaged through old boxes I've stored away for literally decades, I came upon my stamp collection, and it, unlike anything else, brought back in vivid detail memories of wonderful times with my dad (who funded my stamp collection for the first 8 years or so). There really is something intangible about the power my stamp collection has to make old memories seem so powerful in my mind, and I am not going to over think it, I'm simply going to enjoy it.



Brad

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Tim
Collector, Webmaster
30 Mar 2012
08:43:38pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Hi Brad,
I understand your feelings completely. I picked collecting again a few years back initially because it reminded me of good times with my Dad who died back in '75. I still use the Australian album that he gave me.

Regards ... Tim.

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"Isaac Asimov once said if his doctor told him he was dying, he wouldn’t lament, he would just type a little faster. "

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Apr 2012
09:27:25pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

As Brad wrote, an old collection does generate that mystical sense of Déjà vu that I, for one, treasure so much. At times I can almost smell the memories.

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amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
02 Apr 2012
06:22:34am

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re: What have stamps done for you?

We call those smellories, Charlie

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06 Jun 2012
08:09:12pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I started collecting stamps when I was about 8 years old when you used to get some of those CTOs in the cereal boxes and I loved learning about the countries from where they came. That grew over the years to a small worldwide collection that was abandoned when I went off to university. I have a spinal cord injury and when my world seemed to crash, I remembered my stamps and had them dug out for me amongst all my pre-university cartons stashed at my parents' house. Working on my stamps and building a worldwide collection during those times really helped me get through some hard times and was good physical therapy too as I had to find a way to use the tongs again, figure out how to manage the hinges, etc. Then once my life got back on track, my stamps were put aside for a while and only brought out to admire and enjoy them but not to work on them. Now I've found my niche of time and I can once more enjoy them and look at them from a different perspective.

Kelly


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michael78651

06 Jun 2012
10:47:06pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I forgot about the small stamp packets in the cereal boxes. I remember them also in packages of pencils. My first East German stamps came that way!

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Stampaholic

07 Jun 2012
09:08:47am

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re: What have stamps done for you?

Am sure I have wrote about this somewhere in the discussion section over the last couple of years but will reiterate. started collecting at about 10 years old. My Dad said it was a waste of time. When I went to college, I couldn't afford books and so I majored in Geography.
the majority of my college degree was due to my stamp collection. Not the stamp collections fault there were 120 teachers for every job opening. As for recent times started selling stamps at flea market and on internet about 6 years ago. have sold a lot of stamps (I originally had a figure here but decided to delete it for EX reasons, IYKWIM.) right now, the stamp sales are helping to pay for a hearing aid.
Also, It's a fact, that stamp collecting helps to prevent Alzheimer's by keeping the mind active. Also, it's a Hail of a lot of fun. Every day is like a treasure hunt where you find a treasure.

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PeterG

07 Jun 2012
02:26:59pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Stamps helped me keep sane when my brain threatened to explode and drugs were used on a daily basis. Stamps was what I fled to when drugs didn´t suffice. In a period of my life stamps were the only thing I bought except drugs. And stamps were the only thing in my life that I didn´t sell in my youth. So when I started turning normal again in my 30s, stamps were the only thing I had. Now they fill my life even more, the main difference being: Now I can afford to buy the stamps I want when I want them

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webweaver

08 Jun 2012
12:19:28pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I have struggled with being disabled for several years now and being that I don't generally get out much there isn't much to do to occupy ones mind. I decided to start collecting stamps and now the days are not so long but there is a lot of dang not enough for this stamp or that ( lol ) I genuinely love this hobby especially the amazing artwork and coloration's, all the information one can get from collecting about history etc.
Now I have a three album set which I look forward to filling ( well not the ones that are #1 to ? I could sell all I own and still not afford one of them. Now if only I had stayed with this hobby when I was 12 maybe but motorcycles and computers got the better of me.

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
14 Jun 2012
12:46:52pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

For my tenth birthday I received a World Globe and spent hours locating the countries where stamps I had been collecting came from.

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I still handle a world globe with the reverance some people might provide to the Holy Grail. My desk was a cardboard folding table in the corner of my bedroom and the result was the beginning of my determination to travel around the globe, something that eventually I managed three or four times.
My cousins and I had a game that involved one of us finding some strange sounding name printed on that globe, and then after it was spun, the other player would try to find it.
I had a list of the most intriguing stamps and spent many rainy afternoons mesmerised by some view of a French Colony or wondering who that Sun Yat Sen guy was and how come his face was on so many stamps.

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Tim
Collector, Webmaster
14 Jun 2012
08:04:50pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

You really haven't changed much Charlie.

Regards ... Tim.

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
14 Jun 2012
08:08:34pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Sure, what's a little thing like 300 pounds added matter ?
LOL
Next month I hope to enter a test program that might solve that weight issue.

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musicman

APS #213005
16 Jun 2012
10:46:21am

re: What have stamps done for you?

Charlie,

Although I'm a bit younger than you (no disrespect intended) I share your reverence for world globes as well.

As a youngster, I was in awe when I first went to our public museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan with the elementary school class; there in the entry hall was a 6 ft. tall rotating globe of the world - complete with raised relief mountain ranges; I was hooked!

I still handle a globe with great care and reverence to this day....and that giant globe at the museum is still there - saw it again just last year...love that place....


Thanks for bringing back some fond memories, Charlie!




Randy


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MBriggy

15 Jul 2012
07:41:20pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Just reading this thread evokes memories - my dad was an avid collector and he started collections for my brother and me when we were quite young, as in nearly fifty years ago. He bought kiloware on a regular basis so we spent a LOT of time soaking and sorting. We used masonite boards about 18 by 24 inches covered with wax paper, then the stamps, and then a covering of newsprint. We had a coupe dozen of those boards so we could do big batches at a time and the heft of the boards guaranteed nice flat stamps. When it was time to do the sorting, we would take over the dining room table for several hours at a time. In the process of sorting, Dad would always tell us about the countries we were working on, so we learned quite a bit of geography. It was definitely quality time! And I still enjoy soaking stamps, though I don't do those huge batches any more!

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pre1940classics

15 Jul 2012
10:26:43pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Charlie, I just notice the picture you posted on this thread last month. Excellent photo! I received my first album and stock book with a large pack of WW stamps for my 10th birthday in 1970 and remember fondly looking through all the stamps from around the world on the floor of the living room in our 1950s split level. I can say the hobby helped to foster my love for Geography, which was my college major!

Mary, welcome aboard, and it is nice that stamps were a part of your family. My dad was a collector when he was a teenager, so I did receive encouragement from him!

THOM

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
16 Jul 2012
04:46:52pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

My first "major" was Marine Transportation, that is a at the Merchant Marine Academy where the actual goal was, for me, a deck officer's license which made geography an integral part of the work day.

There are few things that can provide a better grip on world geography than doing the Magellen thing a few times. And philately only adds to the understanding of both Geography, World Politics and Social Studies.

As my grand kids reach about ten years of age they all get a similar globe from me for the X-mas holiday.


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Bujutsu

11 Sep 2012
01:52:15pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

There are a lot of interesting postings in this thread.

Stamps opened up a whole new world to me and that was many moons ago. The computer and the internet widened that world and has made me all the happier for it.

I too have pondered the idea of selling but, did come down to one decision: That was to cut down, or, re-size my collection so that I can concentrate on any given areas of my specialties.

If I had to sell all of my collection, I think that would be heart-breaking for me. If by choice, I was to sell, it would only be a portion of it.

Chimo

Bujutsu

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
11 Sep 2012
09:25:23pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

Unless you have a box of stamps you absolutely hate sitting under your desk, Larry, selling any portion of your collection will be painful and sooner or later full of regrets.

In the late 1970s as the country was slipping into the Carter recession I felt it was necessary to sell off my collection of early US stamps so I could liquidate a loan that threatened my business and indirectly our home. It was a wise decision as it eliminated a monthly payment and kept us in business but I regret it still and for several years could not bear to collect early USA.

No it will be painful regardless of the reason.

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Bujutsu

13 Sep 2012
07:24:44pm

re: What have stamps done for you?

I agree with what you are saying Charlie. To be honest though, I have so many that selling a portion would not make much of a dent.

I had the opportuninty in August of 2010 to buy 2 plastic bins filled with stamps to the top with off paper WW. Without any exaggerating, they were estimated to contain 250,000 stamps. That was a bargain I don't look back on either. A great deal of stamps for my collecting interests plus good dupes as well.

This is on top of what I already had.

Chimo

Bujutsu

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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
14 Sep 2012
12:56:47am

re: What have stamps done for you?

That's the kind of purchase I like, along with an album stuffed with used stamps from an old time collector.
I once bid on and won forty pounds of used Machins on reasonably close clipped paper. I was surprised that my low bid, actually less than the shipping charge, won it but I think it was just too big a project for many other collectors.
One of the great things about a lot like the mixed plastic bin lot is that so much will be glanced at and set aside, somewhat forgotten only to be rediscovered months later on some lazy rainy day when the wave of pleasure is regenerated all over.

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