USPS Replaces Stamps Chief

Update October 14th: Susan McGowan is still head of Stamp Services; she is on a detail with the “sales group.” “We expect her to return,” USPS spokesman Mark Saunders told The Virtual Stamp Club.

The decision to replace Susan McGowan as manager of USPS Stamp Services was reported by Bill McAllister of Linn’s Stamp News less than a day before what is supposed to be the Postal Service’s “blockbuster issue” was released, Batman. No reason was given.

bigalke_mcgowanMcGowan had a rocky relationship with stamp collectors. With the stamp collecting press, too. Jay Bigalke of Linn’s Stamp News (shown interviewing McGowan at the National Postal Museum last September) first met McGowan when she chewed him out at AmeriStamp Expo 2013. Bigalke had reported on upcoming issues for 2013, which Stamp Services had not yet announced.

cindy_tackett14octMcGowan will be replaced, at least on an interim basis, by Cindy Tackett (left), a long-time staffer in Stamp Services who has often worked directly with stamp collectors.

More details are on the Linn’s website. You can leave your comments right here. Some of Lloyd’s thoughts are in his radio feature.

Britain’s 2014 Christmas Stamps

[Royal Mail press release]
Christmas 2014 Stamp Issue 4th November 2014

Christmas-2014-PP-visualReason and inspiration
Royal Mail’s Christmas stamps feature secular and religious imagery in alternate years. For the 2014 Christmas stamps, design company True North commissioned artist and illustrator Andrew Bannecker to create a series of outdoor Christmas scenes. These charming mini tableaux depict various British family traditions – from carol singing and ice skating to posting cards and buying trees. The stamps are available as part of a miniature sheet, with a gorgeous border also illustrated by Andrew Bannecker.

The Madonna and Child stamps at the 1st and 2nd class rate will also be available

Stamps
Code: AS52A
Price: £7.71

Value / Description
2nd Class – Collecting the Christmas Tree
1st Class – Posting Christmas Cards
2nd Class – Large – 73p Collecting the Christmas Tree
1st Class – Large – 93p Posting Christmas Cards
£1.28 – Airmail worldwide up to 20g Building a Snowman
£1.47 – Airmail to Europe up to 60g Carol Singing
£2.15 – Airmail worldwide up to 60g Ice Skating

Stamps specification
Number of stamps: Seven (2nd Class, 1st Class, 2nd Class Large, 1st Class Large, £1.28, £1.47, £2.15) – Total Value: £7.71
Date of issue: 4 November 2014
Design: True North
Illustrations: Andrew Bannecker
Acknowledgements: illustrations by Andrew Bannecker
Printer: De La Rue Security Print
Process: Gravure
Format Standard: Portrait
Format Large: Landscape
Size Standard:24x28mm
Size Large: 34x28mm
Perforations: 14.5 x15
Number per sheet: 50
Phosphor: bars as appropriate
Gum: self-adhesive

Christmas-2014-MinisheetMiniature Sheet
Code: MZ102
Price: £7.71

Royal Mail now receives a stock of Miniature Sheets from its secure printers bearing a tear-off barcode strip at the side for staff at Post Offices to scan to make the transaction easier and quicker. These will be supplied to our customers who can then choose whether or not to remove the strip. Royal Mail will continue to receive a supply of Miniature Sheets without the barcode strip for assembling the First Day Covers and for inclusion in the Presentation Packs and annual products only.

Special Stamps First Day Cover:
Price: £9.73 (Inland), £8.11 (Overseas)
Code: AF387
(TH Postmark)

The First Day Cover Envelope, designed by True North, features a skating pond image created by Andrew Bannecker which complements his illustrations for the Christmas stamps. The filler card shows an extended Christmas scene in the same style.

The Tallents House handstamp carries a graphic representation of a Christmas tree, while the alternative handstamp, bearing the location of Bethlehem, Llandeilo, features a robin.
Mini Sheet First Day Cover:
Price: £9.73 (Inland), £8.11 (Overseas)
Code: MF103

First Day Envelope
Price: 30p
Special Stamps Envelope Code: AE345
Mini-Sheet Envelope Code: ME102

Presentation Pack
Price: £8.25
Code: AP395

Inside the presentation pack (number 504), designed by True North, illustrator Andrew Bannecker brings to life a festive British village scene. The Snowy Village Christmas Fair includes activities such as the lighting of the Christmas tree, carol singing, skating, Christmas jumper competition and tug o’ war involving a giant Christmas cracker. There is a cake sale and a letter-writing workshop, a carousel and a large Ferris wheel – and, of course, children can visit Santa is his grotto.

Retail Stamp Book
12x 1st Class: 12x 2nd Class:
Price: £7.44 Price: £6.36
Code: UB378 Code: UB379

There are 2 variations of retail stamp book for Christmas 2014. The 2nd class book includes 12 of the 2nd Class Special Stamps – Choosing the Christmas Tree. The 1st Class book includes 12 of the 1st Class Special Stamps – Posting Christmas Cards. The stamps have been printed in gravure by International Security Printers.

Stamp Cards (set of 8)
Price: £3.60
Code: AQ214
The 7 Special Stamps, and Miniature Sheet image are reproduced at postcard size in this collectable set of 8 stamp cards.

Generic Sheet
Price: £15.20
Code: AT081
This generic sheet, designed by True North, features all stamps from the Christmas 2014 issue except the £2.15 value, interspersing festive illustrations by Andrew Bannecker with interesting facts related to British Christmas traditions.

Personalised Smilers
Sheet of 20 – 1st Class
Sheet of 20 – 2nd Class
Sheet of 10 – 1st Class
Sheet of 10 – £1.47 (Europe up to 60g)
Sheet of 10 – £1.28 (Worldwide up to 20g)

These sheets of stamps, which can be customised with a personal photograph, are perfect for sending Christmas cards to loved ones. The sheets are available in 2nd class, 1st class, £1.28 and £1.47 values featuring the Christmas 2014 stamp issue designs. The sheet borders have been designed by True North and illustrated by Andrew Bannecker.

Postmarks
All first day of issue postmarking offices will be supplied with the alternative pictorial first day of issue postmark. This will mean that all first day covers posted at the Post Office will be cancelled with the same pictorial postmark regardless of where they are posted.

Canada: Iconic WWII Photograph

[Canada Post press release]

Stamp commemorates “Wait for Me Daddy” photograph made famous as symbol of sacrifices on home front in war

waitdaddybkltA spontaneous burst of affection and excitement, frozen in time by a newspaper photographer’s lightning-fast reflexes, the “Wait for Me Daddy” photograph became famous to a generation.

Now, 74 years later and in time for Remembrance Day, Canada Post has again captured the moment the shutter was snapped, with a commemorative stamp featuring the photograph, accented with poppies.

The story behind the photograph is as remarkable as its enduring power as a poignant symbol of home-front sacrifice in the Second World War.

On October 1, 1940, Private Jack Bernard and other volunteers in The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught’s Own Rifles) were marching smartly down Eighth Street in New Westminster to board a ship and sail off to war. Suddenly, Bernard’s five-year-old son broke free of his mother’s grasp and sprinted into the military formation to take his smiling father’s hand. In that instant, an alert Vancouver Daily Province photographer, Claude Dettloff, snapped the shutter. Soon, his unforgettable image of little Warren “Whitey” Bernard was being printed by leading publications throughout North America. It was later used in Canada’s war bond drives with the plea, “help bring my Daddy home.”

“It is an honour to recognize this historic photograph, which touched so many Canadians during a global and prolonged conflict that touched and changed countless families,” says the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport. “It’s a reminder that wars are hard not only on people who serve in uniform or overseas, but also on their loved ones, safe at home on our country’s soil.”

“Our stamps are carefully chosen to reflect Canada’s rich history,” says Deepak Chopra, President and CEO of Canada Post. “The ‘Wait for Me Daddy’ stamp serves as a reminder of the hundreds of thousands of Canadian families who watched people they loved leave home to serve their country.”

Today, Warren “Whitey” Bernard, in his 80th year, lives in Tofino, B.C. He is retired after serving in local politics as an alderman, councillor and mayor of Tofino, following many years with a successful business career. His father did survive the war.

About the Stamp
The Wait for Me Daddy Permanent stamp measures 29 mm x 36 mm. The stamps are printed by Canadian Bank Note company on Tullis Russell paper using lithography in six colours. The Official First Day Cover will be cancelled in New Westminster, British Columbia. The stamps are available in booklets of 10 stamps. A souvenir sheet is also available, framed and unframed. To purchase philatelic products, please visit canadapost.ca/shop.

Scott Cat. Numbers – October 2014

4816b (49¢) Poinsettia, dated “2014”
4816c Poinsettia convertible booklet pane of 20, dated “2014”
4917 (49¢) Hudson River School Paintings booklet stamp – Grand Canyon, by Thomas Moran
4918 (49¢) Hudson River School Paintings booklet stamp – Summer Afternoon, by Asher B. Durand
4919 (49¢) Hudson River School Paintings booklet stamp – Sunset, by Frederic Edwin Church
4920 (49¢) Hudson River School Paintings booklet stamp – Distant View of Niagara Falls, by Thomas Cole
a. Block of 4, #4917-4920
b. Convertible booklet pane of 20, 5 each #4917-4920

Canada Honors NHL Defencemen

[Canada Post press release]
New stamp collection celebrates Canada’s hockey passion – Six hockey legends, seven Canadian NHL teams featured in 2014 issue

can_hockeyWith the puck about to drop for the 2014-15 NHL® season, Canada Post delivered today a quintessentially Canadian line-up that reflects the country’s deep passion for hockey. In a special ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame, it unveiled a collection of stamps that honour legendary Original Six™ Defencemen, Canada’s seven NHL teams and the iconic Zamboni® Ice Resurfacer.

The 2014 Original Six Defencemen series highlights a star from each team in the era that ended with NHL expansion in 1967. The seven-stamp Canadian team issue features team colours and logo displayed on a miniature version of the Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine that revolutionized hockey ice maintenance, contributing to a faster game. These stamps come in coils of 50 to allow fans to support their teams.

In the new Original Six issue, the incomparable Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins® leads a stellar lineup that also includes: Tim Horton (Toronto Maple Leafs®), Pierre Pilote (Chicago Blackhawks®), Red Kelly (Detroit Red Wings®), Doug Harvey (Montreal Canadiens®), and Harry Howell (New York Rangers®). All players, except Horton, a three-time member of the NHL’s First All-Star Team, won the Norris trophy for best defenceman. Horton finished second twice over his brilliant 23-year NHL career, once to Orr.

“The six hockey legends celebrated by Canada Post defined, and in some cases redefined, the defensive position at a golden time in the sport’s history,” says the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport and responsible for Canada Post. “Hockey transcends sport in Canada. It’s part of our very fabric.”

“Hockey is Canada’s passion,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “The legendary players we’ve immortalized on these stamps capture part of this country’s hockey story. These men inspired a generation, and their brilliance filled a nation with pride and joy. More than a few NHL players were born of the dreams instilled in them as boys by these stars.”

Minister Raitt and Mr. Chopra joined the four living hockey legends in the Esso Great Hall, home of the Stanley Cup, to unveil the stamps. Jeri Horton Joyce, Tim Horton’s daughter, and Doug and Glen Harvey, Doug Harvey’s sons, represented their fathers at the event.

Designed by Avi Dunkelman and Joe Gault for Mix Design Group of Toronto, each stamp features an image of the player in uniform, their enlarged jersey numbers in the background:

Bobby Orr: Boston Bruins, Number 4. Born in Parry Sound, Ontario, Orr became the first and only defenceman in league history to twice win the Art Ross Trophy for scoring. Orr led the Bruins to victory in the Stanley Cup final in 1970, scoring the winning goal in overtime and earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable playoff player. Orr’s Bruins won the Stanley Cup again in 1972. Orr also won the Calder Trophy as best rookie in 1966-67, three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player (MVP), and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team eight consecutive times from 1968 to 1975. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31.

Tim Horton: Toronto Maple Leafs, Number 7. Horton hailed from Cochrane, Ontario. Though he never won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman, his achievements rival those who did. He helped carry the Leafs to four Stanley Cup victories and was a three-time NHL First Team All-Star. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

Pierre Pilote: Chicago Blackhawks, Number 3. Born in Kénogami, Quebec, and raised in Fort Erie, Ontario, Pilote won the Norris Trophy three times from 1963 to 1965. He was instrumental to the Blackhawks’ 1961 Stanley Cup win and earned places on the NHL’s All-Star teams for seven consecutive years from 1960 to 1967. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

Red Kelly: Detroit Red Wings, Number 4. Hailing from Simcoe, Ontario, Kelly won the first Norris Trophy awarded in 1954. He won eight Stanley Cups, four as a defenceman with the Detroit Red Wings and four with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a centreman. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player four times and was a six-time First Team All-Star. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

Doug Harvey: Montreal Canadiens, Number 2. Harvey was born in Montréal, Quebec, and played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues® and Detroit Red Wings. He was an 11-time All-Star who earned the Norris Trophy seven times and gained an immortal place in the history of the Canadiens for the role he played in the Habs’ record-setting five straight Cup wins from 1956 to 1960. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973.

Harry Howell: New York Rangers, Number 3. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Howell played 25 professional hockey seasons from 1951 to 1976. He won the Norris Trophy in 1966-67, the last season of the Original Six and was a First Team All-Star in 1967. He played for the Oakland Seals and Los Angeles Kings® before moving to the WHA in 1973 to play for the San Diego, New Jersey and Calgary franchises. He retired from hockey in 1976 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.

The Canadian team logo stamps feature an aerial view of a Zamboni Ice Resurfacer decked out in team colours with logo displayed on the ice machine’s roof. It builds on the NHL Team Jerseys Stamps released in 2013. The seven Canadian teams are: Vancouver Canucks®, Calgary Flames®, Edmonton Oilers®, Winnipeg Jets®, Ottawa Senators®, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

Canada Post has produced more than 50 NHL-themed stamps since 1992. The first hockey-themed stamp was issued on January 23, 1956 and featured three players wearing “Canada” jerseys.

The Original Six Defencemen stamp series, an Official First Day Cover, and the seven Canadian team logo stamps are available at Canada Post retail outlets and online at canadapost.ca/NHL.

About the Original Six Defencemen Stamps
Available in a mixed booklet of six, one stamp for each player, the stamps measure 40 mm x 32 mm with simulated perforations, printed by Lowe-Martin using seven-colour lithography on Tullis Russell paper. Six single stamp international rate souvenir sheets are available in a single foil pack that includes a chance to win: one pack in 50 has a signed and authenticated souvenir sheet. Related products: framed prints feature a more current defenceman with the Original Six player: Toronto features Borje Salming, Montreal Larry Robinson, New York Brian Leetch, Chicago Chris Chelios, and Detroit Nicklas Lidstrom. Bobby Orr stands alone for Boston. The Official First Day Covers will be cancelled in the birthplaces of each player: Parry Sound, ON (Orr); Cochrane, ON (Horton); Kénogami, QC (Pilote); Simcoe, ON (Kelly); Montréal, QC (Harvey); and Hamilton, ON (Howell).

About the Canadian Team Logo/Zamboni Ice Resurfacer Stamps
The stamps measure 24 mm x 20 mm with simulated perforations, printed by Lowe-Martin on Tullis Russell paper using six-colour lithography. They are self-adhesive and the Official First Day Covers will be cancelled in Brantford, ON, Canadian headquarters of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.. There’s an OFDC souvenir sheet, postcards of Zamboni Ice Resurfacer Canadian team coil stamps and seven coil dispensers shaped like Zamboni Ice Resurfacers. The stamps are available in individual coils of 50.

Dick Sine: Preparing For The Inevitable

Do Something Nice for the Executor of Your Estate
By Richard L. Sine

RLSDisclaimer: I neither am an attorney nor accountant, nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in the past 12 months.

Given that such a high percentage of stamp collectors do not dispose of their collections prior to their move on to that great stamp meeting in the sky, their estate executors are faced with the primary question of what to do. Here are some of the disparate issues that may emerge:

Collection where perceived value is “catalog value” and an attempt to sell brings (legitimate) offers at 10% of that value range

If the above occurs, the executor tells family and friends of the extreme low-ball offer and philately gets a bad name. The collection then is placed at the back of a closet, keeping others from being able to enjoy its contents for a long time.

Collection where no value is known by the executor; a prospective purchaser, who senses this lack of knowledge, makes an extremely low-ball offer and smilingly goes off to resell at a tremendous profit

To reduce stress on those who follow you, particularly at a time when the executor is working to do the best job possible, you need to provide some preparation. First and foremost, keep your collection in an organized manner, with albums of boxes of glassine envelopes properly identified.

Further, have an inventory of your holdings, preferably noting each stamp and at least individually accounting for the higher-value items. The more information you provide, the better. If you have expertizing certificates, so note. Essentially, your inventory document … whether digital or on paper … will be the guidebook for the executor.

I have an Excel spreadsheet with individual pages for regular issues, airmail, official stamps, etc. I include Scott catalog values to allow an executor to have a feel for total as well as individual value. While I have been building this inventory for at least 25 years, the key word here is “building.” Not yet included is a “text” page that provides an overview of the collection and my own estimation of how it will be valued if/when offered for resale. My text page will include a note as to what sort of overall value one could expect, i.e., what percent of catalog value a dealer might offer.

Once you have an inventory document in decent form, take whatever time necessary to walk the projected executor through your collection. Make this upbeat and not at all morbid. If you are an APS member, be certain to mention the APS estate advisory service. At the same time, also note that unless the person who the APS sends to help your executor knows you, that person will come in somewhat blank relative to your material. Therefore, while there certainly will be some expertise offered, such at first necessarily will be general and that person also will be depending on your inventory document.

Finally, if planning to sell the material, try to obtain more than one offer. If the first two are very close in price, that is a suggestion that there is accuracy as to value. If you get three and one is much higher than the other two, consider seeking another offer. While your executor need not make this a lifelong quest to obtain the best price, certainly he/she will want to obtain true value.

This whole process is not easy on anyone. Unless there is a need for quick cash, there is no need to rush. If the executor needs a market value to satisfy probate requirements, a call to a reputable dealer to get a ballpark percent-of-catalog should work. The executor should not use catalog value to satisfy probate requirements, and run the risk of increasing fees and/or taxes.

There are a lot of war stories revolving around inherited collections, from the “WOW, it’s worth how much?” to feelings that dealers all are creatures living below ground and who only come out to rip off the unknowing. The best situation, I believe, is one where there is no story to be repeated.