Monthly Archives: January 2023

Radio: Stamp Collecting Resolutions

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The Stamp Collecting Report
A radio feature by Lloyd de Vries

Download or listen to this report as an MP3 sound file.

Being Resolute.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I’m Lloyd de Vries.

The beginning of the year is the time to make resolutions to do better in the next twelve months. For me, and perhaps for you, that includes what I do, and don’t do, in stamp collecting.

For 20-23, I hope to improve my exhibit, find a key item that I know I have here somewhere, and enter the exhibit in more competitions. I won’t win anything major, I just want to do better.

And the fact that I know I have that piece “somewhere” tells you about another resolution I need to make!

I resolve to update The Virtual Stamp Club website more often and even do more of these audio features.

And I need to be more patient and forgiving when something goes wrong. After all, this is a hobby, not my life, and it’s supposed to be fun.

What are your stamp collecting resolutions? Leave a comment under this piece’s script and tell us about it. Then come back in a year, and tell us how you did.

And that’s stamp collecting. I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club.

The Stamp Collecting Report began in 1997 as a 60-second weekly feature distributed to CBS Radio Network stations by CBS News as part of its Weekend Feature Package. Eventually, longer versions were recorded for this website and a Christian evangelical shortwave service. The Report ended its CBS run in 2017 with only six repeats in some 1,040 weeks. It is now produced solely for The Virtual Stamp Club on an occasional basis.

Go to Report Index • Return to Virtual Stamp Club Home Page

Cheap USPS Order Packaging

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I was surprised at the flimsy packaging on a recent stamp order from Stamp Fulfillment Services. There was no cardboard in the plastic envelope (shown here), which could have been especially important since the order included both flat panes and a three-dimensional coil. If something heavy had been placed on top of this package, the coil would have left an imprint on the panes. Luckily, there were only a few minor marks.

USPS Adds Dates, Cities for 2023 Stamps (February-May)

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A quick list:

Women’s Soccer February 16 Orlando FL 32862
$10 Floral Geometry (no national ceremony) February 24 San Diego CA 92199
Patriotic Block (nonprofit org.) (no national ceremony) March 1 Liberty NY 12754
Toni Morrison March 7 Princeton NJ 08540
Railroad Stations March 9 Cincinnati OH 45234
Art of the Skateboard March 24 Phoenix AZ 85026
Tulip Blossoms April 5 Woodburn OR 97071
Roy Lichtenstein April 24 New York NY 10199
Tomie dePaola May 5 Manchester NH 03103
Chief Standing Bear May 12 Lincoln NE 68501
Endangered Species May 19 Wall SD 57790

If you’re wondering why some of these were chosen

  • The U.S.Women’s National (soccer) Team will play Canada in the “SHEBELIEVES” Cup on that date in Orlando.
  • Toni Morrison was associated with Princeton University from 1989 to 2006.
  • The Union Terminal is one of the railroad stations featured.
  • PHXAM (some sort of skateboard competition) begin on that date there.
  • The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival will be held there March 17 – April 30.
  • Lichtenstein‘s studio in New York is being refurbished by the Whitney Museum.
  • The Currier Museum in Manchester showcases dePaola‘s work.
  • Chief Standing Bear won one of the first major civil rights cases in the Nebraska capital.
  • A National Forest Service visitors center features exhibits about grassland wildlife and plants and, presumably, endangered species.

Click on the links for more information about those specific issues.

APS-ASDA Merger Off The Table

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A merger between the largest U.S. stamp collecting organization, the American Philatelic Society, and the major stamp deaer organization, the American Stamp Dealers Association, is unlikely to happen in the near future. Outlining work ahead for the APS Board, executive director Scott English wrote on January 6, 2023:

The APS/ASDA merger is not our best option to move forward. Looking at the risks and opportunities of a merger, the scale tilts toward the risk side. We’ve spent years getting the APS and APRL fiscal house in order, and a merger with the ASDA will not further what we’ve accomplished.

The APRL is the American Philatelic Research Library, of which he is also executive director and which owns the American Philatelic Center, the headquarters of the APS.

In his statement, which can be found on the APS website, English said a significant portion of the membership opposed the merger, while a significant majority (85%) felt collectors and dealers should work together to foster more ethical practices in philately.

The APS already has a dealer member program, with hundreds of APS members registered as dealers and a Dealer Advisory Council established by the APS Board in 2016. Both programs should be more effective in serving collectors and dealers.

Our earlier story on the proposal that English and a member of the ASDA board had floated, can be found here.