It only took American Philatelic Society executives a moment to know: The “rare Jenny invert” owned by a small southwest Iowa aviation museum was a fake — and not even a good one.

“It wasn’t even close,” APS chief operating officer Ken Martin told The Virtual Stamp Club. “It was the size of the Dolley Madison or Windmill stamps,” which were smaller than most definitives, and only about 60% the size of real C3a Jenny Invert, such as the one shown here..

In addition, the Scott catalogue number (“C3a” was printed underneath the design, and the image was flat: The perforations weren’t real, but part of the printing. Martin speyculates the illustration may have been taken from The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps, at one time sold in most post offices.

The Iowa Aviation Museum in Greenfield had had the stamp on display for more than 20 years, glued to a board. It had been told by the original donor that it was a valuable rare stamp.

The museum first contacted the Philatelic Foundation, but decided not to submit the stamp to PF. According to its website, PF’s fee would have been at least $1,000. Instead, at the suggestion of a local stamp collector, museum officials brought it to the APS convention in Omaha, about 80 miles away.

Stamp collectors know the whereabouts of all but one or two of the 100 Jenny Inverts found in 1918. The 24-cent stamp shows a JN-4-H bi-wing aircraft upside down.

The museum had hoped to sell the stamp, which if genuine would have fetched $300,000 and up, and use the money to build a new hangar.

“I felt so bad for them,” APS executive director Scott English told the VSC.

After explaining to museum officials why the stamp wasn’t real, the APS officials showed them a genuine Jenny Invert, which the organization is exhibiting at its convention.

[press release]
Exhibit page protectors available from Amos Media Co.

Amos Media Co. is pleased to announce that Atlantic Protective Pouches exhibit page protectors are now available for purchase directly from Amos Advantage.

Two sizes are offered: 8½ inches by 11 inches (standard exhibit page), and 11 inches by 17 inches (large exhibit page). Both sizes open across the top, for easy insertion of exhibit pages.

These expertly crafted exhibit page sleeves, made from archival acid-free polyester, are designed to give your treasured exhibit the protection and professional appearance it deserves. All sleeve surfaces are 100% transparent and highly polished.

There’s no need to worry about damage to your collection because the sleeves are completely inert. They contain no adhesives, additives or coatings of any kind.

Atlantic Protective Pouches are available in convenient packs of 16 and eight, which correspond to the number of standard or large pages in an exhibit. Order yours today by visiting www.amosadvantage.com/exhibitpages or by calling 800-572-6885.

[based on press release]
Mystic Stamp Company Buys Complete ArtCraft First Day Cover Inventory
Dissolution of ArtCraft makes Fleetwood America’s oldest surviving First Day Cover maker

Camden, NY. In May 2019, Mystic Stamp Company purchased ArtCraft’s complete inventory – over 5 million covers – after the company announced it was closing its doors. ArtCraft had been sending out Fleetwood First Day Covers since they stopped printing their own in 2015, so it’s only fitting Mystic – owner of Fleetwood – pick up ArtCraft’s inventory, too. This inventory includes historic covers from ArtCraft’s earliest days (1939) to 2015. Known for their exquisite detail, ArtCraft’s steel-engraving-style cachets have always been popular with collectors.

In the press release, Mystic president Don Sundman said, “My family has been collecting and selling covers for over 85 years, beginning with my father, Maynard, in the 1930s. [One of his covers, from 1935, is shown on the left.] At Mystic, we know what First Day Cover collectors want, and we design our cachets accordingly. Going forward, ArtCraft customers can expect to see the same high-quality First Day Covers they’ve been receiving since 2015.”

However, in e-mail to The Virtual Stamp Club, Sundman clarified that Mystic will not be continuing the ArtCraft line with new issues.

“I wish we could but we don’t have enough customers to justify the costs,” he wrote. “It’s really expensive to make engraved steel plates.  I’m told ArtCraft paid $2,000 just for the steel plate.  And there are lots of other costs too.”

However, when Washington Stamp Exchange stopped producing new ArtCraft designs, WSE purchased unserviced Fleetwood cachets from Mystic, serviced them, and sold them to its subscription customers.

“Late 2018 or early 2019, ArtCraft and Mystic agreed for Mystic to reach out to ArtCraft customers and offer to continue the collectors the opportunity to buy Fleetwood covers,” Sundman told VSC. “These are the same style of covers they bought from ArtCraft during 2015-2018.”

Sundman went on to say that Mystic is in the process of organizing ArtCraft’s inventory and will be making these classic covers available to collectors very soon.

About Mystic Stamp Company
Mystic Stamp Company was founded in the small town of Camden, NY, in 1923. Mystic has been serving stamp collectors nationwide for over 95 years and has evolved into America’s Leading Stamp Dealer. Employee owned since 2016, Mystic is known for personalized customer service and is committed to making collecting fun and easy. Mystic works closely with the National Postal Museum and American Philatelic Society to promote stamp collecting and bring new collectors into the hobby. In addition to its goal of providing products and services that exceed customer expectations, Mystic practices good citizenship by making contributions of time, money, and knowledge to the local community and beyond. For more information visit MysticStamp.com.

[Washington Stamp Exchange press release]
Washington Stamp Exchange of Florham Park, New Jersey is pleased to announce the sale of its White Ace line of stamp albums to Alco Distributors of Marion, Ohio. Also included in the sale is the StampMount brand line of stamp mounts and holders. White Ace and StampMount have long been two of the most popular brands amongst collectors in the United States. After the transfer of the White Ace and StampMount inventory is completed, Alco will quickly begin production of White Ace supplements for 2018 stamp issues. Alco will soon start to accept orders for its new product lines through the website washpress.com.

White Ace stamp albums were introduced in the 1940s with the publication of an album for United States commemorative singles. That album has remained the brand’s biggest seller. Other albums were quickly introduced for US commemorative plate blocks and for regular issue singles and plate blocks. As White Ace grew in popularity, the company expanded the product line to include albums for a number of countries including Canada, Israel, Ireland, Japan, the United Nations and many more. It also produces supplies such as binders, dust cases, first day cover albums, and numerous other items used by philatelists. From the very beginning White Ace has always been a name synonymous with quality products.

StampMount produces a line of mounts and holders made of archival quality mylar film in a wide range of sizes. Unlike many brands of mounts, StampMounts are pre-cut and sealed on three sides. They are affixed to an album page using an adhesive strip. The mounts are offered with both clear and black backs. StampMounts are much thinner than other brands but extremely durable, qualities which have made them a very popular choice for philatelists.

Alco Distributors is located at 1600 Marion-Bucyrus Road, Marion Ohio 43302 and has provided quality stamp and coin supplies for over 5 decades. They are very excited to carry on the White Ace and StampMount tradition of great products for years to come. They will continue to carry the same line of products, while also updating supplements and adding new albums to the line. According to the ownership of Alco “Our goal is to make quality products that collectors want. We are happy to supply collectors with great products made in the USA!”

This message is basically to put the latest news on the VSC home page. You can find the completely story, as it unfolded, here.

Former American Philatelic Research Library president and American Philatelic Society secretary Steve Zwillinger, 63, has been given an 18-month suspended sentence, following his plea bargain in August to one count of “a sexual offense in the third degree.” He was expelled from the APS this past summer after his guilty plea.

This story has been kicking around philately for a month or so as a rumor; now it is confirmed. It’s the passing of a giant of our hobby. White Ace once published some of the most-used albums for collectors. ArtCraft was a staple of first day covers, before its run ended after 77 years in 2016. And so many of us grew up awaiting delivery of The Washington Stamp Exchange’s little yellow flyers with special offers.

[press release]
After 85 Years, Washington Stamp Exchange Is Closing

Washington Stamp Exchange was incorporated in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, when Leo and Sam August pooled their meager assets to start a business selling first day covers and stamps to collectors. Their first location in Newark, New Jersey at the corner of Washington and Market Street, became their inspiration to name their business Washington Stamp Exchange.

In the photo on the left, Americover 2014 tour participants visit Washington Stamp Exchange headquarters in Florham Park, NJ.

Stamp collecting and the relatively new specialty of cover collecting were rapidly growing hobbies then, and their business was already gaining collector interest when a fortuitous encounter with a salesman offering engraved stationery led to their introduction of ArtCraft Engraved first day covers in 1939. [The first ArtCraft cachet is shown on the right.]

Stamp issues were relatively infrequent in the early 1940s, so while the ArtCraft first day covers were a quick success, adding new products became important to continuing the growth of their business. In 1945, they released the first White Ace stamp album which they published under the trade name of The Washington Press.

At left, company owners Michael August, son of one of the August Brothers, and Tim Devaney, son-in-law of the other, celebrated ArtCraft’s 75th anniversary at Americover 2014, the annual show and convention of the American First Day Cover Society, held that year in Somerset, NJ.

From those beginnings, and through exceptional creativity and hard work, the company became a mainstay of the stamp collecting hobby. In addition to its products for collectors, the Washington Stamp Exchange was instrumental in the founding of the American First Day Cover Society and has been a major supporter of the American Philatelic Society, the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum and the National Postal Museum.

After 85 years, many millions of ArtCraft First Day covers, hundreds of thousands of White Ace Albums and the enthusiastic patronage of many thousands of loyal customers and friends, it is with considerable reluctance that the management of the Washington Stamp Exchange has decided to close its business at the end of 2018.

Starting with this announcement and continuing until it is sold out, everything remaining in stock – ArtCraft First Day Covers, White Ace Albums and supplies – will be offered at steeply discounted prices. Much of what is available can be found on the company’s website www.washpress.com. [At right, Americover 2014 tour participants Otto Thamaset, John Hayner and John Friederich show some of the goodies they purchased at Washington Stamp Exchange headquarters.]

The disposition of artwork, production materials, equipment and fixtures has not yet been determined, and inquiries are invited from dealers or from anyone seeking to acquire such items as well as large volumes of collectible items and supplies.

A portion of financier Bill Gross’ stamp collection sold at auction Wednesday evening, October 3rd, for $10 million. That is a record for a single-day philatelic auction.

The sale, by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, is the first of several planned for the next 2-3 years.

The top lot was a center-inverted block of four stamps from 1869 that fetched $737,500 (including the 18% buyer’s premium). [shown on right]

“A lot of these iconic items were bought by a billionaire and now they are dispersed among the riffraff,” Arthur Przybyl, chief executive officer of Ani Pharmaceuticals Inc., told Bloomberg News. Sitting in the first row, he won the night’s second-most-expensive item: a blue Hawaiian missionary from 1851 that brought $619,500. “I lost a lot, but I won the stamp I really wanted.”

The 74-year-old Gross has the most complete collection of U.S. stamps anywhere. A bond portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Group Plc, began collecting in 1992.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Gordon Eubanks, a tech entrepreneur, told Bloomberg. He spent more than $1.2 million on at least seven lots in Wednesday night’s sale, including the unique “Bible Block” of six 10-cent stamps from 1847, for $590,000. [Shown above.]

[press release]
Seebeck
Everything possible for you to know about Nicholas F. Seebeck is in this free 182-page ebook.

The ebook is titled Seebeck: Hero or Villain? by Danilo A. Mueses.

This new second edition published in October 2018 is in English. It is a newly edited update and enlargement of the book first published in 1986 in Spanish.

The entire free 2018 ebook will be sent to you in a few days by email or as a free download from an emailed link if you so advise momotombo@woh.rr.com that you would prefer a link.

The low-resolution PDF file of the ebook comprises less than 5 megabytes.

Pages are 8½ inches x 11 inches.

• Learn about this prominent philatelic figure of the 1870s through 1890s.
• Have 100s of facts and details about Seebeck at your fingertips.
• All text of this ebook is machine-searchable.
• Includes index and bibliography.
• Includes full text of the Seebeck stamp contracts.
• Includes full text of the 1895 public letters of Seebeck and J. Walter Scott.
• Includes chapters summarizing the Seebeck stamps and stationery issued by El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and the Colombian state of Bolivar.
• Pictures dozens of selected stamps and postal stationery in color.
• Pictures important artifacts related to Seebeck and the Hamilton Bank Note Engraving and Printing Company.
• Additional files of the Minute Books of the Hamilton Bank Note Engraving and Printing Co.

Why is this ebook free?
Author Danilo A. Mueses and editor Michael Schreiber want to promote the collection and study of the Seebeck stamps and postal stationery. This book provides essential background for understanding the listings in stamp catalogs and for reading published special studies on the stamps and postal stationery. Offering a free ebook eliminates the need for a physical inventory and for any packing, postage, shipping and money handling. There are no gimmicks. The author and editor are not trying to sell you anything or buy anything from you. At some point, a traditional book on paper might be published in a small quantity.

To receive the free book, send e-mail to momotombo@woh.rr.com.

Ouch!

A Washington, D.C., radio station reports the reason many college students don’t submit an absentee ballot is that “they don’t know where to get stamps.”

The study comes from a Fairfax County, Va., focus group that used college interns from several county departments.

“They all agreed that they knew lots of people who did not send in their ballots because it was too much of a hassle or they didn’t know where to get a stamp,” county spokeswoman Lisa Connors told WTOP Radio.

However, students may be able to take advantage of in-person absentee voting — that is, voting in advance — if they go home for a visit before election day.