White Ace Albums, Mounts Sold

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[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!”

British Engineering (U.K. 2019)

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[press release]
British Engineering Celebrated with New Special Stamps from Royal Mail
Issue Date: May 2, 2019

    • The 10-stamp set features marvels of British engineering from the last 50 years
    • From the smallest of computers, the Raspberry Pi, to the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only rotating boat lift, Britain has a long and proud history of engineering
    • Also included are: the three-way catalytic converter; superconducting magnets and the monumental tunnel boring project that will enable Crossrail
    • Completing the main six-stamp set is the synthetic bone-graft devised by Dr Karin Hing at Queen Mary University of London
    • Also featured is the Harrier Jump Jet, celebrating 50 years since it entered RAF service. Four stamps, presented in a Miniature Sheet, show the first operational jet fighter in the world to use revolutionary vertical short take-off and landing technology
    • Royal Mail worked with the Royal Academy of Engineering on the stamp set
    • The stamps and a range of collectible products are available from www.royalmail.com/britishengineering, by phone on 03457 641 641 and in 7,000 Post Offices throughout the UK

    Royal Mail has revealed 10 new Special Stamps to mark Britain’s long and proud history of engineering excellence.

    World-class inventions and innovations have had a huge impact on many aspects of modern life, from medicine and computing to travel and infrastructure. The last 50 years have produced many marvels of British engineering, from the smallest of computers, the Raspberry Pi, to the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only rotating boat lift.

    At just the size of a credit card, the Raspberry Pi might be tiny, but with sales of over 20 million these microcomputers have revolutionised education in computer science and programming worldwide.

    A collaboration of British engineers and architects produced the world’s first and only rotating boat lift, The Falkirk Wheel, joining two major Scottish canals for the first time in 70 years with a phenomenally beautiful structure.

    Today cars are far less polluting than they were 50 years ago, due to three-way catalytic converters scrubbing car exhausts of harmful gases.

    Chris Morgan, Technology Director at Johnson Matthey, commented: “Being recognised with a stamp celebrating British Engineering is a huge honour for employees past and present who have been involved in Johnson Matthey’s ground-breaking work behind the Catalytic Converter. Every year, our catalytic converters prevent some 20 million tonnes of pollutants from entering the atmosphere, helping to make the world cleaner and healthier.”

    MRI scanners, on which we now rely for routine imaging of our bodies, would not be possible without the work done with superconducting magnets by British engineers at Oxford Instruments.

    The monumental tunnel boring project that will enable Crossrail, required 13 miles (21km) of twin tunnels under the city, and navigated existing sewers, Tube train tunnels and building foundations.

    The team at Queen Mary University of London led by Dr Karin Hing, engineered materials that encourage bone growth when used in complex orthopaedic surgeries and have improved the outcomes for hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.

    Dr Karin Hing said: “It was a delightful surprise and a huge honour for my work on synthetic bone grafts to be recognised with a stamp and, in particular, to be part of a set which celebrates some incredible innovations in British engineering. I feel very fortunate that my research has gone on to have such a positive impact on people’s lives, but this would not have been possible without multidisciplinary collaboration. Having our engineering of synthetic bone grafts celebrated on a stamp like the Marvel Comics and the Harry Potter books might even impress my kids.”

    Completing the issue, is another of the UK’s many success stories – the Harrier Jump Jet, designed and produced by Hawker Siddeley, which entered service with the RAF 50 years ago. It remains one of the few operational aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing. More advanced Harriers developed by British Aerospace (later BAE Systems) and McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) were used by the militaries of a number of countries.

  • This cross-section of engineering marvels showcases the ingenuity of engineers working in the UK.Some of the innovations celebrated have won the MacRobert Award, bestowed by the Royal Academy of Engineering – the UK’s most prestigious and longest running award for engineering excellence. The award marks its 50th birthday this year.Dr Dame Sue Ion DBE FREng FRS, Chair of Judges for the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award, said: “The UK is a global engineering powerhouse with many world firsts developed here that have both benefitted our economy and helped to transform people’s lives for the better. This wonderful new set of Royal Mail stamps perfectly encapsulates the technical and commercial achievements made by British engineers over the last 50 years, from the Harrier jump jet to Raspberry Pi. These great British engineering innovations – several of which have won the MacRobert Award, the UK’s biggest prize for engineering innovation – represent an amazing foundation from which to develop exciting technologies for the future.”Philip Parker, Royal Mail, said: “British innovation in engineering is world renowned. This stamp issue proudly celebrates the projects and inventions which showcase this, as well as demonstrating the extraordinary range of disciplines that British engineers excel in.”

    Raspberry Pi
    The Raspberry Pi has sparked a worldwide revolution in low-cost computing. At the size of a credit card and with prices starting at £5, these award-winning microcomputers pack a mighty punch. Since February 2012, over 20 million have been sold, making the Raspberry Pi Britain’s bestselling computer. The beauty of this ingenious microcomputer lies in its versatility. The device features USB ports, onboard memory, video output, audio output and Internet connectivity. Its general purpose input/output connectors allow for other capabilities, such as sensors and actuators, to be hooked up to its tiny processors, so that the only limit is the user’s imagination. From a Sony factory in South Wales, Raspberry Pis have reached all corners of the globe and even gone into space.

    The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charitable company working to overhaul how computing is taught in schools. It offers free learning resources on its website, as well as supporting teacher training courses and over 10,000 code clubs across the world to encourage young people to experiment with computer science. Although the Raspberry Pi was originally intended as an educational resource, the adult maker and hacking communities have also embraced it, and its applications seem endless. From landmine-clearing robots to home irrigation systems, and from heart monitors to experimentation on the International Space Station, the Raspberry Pi has transformed the computing landscape and was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award in 2017.

    The Falkirk Wheel
    The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s first and only rotating boat lift, vertically connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The two waterways were once connected by a series of 11 locks, which took almost a day to traverse, but these were dismantled in 1933. As part of the Millennium Link project, the British Waterways Board teamed up with Arup, Butterley Engineering and RMJM architects to reconnect the canals after 70 years with a 21st-century landmark structure.

    The Union Canal extends out of the countryside via an aqueduct to meet the top of the wheel, which consists of two opposing arms whose design was inspired by a double-headed Celtic axe and a ship’s propeller. On the end of each arm is a water-filled caisson that can hold up to four canal boats, plus enough water to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool. The weight on each arm must be carefully balanced. According to Archimedes’ principle, boats entering the caisson will displace their own weight in water. Therefore, water levels in the caissons are precisely computer controlled, with a tolerance of only 37mm. This equalisation allows ten hydraulic motors to turn the wheel using very little energy – half a turn uses the equivalent of boiling eight kettles to raise boats 35m in just four minutes.

    Three-way catalytic converter
    Catalytic converters clean the emissions from vehicles that have internal combustion engines. In the early 1980s, British company Johnson Matthey pioneered the three-way catalytic converter. This type is now fitted to petrol-powered vehicles worldwide and the company is a world leader, supplying about a third of these globally. The technology converts toxic pollutants into milder gases, making the air we breathe cleaner and healthier. The three-way catalytic converter turns carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen into carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen. It does this with the use of metallic catalysts containing platinum, palladium and rhodium that are coated onto a ceramic honeycomb ‘monolith’ through which the exhaust gases flow. The efficiency of the three simultaneous reactions going on inside the three-way converter relies on a precise ratio of air and fuel in the engine’s injection system.

    This important balance is controlled electronically, using constant feedback from oxygen sensors in the exhaust to ensure that the optimum air-to-fuel ratio is being burnt for the most efficient exhaust conversion. This feedback system has a slight lag, so in reality the ratio fluctuates above and below the ideal proportions. A cerium oxide component in the catalyst helps to correct for these fluctuations, allowing the overall emissions of harmful exhaust gases to be massively reduced. Thanks to catalytic converter technologies such as this, today’s passenger vehicles are far less polluting than those of 50 years ago. Johnson Matthey Group was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award in 1980 for this innovation.

    Crossrail
    Crossrail is the name of the project that created a new railway line through London, linking Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west with the City and Essex in the east. The prediction is that once it is up and running, the Elizabeth line (as it was named in 2016) will be used by 200 million passengers annually, increasing the rail capacity of central London by 10 per cent and bringing 1.5 million more people within a 45-minute commute of the city’s key areas. The project represented a monumental engineering challenge, requiring 13 miles (21km) of new twin tunnels to be bored under the city. These had to weave through the existing underground networks of Tube train tunnels, underground stations, sewers and buildings.

    At Tottenham Court Road station, the tunnel passed between the Northern line and an escalator tunnel with less than 1m clearance either side, a feat nicknamed ‘the eye of the needle’. Tunnelling was completed in 2015 and was achieved using eight Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines, which excavated and removed 3.4 million tonnes of material. In partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), 3 million tonnes were moved to Essex to create the Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project.

    Superconducting magnet for MRI
    Today, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used routinely in hospitals around the world to generate pictures of the insides of our bodies to help diagnose maladies such as cancer, internal bleeding or infections. This revolutionary, non-invasive technique would not be possible without powerful superconducting magnets, which were first developed in the 1960s and in the 1970s applied to body scanning by Sir Martin Wood of Oxford Instruments. The first electromagnet was invented by British scientist William Sturgeon in 1824, and today’s superconducting magnets are based on the same principles.

    A superconducting magnet is made up of a large coil of wire that, when electricity is passed through it, produces a strong magnetic field thanks to the laws of electromagnetism. The coil itself is made from very thin filaments of a niobium-titanium alloy, which are embedded in a copper matrix. This material becomes superconductive if it is cooled to below ten kelvins (–263ºC). In this state, it has nearly zero electrical resistance and, once created, the magnetic field is self-sustaining – it does not require external power during operation. To achieve these cryogenic temperatures, the superconducting coil is cooled using liquid helium and is insulated from the warmth of its surroundings by a vacuum. In this way, the coils in MRI machines can produce magnetic fields that are around 50,000 times that of the Earth’s magnetic field. The Royal Academy of Engineering awarded Oxford Instruments the MacRobert Prize in 1986 for their work on superconducting magnets.

    Synthetic bone-graft substitute
    When bones fracture, they are often able to heal themselves. But sometimes the fracture is too large or complex for the body to repair on its own, so bone grafts are used in surgery to promote bone healing. These grafts can be either taken from the patient’s own body (auto-graft) or engineered (synthetic bone-graft substitute). Whereas an auto-graft introduces a natural template and new living bone cells into the area, a synthetic bone graft must bioactively encourage native bone and stem cells to form new bone tissue, which should eventually replace the synthetic scaffold material completely.

    Dr Karin Hing and the team at Queen Mary University of London developed bone-graft substitutes able to enhance the body’s natural ability to rebuild bone tissue by looking at their structure and chemistry. The team studied the sponge-like structure of cancellous bone and mimicked it in the synthetic material. The pores needed to be the right size for new bone to grow into as well as interconnected, to allow for the exchange of nutrients via blood vessels to make and sustain healthy tissue. The group is also investigating the role of the grafts’ chemistry on bone regeneration, where the introduction of silicate ions into the scaffold is believed to alter the surface chemistry so that the right proteins are recruited to direct cell attachment and bone formation. This work resulted in the commercial launch of the bioactive synthetic bone grafts Actifuse™ and Inductigraft™. Dr Hing was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Silver Medal in 2011 for her work.

    Harrier Jump Jet
    The Hawker Siddeley Harrier was developed from a unique experimental aircraft known as the P 1127, which was capable of taking off and landing vertically. In 1962, British, US and German armed forces procured nine of these aircraft to form a Tri-Partite Evaluation Squadron at RAF West Raynham. Now called Kestrels, these aircraft could take off and land using paved runways, semi-prepared sites in clearings in woods and other confined spaces.

    The success of the trials and the exciting concept of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), led to the UK Ministry of Defence ordering a batch of the aircraft in 1965. These were the first Harriers, entering RAF service with No. 1 Squadron in April 1969. Over the next 30 years, British Aerospace (later BAE Systems) developed Harriers for extremely effective ground attack. They could drop precision-guided weapons and operate in poor weather using the latest radar, infrared and optical devices. Because of their remarkable take-off ability, they became known as Harrier Jump Jets.

    Rolls-Royce developed the innovative Pegasus engine of the Harrier, and for this they shared the first MacRobert Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1969. Photographer Richard Cook captured a Harrier GR3 especially for the stamps.

    The stamps and a range of collectible products are available from www.royalmail.com/britishengineering, by phone on 03457 641 641 and in 7,000 Post Offices throughout the UK.

U.S. Scott Catalogue Update – May 2019

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5361 (55¢) Star Ribbon, serpentine die cut 11¼x10¾
5362 (55¢) Star Ribbon coil stamp, serpentine die cut 10¾ vert.

5363 (35¢) Coral Reefs – Elkhorn coral and French angelfish, serpentine die cut 11¼x10¾
5364 (35¢) Coral Reefs – Brain coral and Spotted moray eel, serpentine die cut 11¼x10¾
5365 (35¢) Coral Reefs – Pillar coral, Coney grouper and Neon gobies, serpentine die cut 11¼x10¾
5366 (35¢) Coral Reefs – Staghorn coral and Blue-striped grunts, serpentine die cut 11¼x10¾
a. Horiz. or vert. strip of 4, #5363-5366
5367 (35¢) Coral Reefs coil stamp – Pillar coral and Coney grouper and Neon gobies, serpentine die cut 9 ½ vert.
5368 (35¢) Coral Reefs coil stamp – Staghorn coral and Blue-striped grunts, serpentine die cut 9 ½ vert.
5369 (35¢) Coral Reefs coil stamp – Elkhorn coral and French angelfish, serpentine die cut 9 ½ vert.
5370 (35¢) Coral Reefs coil stamp – Brain coral and Spotted moray eel, serpentine die cut 9 ½ vert.
a. Horiz. strip of 4, #5367-5370

5371 (55¢) Marvin Gaye

LloydBlog: Vote in the APS Election

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Ho, hum, another American Philatelic Society election. There’s only one candidate per office, so why bother?

If you are an APS member, you should vote anyway, even though the outcome is known. The same people who are in office now will be in office for the next three years. They’d like your support. They deserve your support.

So why bother? Because low voter turnout tells a stamp society’s leaders the members don’t care. The rank-and-file can’t be troubled to find a 55-cent stamp and spend 60 seconds ticking off check-boxes.

As a former officer of the APS and a current officer of other stamp societies, I can tell you, that’s discouraging. I’m volunteering my time and many expenses, and so many other members can’t find a minute and postage.

The APS usually does have more than one candidate per office, especially for the four director-at-large seats, which act as “entry level positions.” The lack of candidates here is also disheartening.

The society’s elections seem to run in cycles: Several cycles of quiet, separated by a single hard-fought and often nasty campaign. I worry that the last round of nastiness, when one candidate sued others for defamation, false advertising and more, is scaring off potential candidates.

But that shouldn’t stop you from voting. Pull out the ballot, mark it, and put it in the mail.

I’m betting you have a stamp or two lying around.

Save Vanishing Species – Off-Sale (U.S. 2011)

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from the USPS Postal Bulletin May 9, 2019:
Save Vanishing Species Semipostal Stamps Withdrawn From Sale — Statutory Authority Expired December 31, 2018

Effective close-of-business December 31, 2018, all Post Offices, stations, branches, and contract postal units were to withdraw from sale the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamp stock (Item 576600). These items are to be retained at the unit level until further notice. Do not prepare these items for destruction at this time.

Absolutely no sales of the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamps and products are permitted at retail counters and outlets. The items are also withdrawn from sale at Stamp Fulfillment Services and The Postal Store at usps.com/shop.

Birds: Putter and Plague Bird (Netherlands 2019)

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[press release]
Goldfinch and Plague Bird: Loved And Feared
New stamp issue: Birds in the Netherlands

Note: This English version was produced with Google Translate

PostNL has released new stamps on April 23 for international destinations, with illustrations of the putter and the plague bird. These two colorful birds have an age-old name in Dutch history. Both illustrations were made by Michelle Dujardin, the stamp design by art director Yvonne Warmerdam.

EUROPA Stamp Best Design Competition
PostNL will also send the Birds in the Netherlands stamp sheet for the EUROPA Stamp Best Design Competition. This competition is organized by PostEurop, the organization in which all European national postal companies work together. The design competition for 2019 is all about national birds.

Free and Minimalist Style
On the stamps Birds in the Netherlands, the illustrations of the putter and the plague bird are filled with images in the stamps. The illustrations by Michelle Dujardin have its characteristic minimalist style: realistic, with a slight abstract-impressionistic touch. Michelle: “The putter and the plague bird are consciously set against each other. They fit well together, all 2 start with a p and both have a striking nickname. And they also form a beautiful contradiction – one loved, the other feared. While both are very beautiful birds. ”

Own Bird Version
For both bird drawings, Michelle used photos to properly capture the feathers, the colors and the shape. “But I always take the liberty to draw my own version of the birds. With a build-up of colors that you don’t always see at first sight,” says Michelle.

Second Issue with Garden Birds
As a follow-up to the issue for PostEurop, PostNL will issue a second stamp sheet on 20 May 2019: Garden Birds in the Netherlands. On this issue there are illustrations of 6 garden birds: blue tit, winter king, robin, house sparrow, golden rooster and great tit. Michelle Dujardin also provided the illustrations for this issue and Yvonne Warmerdam the design.

Availability
The Birds in the Netherlands stamp sheet has 6 stamps in 2 different designs, with international value indication 1 for mail up to and including 20 grams with an international destination. The stamps are available from April 23 at the post office in the Bruna stores and via the website. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Hotchner: Collecting On A Tight Budget

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Financing A Stamp Collection On A Tight Budget
By John M. Hotchner

If it’s true that there is no such thing as a free lunch, then stamp collecting is subject to the rule. One of the reasons that our hobby is not embraced as a serious pursuit by young people (by which I mean those from 10 to 50), is that it costs money, and those are the years when potential collectors usually have other, more pressing uses for relatively scarce dollars. Later in life, the kids are grown and on their own, housing needs are not so much a drain, the outflow of dollars associated with the 9-5 job is mitigated by retirement, and those who have planned for retirement often have disposable income that can be devoted to a wide range of pleasurable activities that were harder to justify when younger.

But speaking as one who started as a young teenager and never quit (and we are a distinct minority) I want to pass along the ways I developed to feed my stamp collection in the post- college years when dollars were scarce. How scarce? My first job in the U.S. Foreign Service paid the magnificent sum of $5,194 per year! Though I had steady promotions, they were eaten up by marriage and establishing a home, four children in five years, and the expenses thereunto pertaining. Note, I’m not complaining. I would not have done anything differently. But there was not much left over for hobbies. I doubt things have improved markedly for today’s youngsters.

The first lesson I learned was that I couldn’t/shouldn’t spend family money on stamps. So, where would money come from? As a teenager and at college, I spent most of my lawn mowing/snow shoveling money on stamps. The result was that, as I began my work life, I had a decent collection that was expansive compared to what I actually wanted to get more deeply involved with. So, at the local stamp club, I began to sell off what I didn’t need, and that money went into a separate stamp fund. I used it to buy material for my specialty collections (Christmas seals and AMG material mostly), but also bought collections at auction.

Auctioneers and dealers, I learned, usually bought col- lections, took the best material out to sell as individual stamps or small lots, and that made their cost and a short-term profit. The leftovers went to auction as collection remainders that often realized no more than 5-10% of Scott Catalogue. I found I could break those collections down into smaller lots for my club auction, where members would be happy to buy at 20-25% of Scott. And since I had been a collector for a while, and knew how to watermark, perforate, tell papers apart, etc., it became a game to identify better items that the collectors and dealers had missed. Since I had time and limited money, I could use the former to rectify the latter.

I also found that buying collection remainders was a great way to fill album holes because 80+% of most countries’ stamps were low to moderate priced stamps that dealers would skip over in arriving at their buying price, and in making up higher priced lots to sell. In those early years, I began collecting several of the countries I visited, and got them to perhaps 70% complete from collection remainders.

Meanwhile my stamp account was getting healthy enough that I could buy the occasional better stamp or set for my serious collections.

Another thing I learned is that discretionary money means just that. I could buy lots of cheap stamps and fill a bunch of album spaces, or expensive stamps in poor condition to do the same. But something my father told me registered. He said that cheap stamps will almost always remain cheap. And damaged stamps, unless great rarities, will also remain cheap. So, I made a decision to spend my money on good stamps in Fine or better condition, and the occasional rarity if in sound condition and it looked good from the front.

I was not thinking of myself as an investor, and still don’t. But I am mindful of the fact that at some future time, my heirs will be selling my collection, and the better the stamps and the better their condition, the easier they will be to sell. And it pleases me to know that, unlike greens fees, concert tickets, and fine wines consumed, all of which have no value once the event is passed (though the money will have bought wonderful memories), my collection will have value to those who come after me.

In my early years, stamp clubs were essential to me; not only for selling, but for buying and trading. We’ll get to the latter in a moment. But just as I was selling excess material, other club members and sometimes their heirs, were also using the monthly club auctions (and some clubs had sales book systems as well) to do the same.

Club auctions were then, and remain, a bargain-hunter’s paradise. Sellers don’t expect to get full catalogue. The club auction, as compared to other methods of selling stamps (and covers), is fast, low on paperwork and commissions, and the income is immediate.

These days sellers can also use eBay, APS Stamp Store and the like, but for the bread-and-butter material that every collection needs, the club auction remains a staple.

Now, let’s talk about trading. In some sense this seems to be a lost art, but it was for me, and remains, a great method of acquiring material, and there are no taxes involved since no money is changing hands!

Again, your local club, and national societies where you meet others with your interests, are a key to trading. There are several methods: trading according to catalogue value; stamp for stamp or cover for cover, and if mint stamps are involved, face value for face value.

You can, and most people do, trade duplicates. But what is essential is that you are getting something you really want, and to do that, you may decide to trade material that is in your collection for something that you want even more. An example: In my Christmas Seal collection, I began collecting everything I could get my hands on. Eventually, I found I liked the 1934 design best, and found it to be a worthy challenge to gather material to illustrate its history, production, use, and the items used to market it.

Another collector had material I wanted. He would not sell it. But I had some 1913 material he wanted, and though I liked it, it was not as important to me as the 1934 items he had, so we swapped. In cash value, he probably got the better of the deal. But I’d make that trade again in a heartbeat. The point here is that trading can sometimes go in unusual directions, and so long as both collectors involved are happy, it is a good trade.

One final thought before I close. Sometimes I saw items — both with dealers and collectors — that were available, and that I wanted, but were in the “I could never afford that” category. If we are a prisoner of our own thought processes, most of us interpret that concept as “I could never have enough money at one time to pay for item X”, and that may well be true.

But I learned early to offer a down payment, with a promise to pay off the remainder owed on a schedule, over a reasonable amount of time. I have never had a seller turn me down. And I have never defaulted. That is because of two things:

  1. Having made that contract, I am motivated to sell material so that the money would be there when I needed to write a check. I might mention that I met someone at the local club who was happy to pay me to do his washing and cataloguing. What he paid was far short of minimum wage, but it was welcome and useful.
  2. Sometimes, the reaction “I could never afford that” does not arise from a lack of money so much as from how you have chosen to allocate what you have. Several times I have found that I could afford something I wanted badly if I were willing to reallocate how I had planned to spend what I had. It was a matter of deciding what I wanted more, and exercising some level of flexibility.

The bottom line to this discussion is that being young with financial responsibilities need not mean that you can’t be a stamp collector. It does mean that you have to look for ways in which you can generate income to have a nest egg to be able to purchase material you want and need. And you need to use resources you have available like your local stamp club, the knowledge you have accumulated, and time. With moderate expenditures you can have a lot of fun and build a satisfying collection.

Should you wish to comment on this column, or have questions or ideas you would like to have explored in a future column, please write to John Hotchner, VSC Contributor, P.O. Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email, putting “VSC” in the subject line.

Or comment right here.

Indigenous Languages (Australia 2019)

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[press release]
Australia Post Celebrates Indigenous Languages

Australia Post is marking the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019 with a commemorative stamp celebrating the more than 250 indigenous languages in our nation’s history.

The United Nations suggests that around 40 per cent of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken around the world are in danger of disappearing. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL 2019) to raise awareness of the crucial role languages play in people’s lives, cultural identity and wellbeing.

In the Australian context, IYIL 2019 is an opportunity to shine a light on the important work being done to preserve and promote Australia’s Indigenous languages by communities and organisations around the country. This includes the more than 20 Indigenous language centres funded by the Commonwealth Department of Communications and the Arts.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) CEO and member of the IYIL 2019 steering committee Craig Ritchie said: “This year presents a great opportunity to have a national discussion about the role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures play in shaping the nation and informing our identity.”

“More than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were spoken at the time of European settlement in 1788. Today only 13 of these languages are acquired as first language by the youngest generation – a crucial element for language maintenance.”

Designed by Sharon Rodziewicz of the Australia Post Design Studio, the domestic base-rate ($1) stamp features the official United Nations logo for the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019.

The map featured on the sheetlet pack represents the regions associated with the hundreds of Indigenous language variations, both current and historical, recorded in the Australian Indigenous languages database developed and maintained by AIATSIS.

Products associated with this issue include a first day cover, sheetlet pack, maxicard, postal numismatic cover, and sheetlet of 10 x $1.

The stamp and associated products are available at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794, and online at auspost.com.au/stamps, from Tuesday 30 April 2019 while stocks last.

APS 2019 Board Candidates

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Here are the candidates in the American Philatelic Society Board of Directors election. Note that there is only one candidate for each open position this time:

President: Robert Zeigler, Indianapolis, IN

Board of Vice Presidents (run as a team of 3):

  • Cheryl Ganz, Winfield, IL
  • Patricia (Trish) Kaufmann, Lincoln, DE
  • Jeff Shapiro, Fayville, MA

Secretary: Stephen Schumann, Hayward, CA

Treasurer: Bruce Marsden, New Hope, PA

Director-at-Large (4 are elected):

  • Michael Bloom, Portland, OR
  • Rich Drews, Palatine, IL
  • Peter McCann, University Park, FL
  • Mark Schwartz, Philadelphia, PA

American Philatelic Research Library Trustees (2019-2025)
Two to be elected by APS members

  • Greg Galletti, Mount Airy, MD
  • Melanie Rogers, Chicago, IL

Pinkpop 50th Anniversary (Netherland 2019)

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[press release]
Mister Pinkpop personally approves anniversary stamps

The Hague, 19 April 2019 – In about fifty days’ time, the 50th edition of Pinkpop will begin. PostNL will honour the oldest open air pop festival in Europe by issuing the 50 years of Pinkpop stamp sheetlet. The five special anniversary stamps will also be for sale soon at the festival site. [issue date June 7th]

3 days, 60 acts, 60,000 visitors
This year, Pinkpop will take place from 8 to 10 June in Landgraaf in the province of Limburg. During the three-day festival, there will be about sixty acts for the audience to enjoy. We expect to welcome 60,000 enthusiastic visitors each day.

Rich history
The five stamps on the 50 years of Pinkpop issue depict the special anniversary logo of the popular festival. The typography in the white frame was printed in gold to give the anniversary an extra sparkle. The stamp sheetlet also contains a description of the unique event, with photos and promotional material from the rich history of the past fifty years.

To the printing press
The 50 years of Pinkpop stamps were printed on 15 April at Joh. Enschedé Security Print in Haarlem, Netherlands. Mister Pinkpop (Jan Smeets) himself was at the printing press for the final inspection. Smeets, who has been the driving force behind the festival for fifty years, was extremely pleased with the issue. “They’re damn beautiful stamps. That’s great, because we have a fantastic line-up of artists for this anniversary year to attract new generations of music lovers. Some big names are coming who are at the heart of Pinkpop, as well as small acts with innovative performances. We keep our eye on the future.”

Performances
This year, various bands can be enjoyed on the various Pinkpop stages. There will be great international artists such as The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Lenny Kravitz and Mumfords & Sons. Traditionally, the Dutch music scene is strongly represented at the festival, with Anouk, Armin van Buuren, Golden Earring, Jett Rebel, Krezip and Rowwen Hèze, among others.

Availability
The 50 years of Pinkpop stamp sheetlet features five identical stamps with ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for mail in the Netherlands. The stamps can be ordered now at www.postnl.nl/pinkpop and www.pinkpopsouvenirs.nl and will be delivered from 7 June onwards. They will also be for sale at the Pinkpop festival site from 8 to 10 June. Alternatively, the stamps can be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on +31 (0)88 – 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.