Collecting on a Shoestring 7: Visit to a Post Office

Q:  What is the most obvious way of starting a collection?

A:  Visit the local post office.

It sounds obvious but what exactly does one say at the counter? Probably, it would be best to time your visit to a quiet period. That way the counter staff should have more time to help you and you certainly won't upset the people in the queue behind you.

The most common stamps that you will find available are the definitive stamps. In Britain, these tend to be the Machins but each of the four countries has its own "pictorial" definitives. Obtaining example of each mint (unused) will give you a start. For some collectors, the important part of the sheet is the bottom left hand side which has the "cylinder" details and is usually collected as a block of six. But that is the road to another speciality. There are also booklets of stamps.

It may also be possible to obtain examples of recent comemmorative/special issues. These are usually available from the philatelic bureau (in UK) for up to 12 months but there may be some available in the counter book. Some of the main post offices still have someone who deals with philatelic inquiries and should be able to help. William IV Street/Trafalgar Square, in London, has one such position.

Note that these stamps should NOT be mounted in your album using stamp hinges. Either us Hawid strips or use a stockbook to store mint stamps. Some albums are available that allows one to collect used  which a mounted directly on to the page and mint stamps slotted in to "pockets" on a clear leaf over the page.

Royal Mail have about 150 offices equipped with Wincor-Nixdorf ATMs marketed as Post and Go to the customer which allows the purchase of stamps for a number of services as well as allowing the payment of other goods. These kiosks can have a definitive Machin version or a pictorial issue. That depends on which roll is withdrawn from stock to refill the kiosk. There are labels that look like the computer generated Smartstamps. There are some, including myself, who collect these.

When abroad, it is always worth a visit to a post office. You can compare their services with the your at home service. But most of all you can add to your collection at face value rather at dealers' prices.

Good hunting.

Collecting on a Shoestring 6 

I have mentioned the Cover Collectors Circuit Club in a previous entry. This so of society allows people to make contact with others throughout the world. Sometimes, members start up collaborations with those on a circuit. Some members use these contacts to share their interest and exchange material.

These contacts allow new perspectives on collecting interests and sometimes clippings of newspapers that are not normally available in the UK. These can be added to one’s collection to add detail and substance to an issue.

One US set that I quite enjoyed was spread out over a few years featuring characters from Warner Brothers’ Cartoons – Silvester and Tweety, Porky Pig, the Coyote and the Road Runner, Bugs Bunny and that despicable duck – Daffy.

From what I understand, the stamps were issued as a sheetlet of 9  attached to a larger version of the stamp image with the 10^th stamp embedded in a miniature sheet format. This is illustrated here.

Background details on the cartoon characters can be obtained via Wikipedia. One could also add such things as comics in which these characters appear. I would either add a photocopy of a cartoon or add the comic itself on a separate page.

By adding other cartoon characters, one can build up an interesting collection which could include such areas as Japanese animes to familiar characters (in the UK) as Dennis the Menace and Rupert the Bear.

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Collecting on a Shoestring 5

In 1969, I was given a North American album and a large packet of US stamps at the end of a visit to relatives in Canada. This got me started collecting US as this packet filled a large chunk of the US pages in the album from the 1950s and 1960s and challenged me to try to fill the rest.

I managed to fill a lot more of those gaps from visits to a local flea market. There were a couple of dealers that regularly had stalls and the stamps were usually a couple of pence each. Soon I had reasonable coverage of issues from the 1930s up to the mid 1970s. In the 1990s, I heard of a group - the Cover Collectors Circuit Club - through which members exchanged covers and even experiences and stamps. This filled even more spaces. What with moving around the country for work, my membership lapsed.

Throughout each of the moves, there were opportunities to visit dealers and fairs. I bought covers, loose stamps and sometimes the remnants of someone else's collection. I also bought kiloware which, simply put, is  a large quantity of stamps ripped off of envelopes and usually donated to charities to raise money by selling on to dealers.

On one occasion , I purchased the remains of a collection of US material covering up to around 1940ish. Most of the stamps were relatively common but included varieties such as coils and the odd booklet stamp. It appears that the original owner had annotated the collection giving a few details and a catalogue number for the stamps. So rather than break up the pages, I just incorporated them into the folder containing my collection. Two of these pages are illustrated here showing how the original owner kept his collection

From another dealer, I purchased sheets which were taken form a special one country album for the US. An example is illustrated below.

The pages have illustrations of each stamp and when the stamp is obtained it is stuck over the top of the image using either a hinge or hawid mounts. The USPS strip illustrated is mint (unused) and is mounted using the hawid system.

With many of the definitive series, one observes changes in shade and coloration over a period of time. Some of these changes were down to environmental factors while others due to changes in ink. Also, some countries produce precancelled versions and many countries arranged for or allowed stamps to have a perforated design as a security device protecting theft from companies buying in bulk for postage.

The above sheet show how I show some of these variations without going into specialised catalogues which sort of explain some of these variations and assign a catalogue number to each. For example, since 1967, Britain has issued Machin definitives which simply consists of the queen's head and the value. Since decimalisation in February 1971, more than 1000 stamps and varieties of these stamps have been produced. A specialist Machin collectors group exists for those specialising in those stamps.

A first class Machin that has been cancelled at Watford on an IMP (Integrated Mail Processor)

Some US issues are massive compared to other countries. There have been issues where sets of 50 stamps have been known. These sets have included state flags, flowers, birds, animals and even sites. The next three sheets illustrate one such flag issue.

All of these flag stamps are genuinely used on real mail and hence have real cancels which are not the best possible. They do represent the normal treatment of stamps on mail.

It is your choice how you present your collection and what you include such as postcards, tickets, coins, photographs, leaflets, etc. If you plan to enter sections of your collection in competition, then you have to follow the rules of that competition as to what is acceptable. 

  

Collecting on a Shoestring 4: Luck Finds

The basic rule to remember when buying for your collection is not to spend more than you can afford. There is no point in bankrupting yourself to obtain that special item.

Most beginners start by building a general collection usually with packet stamps and items from incoming mail. However, once one as decided to specialise then packet stamps rarely fill the gaps. Finding local stamp dealers and spotting adverts for stamp fairs give one access to a wide range of stock. Talking to these dealers and cultivating a relationship can pay dividends. They see you as a potential client and, as such, may keep an eye on potential stock which may be in your area of study. They are also a good source of advice on your collection.

                                                                                  

Many dealers keep a general stock but often they specialise in one or two areas. If they do not stock your speciality, they maybe able to suggest someone who does. They may also know of stamp clubs/philatelic societies in the local area who may also help you find material and information to help with one’s collecting area.

It is often useful to have some sort of checklist of what you have and what you are looking for. One country collections are easy where one can just use a one country catalogue or a database or excel listing.

Dealers present material for sale I stock books, packets or even loose sheets that have been obtained from breaking up other collections. They may also have a general “junk” box which all sorts of odds end up in. These odds, again, may be from old collections, job lots from offices getting rid of old correspondence, material that is slow to move or even envelopes received by the dealer as correspondence. Many dealers may even have trays full of postcards ordered either by location or subject.

Auction catalogues are also produced by a number of dealers and organisations. These may help you to find elusive items. Visiting a dealer or fair is no guarantee of finding elusive items though sometimes one does have a bit of luck.

On one occasion, I went to the Scottish Philatelic Congress meeting at Stirling. An exhibition/competition was run in association with the Congress and the material was on display. I was particularly interested in a couple of frames which showed the use of Transorma operator idents on Dutch envelopes in the late 1920s to early 1930s.

The Transorma was the first successful sorting machine. Operators keyed in a code which diverted the item to a particular box. An identification character or characters were stamped on the envelope, usually in red, to indicate who the operator of the machine was.

I came away from those frames very impressed and thinking that there was no way I was going to find even one item from this period. So I started going round the dealers’ stalls. On one stall I was fortunate to find one of these envelopes. It is the only one that I have ever found.

As can be seen, there is a line of red type lettering down the centre of the envelope. These were printed on the envelope as it was pushed past an inked roller identifying the operator. More modern versions had single letters, numbers or double letters.

This postcard, from 1960. has a red “D” next to Connan’s Quay in the address. This letter is the ident applied by the operator of one of the Transorma’s that were installed at Brighton between 1935 and 1967ish. These markings are relatively common on postcards from Brighton (Sussex) found at fairs. It should be noted that there are about 110 varieties of these marks from Brighton and some are exceptionally rare with only one copy reported. However, a representative collection may be produced on a restricted budget. I haven’t erased the dealer’s price from the card but it does indicate the typical price of such items in the 1980s. Typically, the dealer’s prices for these cards were based on the better understood price of the postcard rather than the Transorma mark.

Circa 1978, a “new” dealer was setting up close to where I was living. The shop was a bit dark but that was expected given the area. He has since, become more affluent with a shop in the city centre. On one occasion, this dealer purchased a quantity of stock from a bank that was clearing out old storerooms. He was selling the material off at 50p per envelope for Victorian material. It doesn’t seem expensive today but the equivalent of Jobseekers at that time was £6 per week. Students were no better off with the full grant for those living at home being around £13 per week to cover transport, books, clothing, food, etc. I did manage to afford a few items to put away.

One such item was a pre-stamp letter from Edinburgh to Hadington in 1808 (above and below). Of note is that the letter was its own envelope folded and sealed with wax. There was an enclosure at one time which, I assume, was a copy of a letter from a Mr Falconer regarding what appears, from what is present, a problem over a debt. This particular letter is of relatively minor matters historically but it is a survivor and gives a snapshot of a problem in someone’s life. 

Look at the quality of James Dundas' handwriting compared to the 1960s example or even an example from today. One can see how fluid and graceful the lettering is in 1808. There is still some in the 1960s hand but... I will leave you to make your own conclusions over the quality of a handwritten example from today. There are other items out there which document more important events. Maybe looking through a dealer’s stock you might find such a gem. 

Looking back from today's perspective, I wish that I had bought more but that brings us back to the start of this item – never spend more than what you can afford.

Collecting on a Shoestring 3: Upgraded Printers on Integrated Mail Processors 2008.

 During 2008, new Post Jet Ink Jet Printers were installed on Royal Mail Integrated Mail Processors (IMPs). The Postal Mechanisation Study Circle (PMSC) and the Postmark Society covered the introduction throughout the Royal Mail Network.

I was able to monitor the use of these printers in Manchester over 2008-9 and put together a reasonable collection of envelopes showing the various slogans used over this period along with finding the odd irregularity which subsequently were reported in the PMSC Newsletter. This study runs to 63 pages but I do not intend to illustrate every item.

I do not write up my collection(s) as such but annotate the page NOT the item, in pencil, with any appropriate note, comment or observation. These notes are primarily for my benefit but it also documents (for others) the history behind the item. It also allows major changes to be made to the page rather than making up a new page for each change.

This blog entry illustrates a possible collection based on relatively common material that was obtained via the post and by putting envelopes in to the post at regular intervals. Some items were obtained by asking at (or writing to) the Mail Centre if items could be processed on a particular machine.

Royal Mail operates around 137 Integrated Mail Processors (IMPs) and Extended IMPs (IMPEX) machines. These machines cancel, code and sort the mail.

Manchester originally had six of these machines. These were upgraded with the PostJet printer around May 2008 but the earliest reported dates for sightings of the cancels produced by these are tabulated here.

IMP	Earliest
1	29/7/08
2	14/7/08
3	15/5/08
4	5/6/08
5	23/7/08
6	4/8/08

Four more machines were installed in 2009 bringing the total up to 10 at this Mail Centre. Three of these were transferred from Oxford and the fourth from South East Anglia Mail Centre (SEAMC)

IMP	Earliest	Notes
7	31/3/09	Formerly Oxford IMP3 (machine id 134)
8	28/5/09 as IMP 7 19/6/09 as IMP 8	Formerly SEAMC IMP7 which was ex Swindon IMP2 (machine id 139)
9		Formerly Oxford IMP1 (machine id 132)
0	18/8/09	Formerly Oxford IMP2 (machine id 133)

Let’s start by looking at just one of the IMPs at Manchester. Envelopes were dropped in the post over the period from 29 July 2008 to 4 February 2009 as well as “regular” items. This allows one to build up a picture of what cancellations were in use and when. A sequence of IMP1 cancels is given below. Data from this and other IMPs at this and other offices were used to generate the table. Some of this data may also be obtained via the two societies listed above. Try Googling them for membership details or if you have a specific inquiry.

Reduced Form Cancel

From observations and liaising with others (eg PMSC, etc) one can build up a picture of usage of slogans. This table lists cancels used from May 2008 to January 2009. This cam be extended using data from various sources but is here only to illustrate how one can use “normal” mail as part of a study in to the postal history of an area. Similarly, one could build up a collection of cancels from your local town or village over a period of time. Stamp and Postcard fairs can be excellent sources for this material.

Slogan	From	To
Reduced form cancel	Continuous
Please Print*	15/5/08	13/8/08
Nominate your hero	30/7/08	13/8/08
Moving home	24/8/08	1/9/08
RAF stamps	9/9/08	19/9/08
Recruiting Now	19/9/08	26/9/08
Pride of Britain	30/9/08	31/10/08
Children in Need	3/11/08	18/11/08
Christmas Pantomime	24/11/08	30/11/08
Checking Posting Dates	3/12/08	23/12/08
Recycle	22/12/08	29/12/08
Children’s Champion (2 Versions)	2/1/09	10/1/09
Safe Box	15/1/09	18/1/09
Please Print	19/1/09

* Please Print is the default slogan cancel.

Similarly with the other machines at this or any other Mail Centre.

These cancels consist of four parts – the return marker (boxed double arrow), the data block (giving date, Mail Centre, time and a number string), the slogan and the wavy lines to cancel the stamp. The number string is very useful as it contains three pieces of data – the machine identity, time (half hour period) and the item number. All of the number strings above start with a “1” hence this is IMP 1. The next two digits give the half hour period that the item was processed in and run between 00 and 47 where 00 corresponds to the half hour from midnight. The last five items are the item number.

It should also be noted that this data is also coded in the tag code which is the set of bars added just under the cancel (see the safe box cancel above) but that is another long and complicated story as to extracting this data from the barcode. Some aspects as to decoding these barcodes are still commercially confidential and not generally available to the collector. All that I will say is that for those with a mathematical interest may wish to consult texts on Reed-Soloman correction systems. However, in the majority of cases, it is easier just to use data in the cancel if one is present.

I may return to examine other items from this section from my collection to illustrate other areas where collecting day to day items can be used to study the postal history of an area without costing a fortune.

Collecting on a Shoestring 2

Experienced collectors always say that one should always purchase and collect the best available stamp or cover available. But always remember that most normal people have a restricted budget.

Some of these “experts” then proceed to do the exact opposite by collecting rather tatty, torn, water stained or partially burned items. These damaged items are collectable crash or accident mail and are the survivors of plane, train or ship accidents. Items from some of the more famous accidents such as the Hindenburg crash/fire are highly sought after. These are stories in themselves and take in researching the causes of the accident, who were involved in the accident, why were they there, was there a special stamp or cancel for the journey and so on.

What about the mail that drops through our letter box? If it is like anything like the mail that drops through mine, stamps are rare. Most of the items have their carriage paid either by meter or PPI (Post Paid Impression). So, at first glance, these envelopes can be dropped straight in to the great grey receptacle. However, take a closer look at the envelopes as there may be a strange story behind each of these dull items.

Postal operations add marks which assist in getting the item from sender to recipient and by “reading” these markings, one can build up a picture of the route taken. The difficulty arises from developing the skills to do so.

Metered mail, in the UK, receives either a red or blue inked impression giving the rate paid by the sender. In the impression, one gets a date stamp, possibly a slogan and there is a serial number identifying the machine and even the model!

Coding marks applied to automate the sorting of mail can through light on why the envelope may have been delayed, which machine was used to code it and where, date and time information and even an unique identifier for that item of mail. With some older processed items it may actually be possible from records to identify the person on the coding desk.

Postmarks have long been seen as the quickest and easiest way to track a mail item. The sending office puts a postmark cancelling the stamp. Sometimes intermediate offices may also apply a cancel mark and the receiving office may also have added the mark too.

Back to basic stamp collecting. Mint stamps appear to be promoted as the way to collect. These stamps should automatically be in the best condition since they are obtained direct from source and not subsequently used and abused by the postal service. They also make a nice display without those “nasty black smudgy cancels” to spoil the aesthetics.

First Day Covers (FDCs) are more bulky but are a very easy method of getting the stamps used with a clear cancel that also documents the first day of use of the stamps. However, these days, many FDCs are not first day as such. Philatelic bureaux prepare and cancel covers in advance of the issue to meet the prospective orders. In the UK, at least, there are about half a dozen Special Handstamp Centres (SHCs) which accept first day items up to a couple of weeks after the day of issue to allow for the “vagaries of the post”. In addition, these centres offer a range of special cancels which have relevance to the stamp issue and not just the place of posting.

Used stamps are exactly what they appear to be. They have been used to prepay the postage of an item. They have weathered the “hardships” of the postal services and received markings en route. Worst of all are the stamps attacked by the over zealous postie with a biro. This totally devalues the stamps as being collectable but some collectors do actually add such items to their collection as complete envelopes to show what can go wrong.

Collectors soak these stamps off the envelope and dry using blotting paper. However, self adhesive stamps which have become more popular over the last decade tend not to be able to be removed from the envelope by soaking and the best way to deal with them is to cut round the stamp. If there is a clear cancel then cut around the stamp and cancel.

So to finish this entry, it is possible to piece together a story from the envelope and how it passed through the systems. This can add to the story given by the image on the stamp.

Collecting on a Shoe String 

I have been collecting stamps for more than 50 years. I started when I was five. I have rarely had the cash to splurge on my collecting interests. So I think that I might be qualified enough to say something about building a collection on a restricted budget.

During the Olympics, I became involved in correspondence with a dealer on his blog site over the confusion surrounding the Gold Medal Winners’ stamps and the expense involved for completeness. There were six printers (with another three on standby) and four different margins per winner. With 29 gold medallists this mounts to 696 sheetlets each at £3.60. If one bought an example of each, it would cost £2505.60 (plus what ever appeared from the back up printers).

One aspect of the conversation was over buying material that one can afford over what was expected. The confusion mentioned above centred round whether the Post Office would sell single stamps instead of the sheetlet with six stamps. Some offices did sell single while others didn’t. The format suggested that the complete sheetlet of six stamps would be the norm mint or on first day covers. It would also suggest that dealers would only be interested in purchasing the complete sheetlets rather than individual stamps.

This dilemma over buying “commercial” or what fits with your collection is as old as stamp collecting. Dealers often use the “commercial” excuse for fixing buying and selling prices – “you have to the set because it is not commercial for us break up the set because we cannot sell the rest if you take that one stamp”.

National and international exhibitions often show the expensive and the exotic – the material that the normal person would rarely find let alone afford to purchase. This had lead to the suggestion that those that can afford it are “buying” the top honours in the philatelic world.

Therefore, unless you have just won big in the Euro-lottery, money is a limiting factor in building up a collection.

I started collecting by ripping around the stamps on the envelopes that arrived from family overseas. These were stored in a box. My bought me my first album. It was about C5 is size and consisted of about 32 pages. She also gave me a couple of packets of stamps. Any pocket money was spent at Woolworths on the 6d and 1/- packets of stamps that were available in the early 1960s.

In high school, I joined the stamp club which introduced me to first day covers and, a since then, first day covers is how I end to collect GB stamps. For a while I could also purchase a second mint set plus a few other GB “collectable” formats.

Gradually, my collection got to the stage where I had most of the “affordable” material from the three countries that I concentrated on – GB, Canada and the US. While at University, I joined the city philatelic society. This added to my knowledge but it also showed that there was no way that I could compete with some of the other members on material but it opened my eyes to possibilities.

One member regularly displayed material that could best be described at material from the waste paper basket. It met most of the criteria for philatelic study but failed on its relatively common status but it appealed to me.

So what was this material? In the 1970’s new Mechanised Letter Offices were coming on stream throughout the country. Coding desks were being installed which would allow the operator to put a dot code on to the envelope which would then speed up the sorting of the mail downstream. The dot code was a simple binary code corresponding to either the postcode or an extract of the post town. In addition an inked code number or letter was usually added which identified the desk and, hence, the operator.

To me this was a totally new area to collect. It had the advantage that the majority of material could be obtained almost for free by asking people to keep the whole envelope for you or you could simply go round the office at the end of the day and pick out the envelopes from the bin. It offered the opportunity to become involved with new postal technology almost from the beginning.

Since then, I have joined the Postal Mechanisation Study Circle and ended up editing their monthly newsletter.

What to Collect

 The choice as to what to collect is up to you. I collect GB stamps because of where I live, Canada because of family, USA because of a gift of a bundle of US stamps and Postal Mechanisation because it was cheap, readily available and novel (when I started). I also have fair collections of India and Poland because of contacts made, Algeria through family and friends and Denmark because of a kiloware purchase or two.

There are two main choices – single country or theme. 

Single country collections are probably easiest to research and build. The choice of country may be determined by family, a visit to that country or even a gift of material. It may be a place that you would like to visit and, through its stamps, one gets a potted history, geography and cultural lesson.

A listing of stamps issued can readily be obtained from a stamp catalogue which may be purchased or obtained, on loan, from a library. Catalogues may give dates of issue, perforation varieties, overprints, miniature sheets in basic detail or as extensive listings depending on the catalogue.

In the UK, the most used catalogues are produced by Stanley Gibbons. They produce a range covering from simplified to very detailed studies on single countries. In the US, the Scott catalogue rules.

With thematic collecting, one builds up a collection on some subject that interests you. It could be a history of aviation, flowers, cats, ships, prisoner of war mail or a multitude of other subjects. There are catalogues available for some themes. Many have been put together by collectors and made available to all. Alternatively, one could just start with a “world” catalogue and work one’s way through it making your own listing.

So now that you have decided what to collect, what do you do next? Again that depends again on the material you want to include. There are conventional stamp albums, stock books and cover albums.

Conventional stamp albums come in many forms. There are basic ones with country names printed at the top of the page. Stamps are stuck in using stamp hinges on the appropriate page. Blank page albums are probably the most flexible. Again stamps are put in using hinges. Special “hinges” known as Hawid strips are used for mint stamps. Postcards, envelopes, photographs and ephemera may be mounted using photo corners – not the double sided ones.

Stock books are commonly used for mint stamps and stamp booklets and cover albums are used for first day covers, postcards, etc.

You have now chosen to collect a single country. You have a listing of what stamps have been issued by that country. If like me, it is a second or third hand catalogue supplemented by photocopies from more modern editions. This allows you to sort out what you may already have chronologically. These can then be mounted on the page of your album – say one page per issue.

With a thematic collection, each page may be allocated to a particular subject – stamps depicting manx or Persian cats; roses or pansies; Concorde or Spitfire; and so on. The more one gets into the subject, the more one can “specialise” the subject – Spitfire mark 9 or mark 22 and so on. Or you may just decide to present by set issued.

The format you use is up to you.

In future blogs, I hope to return to this subject and illustrate some of the material that I have in my collection. How I write things up is essentially my benefit. For single country collections, I just pencil in the title of the issue and maybe the date. Other parts of my collection tend to be a header and maybe a pencilled comment. Maybe, this exercise will be an excuse to get me to get stuck in to my collection and write it up. Don’t just follow my lead, take what you think is reasonable but put your own “stamp” on what you produce.