Thematic Covers for stamp collectors

12/06/2018

Laying out a page in A3 size( double of normal A4 size). First made a photo copy of all items to be added on the exhibit. Then pasted on a A3 size sheet. The items were adjusted on computer to fit in a page. . Since I didn't have A3 size printer, I adjusted the print to fit on A4 size paper
The final print will be sourced on outside printer.

03/07/2015

Moreitems from emergency era

29/06/2015

Emergency in India

11/04/2015

The stamp which changed the hstory $50 billion Nicaragua Canal and a 1-Cent Stamp
The Panama Canal and a 1-Cent Stamp
Nicaraguan officials and a Chinese company recently announced that they have broken ground on the $50 billion transoceanic waterway that they predict will rival the Panama Canal.
Historians offer Nicaragua advice – don’t print any more stamps or coins showing the previous historical beauty of the nation, as the Chinese company may change its mind. A previous Nicaragua 1-cent stamp changed the fate of two nations and the most important construction project in world history.

In the 1870’s, a French company began construction of a canal in the Panama region of Columbia. Yellow fever and errors brought the entire French project into bankruptcy. In 1901, newly installed President Theodore Roosevelt now wanted an American canal as it meant “international power with rapid deployment of the fleet.”
To Senate Leader Mark Hanna, “The canal meant America becoming a commercial world power with our products in shorter shipping distance from both coasts.” Although longer, Nicaragua, with a better climate and terrain, was the favored route and all the millions invested in the French project were to be lost forever. The American Canal Commission, Senate and Congress declared Nicaragua the approved route.

According to historian Henry F. Pringle (Theodore Roosevelt), two key players in this saga were Bunau-Varilla, a French entrepreneur, who came to America to promote the sale of the French rights to the Panama Canal, and William Nelson Cromwell, an influential New York attorney. Bunau-Varilla and Cromwell “approached Hanna to promote the Panama route.”
Fate now took over. Bunau-Varilla had pointed out the danger of a possible volcanic eruption in Nicaragua. Nicaragua had chosen a volcano,Mt. Monotombo depicted in full eruption, on its 1- cent stamp to characterize the beauty of the country. On May 6 1902, a volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelee destroyed an island in the Caribbean.
“Eight days later, on the eve of the final Senate debate for approval of the Nicaraguan route, Mt. Monotombo in Nicaragua also erupted.” Bunau-Varilla called every local stamp dealer. He then mounted 90 such stamps, one for each Senator, with the added words, “An official witness of the volcanic activity of Nicaragua.”
That was all Hanna needed. On June 25, 1902, Congress approved the Panama route. Cromwell obtained $40,000,000 for his clients. Buneau-Varilla (and nature) had performed a miracle.

31/03/2015

I read this in this morning's Daily Telegraph.

Stamps can't be licked when it comes to an alternative investment
Stamps and coins have become a viable alternative investment class that have outperformed the FTSE 100, according to new research

Investors seeking protection from the damaging impact that quantitative easing and low interest rates are having on their wealth should put their money in rare stamps and coins, according to a new report.

The collectibles are now a serious investment class insulated from problems afflicting equities, says the Alternative Investment Report from Intelligent Partnership.

It found that such unconventional investments have outperformed many of the traditional sources of return, and growing demand means they are now increasing as a viable option.

The “passion assets” are usually high-value or luxury items whose supply is fixed or scarce, and they do not provide an income stream.

However, according to the report, they provide safety in ways that traditional assets do not.

“Companies can fail, rendering equities worthless and bonds can default, but rare stamps or coins will remain rare – nobody can go back in time and mint more coins or print more stamps,” it said.

Guy Tolhurst, managing director of Intelligent Partnership, said: “Stamps and coins present investors with one way to beat financial repression: the low interest rates, money printing and silent currency war that central banks are resorting to in order to stimulate the economy. They can be a hedge against – and protection from – inflation, devalued currencies and punitive taxes.”

The report, sponsored by Aim-listed stamp and coin dealer Stanley Gibbons, said that over the past decade the annual growth rate of investments in coins has been 12.75pc and stamps 11.43pc, outperforming the FTSE 100’s 4.31pc rate.

The market is also being driven by new interest in the sector, particularly stamps. This is shown by the $9.5m paid at auction by an anonymous collector for a British Guiana magenta stamp in 2014, more than double the highest price paid for a single stamp.

China’s growing middle class is also boosting the viability of stamps as an investment. The report found that with the global philately market worth $3bn a year, there are 60m collectors worldwide of whom a third are in China, where 17pc of wealthy investors hold some of the investments in the form of stamps and other alternative investments such as coins, wine, art and jewellery.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... tment.html

15/02/2015

Look at my cllection of cricket on stamps
http://www.scribd.com/doc/162828085/History-of-English-Cricket-Philatelic-exhibit

History of English Cricket told through postal cancellations.this is an award winning collection on CRICKET theme.

11/02/2015

Rare stamps hidden away in attic for more than 100 years set to fetch £250,000 at auction. Read More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Rare-stamps-hidden-away-attic-…

02/02/2015

Mini-Tip: 'Hinging Horrors' - True Story

Dear friends,
A true but sad story

A year or two ago we received a telephone call from a collector who had spent high tens of thousands of pounds on stamp collections and assorted / miscellaneous lots. He wanted to know why it was that the auction company he had bought most from and whom he had invited to view his stamp collection had only offered him approximately 25% for outright purchase of the total amount he had spent? (Note that is 25% of what he had spent - not of catalogue value).

I must admit my interest was piqued. I knew that the company in question is long established and has a good reputation ... perhaps this was a valuable collection that a competitor had mishandled and an opportunity for my company ... so, naturally, I agreed to go and see, and bearing in mind the collector's perceived 'slight' by our industry ... to give a second opinion without charge (a round trip of some several hundreds of miles).

Additionally I learned that two representatives of the stamp auction had visited and had left an offer inside of one hour ... something I knew was hardly possible upon a collection of some 80+ volumes ... (two hours to view a valuable collection properly is pushing it - most valuable collections housed in dozens of albums cannot be properly assessed in such a short period of time - even when two experienced valuers attend). As an 'aside' - personally I hate it when two representatives from a company attend - as the owner - whether it be stamps or 'double-glazing' is almost invariably intimidated in his or her own home.

Upon arrival the collection was indeed as described ... 80+ volumes all neatly arranged in alphabetical order upon accommodating shelves. How was it possible to lose up to 75% of value buying at a well known stamp auction?

Sadly it is possible - a combination of adverse factors emerged. First the collection had no real focus ... it was an 'entire World' collection. To collect the 'entire World' to a high standard requires significant sums of money. Money had been thrown at it but purchasing wholesale cheaper stamps. Stamps with no 'effective catalogue value'. Worse still where modern mint material had been purchased the stamps had been hinged ! (remember our last tip?) ...

but ... far far worse than this ... the collector had not been careful hinging the stamps and applied excess moisture (too much 'lick') ... so that MOST of the MINT stamps were stuck to the album pages not just by stamp hinges - but also by their own gum! This is an utterly deadly factor literally guaranteed to destroy value ... and destroy value it did. The problem is that if you are a seller with scruples ... how can you sell stamps that have been stuck down by their own gum ... without mentioning it. Would you buy mint stamps that have been lifted from leaves and thinned in the process ? Certainly I would if it were the world's rarest stamp ... but on relatively common stamps or even higher values - so that sets, where they existed, were no longer real sets in consistent quality ... would you really .... ?

In fact I valued the collection a few thousand pounds lower and came to the conclusion that the original auction company had deliberately offered a few thousand pounds more in an effort to mollify the collector as most of the material had been collected / purchased from them. What a pity they left it to another company to explain what had gone wrong ...

Moral of the story - apply 'lick' sparingly and always 'lift' the stamp after affixing in position to ensure that it is dry and 'free'.

Happy collecting from us all,

15/01/2015

Special covers issued on 9th and 10th Jan 2015 on ocassion of Indepex 2015 at Indore based on Medical /charity theme.

20/11/2013

Special cover and cancellations issued on occasion of 200th Test matches of Sachin Tendulkar issued by Gorakhpur region of IndiaPost.Please note this is not a FDC.Interested person in above cover please contact me on [email protected]