Roundup Selected as Stamp Spotlight Blog on Trakkrz.com

The Stamp Collecting Roundup has been selected as the Stamp Spotlight Blog of the month by Trakkrz.com.

What is Trakkrz.com?

According to the site's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), "Trakkrz.com is the place to 'trakk' the best individual bloggers on the web by topic. We don’t follow news feeds, and generic search results for a topic like those other sites. Every one of our blogs has been reviewed and included individually to ensure they meet our quality standards. In addition, to add a bit of flavor to our topic pages we like to follow interesting related flickr groups and YouTube videos. All in all trakkrz topics are a wonderful place to get informed about the latest on a specific topic."

What inspired Trakkrz.com?

"We were tired of all the blog following sites that include any and every blogger out their regardless of quality. We wanted to build a community where visitors could come and see the latest from popular bloggers on a particular topic, get to know the bloggers themselves, and be able to comment on and highlight the best that these bloggers have to offer."

Click here to go to the Trakkrz.com homepage.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

While today is a Federal holiday, it is business as usual for our service personnel.

Frank McDade writes the Roundup to ask readers to send holiday cards with messages of thanks and cheer to service members, veterans and their families. Frank is part of the 2009 “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign with the Red Cross.

The campaign, which is sponsored in part by Pitney Bowes, runs through Monday, December 7.

Take time today to thank the troops, veterans of all wars and their families by sending a holiday card to

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

For information about what types of cards can be sent, how cards should be addressed, and further information regarding how you can get involved, click here.

World's First Multimedia Stamp

Crienglish.com reports, "A new series of stamps entitled 'The Tang Dynasty's Three Hundred Poems' is stirring up a wave of excitement in a market that has remained pretty quiet for almost two decades."

According to an article by report Chu Daye,"Some say that this new stamp collection is nothing short of a milestone in China's postal history, surpassing the importance of the famed Dragon Stamp of the Qing Dynasty or the Monkey Stamp of the 1980s, no less."

Daye writes, "The product behind all this frenzy is the world's first multimedia stamp, containing within it enough information to recite famous poems from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)."

"Touching the stamps with a special pen-shaped device, called the aigo pen, allows a chip in the pen to recite some of the greatest poems from the Tang Dynasty, including work by Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi. Receiving a letter in the post will never be the same again," he says.

A product of Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology, China's leading producer of electronic consumer goods, the aigo storyteller pen is a unique gadget that combines an infrared recognition system, mass data storage and an MP3 player.

Shown above, Yao Wei, CEO of Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology, with aigo pens

To read the entire article, click here.

Book on Simon Taxis Receives Major Italian Philatelic Journalist Award

Italy's Philatelic Journalists Guild has awarded the book Simon Taxis and the Posts of the State of Milan During the Renaissance by Giorgio Migliavacca and Tarcisio Bottani the prestigious "Fulvio Apollonio Prize" for the best postal history book published in 2008 according to a report on the BVI News website.

Last August the book won a gold medal in Pittsburgh at the APS Stampshow.

According to the article, Dr. Migliavacca is quoted as saying, "Italy has her own Rowland Hill: he is Simon Taxis the creator of an unprecedented postal speed that remained unchallenged until the advent of the train over 300 hundred years later. Simon Taxis was instrumental in modernizing the European posts in the 1500s and making them accessible for the first time to the general public. In turn this led to the creation of a state monopoly of the postal service."

Dr. Migliavacca is the president of the British Virgin Islands Philatelic Society. His book was published last year by the by the Taxis Museum at Cornello, Bergamo, Italy.

Shown above, Professor Tarcisio Bottani (left) and Dr. Giorgio Migliavacca receiving the Apollonio Prize from the President of the Philatelic Journalists Guild, Mr. Danilo Bogoni (far right)

To read the entire article, click here.

Saddam Stamps Skyrocket in Iraq

Stamp prices showing Saddam Hussein are rising sharply in Iraq according to a report by Sammy Ketz of American Free Press (AFP).

Kamal Kamel, who runs a stall selling stamps in the Bab al-Muazzam district where the Iraqi Philatelic and Numismatic Society meets is quoted in the piece as saying, "Before 2003, the country was closed in on itself and we were cut off from the international market. But now business is going well. American and British collectors snap up stamps with Saddam on them."

He goes on to say, "Unlike us, they couldn't get enough of him -- they could not buy the stamps, because of the embargo," referring to UN sanctions on trade with Iraq introduced after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.

"A series showing Saddam Hussein which was worth 200 dinars sells today for 5,000 dinars (4.3 dollars). My monthly revenues have passed from 200 to 1,500 dollars. Prices really have risen," according to Kamel.

Shown above, a 1986 Iraqi stamp showing Saddam Hussein in military uniform.

To read the entire article, click here.

Why Benny Hill Was Bumped from British Stamps

UK's Daily Mail reports documents reveal comic Benny Hill was dumped from a set of Royal Mail stamps because of concerns about his "saucy" style.

According to the paper, "Slapstick, burlesque and double entendre were always his hallmark. Some critics accused the show of sexism but Hill maintained that the female characters kept their dignity while the men chasing them were portrayed as buffoons."

The article went on to say, "Royal Mail deemed that his jokes were in direct opposition to the company's policies on harassment in the work place."

A set of six stamps were issued in September 2005 to commemorate 50 years of ITV. They honored six British television programs which were made famous on ITV. These included Emmerdale, Rising Damp, The Avengers, Morse, The South Bank Show and Who Wants to be A Millionaire?

The Benny Hill Show which ran from 1955 to 1989 and was aired on the BBC and Thames Television in the UK and broadcast in more than 140 countries was not selected to be featured on the set.

Hill died in 1992.

Shown above, Hill in a skit involving Royal Mail wearing a "postie's" uniform.

To read the entire article, click here.

Terre Haute "Postman" Wagon Model

The National Postal Museum's "Object of the Month" is the Terre Haute "Postman" Wagon Model.

According to a write-up that appeared in the museum's electronic newsletter, The Postmark,"The Postman" is one of five quarter-sized specimen rural delivery wagons built for the Post Office Department by the Terre Haute Carriage and Wagon Company in the late nineteenth century."

The Department used these wagons to help drum up Congressional support for a Rural Free Delivery (RFD) service.

This fully operational working model, "the Postman," has the sliding doors and windows of the finished product. The four-wheeled wagon was designed to be used with either one or two horses, was equipped with sliding doors and "storm proof" windows, built-in drawers for holding postal supplies and pigeonholes for mail. The wagons, made from hickory and ash with poplar panels, were hand painted.

To learn more, click here.

Columnist Learns About Stamps, Collecting and the Crimescope CS-16

Connie Cousins, a columnist for Pennsylvania's Centre Daily Times, writes about the U.S. Classics 2009 stamp show that was held last weekend at the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, PA.

As a non-collector Connie pens, "I was able to browse the displays, the vendor tables, the West Virginia post office and general store on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, the rare stamps and the many collections of 19th century U.S. stamps that were part of the show."

Besides many examples of unstamped and stamped letters from the 1840s, an Inverted Jenny and a 1c Z-Grill were also on display. In addition, the society's Crimescope CS-16 was mentioned.

She writes, "The society building also houses a Crimescope CS-16, much like ones the FBI uses to help spot fraud and illegal use of stamps and to validate a rare find."

According to Ken Lawrence, "In the spring of 1997, the American Philatelic Expertizing Service (APEX) acquired state‑of‑the‑art forensic equipment, of the type used by scientists of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to evaluate evidence in criminal investigations, as a tool to enhance the APS Expert Committee's ability to detect altered and counterfeited stamps and covers, and to determine whether or not questioned material is genuine and in its original state."

Shown above, the Crimescope CS-16 and associated equipment used to expertize stamps at the Vincent Graves Greene Philatelic Research Foundation.

To read the entire column, click here.

Be Careful When Investing in Russian Stamps

Reporter Vladimir Kozlov writes in the Moscow News, "In times of economic uncertainty, people look for unconventional investment vehicles. Investment in postage stamps can bring you a return of 15 to 20 percent a year, but you have to be careful, as philately involves many subtleties."

"It's difficult for an ordinary person with little or no knowledge of philately to understand all the nuances and see if a stamp is really worth the price listed in a catalogue. A stamp could look the same but be made of different paper, or it could have an adhesive layer of a different type or a different kind of perforation, and that could have a large impact on its value," according to Sergei Yevtushenko, executive director of the Russian Union of Philatelists.

Alexei Zubov, head of the Gelos auction house's antique book and philately department points out in the article,"Philately involves a huge amount of information, and there are no pundits that would know all kinds of stamps equally well. You should try to find experts on exactly the same type of period you are looking at."

Zubov says those planning to make their first investment in Russian postage stamps should look at those issued before the 1950s or, more preferably, before 1917.

Yevtushenko disagrees.

He believes, "There is no point looking at a particular period. Stamps have been issued in huge quantities, and even not every stamp from the first batch that went into circulation in Russia in 1858 is valuable. On the other hand, even a recently issued stamp could become valuable if it is unique in any way, if for instance, it differs from the entire batch. Also, to be valuable, a stamp should be in pristine condition."

Shown above, a 2008 stamp-on-stamp commemorative marking the 150th anniversary of the first Russian postage stamp.

To read the entire article, click here.

Beauty in Biology

BeyondThePerf.com has an interesting article about the recent Kelp Forest miniature sheet and how it was designed.

USPS Art Director Ethel Kessler is quoted as saying the design of the Kelp Forest stamps is no miniscule accomplishment. She calls stamp artist John D. Dawson a “miracle worker,” both with these stamps and with all other ecosystems featured in the Nature of America series.

According to the piece, "PhotoAssist, the Postal Service’s research firm, first compiled a list of nearly 50 species found in Pacific’s kelp forests. Then it supplied photos of the underwater-dwelling creatures for Dawson to use as reference. Dr. Steve Lonhart of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary also acted as a consultant, ensuring that the pane would be not only beautiful but also biologically accurate."

Dawson says he gathered all these photographs and sorted through them to create a first sketch (shown here). He then narrowed down the number of species still further.

After several rounds of sketches and revisions, the final art — which is twice the size of the pane — took Dawson about six months to complete. The sheet offers a unique point of view: both above and below surface level, which had been done only once in an aquatic scene before (Pacific Coast Rain Forest, 2000 according to the article.

To read the entire article and see some other sketches, click here.

China Stamp Fetches Record Price

The American Free Press website reports a stamp that was pulled from circulation the day it was issued because it failed to show Taiwan as part of China fetched a record price at auction in Hong Kong on Sunday.

The rare 1968 stamp was picked up by an unidentified Asian buyer, who paid 3.68 million Hong Kong dollars (475,000 US dollars), a record for a Chinese stamp.

Designer Wang Wei Sheng, who watched the hammer fall, told AFP he had feared he would be punished for his mistake. While China was colored red, Wan had left Taiwan uncoloured, a blunder that sparked a recall of the stamps just half a day after their release.

"For a long time I was really worried that I would be jailed," he said. "Officials told me that it was a really big mistake, but in the end nothing happened."

Taiwan split from China in 1949 at the end of a civil war and has been ruled separately since, but Beijing still considers the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification.

To read the entire article, click here.

Postal Workers Retire With 100 Years Combined Service

MyWebTimes.com reports two Ottawa, Ill. postal workers, Ronald Kotecki and Keith Rorem, started working at the local post office on the same day, Sept. 28, 1959, and retired together yesterday.

In an article by Steve Stout, the two men shared memories of their 50 years of service and talked about the changes they've witnessed.

"When we started the pay was only $2 an hour," Rorem,74, began. "And, somehow, we all made a living and survived."

Kotecki, 68, laughed and said stamps only cost four cents each in 1959 and that he truly feels, adding in inflation factors, they are even a better deal today at 44 cents each.

Stout writes, "... both men agreed the single biggest change during their long tenure was the slow elimination of mail trains which, at one time, crisscrossed the county in a constant race to make depot deliveries. Postal crews sorted mail in rocking railcars on the move."

Rorem is quoted as saying, "We used to have up to six trains a day, which workers used to toss out big pouches of mail at the depot as they came through Ottawa and then we had to attach outgoing pouches to special arms, which trains could grab without slowing down." He recalled certain rail mishaps when bags weren't caught by the speeding trains and they were run over.

"There was mail up and down the tracks we had to pick up," he told Stout.

Shown above, Keith Rorem sorts mail at the Ottawa Post Office.

To read the entire article, click here.

Postal Service Goes Mobile

According to a USPS news release, "Customer convenience and product access are the focus of expanding the most popular online services onto web-enabled mobile devices."

The release goes on to say, "Some of the most popular functions currently available on usps.com are now available on cell phones and other mobile devices. The new features include Track & Confirm, Post Office locator, and the most popular application, ZIP Code lookup."

Robert Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services is quoted as saying, “Any mobile user with web access will be able to log on to the Postal Service mobile site no matter where they are, without having to use a personal computer."

The Postal Service is also designing applications for “smartphones” and other mobile devices like the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and iPod Touch which take advantage of additional capabilities, such as GPS.

To read the entire release, click here.

New National Postal Museum Exhibits Go Online

The National Postal Museum has announced that two new online exhibits are now featured on their Arago website.

The story of the development, implementation, and growth of Rural Free Delivery (RFD), and its impact on rural America, is the topic of Bringing the World Home.

Click here to view.

And to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Stamp Magazine, the Smithsonian National Postal Museum has collaborated with the editors and writers to create the online exhibit The Sun Never Sets on the Stamps of the British Empire.

The exhibit explores 19 different stories relating to the stamps of Great Britain and its Colonies between 1847 and 1965.

Click here to view.

The Postal Service's 'Get Well' Plan. Greeting cards!

Columnist Ed O'Keefe writes in the Washington Post, "Next time you visit the post office for stamps, you might also be able to buy (and send) your brother his belated birthday card."

Ed reports, "The U.S. Postal Service has started selling Hallmark greeting cards at some post offices, a one-year experiment that may lead the nation's 34,000 postal outlets to eventually sell other goods and services, including banking, insurance and cellphones."

About 1,500 postal branches started selling birthday and "get well soon" cards two weeks ago. District residents can buy cards only at the Postal Service's flagship location at L'Enfant Plaza, and another 29 spots in Maryland and Virginia also have them according to the report.

Unlike the mail, greeting cards remain a popular and profitable line of business, with 7 billion sold annually for more than $7.5 billion in sales, according to the Greeting Card Association. People receive more than 20 greeting cards each year, one-third of them for birthdays.

Shown above, A customer checks the greeting card options at the U.S. Postal Service's flagship post office at its L'Enfant Plaza headquarters in Washington. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service).

To read the entire article, click here.