Join the American Philatelic Society for an intriguing and entertaining presentation by two wildly popular speakers, Jasmine Smith, and Bill Schultz, as they explain a highly unusual postage rate. The story begins like this: as a result of an Act of Congress passed on April 9, 1816, a single-sheet letter…
View More APS Stamp Chats: The Scarce Postal 6¼ Cents
In this All About Stamps talk, Phil Waud describes the development of the ‘Jubilee’ set, issued from January 1887. Discover how the ‘small head’ design came about, the varieties to pursue, and how the design influenced subsequent stamps in this expert guide.
View More All About Stamps: Queen Victoria Jubilee Stamps
In this episode, Dr. Christy Pottroff, a literary professor at Boston College, discusses how she uses postal history as a teaching tool in her classes to analyze the work of great writers such as Edgar Allen Poe. She also discusses the great influence that the postal service has had on…
View More Conversations with Philatelists: Episode 32 – Postal History as a Teaching Tool and Literary Influence
C3a – Collecting and Connecting Central, is an on-demand, online learning tool containing videos, learning modules, and resources that cover a wide variety of topic and interest areas. American Philatelic Society members have special access to courses and videos as part of their membership. Details Website: C3a Online Learning Courses…
View More American Philatelic Society: C3a Online LearningSo you may have been collecting stamps for a while or perhaps you inherited a collection, and now you want to take it to the next level. Below is a guide to moving from a Beginner to an Intermediate collector. Intermediate Tips Moving to the intermediate stage is all about…
View More Stamp Collecting: IntermediateA watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations in the paper. Watermarks have been used on postage stamps, currency, and…
View More Stamp Collecting: Watermark DetectorA magnifying glass (or loupe) is a lens through which can be used to make things appear bigger, so you can see them better. It is used in many applications and manual operations, e.g., for examining postage stamps in philately. The magnifying glass consists of a piece of convex-shaped glass…
View More Stamp Collecting: Magnifying glassA stamp catalogue (or stamp catalog) is a catalogue of postage stamp types with descriptions and prices. The stamp catalogue is an essential tool of philately and stamp collecting. Stamp catalogues are part of philatelic literature. Originally catalogues were just dealers’ price lists, though today that is less common. The…
View More Stamp Collecting: Catalogues
From classic literature to pop culture; from pulp fiction to science fiction – American literature is well-represented on postage stamps of the U.S. and other countries. As a topical stamp collection, American literature is a channel for learning about stamps, as well as discovering new writers and books to read.…
View More Ted Talks Stamps: Episode 25 – American Literature On Postage StampsOn 1 July 1971, the following postal rates changed: 3c to 6c – Surface mail for books to the British Commonwealth and Foreign 3c to 6c – Surface mail for printer matter (up to 2 oz.) to the British Commonwealth and Foreign 5c to 7c – Surface mail for postcards…
View More Bahamas Philately: 1971 Definitive Series (New Values)