An observation......

kacyds
Administrator

Stamp Bears Supporter

Did you hear the joke about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it.

Posts: 16,142
Location (Country): United States

An observation...... Mar 12, 2014 19:43:42 GMT -5 crazyquilter likes this

Quote

Post by kacyds on Mar 12, 2014 19:43:42 GMT -5

I love when members here scan their country pages and post pictures in the appropriate thread. There are a great diversity of countries that we collect, but I have noticed that some countries are not collected and wondered why.

For example: Russia, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, to name a few. Is it that they have produced so many stamps that it becomes cost prohibitive to buy an album or print the pages?

What are your thoughts??? Do you collect any of these countries?

kacyds Administrator Stamp Bears Supporter Did you hear the joke about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it. Posts: 16,142 Location (Country): United States	An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 20:30:21 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by kacyds on Mar 13, 2014 20:30:21 GMT -5 No thoughts?

RossTO Stamp Bears Posting Guru Stamp Bears Supporter Posts: 2,466 Location (Country): Toronto, Ontario, Canada	An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 20:41:02 GMT -5 kacyds likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by RossTO on Mar 13, 2014 20:41:02 GMT -5 Actually JohnnyO collects all those countries
	Last Edit: Mar 13, 2014 20:41:41 GMT -5 by RossTO

kannik
Master Stamp Bear

Stamp Bears Supporter

This is my favourite Canadian stamp. I may spring for one, one day ...

Posts: 1,852

Location (Country): Montreal, Canada

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 20:45:01 GMT -5 kacyds likes this

Quote

Post by kannik on Mar 13, 2014 20:45:01 GMT -5

I don`t think that the number of pages of album to print
daunts a really enthusiastic collector. I think Bear and
several others have printed out 1200 page albums for Germany
and the U.S.A.! And U.S.A. stamps are up in the high 4000s,
not including varieties, so I doubt the NUMBER of stamps from
any one country stops anybody.

I`m guessing that our Club
is still relatively small - most of us collect British Common-
wealth and/or U.S.A., and maybe we just don`t have many
Eastern-oriented collectors, or that those who do collect them
might not have told us about them! Those are all guesses, but
you know what "they" say -- "one guess is as good as another"!

Collecting Australia, New Zealand, Channel Islands, Canada, U.S., St-Pierre et Miquelon, Faroe Islands
Topical - Seahorses, Paleophilately, Machins (limited), kingfishers, trees, horoscope & zodiac, O`Higgins (Chile), Lake Baikal.

kacyds Administrator Stamp Bears Supporter Did you hear the joke about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it. Posts: 16,142 Location (Country): United States	An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 20:48:41 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by kacyds on Mar 13, 2014 20:48:41 GMT -5 Mar 13, 2014 20:41:02 GMT -5 RossTO said: Actually JohnnyO collects all those countries Wow, I did not know that. Does he have all the pages printed for them??? Im sure they take up a lot of shelf space.

RossTO Stamp Bears Posting Guru Stamp Bears Supporter Posts: 2,466 Location (Country): Toronto, Ontario, Canada	An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 20:50:31 GMT -5 kacyds likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by RossTO on Mar 13, 2014 20:50:31 GMT -5 I think he has some of those pages posted in Member Collections

crazyquilter
Global Moderator

Posts: 6,763

Location (Country): Michigan

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 21:02:03 GMT -5 kacyds likes this

Quote

Post by crazyquilter on Mar 13, 2014 21:02:03 GMT -5

What a great question.

I am a used World Wide collector and yes I collect these countries. The stamps these 4 countries have are wonderful and I believe a collection is not complete without these countries. My Father is from Czech so I have family who still send me some stamps. That is one of the great things about stampers. We collect what we like and don't mind a little challenge like a few hundred pages.

I am a used World wide stamper. Always have been and always will bee.

kannik
Master Stamp Bear

Stamp Bears Supporter

This is my favourite Canadian stamp. I may spring for one, one day ...

Posts: 1,852

Location (Country): Montreal, Canada

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 21:11:30 GMT -5

Quote

Post by kannik on Mar 13, 2014 21:11:30 GMT -5

Shelf Space? SNORT! I recently printed
out an album for Jersey on 65 lb. paper
which I thought MIGHT be an ideal weight
for an album - and found out it fills a
pretty large and heavy binder - and I think
they only have about 800 stamps! Now, of
course, I know that 32 lb. paper would be
much better and will use it from now on!

Collecting Australia, New Zealand, Channel Islands, Canada, U.S., St-Pierre et Miquelon, Faroe Islands
Topical - Seahorses, Paleophilately, Machins (limited), kingfishers, trees, horoscope & zodiac, O`Higgins (Chile), Lake Baikal.

khj
Administrator

Stamp Bears Supporter

Posts: 9,892

Location (Country): USA

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 21:35:17 GMT -5 kacyds likes this

Quote

Post by khj on Mar 13, 2014 21:35:17 GMT -5

Since I collect WW, my collection does cover those countries. Except for Hungary, it's hard for me to get excited about the Russian, Romanian, and Czechoslovakian stamps. What they made up for with sheer volume of issues, they lost with sensory overload. My apologies if I offended anyone. I find stamps more exciting when I process them a few issues at a time, instead of glassines of 500.

I'm not that interested in space stamps, so the Russian stamps don't catch my fancy. Their many S/S's are overloaded in red.

I do like some of the Hungarian stamps. Even their simple postage dues!

As for not posting any, I've got several thousand different from these 4 countries. Even deciding on a sampling would take too much time!

k

zepherusbane
Stamp Bears Posting Guru

Posts: 2,984

Location (Country): United States

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 22:26:09 GMT -5 kacyds likes this

Quote

Post by zepherusbane on Mar 13, 2014 22:26:09 GMT -5

I have a difficult time with Cyrillic or Greek characters and have a tendency to avoid working on those countries. I don't "not" collect them as I am a world wide collector, but I haven't printed pages for countries like Greece and Russia because of the difficulty I have in identifying each stamp.

The easier it is for me to translate the language, the more likely I am to more actively work on collecting that country. That is why the most worked on countries I collect are those using English on their stamps. Everything else I sort for duplicates and store in glassines for "some day" which might be next week, or not until I retire. Of course I have made a couple notable exceptions to this general rule (like most collectors I suspect), such as China and Taiwan.

Last Edit: Mar 13, 2014 22:31:11 GMT -5 by zepherusbane

Worldwide collector of stamps and covers! I gave up on limiting to only certain countries.

philatelius
Master Stamper

Posts: 167

Location (Country): United States of America

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 22:28:51 GMT -5

Quote

Post by philatelius on Mar 13, 2014 22:28:51 GMT -5

It may be related to how much "wallpaper" the countries you mentioned produced during the Cold War. Many of the stamps were canceled-to-order--virtually all the stamps I've ever owned from some of those countries issued during certain decades were CTO--and it may have given them a bad reputation among collectors who looked down their noses at material that was "made for collectors." (If that is indeed the case, I wonder what they would think of modern U.S. stamps!)

I'm also inclined to agree with the idea that that may seem to be the case here because we tend to collect our "home country," and then maybe something else. Perhaps collectors from those countries frequent boards in their native tongues?

I personally have no problem at all with collecting stamps from the countries in question if they fit into my landscapes collection. I mean, I collect cinderellas if they fit into my landscapes collection!

Download free U.S. stamp album pages at philosateleia.com

greaden
Super Stamp Bear

Posts: 503

An observation...... Mar 13, 2014 23:28:10 GMT -5 kacyds likes this

Quote

Post by greaden on Mar 13, 2014 23:28:10 GMT -5

I collect Czechoslovakia up until the early 1950s. I am even temped to get bogged down in the nuances of Mucha's Hradcany issue. The prewar and Bohemia and Moravia material interest me most, and then I get into the more over-the-top commie material from the Stalin/Gottwald era. I appreciate the later material, considering that the Czech republic maintains the art of engraving, but I do not go out of my way to fill in the blanks. Czech postwar wallpaper has staying power unlike that of its neighbors.

As for Hungary, I keep a sampling of earlies, and especially love the parliament series. I got a sampling of the overprints that reflect political chaos but given the forgeries, I do not get bogged down in them. I have sought out the Horthy and inflation era issues as historical curiosities. Beyond that point, I have actually considered wallpapering a room with all the Magyar Posta crap left over from my childhood. I have yet to learn to love them.

I collect each country, dead or alive, but focus on France, French African colonies, older German area, allegorical men, carnivorous plants, Vikings, rock art, engraved pictorials.

kannik
Master Stamp Bear

Stamp Bears Supporter

This is my favourite Canadian stamp. I may spring for one, one day ...

Posts: 1,852

Location (Country): Montreal, Canada

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 16:00:31 GMT -5 Bee likes this

Quote

Post by kannik on Mar 14, 2014 16:00:31 GMT -5

I think greaden`s answer above is one of the reason I don`t
collect eastern countries. History has never been my chief
reason for collecting, though I do enjoy learning the occasional
bit of history, as long as there won`t be an exam!

I`m comfortable in English & French and can guess at a lot of
Spanish & some German just from normal absorption of the
occasional word in these languages, but there comes a time
when there are just too many countries and not enough money!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK`S WEEKEND, EVERYBODY!
I`M GOING GREEN ON SUNDAY!
(AND NOT FROM JEALOUSY, EITHER!)

Last Edit: Mar 14, 2014 16:01:27 GMT -5 by kannik

Collecting Australia, New Zealand, Channel Islands, Canada, U.S., St-Pierre et Miquelon, Faroe Islands
Topical - Seahorses, Paleophilately, Machins (limited), kingfishers, trees, horoscope & zodiac, O`Higgins (Chile), Lake Baikal.

Bee
Master Stamp Bear

Posts: 1,394
Location (Country): South Africa

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 17:04:24 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Bee on Mar 14, 2014 17:04:24 GMT -5

Since i collect worldwide i have some Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, stamps, they are not in sets and i do not have pages to mount them only in my stock book.
These countries tend to produce pre-paid stamps some of which i think is not genuine stamps therefore i do not go out of my way to collect them.

Bee >i<

khj
Administrator

Stamp Bears Supporter

Posts: 9,892

Location (Country): USA

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 18:00:09 GMT -5

Quote

Post by khj on Mar 14, 2014 18:00:09 GMT -5

The thing about Hungarian, Romanian, Czech, and Russian stamps (DDR also), is that you will get them whether you collect them or not.

In other words, we often are not given the option! I'm sure all 4 countries would be in my top 20 list of "number of stamps I have by country", and I seldom deliberately tried to buy any of them!

Last Edit: Mar 14, 2014 18:00:36 GMT -5 by khj

Butterfly
Stamp Bears Posting Guru

Stamp Bears Supporter

Posts: 2,093

Location (Country): Portland,OR USA

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 19:34:56 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Butterfly on Mar 14, 2014 19:34:56 GMT -5

I have been collecting Hungary up to about 1955 ever since I got a Scott specialized album from Oquist. Still haven't gotten around to mounting or sorting out dups for many of them, though.

I also collect Czechoslovakia up to about 1970, but don't have an album yet. They are all in glassines or bags and sorted by year or issue. Another fun project for the future!!!

Now downsizing, really!

Craig
Gone But Not Forgotten

Is your leg wet? Yikes! Sorry 'bout that ...

Posts: 6,627

Location (Country): USA

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 21:12:28 GMT -5 greaden likes this

Quote

Post by Craig on Mar 14, 2014 21:12:28 GMT -5

I used to collect Russia in a former collecting life (maybe the 4th epoch back in 1975 or so), and filled my spaces with year sets of CTOs. Unashamedly too, I might add. Of course, the older ones weren't CTO (or maybe they were, who knows?). Now, I just have a few topicals, yep, mostly space.

Czechoslovakia, I started in my 2nd epoch (maybe in 1965 or so), when I was corresponding with a nice couple in Czechoslovakia who would send me stamps in exchange for Joan Baez albums. Then the Russians invaded them and everything stopped. When I was a kid, there were Czech stamps in all the packets I bought, but living in high-humidity Hilo, Hawaii, they all stuck to the album pages (or to each other). Now, I just have a few topicals, yep, mostly wildlife.

Hungary (Poland too). I loved their big picturesque stamps and added them to my albums in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th epochs. Now, all I have are topicals, but I remember the ones I had very fondly.

Romania never interested me, but since I found some old issues in the stamp/cover boxes I've owned for years, I'm getting interested in their old stuff. Because when I make pages, I do a little bit of research into their history, that's why.

Last Edit: Mar 14, 2014 21:13:36 GMT -5 by Craig

greaden
Super Stamp Bear

Posts: 503

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 21:30:38 GMT -5

Quote

Post by greaden on Mar 14, 2014 21:30:38 GMT -5

Warsaw Pact stamps easily fall into the standard categories of their propaganda, and maybe that insight may rejuvenate my interest in them enough to actually sort them, display them, and crawl through bidstart looking for gaps. Maybe I should not divide them by country but rather by theme. A few Vario pages would be devoted to all the space issues. A few more would cover all those Olympic athletes. What else? Dogs and cats? Marx, Lenin, and a puppy?

Nah.

Only one east-block stamp set (aside from the Czech material) that I must have is the DDR issues of Chairman Mao, but alas those seem more subject to Cultural Revolution pricing than of standard thematic wallpaper.

I collect each country, dead or alive, but focus on France, French African colonies, older German area, allegorical men, carnivorous plants, Vikings, rock art, engraved pictorials.

khj
Administrator

Stamp Bears Supporter

Posts: 9,892

Location (Country): USA

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 22:17:04 GMT -5 greaden likes this

Quote

Post by khj on Mar 14, 2014 22:17:04 GMT -5

DDR issues of Chairman Mao, but alas those seem more subject to Cultural Revolution pricing than of standard thematic wallpaper.

The Mao set has always been a major premium stamp, even before the Cultural Revolution stamps shot up. I'm actually a little surprised the Mao set hasn't gone up even more.

Good deals can still be found if patient. I even ran into a part set in a collection I purchased last year. You do have to watch out for the fakes, though. Always check the perfs.

k

Gordon Lee
Stamp Bears Posting Guru

Stamp Bears Supporter

I like stamps for the thrills, chills, screams, and laughs.

Posts: 2,662

Location (Country): Roanoke, Texass USA

An observation...... Mar 14, 2014 23:03:50 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Gordon Lee on Mar 14, 2014 23:03:50 GMT -5

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
.
I do not actively seek stamps from Russia, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, DDR, etc. But should I come across their stamps I do not trash them. If there is an empty slot in my stamp album I pop it in. If that slot is already filled, then I add it to my duplicate pile. The major difference is that I play the game a tad different from most of the rest of you folks -- I do not buy stamps for my collection. (Yes, I have tons of cheap stamps. But there are a couple of gems scattered about.) So, I really don't feel cheated.
.
Just for kicks, I looked up how many stamps in my albums that are from these countries:
.
Czechoslovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 in album . . . . . 126 duplicates
German Democratic Republic . . 222 in album . . . . 24 duplicates
Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 in album . . . . 258 duplicates
Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 in album . . . . 236 duplicates
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 in album . . . . . 75 duplicates
Sub-total 2053 in album . . . . 719 duplicates
Total stamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29259 in album . . . 49709 duplicates
.
Well, that's the way it is -- just an observation.
.
Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

Last Edit: Mar 14, 2014 23:05:26 GMT -5 by Gordon Lee

Post by kacyds on Mar 12, 2014 19:43:42 GMT -5

Post by kacyds on Mar 13, 2014 20:30:21 GMT -5

Post by RossTO on Mar 13, 2014 20:41:02 GMT -5

Post by kannik on Mar 13, 2014 20:45:01 GMT -5

Post by kacyds on Mar 13, 2014 20:48:41 GMT -5

Post by RossTO on Mar 13, 2014 20:50:31 GMT -5

Post by crazyquilter on Mar 13, 2014 21:02:03 GMT -5

Post by kannik on Mar 13, 2014 21:11:30 GMT -5

Post by khj on Mar 13, 2014 21:35:17 GMT -5

Post by zepherusbane on Mar 13, 2014 22:26:09 GMT -5

Post by philatelius on Mar 13, 2014 22:28:51 GMT -5

Post by greaden on Mar 13, 2014 23:28:10 GMT -5

Post by kannik on Mar 14, 2014 16:00:31 GMT -5

Post by Bee on Mar 14, 2014 17:04:24 GMT -5

Post by khj on Mar 14, 2014 18:00:09 GMT -5

Post by Butterfly on Mar 14, 2014 19:34:56 GMT -5

Post by Craig on Mar 14, 2014 21:12:28 GMT -5

Post by greaden on Mar 14, 2014 21:30:38 GMT -5

Post by khj on Mar 14, 2014 22:17:04 GMT -5

Post by Gordon Lee on Mar 14, 2014 23:03:50 GMT -5

Google Search

Thread of the Week

Announcements

News