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Bin Full of Russia covers

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At the local show last month, I got a deal as we were headed out the door.  One of the sellers had two whole bins of 1940s-1970s covers from Russia.  He was selling them at a fairly low price, but I guess he didn't want to pack it up again, because he let me have the batch of roughly 1100 covers for $100. I'm not really a big collector of Russia, but it's better to not be looking for things for myself.  I found these interesting because they were mostly registered mail covered in postal markings on front and back.  I had a lot of fun sorting through the batch.  There were ongoing correspondences between people, some of them covering over 100 covers and 20 years.  I put those all back together by recipient.  Then I took out about 50 of my favorites to scan and post for sale, then put these rest into my own show at 50c each (10 for $4). The scans are done, but I still have to write up the listings.  But we sold 36 of them at the show today.  Th...
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Vended postage

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An odd corner of the stamp world is the vended postage produced by computers, machines and meters.  Here is a batch from Switzerland, showing that they can have a variety of design or be plain ink on paper.   Also, as you can see from the "Jour d'Emission" postmarks, they get their own First Day markings.  I can't picture an actual ceremony to celebrate that yet another of these has been issued, but it does look like it's a thing. These are most often found imprinted with the current first class letter rate, in this case 90c, but other values are also common.  They can have any printed value at all (within reason), so I always wondered how you would collect these.  Do you only need one of each design or do you try to collect every value you can find, never knowing if other values are out there? They are also known as "machine stamps", " Variable value stamps ", "computer-vended postage labels", "ATM stamps" (because you coul...
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USA Parcel Posts

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With the million-or-so stamps to collect, most countries just feel impossible to ever complete.   So focus on some subsets.  Many countries put out limited ranges of postage dues or airmails.  For the US, I can't stand most of the issues.  The early ones are so complex and specialized I don't even try to price them anymore, and every year they release a hundred or more new issues which are fun to put on the outgoing mail, but I wouldn't want to try and collect them.  (First of all, they don't soak properly.) Here is a collection you can complete ... just the USA parcel posts.  There are 12 of them, all red.  Scott #Q1-12.  They often have heavy smudges for cancels, but when you get them, you're done.  I like them because they're simple, with attractive engraved designs, and have decent value.  They make good lots.  The 2023 catalog value is about $180.  These are up on HipStamp now. So you found all those.  You have c...
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Coolidge on Coolidge

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Here is a strange item that my Dad found during his years of collecting.   At some point, afetr retiring to Arizona he found this copy of the $5 Calvin Coolidge stamp postmarked in, of all place, Coolidge AZ. The stamp itself is the high value of the classic 1938 Presidents set, and it's nice when it shows up in mixtures.  But it is always disappointing when I forget that it's not actually worth much.  The Scott catalog (2023) lists it at $3.  I guess it's not that uncommon.   The question is, how do we value this one with the obviously rare socked-on-the-nose matching postmark?  I figured I'd run it at $9.50 ... and it sold within hours. Postmarks are an odd area to try and collect.  The magazines run articles all the time about how interesting they are or how uncommon some postmarks can be, but there is never any info on how they affect the value of a stamp.  Personally, I will drop an extra $1 here and there for clear postmarks from places...
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Sending the Goods Back Home

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One thing that happens a lot is selling stamps to buyers back in the home country.  I can't say how many thousands of items I have shipped back home.  Here is a pair of First Day Covers from Korea that I got last week.  They don't mean much to me.  I picked them because I have a vague interest in the Universal Postal Union issues and anniversaries. But these sold for $3 in less than an hour after posting them.  One can't help but wonder if I should have started the price a bit higher.  Or would they then sit there for years, unwanted.  I'd rather start something low and have it sell.  And I don't want to drag out the catalogs for every little thing.  It's usually disappointing.  No point looking them up now.  Just go with the gut, move on to the next piece. So, they're headed back to Korea now.
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USA 1944 - 3 Naval Censor covers

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Sometimes, it's not the stamps that make a cover interesting.  These three are free-franked mail from navy servicemen, each with a "Passed by Naval Censor" mark (two on front, the other was on the back) and the expected tape where it was opened and resealed. All are postmarked "U.S. NAVY" with 1944 dates. Also, they each have a letter inside.  I never know what to think about letters.  I'm sure they add to the value and historical relevance of the covers, but they also feel so private to us.  These three are part of an ongoing correspondence, but we left the letters unread.  Off to HipStamp they go ...  
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New Zealand 1938 cover - returned to sender

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Here is a busy old cover from New Zealand.  I got this at the show two weeks ago for 40 cents.  I like going through covers looking for the ones that have their own travel tales to tell.  Of course, I was already selling my own bins full of covers for 50c each, just so I wouldn't have to scan and list them all.  But this one was new to me, and I had been through all of my own covers before.  So here it is: Postmarked 1938, the kiwi cachet and crossed-out address caught my eye right away.  But other details came up: it has a "BNZ" prefin on one stamp, and a postage due "T" handstamp.  It was redirected when the recipient was not found, and got a backside roller mark from DINARD France as it was being sent back to sender.  I listed this one on HipStamp today and it sold for $4.95 in about two hours.  So there must be something about it that I'm not seeing.  Or my eyeball pricing is spot on.
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