Category Archives: Stamps

Arenophilately

I wrote this article for the Spring 2020 issue of Philagems, the newsletter of an International Group of stamp collectors with an interest in “Gems. Minerals, and Jewelry on Stamps.”  

I have a confession to make.  I have become an arenophile.  Fortunately, in many places it is not illegal (unless trespassing while doing it), and it should not be harmful to my health.  I would say it is generally not contagious, but I did catch it a year ago when introduced to the hobby at a local rock club meeting.  I did not realize I was hooked until the summer of 2019.  While collecting minerals on trips in Maine and Michigan, I kept my eyes open for sands to collect and proceeded to fill quart freezer bags at a few dozen locations along lakes, rivers, and from glacial deposits.  You see an arenophile is a lover of sand.  The word is derived from the Latin “arena” (sand) and the Greek ”phil” (love).

But this is a philatelic newsletter, what does this have to do with stamps, and more specifically minerals on stamps?  Well, sand is nothing more than a pile of mineral grains, and there are certainly many worldwide postage stamps depicting sand.  The most popular thematic stamps depicting sand are, of course, beaches, like several of those depicted in the header.  But there are also river sands, land sand, and wind-blown sand dunes such as those on this South-West Africa (now Namibia) stamp, also in the header.  Why not collect and display sands from various beaches next to stamps showing these beaches?  And why not call it arenophilately?  Would this not be a reasonable offshoot of a group specializing in minerals on stamps?  There are actually some very unique and beautiful minerals hidden in the sands of the world.  Continue reading Arenophilately

Mary Anning

I am a member of the Rochester Academy of Science Fossil Section.  In last month’s newsletter (called the Fossiletter), Michael Greiner wrote a wonderful biographic note on Mary Anning touching aspects of her professional accomplishments and her personal life.   Mary was an early 19th century paleontologist in England who is credited with discovering and describing several Cretaceous marine reptiles including Plesiosaurus and Ichthyosaurus.  I enjoyed learning about her fascinating contributions to paleontology.

After reading the full article I wondered if Mary Anning had ever been commemorated on a postage stamp.  Yes, I collect postage stamps with a thematic specialty of geology on stamps.  This includes minerals, fossils, dinosaurs, volcanoes, and yes, famous geologists.  I was not aware of any Mary Anning stamps, but I did know where to look for them.  And I found a few.

Continue reading Mary Anning

Joint Stamp Issues

Winter is approaching and at some point, I will likely rediscover my stamps collection and either acquire some new stamps or improve the organization of those I already own.  I certainly do not think I need another idea for a new collection, but if I did I believe I might look at the idea of Joint Issues.  I do have a few set aside just in case I change my mind.  I’m sure that looking for more might be an interesting thing to do at the next stamp show I attend

One aspect of Joint Issues is the pure variety in the reason countries come together to commemorate events, accomplishments, or cultural topics.  Some involve recurring relationships, such as EUROPA, but most are one time commemorations with a singular and unique purpose.  A collector could seek global issues, but it is also possible to build quite a collection with United States issues only. Continue reading Joint Stamp Issues

How do you spell ZnS?

Our favorite minerals come in many forms and colors and it is fun to collect the variety that is available.  But did you ever stop to think how many different spellings there are for your favorite mineral in all the world’s languages?  One way to get started on such an investigation is through worldwide postage stamps.  Here is an example using the important sulfide mineral from which most of the world’s zinc is resourced.  There are certainly more languages than represented by these stamps from 12 countries and ten languages, but they do cover the world!

Continue reading How do you spell ZnS?

Cutler Mail Chutes: A Rochester Invention

In the late 19th century, building technology and urban development led to taller multistory buildings.  Office and apartment buildings grew vertically.  Naturally this led to new opportunities for creativity and invention and the Post Office Department was looking for improved methods to collect and move the mail from these buildings.

The idea of creating mail chutes to optimize the collection of outgoing mail from the taller buildings sounds like a simple innovative solution that should have occurred as soon as tall buildings were built.  But it took until 1883 for the mail chute to be invented and the first installation was right here in Rochester, New York.

Continue reading Cutler Mail Chutes: A Rochester Invention

Orient Express on Postage Stamps

Topical or thematic stamp collecting is a tremendous way to diversify and expand one’s special interest.  For me of course, this takes me to minerals, fossils, geology. etc. and the thousands of worldwide stamps carrying such images.  But  another collector in the Rochester Philatelic Association (RPA) with an interest in trains and the use of the railroad in postal history took his topical collecting in a different direction.   The following is a review of his presentation to the Rochester Club in January.

Continue reading Orient Express on Postage Stamps

Nowherelands: A Book Review

In winter I spend a little time with my second hobby: philately.  In addition to topical stamps bearing minerals and fossils, I also like to learn about forgotten and defunct places.  Often stamps help tell that story.  I am not alone with this interest among members of the Rochester Philatelic Association.  In October of 2015, Steve Eisinger entertained us with his presentation entitled “Confusing, Obscure, Bizarre and Defunct Countries – Their Coins and Stamps”:  fascinating stories about forgotten places.

And now, for all of us who enjoyed Steve’s presentation, there is a new philatelic book with the same theme. “Nowherelands- An Atlas of Vanished Countries 1840-1975”  reviews the history and geography of some 50 vanquished countries through the eyes of the country/kingdom’s stamp issues.  The author, Bjorn Berge, is a Norwegian philatelist with a keen interest in history, a tireless commitment to research, and a ability to craft a relevant and enjoyable story.

The book was first published in Norwegain in 2016 with  the title Landene som Forsvant.  In late 2017, an English translation became available online.

Bjorn Berge notes in his introduction, “The stamps serve as the core evidence, providing concrete proof that the countries did in fact exist.”   Countries such as Karelia (now part of Russia) that existed only for 17 days in 1922.  Not much time to form much of a government, but apparently enough time to issue a postage stamp (heck 15 of them!), thereby insuring its immortality, at least to philatelists.  Or the Kingdom of Two Sicilies which united the Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples from 1815-1860 and issued a set of stamps depicting the kingdom’s coat of arms stamps in 1858.  And then there is Inini, Biafra, Nandgaon, Obock, Upper Yafa, and this list goes on.   Each entry includes a map, a bit of history, and the story behind the designs of the stamps.

On the left: Scott #4 from Karelia (one of 15 stamps issued in early 1922). The raging bear breaking free of its chains depicts a republic willing to defy the Russians in establishing an autonomous country. Starvation and a frostbite cut the rebellion short. Those scribbles above the bear’s head: those are the northern lights!
On the right: Scott #3 issued in 1858 by the independent kingdom of Two Sicilies.

The book received a positive review by Phillip Coop in the January 2018 issue of The New CartoPhilatelist, the journal of the ATA Study Unit of Maps on Stamps, and by Angela Riechers in the online October issue of Print Magazine.  The 200 page book can be obtained from Amazon online for less than $20.

 Full reference:

Berge, Bjorn, 2017, Nowherelands – An Atlas of Vanished Countries, 1840-1975, Thames and Hudson, 200 p. (originally published in Norwegian in 2016)

Minerals, stamps, and Cobalt, Ontario

Once in a while I like to combine my two primary hobbies, philately (stamp collecting) and mineral collecting.  This is “once in a while” version 2017.  This summer I participated in two separate week-long trips to Ontario to collect minerals: once with the Niagara Peninsular Geological Society of St. Catharine’s, Ontario and once on the annual Wayne County Gem and Mineral Club Canada trip.  Now back home and with October baseball on TV, I decided to revisit my mineral finds and pictures from those trips and mix in a bit of philately.  This first installment focuses on the historic mining district of Cobalt, Ontario, a site visited on both trips.

Continue reading Minerals, stamps, and Cobalt, Ontario

Cypripedium Orchids on Stamps

As many of my friends know, I collect stamps as well as minerals and I enjoy thematic, or so called topical stamp collecting.  Naturally, my career in geology and my interest in minerals draws me to topics related to those categories.  But I also enjoy hearing how others merge their interests with other topics with the joy of philately.

To most of us they are lady slippers or simply orchids.  But to Paul Brach they are called Cypripedium orchids.  A specific genus or orchids of which there are 58 species, each with their own color, petal shape, stamen, and sepal design.  At the March 9th meeting of the Rochester Philatelic Association, Paul described all the features of these gorgeous flowers using the multitude of world-wide stamps that have been issued featuring Cypripedium orchids.  In addition to demonstrating his knowledge of these colorful orchids, Paul showed us his photographic prowess at capturing them on film.

Continue reading Cypripedium Orchids on Stamps

Gotthard Base Tunnel

My favorite rock hound club (Wayne County Gem and Mineral Club) loves to dig and we are always looking for new places to dig and new tools to use while digging.  But there are some folks in Switzerland that we must acknowledge have done a little more digging than us while deploying more sophisticated and larger tools.  In fact, they have been digging on the same project for 17 years.  And in June of 2016 they completed their mission.  All they had done was dig a 57 km (35 mile) railway tunnel through the Alps in south-central Switzerland: the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

All told this massive project removed 28 million tons of igneous and metamorphic rock (dominantly gneiss). That is enough rock to build a rectangular regular pyramid that is 5200’ high.  Think about that! At its deepest points the Alps tower more than 2000m (6500’) above the tunnel floor.

Continue reading Gotthard Base Tunnel

How Cool is This

A fellow member of the Rochester Philatelic Association likes to stimulate her Facebook friends by placing a theme word or phrase onto her Facebook Timeline each day and having her friends post philatelic responses.  Well, one day in late January her theme was simply “my town”.

I decided to seek out postmarks from the many locations I have lived.  Naturally, I started with my hometown of East Longmeadow, MA.  I opened Google Image Search and simply typed:  “East Longmeadow postmark”.  I was rewarded with a page of image snippets some of which actually met my intended search criteria.  About two rows down in the middle of the screen I saw this excellent and legible postmark atop the five cent 1964 John F. Kennedy stamp.  I hit enter.

Continue reading How Cool is This

Mushrooms on Stamps

Rochester Philatelic Association club member Paul Brach likes mushrooms.  If you are roaming a Monroe County Park you might spot Paul and his camera searching the forests and meadows for the biggest, the best, or the rarest fungi to photograph.  Like many of us with a “second” hobby, Paul augments his field and scientific interest in mushrooms by collecting them on stamps.  Paul shared his love of mushrooms with RPA members at our March 10th meeting.

Continue reading Mushrooms on Stamps

Pierre de Coubertin – Olympic Founder

This summer was an Olympic Summer and I am sure many of you watched Michael Phelps or Simone Biles or others compete in Rio de Janeiro.   For those who collect topical postage stamps, an Olympic year also brings a plethora of new stamps.  Rochester Philatelic Association member Carl Miller is an Olympics stamps enthusiast, but his philatelic interest is a specialty within the overall theme of the event.  Carl collects Olympic themed stamps that commemorate and depict Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics.  pierre2 Continue reading Pierre de Coubertin – Olympic Founder

South African Mineral Maxicards

A Maximum Card (often referred to as a  maxicard) is a  philatelic postcard with a postage stamp placed on the picture side of the card. The stamp and card match or in some way relate to each other.   Maxicards are officially released by many of the world’s postal services, but they are also generated personally by individuals combining a stamp issue with a simple souvenir postcard.   In most cases, the cancellation is also related to the image on the front of the card and the stamp.   

As a collector of minerals, mining and geology on stamps South Africa’s 1984 four-stamp set commemorating some of the country’s strategic resources was a fine add to my collection.  It was not until a couple of years ago, however, that I learned that the officially released Maximum Cards S10-S13 for these stamps featured geologic maps.  Not only would this satisfy another of my topical interests (maps on stamps), but as a retired geologist I found the inclusion of geologic maps on the “Maxicards” most interesting.  Thanks to a tip provided by a fellow member of The CartoPhilatelic Society on the club’s shared discussion site, I was able to purchase a complete set via an online source.

Now it seemed only fitting that I research the stamps and maps a bit.  This note will be constructed to accommodate both Philagems and The New CartoPhilatelist, newsletter of the Maps on Stamps Study Units, as the cards are equally collectible for members of both ATA study units.

Continue reading South African Mineral Maxicards

Obscure, Bizarre, and Defunct Countries

Over the course of the past couple decades, RPA Club member Steve Eisinger has assembled a rather interesting collection.  He collects stamps together with coins from tiny countries and enclaves around the world.  He keeps the stamps and coins together and organized geographically.  In October, Steve shared his collection with us with a presentation entitled “Confusing, Obscure, Bizarre, and Defunct Countries – Their Coins and Stamps”.

Continue reading Obscure, Bizarre, and Defunct Countries

Demographics of Stamp Collectors

Late last spring the Rochester Philatelic Association collected birthday information from its members.  No, the data has not been turned over to the NSA, the IRS, or even the APS, and your birthdays have not been, and will not be, posted on Facebook!  Rather, we thought it might be interesting to evaluate the demographics of stamp collectors.  Granted, we are a small club, and a regional one to boot, but there seems no reason to think that our little enclave of philatelic enthusiasts should be radically different from the overall population of collectors, or at least collectors who opt to join clubs.  So what did we learn?

demographics

The average age of the 88 members for which we obtained data (which was virtually everyone), was 70.7 years as of June, 2015.  A whopping 28 members, or almost one third of us, are over 75 years of age.  When portrayed in frequency format using 3 year increments, the modal population is 66-69 years old.  Our youngest member is 37 and she (note that pronoun, but that is a different demographic issue) just joined us this year.  We have/had only 3 members less than 51 years of age.  One just moved to South Carolina.  Ouch!

So those are facts, but what might this tell us, if anything?  Well, at first glance one might surmise that we are simply an aging group, destined to a slow but steady decline as the years and decades pass.  But one could argue that it might be more complicated than that.  Perhaps the fact that almost 40% of our members are between the ages of 63-72 just reflects the fact that folks turn to philately at/or near retirement.  Or that stamp collectors who are younger haven’t the time, or motivation, to join clubs such as ours until they retire.  Either way, it might be this demographic group (retirees or those approaching such) that the hobby, and clubs like ours, should target rather than thinking it can make significant inroads on attracting the 30 or 40 somethings who are busy working and raising families.

Of course, these are just my thoughts from an interesting data set.

Continue reading Demographics of Stamp Collectors

Fossils Tell Stories with Stamps

Fellow fossil collector and stamp collector Stephen Mayer wrote this piece for the May, 2015 WCGMC News and has permitted me to add the piece to my blog. Thanks, Stephen

In the WCGMC March 2015 Newsletter, Fred Haynes introduced a method of collecting minerals and gems in the winter when the ground was covered knee-deep in the white stuff.  Simply they can be acquired by collecting postage stamps. Fossil hunters shall not be left behind!  Fossils are also depicted on many postage stamps.  In fact, the American Topical Association (ATA) lists more stamps with fossils than minerals.  The ATA recognizes 3535 stamps from around the world depicting fossils ranging from diminutive invertebrates to enormous dinosaurs.

In 1982, the US commemorated fossil fuels with a stamp that included both a Carboniferous fern and a trilobite.
In 1982, the US commemorated fossil fuels with a stamp that included both a Carboniferous fern and a trilobite.

Continue reading Fossils Tell Stories with Stamps