Zeps

Hi everyone.
I am new to the hobby in the sense that I just started back collecting stamps which I used to do when I was a young teenager. Now that my children are grown and my spouse has passed away, I decided to take up the hobby again.
I am now able to collect specimens that I used to dream of owning when I was young.
I am happy to have acquired unused specimens of the 50 cent Baby Zep and two of the Graf Zeppelin stamps which are also unused specimens.
I've included a photo of my latest acquistion, the $1.30 Graf Zeppelin (Scott # C14)
Nothing to brag about with respect to the acquisition of the stamp. Because of the state of our economy today it is a buyers market.

JamesA46, First welcome to the forum. Very nice zep! What all do you collect?

to the SCF. I hope you spend some time with us.

You have a prized possession. The Zeps are arguably the most popular US stamps. Collectors have certainly bid up their price over the years - even though they are a relatively abundant issue.

I'd certainly be proud to have your copy in my collection.

I focus on U.S. and currently attempting to collect all of the U.S. Airmails without it breaking my bank account. I learned when I was young that the best investment is on unused well centered specimens with OG. I don't care if they have remnants of previous hinging. That's just the way the hobby was years ago. Patience is the key. Wait until you finally come across one that meets your standards.
I believe in waiting until a nice copy appears instead of giving in and purchasing a lower grade specimen which at some point will disappoint. Of course one has to also be realistic and stay within a budget.

I have collected coins but never as a serious collector whereas on the other hand, I have also collected First edition books which I have done for many years and am still doing so. My main focus is on early Sci-Fi and John Steinbeck.
Thank you all.

Beautiful acquisition! I'm both envious and jealous! But I'm happy just to enjoy the pic. Thanks for posting such a nice resolution picture!

One note however -- a complete collection of US airmails, even very well-centered, should not be considered an investment. If you want to invest in stamps, you really need to be looking elsewhere. There is really only one US airmail that can be considered a good long-term investment, and that is the inverted Jenny (#C3a). If you can afford that, you probably aren't concerned about investing in stamps.

The real return is the joy of collecting. Focus on that, and any financial investment you make on stamps will give you an unbeatable rate of return!

More pics, please!

k

James,
Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Welcome to the group and back to collecting. Since you mentioned John Steinbeck, do you own The Grapes of Wrath? I am curious because I have a collection formed around Route 66 aka The Mother Road.

James,
welcome, and I'd be interested in knowing where you acquired your stamp.
I want to round out my zeps and those at the stamp club sale were
$$,$$$ for 3 MNH.... out of my budget.

I wish I could afford a set of Zeps. I only have the baby Zep. I especially want them because my last name is on those stamps. "Friedrich"

Welcome James
Beautiful Zep. Welcome to our wonderful forum.

Dianne

Here are my Zepps - all of these were bought on ebay over the last 10 years.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~adrion/zepps.jpg - hope this link works it is my first!

Link works fine and Zeps look great too.

Some of the guys here will be salivating over that $1.30 cover

KirkS

Nice acquisitions chasa, certainly a centerpiece for most collections.

Welcome James and you have a killer Zep there, great centering.

Hi JamesA46,

Welcome, I too love the Zeps and am thinking of adding one to my collection. To me they're some of thew coolest stamps around.

Thanks for sharing yours.

For now I'll have to settle for my Azerbaijan 513 Souvenir Sheet if I want to see a Zep in my collection. Thought I'd Share It.

Wow, some very nice Zeppelins posted here. They are at the top of my wish to have list as are most of the expensive US Air Mails.