Has This Hobby Gone Crazy? (Souvenir Sheets)

Family,

I am newly back in the hobby and have been writing about my progress "filling holes" from the 1920's to the 1980's. I am now well into the 1990's and am astounded by the quantity of stamps issued by the post office each year. The problem is exasperated by those so-called Souvenir Sheets. It effectively doubles or even triples the quantity (and cost) of stamps annually issued. Why did this happen? Was there an outcry? What is so interesting about a sheet that has 8-20 identical stamps on it? I am compelled to fill those "holes" in my MYSTIC albums, but I feel like a ten year putting stickers in a coloring book. Does anybody else feel this way?

Jack Kelley

In 1971 I bought the first mint set issued by the USPS. I kept buying them year after year. In 1992 they changed from a soft cover pamphlet to a hard cover book. Then they kept getting thicker and more expensive. I gave it up after 1999. Seems like they just try to sell as many collectible items as possible. After all, if they sell a stamp that isn't going to get used for postage it is just like printing money.

Just tear out the offending pages, no one will ever know.

I never buy anything designed specifically to be sold to collectors as a collectible item. I am only interested in stamps issued and available for postal use, or stamps that have been so used, either off paper, on piece, and, very occasionally, on cover.

Terry

Well, I've committed myself thru thru 1999. Almost there. After that, its a crap shoot. I'm either going to continue (reluctantly), or go and begin working on the pre-1920 era (Washington-Franklins). My initial objective was to complete the collection all the way to the present and then go back if time permitted. At my age, I'm running out of time! And I want to leave a well organized and well presented set of albums before I go.

Jack Kelley

When the Mississippi River becomes the Mississippi Delta, we stop calling it a river, and start calling it a delta.

Feel free to collect the river, and stop before the delta, swamp, marsh ...

Q/ Do you imagine anybody ever tearing their hair out because you eschewed the goofy USPS ephemera?

If 'yes', think of it as leaving them some easy work to do completing the collection.

We should live to see the day that anybody (but our colleagues) care whether/not we included the proliferations.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

There's a reason that I stopped collecting new U.S. issues in 1993. I don't have to deal with getting screwed by the ever-increasing number of stamps aimed directly at collectors, I don't have to worry about the souvenir sheets and I can entirely ignore the self-adhesive stamps, except for the first one in 1974.

I consider it a win-win situation.

I am already well into the 1990's. I may stop at 12/31/1999 and let my successors deal with it. It may be fortuitous to look back and concentrate on the pre 1920 issues.

Jack Kelley

If you think the number of souvenir sheets the USPS puts out is too many, you should take a look at other countries. There are MANY that put out far more than the U.S. does, and in some cases the souvenir-sheete releases dwarf the non-souvenir-sheet releases by a large margin.

It's a global trend, not just the U.S.

That's true, if you look at countries like Japan, there are tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of them. But that's my wife's bailiwick, not mine. :)

Japan doesn't even come remotely close to what China has been putting out in souvenir sheets, so much so that no stamp catalogue publisher even attempt to catalogue these sheets any more. As revenuecollector says, this is a global trend.

BTW, what's wrong with having a lot of souvenir sheets anyway? One collects what one likes, and ignores the rest. It's that simple. Many collectors of souvenir sheets are topical collectors; most collect for fun and amusement, not for profits. Besides, souvenir sheets are more likely to get young people attracted to stamp collecting than regular stamps.

The supplement from stampalbums.com ("Steiner Pages") for Mozambique for just the year 2011 is 233 pages. There appears to be one lone single stamp issued (for Chinese New Year) and every other page is for souvenir sheets, many pages with 2 souvenir sheets to a page. I can't imagine the outlay just to buy them all at face value, and I can't imagine there are many that try. Those sheets are all aimed at topical collectors, anyway, and not people who want to complete a country. I don't collect US, and my main area of focus right now (Germany) typically only issues 2-3 sheets a year, and they're usually with a relatively low face value, thankfully. But I feel your pain.

I cut off at the year 2000 in U.S. and 2005 in Canadian.

TinMan,

I read somewhere where you were looking for Showguard Mounts. I have saved a bunch for you if you want them. Free. They are leftovers from my Harris to MYSTIC conversion.

Jack Kelley
jkelley01938ATyahoo.com

As a collector of US stamps for over 50 years, I faced the same concerns. As a child, it was a thrill to wait a month for the next new issue. I could pluck down my quarter at the Post Office and walk away with a nice plate block and single. Today, with new issues almost a weekly event, and the cost being what it is...its just not the same. I also cut off my own collection @ 2000 and now work backwards. Its more enjoyable to invest in adding a classic old stamp than to invest just to keep my collection going.

The real issue is what do YOU want in your collection....just have fun collecting what you like!

I like them - but that's just me.

Picked up a lot of the mid 2000s through 2011 recently very inexpensively due to a poor ebay description. Probably wouldn't have bought them unless the deal was right but I do like them.