What Does Your Customised Avatar Mean?

Many of us have customised avatars. In an unrelated thread today, Rohumpy asked me about mine. Below is the explanation (which would otherwise get lost) but first I wll ask you: "what does your customised avatar mean?"

My customised avatar is the so-called Minerva issue for southern Africa, named after Minerva's head on the vignette. She was the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy (so says Wikipedia).

In 1894 it was suggested by the Colonial Office in London that the Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal should all issue stamps of equal colour and value. De la Rue submitted a colour scheme using these "Africa" essays whilst others were handpainted for the individual colonies. The Cape and Natal adopted the scheme, but agreement could not be reached with Transvaal and O.F.S. The Cape Wars and subsequent union of the South African provinces in 1910 put an end to the experiment.

They are all imperforate on unwatermarked wove, in four different colour combinations (dull green and brown-orange, dull and bright purple, dull green and violet, and dull green and carmine), each on both uncoated ordinary and chalk surfaced paper.

My avatar is a composition of two stamped envelopes that had been misfed into the press such that the embossed impression overlapped both envelope blanks. I found both envelopes, separate of each other, in a dealer's stock. I was delighted when I found they fit as one picture.

Needless to say, I'm an EFO fan(atic).

My avatar shows me at the 1988 Studebaker National Meet in South Bend Indiana in my two owner 1951 Champion. The show was held in the parking lot of the Studebaker National Museum. The Museum is a wonderful resource, even for those who do not collect Studebakers. Many people do not realize that Studebaker celebrated their 100 anniversary in 1952. (Studebaker was established as a wagon and carriage manufacturer by 1852.) The Museums The Presidential Carriage Collection is superb and worth the visit by itself. You can learn more on their website http://www.studebakermuseum.org/

The car in my avatar, and also my 1956 Hawk, were both in the film 'Dirty Dancing' shot here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. My wife likes to remind me that this was the only time I made money on the cars instead of spending it on them.

Mine is a fun jab at some collectors who seem to value the gum more than the actual stamp image.I once posted an image of MNH stamps displayed gum side in mounts and actually had some question if I really collected stamps for the backside.

My avatar comes from a Special Delivery messenger badge that was my grandfather's from the late 1920's to early 1930's in Gadsden, Alabama.

No one seems to have had enough courage to ask before now. The avatar is a perforation sampler made from an imperforate Scott 368. It is not a perforation variety missing from some catalog. But it is one of a kind.

Clark

Battlestamps - here is a curiosity. I have many friends who live in two villages in the UK: Great Gaddesden and Little Gaddesden. I wonder if your grandfather's Gadsden and these two UK villages are related in some way?

Tim H Thanks for the info. It is an intriguing what might have been

Tim H. - I looked it up and they are actually not related. The town is named after Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina, later to become famous for negotiating the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.

My avatar is from my set of 1948 stamps from Sommerfeld, Germany, a town in the Soviet occupied area in the Potsdam (36) district. The town was probably a wide spot in the road in 1948 so although the stamps are genuine, it is most likely that my set was made for collectors. Regardless, I like this set not only because I collect Soviet Occupied Germany but also the town, Sommerfeld, is basically my last name, Sommerfeldt.

These stamps are called "Bezirkshandstempel". With an unexpected revaluation of the currency on June 21, 1948, all the current stamps were demonetized. There was not enough time for the Soviet authorities to design and print a new series of postage stamps. The post offices were instructed to apply their local hand stamp, a "Bezirkshandstempel" on stamps sold from their existing stock to indicate that the new rate was paid. These stamps were only valid until a new series of overprints was issued on July 3, 1948.

With 20 denominations of stamps, different colors of hand stamp ink and a unique hand stamp from every post office in Soviet Occupied Germany, it is estimated that there are over 30,000 possible different stamps in this series.

Dan

My avatar shows the RMS "Segwun" that is based at the town of Gravenhurst. This steamer was built in the mid 1880s and is still in operation to this day. It does scenic cruises on the lakes in Muskoka.

"Segwun" in Ojibwe means "Springtime"

Up to a few years ago, postcards and letters were cancelled from the RMS Segwun. However, for the past 4 or 5 years, postcards and letters are now cancelled with the inscription "MUSKOKA FLEET" in the cancellation.

I keep checking periodically to see if the cancellations have had any changes.

Chimo

Bujutsu

There's no special meaning to mine, I just like the stamp. Germany is my main collecting area and this just happens to be one of my favorite designs. This one is Scott C36, the middle value of a 1928-31 airmail series. The same series was also overprinted for Zeppelin flights to South America, the North Pole, and Chicago, making a total of 11 major Scott numbers for the series, some of which are fairly expensive.

This is a very neat thread. Good idea, Tim H!

My avatar represents my entry into "serious" revenue collecting. I borrowed $125 from a friend to buy it from Richard Friedberg at the World Columbian Stamp Expo in Chicago in 1992. It was the first time I had ever spent that much for one stamp, and it was a long time before I could do so again (it's still a big deal for me). Anyway, I do have a few more valuable revenues now, but this one remains one of my all-time favorites.

My avatar is the first stamp issued in Chile.
It was printed in London by Perkins, Bacon & Co., and issued on July 1, 1853.

John Adams was my 7x-great grandfather. There are other stamps that show him but I like this one. When David McCullough's book about Adams came out I got a really close look at his prominent nose...I've been told all my life that I wear the "Adams nose". My mother's maiden name is Adams.

Well, I didn't have one before now, though I've planned to request one for some time. So now I have. I collect US airmail and aviation themed stamps and covers, so it seems fitting to use as an avatar the first stamp to ever feature an airplane on it, the 1912 US 20 cent Parcel Post stamp (Scott Q8).

Basil