New To The Forum - New To Stamps - Have Thousands

Good morning/afternoon folks,

My Grandfather turned 82 recently, he and wanted a grandchild to take over his stamp collection. "Grandchild" probably invokes images of teenagers, but I'm over 30. Being the history nerd of the family, like him, I was the natural choice. I have no idea what I am doing, but I think I have something special--if not valuable in dollars, valuable in historical weight.

A little back story, my grandfather grew up in the Washington, DC area. He was a bookworm and history buff. He was given the title of president of the Children's History museum at 12 or 13. Probably because he wouldn't leave the place. Prior to WWII (1930's), the Germans were on the market for a new embassy. The museum was their choice. And, by chance, the president of the museum needed to sign off on the deal. To entice the young "leader," they offered him the stamp collection. A massive stamp collection. They are from all over the world, and many of the countries are long gone or have been renamed/annexed by others. It seems that all of the rare and valuable stamps were located in other museums. I'm not sure if the post office museum was open yet. But, I am now in possession of the former children's museum stamp collection. I've googled this, and can't find a reference to back it up. He does have some convincing pictures. He continued collecting afterwards--bulk stamps by mail and such. I have done a cursory review of the stamps and determined that none of them are valuable enough for me to retire one (I'm certain that everyone who is passed a collection has done the same).

Anyways, that was a long story, and i'm sorry for the long read. But, I think it's fascinating. I hope to learn a lot here and share what I have with you folks. I also hope I've found a new hobby and believe that I will come to enjoy it as much as everyone here seems to.

Pictures to come.

Cheers

we love pictures !!

Good! I'll get on the pictures tonight.

Good, and welcome to the forum..HAVE FUN.

to the forum, Passthejam. Can't wait to see your photos.

Welcome to the fellow history nerd! My bachelor's degree is in history, which of course means that I make my living in sales I LOVE the history aspect of stamp collecting. There's no better or easier way to own a small piece of other times and places than stamps. You've come to the right place for news and advice you can use and for general philatelic discussion.

If your grandfather is 82 he was born in 1933, which would make him 12 or 13 in 1945. Was the 82 a typo?

A little back story, my grandfather grew up in the Washington, DC area. He was a bookworm and history buff. He was given the title of president of the Children's History museum at 12 or 13. Probably because he wouldn't leave the place.

disi,

The OP wrote that his grandfather was 12 or 13 in the 1930s because that's when the German embassy search led to the closing of the museum of which he was the 12-13-year old president. I was simply pointing out that if he just turned 82, he could not have been 12 or 13 in the 1930s. Either the grandfather is indeed82 years old and the German embassy story belongs in mid 1940s when he was 12 or 13 (impossible story, given what was going on in the world between 1940 and 1945) or the grandfather is older than 82 and the embassy story belongs in the 1930s.

Or none of the above.

Welcome, PasstheJam. This Community is a Post Grad MBA Program for anyone who enjoys stamps.
Some are big-time history buffs. Some enjoy the modern pop culture aspect. Others are amazed by the often beautiful graphics and images.
And some, like you, inherit a valuable historical link to their family's past heritage. You're very fortunate!
You'll find as I have in recent weeks that this Community is filled with very generous individuals who are happy to impart their wisdom.
Enjoy.