Join Our Team To Promote Kids Stamping

51Studebaker,

I tried that site awhile back and tried to get the plate numbers of the special delivery motorcycle stamps but there was no information. I also tried to send a message in the system about it, but I just got an error.

I really would like to hold a Durland in hand to get a better grasp of plate numbers as a whole then looking up individual stamps. In this case my primary interest rather than specific stamp issues.

dsmith,
Ah, you are correct. The plate number database does not currently have special delivery or other back-of-book issues in it yet. There is an older copy of Durlands (which will cover all special delivery issues) available on ebay for around $10.
Don

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Durland-Sta...AOSw9N1V2h-i br /

Thanks for the link, but I think 1975 is way too old. I've never seen a Durland in person, but it is my understanding that there's been a ton of corrections and updates. Hopefully I will run into someone with one from at least 2000. Sometime in 2016 (which is weeks away) the new edition of Durland comes out. Hopefully someone won't mind passing one of their old ones my way.

Asking if I would collect if I was able to get stamps for free made me think it would be really neat to be able to choose some stamps for free periodically and it reminded me of a hobby I really enjoy participating in - comic books. The comic book industry tries to get younger people to get involved in their hobby too. The first Saturday in May is always free comic book day. They have free comic books at most comic book shops and many libraries. There's also special events at many comic shops, you can cosplay (dress up as your favorite character), many times there are comic book artists who will do free sketches, last year I got to ride in the Rocket Car (a car built out of a spaceship off of an old amusement park ride) - it felt like you were in an actual ride. Here are some of the comic books I got last May:



The shop I went to had thousands of people of all ages lined up to chose their books. The shop handed out 25,000 free comic books.

In case you want to see more about what the comic book industry is doing, here is the industries Free Comic Book Day homepage:

www.freecomicbookday.com

I have a mid-2000s Durland available at no cost (if I can find it!). It's not the current edition but it's only 1 or 2 back. It may have a few pencil markings, but the price is hard to beat. Please send me a message.

dsmith,

Sounds to me like you have the stamp collecting bug :-)
You may not currently be in a position to pay money for books, or collectibles, but I urge you to keep
connecting with collectors, check out the nearest stamp clubs, and as Studebaker and others have pointed out, there ARE online resources for stamp collecting info. Use them and continue learning. That's what we collectors do!

And to help out, I'll send you a "starter" kit that will hopefully make it fun!

Quick question! What are young stamp enthusiasts called? In the coin world, we're called "YN"s, meaning "Young Numistmatists". What do you call young stamp collectors

RYP or Rare Young Philatelist

dcaraz1949 & paperhistory,

I want to thank you both for the offer of the books. I greatly appreciate it. I was reading the boards everyday, but about a week ago I had stopped - but thanks to your generosity I'm re-energized. I actually did a little happy dance when I read your posts.

I don't know if people name their collections, but I'm thinking of calling mine 'The Kindness of Others Collection'

Update:

I got the 2012 Durland from paperhistory and have probably studied it for over 40 hours by now and have also emailed him back and forth where he has been gracious at dispensing knowledge to me. The more I learn the more I realize the less I know. lol.

Also, I found a podcast called 'Stamp Show Here Today' If you never listened to a podcast before its just a brief radio show where people talk on a subject. It's has an old 1950s theme music, but in spite of that it's nice to chill back and listen to people talk about stamps vs reading books all the time.

Here is the link:

http://stampshowheretoday1.podbean.com/

Hi everyone,

Is anyone from this group going to AmeriStamp Expo in Altanta, GA January 29-31? http://stamps.org/Ameristamp-Expo-ASE. This is the annual APS Winter Show. If anyone would like to discuss philatelic education I will be there. Also, I'm doing two workshops. One is "I'm a Beginner, Not a Child" that focuses on helping adults entering our hobby. Also I'm doing a workshop on "Using Your Computer to Make Your Own Albums".

Michael Bloom, Chairman
APS Collector and Student Education Committee
World StampShow NY2016 Entry Level Adult and Youth

mbloom0947,

Are you planning to video the "I'm a Beginner, Not a Child" workshop an put it on youtube? As that is me - well, I'm more of a lost pre-collector trying to figure out what to collect. But would watch it if available.

Hi DS. I will ask APS to video the class. Actually, this is kind of a test run because I have not given this workshop before and I have scheduled myself to teach four sessions of it at World Stamp Show NY2016. I do have a Power Point for the presentation so you can see what ground is being covered. *** Edited by Staff - Please Review the rules that you agreed to when you registered. ***

DS...
Look for some collecting goodies to arrive your end Thursday or Friday.

Happy New Year!

dcaraz1949,

Wanted to let you know I received your package today. I find myself really drawn to the handful of foreign stamps you included. The Gorilla stamp from Ruanda/Urundi is my favorite! I texted a photo of it to a friend and she texted back 'Oh wow.'

Having exposure to stamps in hand is very different then looking at pictures on the internet or in books. I'm going through sensory overload at the moment.

Thank you once again

The Gorilla stamp (my first for the zoo animal collection!) in case others want to see it: