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Stamps and flight have both had roles in state propaganda machines at various times and never more so than in Italy in the 1930’s. Bennito Mussolini came to power in the early 1920’s and one of the goals of Italian fascism was to increase the Italian sense of identity as a way of uniting the…
I don’t ordinarily write articles about stamp investment basically for two reason. First, I don’t think that stamps have been a particularly good investment over the last thirty years. Certainly, the stock, bond, and real estate markets have done better. Also, stamps need to be carefully stored and can lose their value, if not properly…
Iran is not just a political pariah; it is a philatelic one as well. From an interest point of view, the stamps of Iran should be popular. The first issues, called the Lions (after the Shah’s royal seal) are interesting with many rarer shades and varieties and types. And the post-1930 issues are well designed…
I recently came across an old box of early US stamps that had been assembled in the 1920’s by an attorney. I questioned the family carefully. Had their Grandfather been a stamp collector? Not to their knowledge. Good. Why did he throw 1920s mint commemoratives in this box? The reply was that he sent out…
The great stamp speculation of the late 1970s, which saw worldwide stamps at least double in price in less than five years, had a precursor in the mid 1960s. The European stamp speculations that were then the driving force in worldwide price increases had a basis in reality. After World War II, Europe was devastated….
There is an unfortunate hobby arc that goes like this. A wealthy person decides that he wishes to be an enthusiast, buys an enormous amount of gear, and loses interest before he has gotten any of the real enjoyment out of his new whim. This is the fly fisher who has all the latest Orvis gear or…