European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 14 the stars and stripes thursday december 19, 1985 stamp Corner today s crossword stamp values have been declining by not k the release of this year s Scott Cata logs provides a reason to discuss stamp values. Volume i lists the United nations and us. And Brit ish Commonwealth countries volume ii lists Abyssinia to Funchal volume Iii lists Gabon id Oltre grub a and volume in Panama to Zambezi a. Prices for the Stamps of Germany Berlin and the various German states arc All Down. An example is the berlins a 9nb3a Michel Block 1 which lists at $650 unused Down from s1,200 in 1982. Stamps from the Netherlands arc also Down with some exceptions in the i947-4s Wilhelmina definitive. The Netherlands Antilles follow. He Lead of the Mother country. Stamps from Italy Lebanon and Luxembourg arc generally Down As Well As Are Spain and Portugal. Romania beat the trend however with increases in both classic and some newer 1979-80 issues. The question invariably asked is Why Are values going Down the answer lies in the non collectors who entered the stamp Market several years ago. Seeking new investments and consequently driving prices up. When they Cali cd that they were getting into something about they knew very Little they left in droves and the i ices of Stamps arc now returning to where they should a ivc been All along. A Poud example of this is the three classic . Zeppelin airmail be ci3-i5. Several years ago they carried a Price lag of $ 10,000 for the set at recent auctions he set could be picked up for Between $ 1,500 and 52,000. The Scott Cata logs sell for s20 per volume including he . Specialized volume due this month and can be special ordered through your local stripes Bookstore. About new issues new issues arc pretty Well designed and Well executed and although some have questionable need a Friend has suggested using a stamp Quantity population ratio As an indicator of this others Are quite legitimate. But stamp As collectable Are a commodity with values determined by Supply and demand. Why Are the classic issues so expensive because there were not that Many collector Back then and the Post offices of the world were Busy moving the mail not Selling Stamps. Sometimes More recent Stamps gain value because of special Corum stances. The . Zeppelins mentioned above were issued during the depression when few peo ple had the Money to buy them and thousands of unsold copies were destroyed. These Days however there Are generally More than enough Stamps to go around. The year packs offered by Many postal administrations offer an attractive and convenient Way to obtain a country s Stamps just As a new Issue service is an easy Way to get Stamps of a Given topic from one or More countries. Don t Ever look for a Large increase in value however not when the number of year packs and the quantities of Butterfly Stamps being produced and sold arc taken into account. Stamp collecting should be for fun a Hobby to relax with to learn about a country and its geography people and customs or All about a certain topic. Ken Wood editor emeritus of stamp collector has been writing on the future of stamp collecting. He notes thai philately and postal history offers a Vanclay to satisfy All desires and reflect All of Man s history and he says the flood of new collector oriented Stamps represents Only a very minor and unimportant portion of our Hobby if their production tapered off to that required for postal and political purposes the result would not be the death of the key is to learn about the various aspects of philately so that you do not become dependent on new issues and he associated cast but rather can enjoy the fun of stamp collecting with Only minimal investment. Incidentally a Sample copy of stamp collector is available by sending your name and address to them at Box 10, Albany. Ore. 97321. Annual sets having said All this Here is a listing of some More year packs available from various postal administrations. Just be aware that they Are by no Means an investment. Sweden offers two sets one with All the Stamps including examples of those released in Booklet Sand another with just Complete booklets. The first is order no. 8590.90, for 126 swedish Krona and the Booklet set is order no. 8560.90. And costs 143.30 Krona. Year sets from 1982. 1983 and 1984 arc also still available. Order from pea s-105 02 Stockholm. West Germany West Berlin Send orders with 89 Marks to the Versandi Stellon fuck Postert Kichun. Post Fach 2000, Dioso Berlin 12. Included in the set is a Black print Block of four of the Bettina von Arnim stamp released earlier this year. Denmark All Stamps released during 1985 arc Avail Able for 165.50 danish Krone or a set with just commom Ora Tives can be purchased for 84.10 Krone. Order from pos tons fila Teli radius Pladson 59, dk-1550 Kob Chavn v. Sets for 198 to i9g4arc also still available. Finland the 1985 set is on Sale for 55 finnish Marks. 1981 16 marks1982 36 marks1983 36 Marks and 1984 33 Marks can also be purchased. Send orders to the philatelic Center to Box 654, of 00101 Helsinki. Australia the year set comes it. A hard bound vol ume Complete with slip Case for a Cost of as33.95 aj29.95 if ordered before dec. 24. Last year s Book is also on Sale for as35.95. These arc outstanding vol Umes especially if you Are interested in the Stamps from Down order from the philatelic Bureau go Box 9988, Melbourne. Vic. 3001. Switzerland the Cost a 22 Swiss francs and the Alburn contains Solcs in French German italian and English. Send orders to Swiss put War Laufs Stallc ch-3030 Bern. Snips and bits an example of stamp offers which arc easily passed up the world s greatest car collection. Once Icse Stamps arc withdrawn from Sale. Their Price usually doubles. It s too Good to be True. Limited period All this in a Blurb for a series of Stamps from several Caribbean islands some barely inhabited featuring antique automobiles which were obviously released just for collectors. But that does t Stop the offerer. He would have you believe that you arc getting in on the ground floor of a fabulous investment Opportunity. The rotary on slumps study unit of the Ata has re leased a slide program entitled rotary International on the 140 slides feature More than 500 Stamps saluting the work of rotary and arc timed to be shown at a moderate Reading Speed of 24 minutes. For further information on the program George t. Mann 2940 Hanson st., fort Myers Fla. 33901. The Scott publishing company in recent years criticized for failure to keep its albums up to Date and especially for allowing the International to go out of print has announced a three year program to reprint and update its entire album line living up to promises made by the Amos press new owners of Scon. Of Spe Cial interest is the reprinting of the International parts a and in at 179.95 each covering the Stamps of the world from 1840 to 1940. The society of olympic collectors based in England publishes the. Quarterly journal Torch bearer which includes articles and took reviews and All the latest news and views on olympic themes. Membership is 4 pounds for those in the United kingdom 5 pounds for those in the rest of Europe and 6 pounds for everyone else. Contact John o borne 236 Becky , Kent a 14 4jh. Quentin Peters philatelic clerk at the Western Colo Rado philatelic Center in grand Junction Colo. 81501. Is trying to obtain names of people to be pen pals with beginning collectors in the fourth to sixth grades who Are members of the local Ben Franklin stamp clubs. Irmert Murilo to or. Shin Loose at Deh Svca in Ulm Apo Ami endow
