tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88825501344240536762024-02-06T19:27:48.269-08:00Toivo Kikkas PhilatelyMy stamp collectingToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-47122698273927148222012-10-27T02:45:00.002-07:002012-10-27T02:45:53.839-07:00How scarce this really is?Hi,<br />
<br />
From The Estonian Philatelist site www.efur.se one can read about "Some of the rarities in Estonian philately"<span style="color: #333333;"><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Summary
of an article by Vambola Hurt in Eesti Filatelist #24-25, 1979)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weaver
Issue 2 1/2 Mk.<br />
It is today practically impossible to find any item of this stamp
printed on horizontally ribbed paper, specially in mint condition.
It is known to exist only in very few collections.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />Possible the date of publishing got something to do with the fact that the price does not reflect in the handbook issued later by Hurt and Ojaste.<br />
Still the question remains for me - how scarce it is today, in mint and used condition?<br />
<br />
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<br />ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-53367244168257461302012-10-15T02:01:00.000-07:002012-10-15T02:01:52.521-07:00Soviet 1969 Repin on fluorescent paperHi,<br />
<br />
I remembered seeing this stamp, 1969 Repin 10kop value with Hovest guarantee for sale on German eBay years ago. Michel 3653y, price -.- In regular Michel 2009, it's the only one I can see from the 1960s being listed. <br />
It would appear this is one of the UV paper stamps I have. Among many others I have now discovered, since I started to study them this month. <br />
<br />
I've never really found a good explanation on how Soviet stamps were printed and reprinted during 1960s. I think I had read they were printed in different places but I'm curious if it applied for the same issue or did printing workshops just change over the years.<br />
<br />
It's still interesting that one set can have some stamps on UV paper and others on normal paper.<br />
<br />
Anyone know more about this subject? Anyone know if new Michel Spezial has more of papier fl. varieties listed?<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
Toivo <br />
ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-55804891651351242462012-10-08T11:59:00.002-07:002012-10-08T11:59:33.254-07:00Soviet Union stamps - UV paperGreetings, <br />
Something new to study after a summer - Soviet Union stamps on fluorescent paper.<br />
One might think these are not very uncommon considering the printing numbers and stamps issued.<br />
But it doesn't appear to be so once you take a closer look.<br />
<br />
What renewed my interested after a long time was recent auction of David Feldman. There, a pair of mint 6kop definitives, 1966 issue, was realised for 130 Euros. I hadn't put much time in examining my stockbooks and thought this could be a worthwhile adventure. So with a UV lamp in one hand and tweezers in other, I dived into the albums in my darkened room ...<br />
<br />
I did find 4kop of the same definitive series on UV paper but not 6kop. Unlike other stamps on UV paper, this one glowed quite green. Sadly, I know of now way to show my discovery.<br />
Today I took another look at this subject, after being reminded by a friend collector to check Zagorsky catalogue for reference. On a sidenote, Soloviev did list 4kop on UV paper but somewhy for nearly the same price as ordinary paper.<br />
<br />
After examining catalogue and my stockbooks, I found atleast two early issues on UV paper.<br />
Both from 1965. One is Antarctic ships, 4kop se-tenant (printed together in a pair). Since I got a set of these in quarter blocks from other source recently, I could confirm the stamps I have are not on ordinary paper.<br />
Second one is Heroic City Odessa. Both are listed in Zagorsky. Unfortunately atleast in 2006, there are no prices for UV papers.<br />
Third discovery is our own Estonian theme, song festival. It would appear all the stamps I have of this issue are on UV paper. <br />
<br />
This seems quite interesting field to pursue. Downside is that it's real difficult to show your finds. You also need a portable UV lamp and a dark room. On upside, this subject has a lot of potential in the future in my honest opinion. Anyone can discover such stamps from their collection if they only bother (discovering them at collectors fair or via eBay isn't possible though, unless you buy them from a trustworthy source). They ain't too common I'd guess but there are more possible paper varieties of this kind out there than Zagorsky lists.<br />
And most UV papers ain't listed in any major catalogues at all. One could easily build a specialised collection of these far before any specialised catalogue with prices is published, making it a good investment as well as a fun subject in this interesting hobby.<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-6722185279812186232012-03-10T23:55:00.002-08:002012-03-11T00:05:52.164-08:00Pricing of modern Estonian stamps in catalogsRecently I've had many trades and people keep asking from me for a modern used Estonia, of course what most miss from their collections are commemoratives. Especially recent few years when usage of mail and printing numbers have droped considerably.<br /> I can imagine this is pretty much the same with all the tiny or small countries in Europe and elsewhere.<br />Somewhere in philatelic forum Stampboards.com I saw a mention that there are dealers in existance who charge four figures per KG of certain small countries kiloware.<br /><br />And now to the question - isn't pricing in Michel, SG, Scott quite off the reality? I can completely understand that there is NO way creators of these catalogs would know the philatelic situation of every or any small country. But in such case as pricing does not reflect the reality, should catalogs be used at all for modern stamps of small countries?<br /> I can only speak for stamps of my country. Also don't have Y&T modern, only classic. So maybe situation it's different there.<br /><br />Let me give you a couple of examples. 1997 issue, coin on stamp, 100kr (krooni/crowns) face value.<br />SG302 £8.50 mint £4.25 used.<br />Sc363 $17 for both<br />Michel 346, both €14<br /> Face value of 100kr is a bit over 6 euros, 5 pounds, about 9 USD.<br />Printing number 51800.<br /> Now, as for rates... you really couldn't use it much. Only for very heavy parcels send aboard. In my years I have used only<br />ONCE 100kr stamp. Because it couldn't be used for any inland rate I've never seen it on any parcel, naturally. As for mint - you can just order it at the face value from Post (unless they've sold out by now).<br /><br />Perhaps such stamp is not very good example to reflect the general situation as it could be used so scarcely. Yet, 50kr value coin stamp, much more likely to be used is 10€ in Michel, £2.50 in SG, $8.50 in Scott as used. Quite absurd pricing in SG. Half of the face for such a high denomination?<br /> Scott and Michel are a bit closer to realism. Both price used stamps at about double of face value.<br /><br />I do not have catalogs for 2009-11 but I bet stamps there are still priced at the best on double of face value.<br /> Yet in 2009 there was one issue, Alexander's Cathedral with printing number of only 30000. It was sold out extremely fast, from what I know most of it fell into the hands of philatelists. Estonian Post also sends quite a bit of any stamp issued aboard. Plus there are year packages. So many small Post Offices never got this stamp. I'm not sure if I've seen at all any commercially used covers. Even mint is scarce, as demand was so high. It sold easily for up to 6-7 times of face value and at the very least 2-3 of face. Yet, no doubt it will be priced at double of face value in catalogs. As would be any issues of recent years, which all have much lower printing amounts than before 2009. All commemoratives now get printed by 50000 compared to the earlier 100000 and higher.<br /><br />And let's not forget how much stamps get commercial usage. Most clerks and business workers will gladly put on peel-and-stick definitives. Besides atleast in Estonia, billing has moved more and more into the web. Not to mention that common folk only send letter or postcard once per year, during Christmas, using... you got it, Christmast stamps!<br /><br /> Indeed quite many issues are priced seemingly unfairly. 1991-1993 inflation period stamps... everybody bought sheets of them, perhaps fearing Estonia will not last very long as independent country and hoping these will become scarce. Collectors aboard also thought the same and paid high prices for the first definitive set. Yet most of these stamps can be now very valuable on letters and hard to find as used. I do not see this in catalogs pricing though.<br /><br /> Perhaps more realistic would be localy produced catalog. Hopefuly this year a new catalog by Mart Aru will be published here. This time much more complex, with colored photos and up to date pricing.<br /><br />And as for pre-war Estonia, it can also be said only in recent years Michel has started to give a proper pricing to certain issues. But Scott and especially SG do not list certain important types or have them significantly undervalued. For example 1940 issues, scarcely used before Estonia was incoroprated into the USSR and started to use Soviet stamps.<br /> I hope that one day they will ask from Estonian collectors for some input.ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-83886613209218196782012-02-23T05:40:00.000-08:002012-02-23T05:42:31.982-08:00Estonia Inflation 1991-93 Part II<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd2WrHrfaAKJTzrp6xlJqTJfWiH1kd-eWcWT1xprUqcuvYwJM3gFqHch-vqjjHfllW1sZBDoMmlSPMD1Gy_FlPMWffiRYEjt4OSyPrCmybQ6SpOgx_0jfNPbolAPaT46K8haHY6VHcv1y/s1600/30kop+10x.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd2WrHrfaAKJTzrp6xlJqTJfWiH1kd-eWcWT1xprUqcuvYwJM3gFqHch-vqjjHfllW1sZBDoMmlSPMD1Gy_FlPMWffiRYEjt4OSyPrCmybQ6SpOgx_0jfNPbolAPaT46K8haHY6VHcv1y/s320/30kop+10x.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5712326026167959074" border="0" /></a><br />Inland rate was raised again already on 15th of January 1992. Regular letter raised from 20 kopecks to 60 and registered from 70 kopecks to 420 kopecks (4 roubles 20 kopecks, 6x raise). A lot of stamps were required on envelope to get together correct rates.<br /><br />As a sidenote, at the worst period Estonia had 300% hyperinflation!<br /><br />Another new rate came in 16th of March 1992. Inland regular letter 1 roubles (100 kopecks), registered to 10 roubles (1000 kopecks). But rates for foreign destionations were raised considerably more. Regular letter more than 20 times, from 90 kopecks to 2000 kopecks! In addition, registering fee was raised. New zones were introduced, A and B zone, with a double difference in rates.<br /><br />New stamps were introduced on the same day rates were raised. These stamps were with letter nominations - PPE, PPR, PPI, PPA.<br />1 rouble, 10R, 20R, 40R. These were mainly meant for foreign shippements. But even here unless letter was regular 20gr weight, additional stamps were required.<br /><br />In 20th of June 1992 there was a currency reform. I still remember the suprise and confusion - in the end, since only a certain amount of soviet currency was allowed to be exchanged per person, our family was starting at the pile of roubles left over on a table in awe and shock.<br />Soviet currency became invalid and a new currency was kroon. Rate was 1/10 in favor of kroon. Which meant all nominations of previous rouble-value stamps fell 10 times. New nominations came in usage - 0.5, 1, 1.5, 3 senti (cents) etc.<br />Considering rates of regular letter, 10s and registered letter 1KR, these stamps became insignificant with their franking ability.<br />Another set of letter stamps were introducted on the same day with a currency reform.<br /><br />Two days later, on 22nd of June, a set of three semi-postal stamps of Barcelona Olympics were issued.<br /><br />These stamps had no currency indicator. In addition to charity value, lack of this created confusion in people. Green, 3.00+1.50 value was printed in smaller quantity, became deficit and was speculated with.<br /><br />In the end of 1992 summer more letter-stamps were issued. Three PPX (franking 10s) and three PPZ (franking 30s).<br />In 15th of November 1992 inland rates were raised again, especially concerning regular letter rate which tripled, from 10s to 30s.<br />But already on 1st of January 1993, inland regular letter rate was raised even more.<br />All of these stamps shown and mentioned became invalid in 1st of July 1993.ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-22201460602433258262012-02-23T05:29:00.000-08:002012-02-23T05:33:06.992-08:00Estonia 1991-93: Inflation, rates and frankingOn 1st of January, 1991 new postal rates were implemented in Estonian Soviet Republic. Postal rates went higher considerably, cost of inland regular letter rose from previous 5 kopecks to 15 kopecks (3x raise) and inland registered letter from 10 kopecks to 65 (6,5x raise). With this new price list Estonian SSR separated from a large Soviet postal service and a new, independent postal area was created, which was administrated by government office Eesti Post.<br /><br /> But the use of Soviet stamps and stationery was continued because own stamps and other postal items (for example stationery) were lacking. Larger rates soon created a deficite of stamps. Envelopes, Soviet produced stationery were in satisfactory quantities<br />at first but their franking was only 5 kopecks. Many older stationery were used with 4 kopecks nominal and also new Soviet stationery with 7 kopecks rates. Cut outs (squares) of additional stationery were used to get together proper rates.<br />Also handmade envelopes were used.<br /><br /> Next raise of rates came in 1st of July, 1991. Inland regular and registered letter rates were raised each by another 5 kopecks.<br /> Estonia became independent in 20th of August 1991 and from this period onwards, cooperation with USSR, meaning no additional stamps of stationery of USSR were received.<br />In 1st of October 1991 first set of Estonian stamps were issued, with two additional stamps to this set issued in 1st of November.<br /><br /> In total, eleven stamps with different nominations were issued in 1991. But they were not available enough in Post Offices, although large printing numbers were large (26 440 000 total). Larger nominations were deficite.<br /><br /> Before new year, in 15th of December 1991 rates to foreign destinations were raised. And another change in addition - from the 1st January of 1992, all Soviet stamps and stationery became INVALID. All of this created problems and confusion.<br /><br />To be continued ...ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-24162695044161698902010-08-15T07:55:00.000-07:002010-08-15T07:58:31.892-07:00Russian stamp designs, essaysI'm looking for any information regarding Russian stamp essays. I can rarely find any in catalogues, usually these are unadopted designs.<br />I'm curious as some essays by famous Russian stamp designer Anatoly Kalashnikov have turned up here. Anatoly Kalashnikov designed dosens of postage stamps and hundreds of envelope designs. If anyone knows anything (numbers of designs in existance, their rarity etc) please contact me.ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-24772754110034765172010-08-14T02:08:00.000-07:002010-08-14T02:10:58.062-07:00CoA comparision of normal and Error stamp 5s<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOd5MeJTe9XLDevIrm1m4S1jpeTAmllJrZE6SxchEOEsdxq-WsHKmvOlR4Y1bdljfQqEv0DkkC3rPbPj85LtXeBXepnU13U8RtOCb2Bm0wSjFpGZroWNDshKmoQXMlbtwnekKrkpHBsdr/s1600/CoAnormAndError.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOd5MeJTe9XLDevIrm1m4S1jpeTAmllJrZE6SxchEOEsdxq-WsHKmvOlR4Y1bdljfQqEv0DkkC3rPbPj85LtXeBXepnU13U8RtOCb2Bm0wSjFpGZroWNDshKmoQXMlbtwnekKrkpHBsdr/s320/CoAnormAndError.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505190527500591650" border="0" /></a><br />I scanned a picture of normal 5s with protective network to compare it with error stamp on the right. Protective network lacks on some of proofs but then proofs are imperforate. Notice the difference of shades - various shades and papers of various printings offer a chance for detailed study. Simplified, there are thick and thin paper.ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-72564857576428382702010-08-14T00:45:00.000-07:002010-08-14T00:49:10.675-07:00New Estonian 5s CoA Error discovery<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y-F1JLrsCtYWLRo2e9ioAduTErw_fviJ8H3fXt8l3FnQTaGh3Bumf_3j9Pfwqe3tcxQLrDEd5px-Z4X6AITi0Pdu9Ju1zSu257o-RQz1jIg1xhUc5iKWitOlQoAngm2lqNeEI5yMOsDF/s1600/vapp+v%C3%B5rgutax.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y-F1JLrsCtYWLRo2e9ioAduTErw_fviJ8H3fXt8l3FnQTaGh3Bumf_3j9Pfwqe3tcxQLrDEd5px-Z4X6AITi0Pdu9Ju1zSu257o-RQz1jIg1xhUc5iKWitOlQoAngm2lqNeEI5yMOsDF/s320/vapp+v%C3%B5rgutax.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505169379757288674" border="0" /></a><br />Important discovery has been made with Estonian Coat of Arms (first issued 1928) 5s value. Stamp has missing network. It has not been recorded before and after asking expert he said he has never seen it although he has found 20s and 40s value with network missing. I'm interested wether anyone has to add information to this.ToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-54369470515307970442010-08-02T01:08:00.000-07:002010-08-02T02:27:28.056-07:00Nice Russian error<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxnac35HDYMUcnveJYarGsbTqpruZHfc73c7vSdekWUn4-UYwYjBzkLhQmEN2y-qLiLnzffDMrNXHE1hyM9lQbLIs5CHhwEacdrVpN_ALOhYMuGvp1bPOgG1VAEHTNqseSJoUMWO5GDix/s1600/muinasjutuviga1969x.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 89px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxnac35HDYMUcnveJYarGsbTqpruZHfc73c7vSdekWUn4-UYwYjBzkLhQmEN2y-qLiLnzffDMrNXHE1hyM9lQbLIs5CHhwEacdrVpN_ALOhYMuGvp1bPOgG1VAEHTNqseSJoUMWO5GDix/s320/muinasjutuviga1969x.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500741749992606994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2Kix4NUZSwuhKm1stlObcfBufF-p1tFKbfqWi212rvstlSpFCGlydrD8TvBPzppHTqgvbjc9c0pLVzEWOgnvlKhps6DfJ7NeKenYwAbueWQKjlftTQnmCwiGTCKt3y9sYQvrUFJrFlXg/s1600/muinasjutt69viga.jpg"><br /></a><br />This arrived today, picked up from the auction. It's Russian 1969 fairy tales set in a strip of five with a missing perforation at the right side. Such errors are seldom found and this one is listed in Zagorsky 2009 catalogue along with other variations of missing perforation for this issue. Some have argued the printing quality of Russia was poor but I dare to differ. Indeed misperfs, preprint folds and missing perfs are to be found on several issues throughout the Soviet era but not on all of them.<br /><br />I have found errors to be very attractive since I took my first steps with philately. I have also spent a great many hours looking for varieties, plate flaws and not only on Russian stamps. While such major error easily caughts the eye many smaller flaws demand more patience.<br /><br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-83273668075177265902010-07-25T04:03:00.000-07:002010-07-25T04:04:21.054-07:00Collecting postal history of my hometown, OtepääHi,<br />I've been interested in my hometown postal history since I got interested in philately. I guess main reason is my general interest in history and history of my hometown.<br />I live in small town, Otepää. First post office opened here in 1895 but prephilatelic covers exist. At old times before it became town it was called Nuustaku and Nustago.<br /><br />Those of you who collect German Occupation issues have probably heard of Otepää stamps, scarce and expensive mostly, printed in small quantities and used very briefly.<br /><br />Besides seeking and studying material I have also started to actively research deeper background of local post. During the World War 2 most of the town was destroyed, burned down. Where were post office buildings before and shortly after war? What did they look like? These are questions not easily answered as it turned out. But it's fun to hunt for information and do a little detective work.<br /><br />It turns out there are many ways to collect postal history. You can just collect items, you can study and research them deeper. But you can also try to find out about where post office has been in the past (if it's not public knowledge, written in the books readily available), who were working there, when and why postmarks changed etc.<br /><br />For example in 1992 when Estonian Post did no longer accept stamps of Soviet Union and there was not enough of new Estonian stamps interesting things started to happen. Even large post offices encountered periodical problems. Smaller offices had bigger problems more often. Because of this and for the lack of various provisional issues, such as lack of stationery with machine surcharges, payment in cash markings were used (written by hand). It appears during first four months Otepää post office had several occasions where they lacked any other type of payment notifications. Sometimes they received some provisionals, sometimes they had to mark payment by hand. Such covers commercially used are (and I dare use the word!) rare. I own one and have seen five more and know atleast 2-3 collectors have them in their collection but other than that noone seems to have any for sale or trade or in collection. Several other smaller post offices had to choose the same route.<br /><br />More of this in the future, with some examples from my collection.<br /><br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-20419098572868804762010-07-24T21:17:00.000-07:002010-07-24T21:29:11.136-07:00Modern stamps depicting Hitler on auction<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLabkGRLM3Ejj1lZ7cDQqMhlLec7wLFXSQKo48BW7WfxW8t0t1aB9s6uSZS_7GC8B4tfr6JVNLcwJbk7rikQryXX8pGYQpK5osWphCsiOgi6bEekZq3tEuEG4xbz8keuQrPHYOH4ketuRh/s1600/hitlerstamps.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLabkGRLM3Ejj1lZ7cDQqMhlLec7wLFXSQKo48BW7WfxW8t0t1aB9s6uSZS_7GC8B4tfr6JVNLcwJbk7rikQryXX8pGYQpK5osWphCsiOgi6bEekZq3tEuEG4xbz8keuQrPHYOH4ketuRh/s320/hitlerstamps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497696185434869426" border="0" /></a><br />Hi,<br /><br />I've just noticed a modern personalized stamps depicting Adolf Hitler, printed by official Estonian Postmark printing house, are being offered on auction. There are two stamps with Hitler's image, on one he's toddler and on other he is in schoolboy years. I'm sure most of you have seen such photos so you can imagine.<br /><br />Obviously just like with the Rudolf Hess (Hitler's deputy until parachuting away) stamp in Germany those who ordered this set managed to slip past notice of printers. It's also said same kind of individuals were behind ordering it here (like-minded souls).<br /><br />I'm not sure if it's Ok or even neccessary to post auction link here, it's a local auction anyway.<br />Seller claims only 180 were printed (of both or total as a set of 2? no idea).<br /><br />Newspaper ran an article on this last year. Estonian Post commented that they do not bear any responsibility on what's on personalized stamps.<br />Rate for stamps is 5.50 in Estonian currency krooni, rate for inland regular letter and 4.40, older rate.<br /><br />What's your take on that? A possible modern rarity or something else?<br /><br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-23672828505758186582010-07-11T06:58:00.000-07:002010-07-11T06:59:18.502-07:0019th Estonian Philatelic Exhibition in TartuHi,<br />I wanted to share experiences from Philatelic Exhibition which took place in Estonia, pn 9th and 10th of July.<br />I had never visited one as I started with philately a bit less than three years ago and other exhibitions seemed too far from where I live, considering I do not own a car. Still, Tartu was a busride away so I visited exhibition on second day as there was also collectors fair.<br />Exhibition was nice, although I'm sure it was smaller than in the past and can't be compared to big countries and big shows.<br /><br />There were various proofs and essays, exhibitied by Estonian Postal Museum, Estonian stamps ofcourse. Some very nice and unique, large size. I had not seen many of proofs either until now.<br />A friend of mine exhibited his collection of certains essays plus Estonian shipmail (he even managed to lure me to collect it not long time ago!).<br />Also interesting was censorship in Estonia 1914-21 by Mr.Roots from Norway. German Occupation in Estonia 1918 by Mr.Lindeblad, Postal cancellations of Finland 1889-1901 by Mr.Saarinen and several other collections were all nice to look and examine.<br /><br />At collectors fair I was asked to join International Estonian Philatelic Society which I agreed. They are situated in capital Tallinn while I'm on the oposite side of the country but I really must start visiting their fairs and meetings so maybe joining them will give me this needed push.<br />I was able to purchase several numbers of annual Estonian Philatelist, journal full with wealth of knowledge.<br />I think room was too small as it was hard to sit down and enjoy discussing philatelic aspects, gossip or to browse stamp albums. I did manage to snatch some deals for old and new themes of collecting such as Estonia 1991-93 period covers and postage due markings, also some British Commonwealth.<br /><br />But my main goal was just a enjoy a day away from routine and meet some new stamp enthusiasts. I did manage to shake a hand with a few but for me the show ended too soon. I guess considering I was probably the youngest there (I'm 27) older collectors had other idea.<br />To sum this up it was a nice experience and I wish there were more exhibitions like this.<br /><br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-15123034556622977082010-03-10T00:49:00.000-08:002010-03-10T01:02:19.409-08:00Estonia 1993 Inverted Overprint<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1o4zMosXuMeU05DvAqbygSD3ufN_oJarelcH2oN45XmHwpKf5kw4CcHceBEEHfvgpfxVTUVXQuQ3Fc5nvQ0PF1ouLMu7RBxgVsHudNP0Tl9F4Dni2h771vudhoR0gwQDh8Z5NUi7UST2x/s1600-h/invertedOvpx.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1o4zMosXuMeU05DvAqbygSD3ufN_oJarelcH2oN45XmHwpKf5kw4CcHceBEEHfvgpfxVTUVXQuQ3Fc5nvQ0PF1ouLMu7RBxgVsHudNP0Tl9F4Dni2h771vudhoR0gwQDh8Z5NUi7UST2x/s320/invertedOvpx.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446927891879129922" border="0" /></a><br />Hi,<br />I was interested in varieties (plate flaws) of this issue long before I finally was able to add this<br />major error to my collection. I acquired this nice stamp very recently.<br /><br /><br /><br />This coat of arms with black surcharge 0.60 is pretty common but such error is rare. Only two sheets (100 stamps in sheets) are known, one was sold in Tartu and other in Tallinn. Stamp I have is from Tartu sheet. Numerous varieties exist. I have researched but am still not quite sure how many times plate was repaired and cleaned. Certain flaws such as filled 6 or broken 0 are repeating. Others seem to be random. There is also one other error, where surcharge box is strongly shifted upward, 5-10mm.<br />On covers such inverted surcharge stamp is very rare, only about 10 or less covers are known to be in collections.<br />A very collectable issue!<br /><br />All the best,<br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882550134424053676.post-37934996227560851172010-01-29T06:24:00.000-08:002010-01-29T06:27:45.608-08:00Welcome to my blog!Hi,<br /><br />Welcome to my new blog. This is dedicated to all stamp collectors who are interested in printing<br />errors and varieties of stamps. Of course other fields of philately are of interest aswell.<br />I'm Toivo, from Estonia, European Union. I have been interested in error stamps for two years now. Naturally my first dabbling with the error world was with Estonian stamps, then USSR and Russia. Then the rest of the World followed...<br /><br />I hope to share my new findings with other enthusiasts in the future.<br /><br />Best regards,<br />ToivoToivoStampshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00255342676738700193noreply@blogger.com0