Martin Luther King, Jr. Stamps

Since the death of Martin Luther King Jr., memorial stamps have been issued in his honor worldwide.

The first postage stamp to honor the internationally known civil rights leader was issued by Ras Al-Khaimah on May 25, 1968. Other places have also issued stamps such as Cameroon, Mali, Sharjah, Mexico, India, Liberia, Rwanda, and the Virgin Islands. More recently, other states have issued stamps and postal souvenir sheets in Dr. King's honor.

Today, the civil rights leader has had more postage stamps issued in his honor than any other Black American. On January 13, 1979, the United States Postal Service unveiled a 15 cent commemorative stamp as a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. during ceremonies at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. It was the 10th stamp in honor of a Black American and the second stamp issued in the Black Heritage USA Series which recognizes the contributions of Black Americans to the development of the United States.

The U.S. Postal Service has issued 166,435,000 King stamps.

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/

Commemorative Stamp Collection

This is a great way to start a stamp collection or a great addition to a growing collection.  "Celebrate the Century" is an exciting, limited edition stamp series that commemorates the most significant people, events and accomplishments of the 20th Century. 

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/

History of Money

Here is an interesting article we thought you might enjoy from by Michael Russell at  http://ezinearticles.com/?A-History-of-Coin-Collecting&id=447722


Today, it is believed that the first coins were bronze and used in China around 800-1,000BC. Lydia in Asia Minor used coins about 600-700 BC. The Lydian's coins were called "starters" which was a unit of weight. Starters were stamped with a lion's head image and made with a gold and silver alloy. Today, as you might guess, the coins that are still remaining are very valuable.

The early Americans did not use coins for money. They made their "notes" from beaver skins, wampum and tobacco. They had their own money system without coins in use until foreign traders came to America and demanded payment for their goods. The foreign coins then started to circulate, but soon Americans started making their own coins from copper in the 18th century. Then after the new American government was born, it started to regulate coinage. The rights to produce their own coins were eventually given to the states. Later, national coinage was produced in America and the first U.S. Mint building started their coining operations in Philadelphia in 1793. The Mint building was actually an old brewery! The cent coin was the first one struck for circulation.


It's amazing how these ingenious and enterprising early Americans operated their first Mints. They used a screw press that was powered by horses or many strong men! The planchets were squeezed between the obverse and reverse dies to strike the coins. At first, the dies were cut by hand. Sometimes a die cutter would add his own artistic flair to his dies.


Coin collecting has a long and colorful history and was mostly a hobby for the wealthy until more modern times. The Roman Emperor Augustus (63BC-14AD) was the earliest person known to collect coins. He collected them for his own collection and even gave out some as gifts. In the Middle Ages, the wealthy families and royalty amassed amazing collections. Even in the early history of America, only the wealthy could afford to collect coins. Everyone else had to spend the money for necessities such as food, shelter and clothing.


Then in 1858 the American Numismatic Society was formed and in 1891 the American Numismatic Association was founded. (A numismatist is a person who studies, collects or invests in paper money or coins). Because of these organizations, public awareness of coin collecting grew and in the 1930s the U.S. Commemorative coins were struck and became extremely popular with the public. More and more people were starting to collect and invest in coins. The numismatic hobby has been growing every since the 1930s and it is estimated that there are more that 15 million numismatists in the United States today!

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/

Stamps 101, Part 1

This is taken from an article by the American Philatelic Society.  http://www.stamps.org/


Where did the word "philatelist" come from?

The word "philatelist" means a person who practices philately or stamp collecting. It comes from the French word philatelie, which was derived from the Greek words "philos", meaning loving, and "atelia", meaning exemption from tax (which also came to mean "postage is prepaid"). Philately has come to mean, specifically, the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks and stamped envelopes and the study of postal history.

What are cachets?

A cachet is a design placed on an envelope, usually commemorating the event for which the cover, as that envelope is known, is being prepared. For first day covers, the design is usually closely related to the subject of the newly issued stamp. The cachet usually appears on the left side of the envelope.

What are stamp hinges and where can I buy them?

Stamp hinges are thin rectangular pieces of paper which are used to hold stamps in an album. One side of each hinge is coated with a special adhesive that becomes sticky when it is slightly moistened. Hinges may be purchased from stamp dealers (http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com). Hinges come in two varieties, flat and pre-folded.

What are coil stamps?

Coil stamps are stamps made for use in vending or affixing machines and are sold in rolls. They have perforations on two parallel sides only (either the horizontal or vertical side). The other sides of the stamps are cut straight.

What is a mint stamp?

Mint stamps are stamps that remain in their original state of issue, unused and with full gum (if so issued).

What is a joint issue? A joint issue occurs when two countries each issue a stamp or stamps on the same date to commemorate the same subject. This happens frequently when the person or historic event honored has a special meaning for both countries. For example, on June 1, 1976, the U.S. Postal Service and the Canadian Post Office jointly issued stamps honoring Benjamin Franklin. Franklin had been the first Postmaster General of both Canada and the United States. Both stamps were designed by the same person and looked nearly identical.

What is an overprint?

An overprint is any printing added to the face of a stamp after it has been manufactured. This is usually done to make stamps suitable for use not originally intended. Precanceled stamps represent one kind of overprinting. Whenever an overprint changes the value, it is called a surcharge.

Why and how are stamps watermarked? A watermark is a special design or pattern pressed in to the soft paper during the manufacturing process. These impressions take many forms, such as letters, animals, fruit, emblems, and combinations of these and others. They are frequently hard to find under normal inspection. Watermarks help provide protection against forgery.

What is a semipostal?

A semipostal stamp frequently carries two denominations on its face often separated by a "+" and is used to pay for postage and make a charitable contribution. One denomination is the amount of postage that stamp pays for and the other, usually smaller in size than the first, is the amount that will go to support charitable organizations or help pay for health programs. The United States has issued only one semipostal stamp to support breast cancer research in 1998.

What is meant when a stamp is said to be "off-centered"? The term "centering" refers to the stamp in relation to the perforation surrounding it. Perforations should be equal distances from the printed area. When they are, the stamp is well centered. When they are not, the stamp is off-center. A very badly centered issue may actually have the perforations intruding into the printed design. A stamp's condition and value is determined, in part, by the quality of the centering.

How can you tell if a stamp is a commemorative or a regular issue?

Regular or definitive issues are the stamps you are most likely to see on your mail. They are usually one color, relatively small and printed in large quantities to stay on sale for several years. They most often depict famous persons from history, the U.S. flag or historical artifacts. Commemorative stamps are issued in honor of an important event, person, or special subject. They are generally larger and more colorful than definitives. Commemoratives are only sold for limited periods of time. If you are in doubt about the type, consult a catalog or ask a stamp dealer.

What does "aerophilately" mean?

Aerophilately is the hobby of collecting air mail stamps, and envelopes (covers) that have been sent by air mail -- including by airplane, balloon or other types of aircraft

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/

New Blog for BJ's Stamps and Coins

We have a new blog!  Things will be updated with news, articles and just general information about coin and stamp collecting.


Please also visit our BJ's Stamps and Coins Facebook page! 


Check back often for new posts! 
Happy collecting!

http://www.USAcoinbuyers.com

http://www.BJStampsAndCoins.com