Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar 31

Cash & Stamp Prizes Offered in BNAPS Youth Contest

Posted on by

The British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) is pleased to announce a new contest for youth ages 6 – 18. Stamp as well as cash prizes will be awarded. Teachers, scout and stamp club leaders, as well as any adult who works with youth and the stamp collecting hobby are invited to share the contest information.

Youth are asked to find one or more stamps that are a meaningful symbol of their country. Examples include flags, monuments, and other objects of historical significance. The stamp(s) will be affixed to the page along with an essay of less than 250 words. The written article should explain why the (flag, monument, historical item) is an important symbol for their country. The essays may be handwritten or typed, double space is preferred. The essay must be the original thoughts of the entrant.

Prizes will be awarded by age group: 6 – 8, 9 – 11, 12 – 14, 15 – 18. Monetary awards of $25, $10, and $5 will be awarded respectively to first, second, and third place winners in each age group. Winners will also receive a philatelic prize. The first 100 entries will receive a free packet of stamps.

Only one entry per child. Each entry should include the name of the child, complete mailing address, age as of January 1, 2012, and a brief description of their collecting interest.

Entries may be submitted electronically to nrdyer@comcast.net or by mail to Bob Dyer, 1708 Granada Court, Petaluma, CA 94954. (A photocopy may be sent – color preferred.) The entries become the property of the British North America Society and will not be returned. BNAPS reserves the right to publish entries on its website. The contest is open to youth of any country.

Deadline for contest entries to be received is May 15, 2012. Direct any questions to Bob Dyer.     http://www.bnaps.org/index.htm

Mar 30

April 2012 eBlast

Posted on by

News from the Sequoia Stamp Club:

At the February 28 meeting a motion to accept the proposed changes to the by-laws was passed by a vote of 43 – 2. The major revision involves a change in the make-up of the Governing Board, providing for three Directors at Large to be elected directly by club members.

After a favorable vote on the amended by-laws, a special election was held to select the three new members of the Governing Board. We had six outstanding candidates which resulted in an extremely close election. The top vote getters and new members of our Board are Gil Goodrich, Kristin Patterson, and Ed Rodriguez.

The members of the Governing Board have decided to pay the cost of extending our meetings by ½ hour beginning with the March 27 meeting. This will allow for a more relaxed meeting with more time for socializing. Speakers will not be rushed to complete their presentations and we will also have time for an APS video if we choose. Finally, it will give the silent auction managers more time to process the winning bids and to pay the sellers.

Sequoia Lifetime Members
(l to r) Jim, Kristin, Darlene & Ed

Lifetime Members

At the Jan 10th meeting Jim Giacomazzi, Kristin Patterson, Darlene Hickok, and Ed Rodriguez were presented life membership awards.

Jim joined the club in 1992, serves as the auctioneer in live auctions, and is currently serving a fourth
term as club president.

Kristin joined the club in 1997, has served three terms as club president, has been the chairperson of PENPEX since 2006, and was recently elected an APS Director at Large.

Darlene has been a club member since 2001, currently serves as secretary of both Sequoia and PENPEX, and is chairperson for the Sequoia Stamps R Us Youth Group.

Ed joined Sequoia in 2001, has served six terms as Sequoia president, and currently is chairman of the program committee. Congratulations to our new life members!

At the March 27 meeting Sequoia Club President Jim Giacomazzi presented the APS “Sparkplug Award” to Severin (Steve) Morger.  Steve has been a member of the Sequoia Club for over twenty years and is an APS life member. He has served as secretary of the club and is currently in charge of the silent auctions. He is a consistent volunteer for the PENPEX show and always willing to do whatever is
needed to help the club. Congratulations Steve and a big thank you for your many years of excellent service to the club.

This year the Sequoia Stamp club celebrates its 65th anniversary. We are very proud of our heritage and we have scheduled a special program for the meeting on September 25. There will be speakers, special guests, a slide show of photos, and refreshments. A 65th anniversary committee is planning the event, with the possibility of distributing a special yearbook. Guests are welcome, so be sure to mark your calendar and make every effort to attend this special event.

The Sequoia Stamp Club offers much for local collectors from auctions, presentations, local news, and question and answering opportunities. Included in this monthly news eBlast are the upcoming Sequoia Stamp Club activities and area stamp shows.

2012 Schedule:
Apr 10 – Art on Stamps – Miriam Thurston
April 14-15 – SOPEX Stamp Show, Medford, OR
Apr 24 – Live Auction – Members
April 27-29 – WESTPEX Stamp Show, Burlingame
May 8 – Forensic Philately, UNTEA Forgeries – Ed Burfine
May 22 – The Era of the Rubber Stamp – Hank Washauer – [6:30 pm Executive Board Meeting]

Hope to see you soon at a Sequoia meeting.
Jim Giacomazzi, Sequoia Stamp Club President, sequoiastampclub@yahoo.com

Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested in attending PENPEX or Sequoia Stamp Club.

This electronic news blast is brought to you by www.penpex.org. If you wish to receive or be removed  from these email blasts, please email penpexredwoodcity@yahoo.com with your request and we will add or remove your name from future emails.

Mar 13

USPS Salutes Girl Scouts’ 100th Anniversary with Forever Stamp

Posted on by

Girl Scout StampPENPEX and the Sequoia Stamp Club support the work of the Girl and Boy Scouts of America and the work that they do.   The USPS recently recognized the Girl Scouts with a new issue.

Girl Scout Collecting BadgeThe Girl Scouts have a collecting and hobby badge at all levels.  Scouts may want to check out the Scouts on Stamps Society International (SOSSI), a nonprofit philatelic organization specializing in the collecting, study, and enjoyment of stamps and other postal items celebrating the Boy Scout and Girl Scout (Guide) movements.

A Fun Fact from SOSSI

How many Scout Stamps are there?  This might be the first thing you might ask.  There are now over 1500 [1977 total] Boy and Girl Scout [Guide] stamps issued by over 100 different countries.  New Scout Stamps are issued every year by one country or another. 25th, 50th, and 60th anniversaries, National and international jamborees are typical events that are commemorated or honored.  Single stamps, sets and souvenir sheets are issued.

Text of USPS press release on new scout stamp:

“Monday, March 12, marks the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts. To commemorate this milestone, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the First-Class Celebrate Scouting Forever Stamp this June as part of the Girl Scouts’ Rock the Mall celebration in Washington, DC.

The stamp features a large silhouette of a girl with binoculars looking into the distance — perhaps sighting a soaring bald eagle or a faraway destination. The scene within the silhouette features a girl in mid-stride with a walking stick, shorts and backpack on a summer trek. The environment is composed of large redwoods, a lake, a distant forested mountainside and small ferns in the foreground, with a blue sky as it appears in early morning or late evening.

Celebrate Scouting, the “sister” stamp to the 2010 Scouting stamp, pays tribute to scouting organizations for the opportunities and pleasures they have provided millions of youths worldwide. The artwork for both stamps was created by Craig Frazier of Mill Valley, CA, under the art direction of Derry Noyes of Washington, DC.

Since the birth of the scouting movement more than a century ago millions of youths have learned to find valuable, lifelong skills and confidence acquired through scouting. Some of the first scouting experiences provided opportunities to hike, camp, study first aid and learn to tell time by the stars.

Customers may view the Celebrate Scouting Forever Stamp, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.”

Mar 02

15-cent Landing of Columbus

Posted on by

From Arago Stamp Database

“Inspired by John Vanderlyn’s painting of the same name, the 15-cent Landing of Columbus was printed in two types: the first simply had a single thin line framing the vignette; the second had a larger grouping of frame lines with a diamond above the vignette in the frame.

Printing technology in 1869 was not perfect. The vignette was printed before the frame. Maintaining registry proved difficult, and the vignette was often misaligned with the frame. In his famous book on nineteenth century United States stamps, Lester Brookman, indicates that the extra frame lines in Type II helped to make this misalignment less obvious. With a brown frame and blue center vignette, the 15-cent Landing of Columbus was the first bi-color stamp issued by the United States. Type II was one of the first stamps to have an inverted image. Though it is described as having an inverted vignette, it is the frame that is inverted because it was printed last.

The 15-cent stamp typically paid certain rates to countries such as France, Germany, and Italy or the domestic registered fee for mail. National Bank Note Company printed approximately 200,000 Type I and 1,238,940 Type II stamps.

Vanderlyn’s painted was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in the same year that the first U.S. adhesive postage stamps were issued-1847.”

Learn more about this interesting stamp on Arago