As a lover of fall vibes, monster movies, and all things spooky, it makes my little black heart happy to receive Halloween cards in the mail. But more often than not, they’re franked by a simple flag stamp. Where are all the spooky, Halloween-themed stamps? Let’s take a quick look at the numbers. And then,... Continue Reading →
What’s red and green and cherished all over? Every year, Americans purchase approximately 70 million poinsettia plants within a six-week period leading up to Christmas. That’s two and a half times as many live Christmas trees as are sold each year (25–30 million)! Poinsettias help people the world over celebrate the holiday season. But a... Continue Reading →
If you wanted to, you could celebrate a new holiday every day. In addition to regular government and church holidays, there are an assortment of lesser “holidays” throughout the year. There are industry holidays (e.g., Employee Appreciation Day, March 3). There are days celebrating causes (World Wetlands Day, February 2; Cancer Survivors Day, June 3).... Continue Reading →
Message to the Shepherds, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi🇭🇺 Hungary, 4–30f | Issued December 1, 1943 | Scott 617–619 There are many ways to approach stamp collecting: by topic, by nation, by volume. But in any collection, primacy is a key component. What came first? The issue of what was the first Christmas stamp issue... Continue Reading →
George Rogers Clark 🇺🇸 United States, 2¢ | Issued February 25, 1929 | Scott 651 Picture this: You walk by the break room at work, and you see one. You drive home from work and check your mailbox before going inside, and there one is again. The doorbell rings, and there’s one sitting on your... Continue Reading →
Holiday Delights 🇺🇸 United States, Forever¢ | Issued September 24, 2020 | Scott 5525-5528 It’s always fun to focus on stamps of yore and use them to glean stories from the past. But often, we forget that many of those stamps have held their stories since the day they were issued—or, at least, since shortly... Continue Reading →
Armchair Philately 