How to cover your computer keyboard with postage stamps

By Eurostamper — June 11, 2008
See more about: Stamp life

We came across a very interesting web page featuring pictures of computer keyboards covered in stamps.

The person who did these (identified only as “Andy”) apparently does this just for fun — covering a keyboard with stamps (usually from one country only) and giving them away to his presumably bemused friends. Each key in the pictures here features a person’s portrait, giving a kind of pleasing uniformity to what could be (and in fact still is) a chaotic piece.

These stamps are from the United States, although the guy also has made keyboards from the USSR, Albania, and others. Our favorite, of course, is when he uses stamps from all over the world and mixes them all together.

If you would like to do something similar, you should put a lot of work first into selecting which stamps you’re going to use and where they’ll go. Then coat them liberally with a type of glue that fixes well to plastic, and seal the lot with a thin shellac or something similar. Refasten the keys, make sure they work (!) and you’ll be the envy of every technical-minded philatelist on your block.

And if you cover your whole computer, including mouse, monitor, etc, by all means let us know about it here!

(Original page here.)

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Stamps for Soldiers in Las Vegas to help disabled veterans

By Eurostamper — March 28, 2008
See more about: Stamp life

This weekend, Stamps for Soldiers will be at the Coin, Currency, Jewelry and Stamp Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The group will be collecting used stamps. The idea is to not only help soldiers to recuperate the manual dexterity in their hands and fingers, but also to provide the veterans a positive, educational hobby to focus on.

The expo is being held March 28-30, 2008 at the Imperial Palace. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and free for kids under 14.

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Investment fads come and go, but stamp collecting wins in the end

By Eurostamper — March 16, 2008
See more about: Stamp life

Investors are getting worried that conventional investing in a distressed market is only going to hurt them in the end, so they are increasingly turning to something that never seems to go down in value: rare stamps.

Stanley Gibbons, the venerable stamp collecting company, recently said that even during periods of serious financial crises, rare stamps keep gaining in value. Such collectibles tend to operate on their own schedule, almost completely independent of the regular financial world.

Autographs, collectibles, and art all hold their own. And the more valuable, the more sturdy the investment: cheaper stamps are more likely to be affected by market downturns, while the cream of the crop stay that way.

Interesting that this innocent, fun little hobby can provide a safehaven for the super-rich. Everything about stamp collecting seems to involve diversity - of designs, countries, regions, eras, collector demographics, reasons for interest, and everythin else. It’s a truly universal pursuit!

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Stamp collecting makes you smart and successful

By Eurostamper — January 12, 2008
See more about: Stamp life

A survey by the Royal Mail in England found that kids who collect stamps generally grow up to be more intelligent, to be more successful, and to have all around better lives. Adults who collect also hone skills important in life.

Among the specific revelations of the study:

• Have a college degree:
  General public: 20%   Stamp collectors: 74%

• Average yearly salary:
  General public: £23,000   Stamp collectors: £30,000

• Have homes with more than 3 bedrooms:
  General public: 33%   Stamp collectors: 75%

• Have a second holiday home:
  General public: 1%   Stamp collectors: 14%

Also, stamp collectors tended to take more and/or longer vacations every year.

England has about 2,500,000 stamp collectors - 90% of them men. Some experts reckon that the survey results are due to the diligence and attention to detail that stamp collecting requires, as skills are built that are applicable in school, work, and life in general. With these abilities, one can take control of his or her own life and make more and better decisions.

The numbers above are too big to be a statistical anomoly; stamp collecting really does seem to attract and produce the best of the best.

Of course, these results are only applicable to England; perhaps this is because postage stamps originated there, as did the idea of philately (in the 1850’s). In fact, examples of the very first stamps, the “Penny Black” and the “Tuppence Blue”, are still easily found, and surprisingly aren’t too expensive (unless they’re in especially good condition). Check local stamp shops or (much easier) online sites: eBay usually has a few current auctions running with England’s earliest issues.

So, the UK leads the way, as usual, in the philately world - and stamp collectors lead England. Not a bad legacy for a country to be able to claim as its own.

Start your own stamp collection with the world’s very first stamps. With a little eBay savvy and luck, you could get the first two, the Penny Black and the Tuppence Blue, for less than $20 each:
Penny Black - World’s first postage stamp (England, 6 May 1840)
Tuppence Blue - World’s second postage stamp (England, 8 May 1840)

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