Monthly Archives: December 2021

Middle Eastern stamps  are very appealing for a few reasons. First they are politically fascinating. Nearly all of the Middle East was under Turkish control until after WW I. The breakup created a power vacuum which brought Britain and France into play both with and against local populations in setting up new governments. The philately reflects this with a wide range of locally produced stamps under changing postal administrations. And the stamps are all scarce and for the most part under appreciated and under valued all of which makes the possibility for collector "finds" (which are fun) and for rising prices. One of my favorite sets is the 1933 Jordan pictorial. This set represents the first set in the modern period of Middle Eastern philately. Before about 1930, most of the stamps of Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia were surcharged on stamps of Turkey or France. This Jordan set had its own designer and printer and depicted the current ruler of the country and as such they represent the

Like most collectors, different stamps take me back to different times in my life. In the 1960's my parents sent me to overnight camp and the stamp they sent me with to post my letters home was the 1963 Food For Peace stamp. Every time I see this stamp in a collection I have memories of loneliness and joy at writing home and the connection which that stamp gave me to people I loved and missed. The stamp illustrated at the top triggers a different memory. In the 1970's I was traveling in Italy with my new wife. We were driving in the Italian Alps on a toll road and I came to a stop to pay a toll. Italy was experiencing a change shortage at this time and, rather than give change, drivers received postage stamps to round out their toll payments to the nearest 5000 Lire. I received this 1000 lire Parcel Post stamp as change from the toll taker. Being a stamp collector I immediately knew that this stamp came with two watermarks-the short lived and very valuable "wing and double circle" worth

A question that Americans are going to have to answer in the next few years is whether we want to keep our post offices open and have them continue their daily trips serving us all with mail. We have reluctantly made this decision with Amtrak. Rail travel is not a money maker but we have decided that the benefits of allowing people to go from city to city and not use their cars is a good that accrues to society that we are all willing to pay for. This is what a government does-collect revenue from us all in a way that the majority deems fair and parcels it out in ways that society deems fair. Social Security and Medicare are programs similar to Amtrak and mail delivery (with the added benefit of having a larger constituency). Several European countries, such as Holland, have made their decision and have largely privatized mail delivery. But Holland is an overwhelming urban country where private delivery companies can easily cover most addresses. How will Kansas like their communications being handl