The last of the winter stamp auctions are over and the results have been impressive. Auctions both here and throughout the country have shown the stamp market completely recovered from the recession doldrums that began three years ago. The number of bidders is way up and prices are higher almost across the board. Ebay sellers and internet retailers are reporting dramatically increased sales and these dealers are beginning to actively restock. Areas of strength are British Commonwealth, with virtually every country showing strength, Canada, which had been weak for years and is now showing marked vigor, Western Europe, with prices rising despite the fall of the Euro, and better Latin American stamps. South America in particular has been strong as the economies of many of these countries have been growing strongly and though domestic demand is far below US levels for American stamps, the shortage of fine Latin American collections cause even minor increases in demand to have large impact on prices. Russian stamps had fallen in price during this recession as the Russian economy suffered and prices are coming back but still have a long way to go. Asian stamps are very strong as always. India and States is the decade's biggest winner so far. Stamp pundits have been predicting a big rise in India prices for years and it looks like we finally got it right. And then there is China- what can you say about China except that it doesn't seem as if there is any top to the prices that their stamps can rise to. All told, philately has come out of the Great Recession in excellent shape and our hobby should thrive in the years ahead.