Fundy Stamp Collectors Club
P. O. Box 302
Moncton N.B.
E1C 8L4
Since 1997
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Paris is known to be a city for romantics. Nevertheless, it is also a splendid city for stamp collectors; my visit last February to Paris confirmed this fact. Let me share with you the reasons why you might want to consider this city on your travel agenda. Indeed, Paris offers the stamp collector a number of philatelic activities and events.
If you happen to arrive in Paris on the weekend, perhaps your first point of interest is the Stamp Market. Every Saturday and Sunday an outdoor bourse is held in the Cour Marigny Park near the Champs Elysées. To get to the stamp market you take the metro to the Champ Elysées - Clemenceau Station and walk up Marigny Avenue. You will notice in the park a series of outdoor kiosks in which stamp vendors present their material. This internationally famous bourse is probably the best place to get world-wide stamps and great deals.
The second point of interest is the Postal Museum (Musée de la Poste). Although the Postal Museum was created in 1943, it was relocated to the present building on 34 Boulevard de Vaugirard in 1973. The museum has 15 showrooms spread across four floors. The visit begins on the top floor and is regrouped in three era's 1) pre 1830, 2) postal reform 1830 to 1890 and 3) public enterprise 1890 to present. The collection includes various postal related materials such as costumes, carriages, bicycles, scale models of mail trains and airplanes, documents, paintings, prints, books and scales. Stamp printing techniques are also exhibited. A complete collection of the stamps of France is shown in glass frames. Temporary exhibitions are also presented with various themes. The museum also includes a library, a collection viewing section and a phototeque. The postal museum also has an association of the "Friends of the Postal Museum". Finally, one’s tour ends with a visit to the Postal Boutique where souvenirs and stamps can be purchased. Needless to say that I took the opportunity to buy three scale models of postal delivery trucks to add to my collection of postal toys.
Last but not least, one must visit rue Drouot - the shopping Mecca for stamp collectors. This can be reached by going to the metro Richelieu-Drouot station. Approximately 30 stamp shops can be found on this small quiet one way street. Major auction companies such as Feldman, Roumet, Maison Guy, Beauvais and Dumont occupy many of these storefronts. All these shops have attractive window displays to entice the stamp collectors. My favourite was a window display of old philatelic books. Most of the shops have French material but a number of shops specialised in European stamps such Germany and Scandinavian countries. I also visited a shop that specialised uniquely in stamps from China and Japan. I can tell you that after visiting over 30 stamp shops I was quite tired and hungry. To my surprise at the end of this street there is a quaint bistro. Needless to say that I enjoyed a great lunch accompanied by a nice sauvignon blanc. On that afternoon I thought I was in Stamp Heaven! ***
BRUNPEX 2004 will be held on Saturday, October 16, 2004 at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, corner of Main and Highfield Streets, Moncton, NB from 10am to 4pm. The sale will be held in the upstairs Ballroom this year, and again will feature a combined silent / live auction at 1pm. ***
Our show chairman, Rod Allison, gave an update on the upcoming Brunpex, and suddenly I could not wait. Our Brunpex show has shown slow, steady improvement in variety and number of dealers as well as growth in attendance over the last four years. The 2004 edition is set to air on Saturday, October 16 at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, on the corner of Main and Highfield Streets, Moncton. The bourse runs 10am to 4pm, with a live auction about 1pm. We look forward to meeting old and new friends at the show.
Also in Moncton the monthly Stamp Fairs kick off on Saturday, October 2, followed by others the first Saturday monthly - November 6, December 4, and January 8, etc. These are held from 10am to 4pm at the Rodd Park House Inn, Main Street. Free parking and no admission, coupled with a half dozen local dealers; make the Stamp Fair a very comfortable place to pass a Saturday. There is also a combined silent and live auction each Stamp Fair at 1pm.
There is also a show and bourse in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, hosted by the South Shore Stamp Club, on Saturday, October 23, at the Wandlyn Inn. This is their 10th Annual show, and will be a highlite for collectors in that area.
Not to be forgotten, our friends at the St. John’s Philatelic Society will be hosting their fall show in St. John’s, on Saturday, October 30, at the Holiday Inn.
Besides the new array of shows, I hope to spend the fall searching diligently for some more examples of a recently developed passion of mine in philately - British Smilers. I made the mistake of purchasing one from the Royal Mail new issues, and have developed a strong interest in them. While they do not seem to be overly popular on this side of the Atlantic yet, they do seem to be in very highdemand in Britain, judging by the prices asked for by dealers and on eBay for some varieties. I will write some more about them in the next edition, after I have done some more research on this new philatelic phenomenon.
This Newsletter is the middle edition of our fourth year, issue number 11. The feature article by Paul Bourque is a fascinating visit to Paris – which could rival London as the philatelic capital of Europe. Look for future issues of The Fundy Stamp News in November, and February and May 2005, as I attempt to produce 4 editions this year. I would still very much like to have any articles from any club members in the Atlantic provinces, on any philatelic topic of your choice. Have a most enjoyable fall, and get active in your hobby. ***
e-mail: donmillscanada@yahoo.com
When buying, trading, or selling stamps, you must know proper identification techniques or you could be ripping yourself off for quite a bit of money. Never assume that the other collector knows everything about correctly identifying stamps, either - a little double-checking never hurts.
When you find a stamp listed in a Scott’s catalog always be sure to check the footnote to see if another set with the same designs was issued later. That set could have different color shades, watermarks, or perforations, and the stamp you thought was worth $1 could turn out to be just another nickel item.
Check the "a" and "b" sub--numbers, etc. between the regular listings that often list perforation and color varieties, etc. Knowing the varieties can pay off in the long run, because it will be easier to spot scarcer stamps among the common ones. For example, the super-common coil stamps with the U. S. Flag over the porch are so abundantly used that nobody wants them at any price. However, a few times in every coil roll a tiny number will appear at the bottom center, and these are prized by collectors so much that they are worth more than several times the regular issue.
Mainly, however, knowing how to use the catalog, and double-checking anything that doesn’t quite look right will pay off hundreds of times over the years. You may even find a valuable error sometimes among common stamps because the catalog tells you it exists, and you remember to look for it. Anything is possible.
Next time: Condition ***
