Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club
The Club meets twice each month: An on-site meeting and a virtual meeting.
First Meeting
On-site: 1st Monday of each month
Meeting Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Meeting Location: Manuel's Tavern - 602 North Highland Avenue NE, Atlanta
Second Meeting 3rd Monday of each month
Meeting Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Meeting Location: Zoom Virtual Meeting
Meeting Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Meeting Location: Zoom Virtual Meeting
Officers:
President: Scott Holmberg, MD sdholmberg1@gmail.com
Treasurer: Barbara Asher bjasher@yahoo.com
Secretary: LeA Coe leacoe@bellsouth.net
Contact: LeA Coe
Club History
The club of origin, The U.S. Stamp Club, was founded in the early part of 1947, and originally met at the office of William Naff's Georgia Stamp & Coin Company. The primary purpose of the club was to bring members together on Saturday afternoons for a stamp auction at the stamp shop, obviating the need for a license or licensed auctioneer. The name of the club was changed to its current name to signify the inclusion of collectors of foreign stamps in the membership. In the 1950's the meeting place was changed to Dr. Fowler's office on 8th Street where meetings were to be held for the next twelve years. Other meeting places have included the NBG Building at Pershing Point, the Red Cross Building at 7th and Peachtree Street, the First United Methodist Church of Atlanta at 360 Peachtree Street, All Saints' Episcopal Church at 634 West Peachtree Street.
Atlanta Club Membership Details
Stamp collectors of all ages, interests, and expertise are cordially invited to join the Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club. The ASCC is the oldest philatelic organization in Georgia and has a membership of about 40 with interests ranging from general worldwide to classic United States to mainly single countries (e.g., Germany, New Zealand, Tonga, etc), and topical collectors (butterflies on stamps, dogs on stamps).
The club meets to chat informally, hold a brief business meeting, and conduct an auction of members' philatelic materials. In addition, a presentation on a stamp collecting topic is given at least every other meeting. Regardless of collecting interests, participation in ASCC meetings is a pleasant and efficient way to increase knowledge of philately and to acquire new material at very low cost. The club auction is the highlight of each meeting and offers many items of interest at low prices. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire new material, and to dispose of duplicates. Membership is $12 a year (prorated), which includes a subscription to the club's monthly newsletter, Postmark Atlanta.
Stamp collectors of all ages, interests, and expertise are cordially invited to join the Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club. The ASCC is the oldest philatelic organization in Georgia and has a membership of about 40 with interests ranging from general worldwide to classic United States to mainly single countries (e.g., Germany, New Zealand, Tonga, etc), and topical collectors (butterflies on stamps, dogs on stamps).
The club meets to chat informally, hold a brief business meeting, and conduct an auction of members' philatelic materials. In addition, a presentation on a stamp collecting topic is given at least every other meeting. Regardless of collecting interests, participation in ASCC meetings is a pleasant and efficient way to increase knowledge of philately and to acquire new material at very low cost. The club auction is the highlight of each meeting and offers many items of interest at low prices. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire new material, and to dispose of duplicates. Membership is $12 a year (prorated), which includes a subscription to the club's monthly newsletter, Postmark Atlanta.
Mel Coe Wins Literature Award at the 2021 Great American Stamp Show
Congratulations to Mel Coe for his Silver-Bronze award in the Literature competition at the August
12-15, 2021, Great American Stamp Show in Rosemont, Illinois.
Published in the March 2021 issue of Cigar Afficinado, Mel's article, "Collector in Chief" (a nod to stamp collector President Franklin D. Roosevelt) offers for the non-collector an entertaining and informative look into the fabulous hobby of stamp collecting.
Mel's article is provided below in a PDF format for your viewing.
Again, congratulations to Mel for his outstanding article.
| Mel Coe's "Collector in Chief" |
Member Presentations
Several times during the year at regular club meetings, a member will provide a presentation of a favorite stamp collecting topic or interest. Offered here for your viewing and enjoyment are some of those presentations.
Several times during the year at regular club meetings, a member will provide a presentation of a favorite stamp collecting topic or interest. Offered here for your viewing and enjoyment are some of those presentations.
| LeA Coe - Depiction of Women on Early US Stamps |
| Mel Coe - Everything I Learned About Perfins.... |
| Steve Swain - Postal Systems and the Public React to the American Civil War |
| Steve Swain - Bittersweet Family Postal History |
The Great White Fleet Visits New Zealand - August 8-12, 1908
A Presentation by Scott Holmberg
At a July, 2021 meeting of the Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club, President Scott Holmberg gave an outstanding presentation showcasing the Great White Fleet, the nickname for the U.S. Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909.
An Adobe PDF file version of the presentation is available below to download.
A Presentation by Scott Holmberg
At a July, 2021 meeting of the Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club, President Scott Holmberg gave an outstanding presentation showcasing the Great White Fleet, the nickname for the U.S. Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909.
An Adobe PDF file version of the presentation is available below to download.
| Scott Holmberg - Great White Fleet Visits New Zealand |
The Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club Library
The Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club has been the fortunate recipient of a truly outstanding philatelic library, bequeathed to us by the late Dr. James N. McNash. Formerly housed at Stamps Unlimited, 133 Carnegie Way, Room 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 (Tony Roozen, ), it is now in storage for the Atlanta Stamp Collectors Club and available by request to Secretary, LeA Coe at leacoe@bellsouth.net.
This unique collection of philatelic literature offers us many hours of pleasure as we pursue our individual philatelic interests. The library, consisting of about 350 books, has been organized on a subject index basis.
If a book is written in a foreign language, that information is indicated. Cross referencing is used for certain volumes that cover multiple subjects. Books that deal with one country only are listed under that country’s name. Catalogues that cover all countries of the world are listed under CATALOGUE. A subject that covers many countries is listed under that subject, e.g., FORGERIES. OVERSIZED books are so noted.
On the spine of each book is its number and an alphabetical letter, based on the subject listing. For example, a book on worldwide booklet plates has the letter “B” on its spine. Books may be checked out by any club member and there is no due date.
We will record your name and the book number in the Library Ledger so that if any other members are interested in the book, they can contact you.
revised July 2021
Down the Rabbit Hole
by Colin Clark
The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well. – ALICE’s ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (1865) – Lewis Carroll
Introduction: Imperforate line-engraved stamps of Great Britain during the Victorian era are deceptive in their simplicity. In fact their complexity can lead to a lifetime study. These imperforate issues were printed through the mid-1840s, by using many different full plates.1 Every plate printing produced a stamp sheet of 20 rows of 12 stamps (240 in total). For the penny valuations, every row was equivalent to a Shilling (12 pennies), and then the 20 rows were equivalent to one pound sterling (20 Shillings).
It is estimated that around 21 billion copies of the Penny Red were printed over the years, starting from February 1841; with the last ones being printed in 1879; so on occasion there was a need for new plates, as older plates became “worn out”. Hundreds of different plates were used to print the Penny Red over its lifetime.
Plate numbers began to be incorporated onto the printed stamp designs themselves around 1864, but the early plates did not have the plate number on the stamp itself, but rather it was printed on the sheet margin instead.1 However, some of those earlier plates had some unique plate flaws, which subsequently allows plate identification using the stamp’s cosmetic features. It’s at this point, just like Alice, that we can go down the rabbit hole!
Example: The following is an illustrative example of how the smallest detail can yield a tidal wave of information. This example is an imperforate 1d. red-brown (SG8) cancelled with a Maltese Cross, and tied to a clearly linked circular date stamp on the piece (not shown) from Inverary (Scotland) dated 31 DE 1841.
The bottom corner squares are lettered “T/J”. These letters operate as security coordinates that, in this case, indicate the 20th row and the 10th column location on the original printed sheet. The combination of two letters indicated the sheet location of any stamp. The 1841 date of use puts this stamp as an early plate, as does the deeper color.
Interpretation: The cosmetic features shown above in this example (i.e. weakness of the NorthEast corner square combined with the marks at the very base) infers that this stamp is probably printed from either plate 15 or 16. Printing: Located at 69 Fleet Street in London, the printing company that printed this stamp was Perkins, Bacon & Petch. The company evolved into Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd. Rowland Hill was a friend of Jacob Perkins and through him, Perkins, Bacon & Petch obtained the contract to produce the first postage stamps.
Printing: Located at 69 Fleet Street in London, the printing company that printed this stamp was Perkins, Bacon & Petch. The company evolved into Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd. Rowland Hill was a friend of Jacob Perkins and through him, Perkins, Bacon & Petch obtained the contract to produce the first postage stamps.
Joshua Butters Bacon (1790 – 1863) had married Jacob Perkins' second daughter Sarah Ann Bacon-March (1793 – 1859), and he was an integral part of the printing business.
Interpretation: The cosmetic features shown above in this example (i.e. weakness of the NorthEast corner square combined with the marks at the very base) infers that this stamp is probably printed from either plate 15 or 16. Printing: Located at 69 Fleet Street in London, the printing company that printed this stamp was Perkins, Bacon & Petch. The company evolved into Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd. Rowland Hill was a friend of Jacob Perkins and through him, Perkins, Bacon & Petch obtained the contract to produce the first postage stamps.
Printing: Located at 69 Fleet Street in London, the printing company that printed this stamp was Perkins, Bacon & Petch. The company evolved into Perkins, Bacon & Co. Ltd. Rowland Hill was a friend of Jacob Perkins and through him, Perkins, Bacon & Petch obtained the contract to produce the first postage stamps.
Joshua Butters Bacon (1790 – 1863) had married Jacob Perkins' second daughter Sarah Ann Bacon-March (1793 – 1859), and he was an integral part of the printing business.
Plate 15 was first used for printing from July 23rd 1841, and plate 16 was first used for printing from July 26th 1841. Use of plate 16 was stopped on November 15th 1841. The actual reason for this cessation of use is not known, but it was suspected that it was on account of wear. Worn out plates were defaced.2
Printing plates were expensive to produce, so it was important that their life should be prolonged as much as possible and repairs were undertaken from time to time. During their lifetimes of use, plate 15 was repaired once, and plate 16 was repaired twice.3
Conclusion: Going down the philatelic rabbit hole is a researcher’s delight when it comes to plating line-engraved stamps. I wonder if Alice could have been a secret stamp collector.
References:
1. Great Britain CONCISE Stamp Catalogue, 23rd Edition (April 2007, p.3, 7), Stanley Gibbons.
2. The Line-engraved Postage Stamps of Great Britain printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. VOL. I. (1920, p.116 – 117, 119), Edward Denny Bacon. CHAS, NISSEN & CO., LIMITED.
3. Repairs of the 1841 One Penny Plates 1-40 Revised (April 2007), J.W.M. Stone
Printing plates were expensive to produce, so it was important that their life should be prolonged as much as possible and repairs were undertaken from time to time. During their lifetimes of use, plate 15 was repaired once, and plate 16 was repaired twice.3
Conclusion: Going down the philatelic rabbit hole is a researcher’s delight when it comes to plating line-engraved stamps. I wonder if Alice could have been a secret stamp collector.
References:
1. Great Britain CONCISE Stamp Catalogue, 23rd Edition (April 2007, p.3, 7), Stanley Gibbons.
2. The Line-engraved Postage Stamps of Great Britain printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. VOL. I. (1920, p.116 – 117, 119), Edward Denny Bacon. CHAS, NISSEN & CO., LIMITED.
3. Repairs of the 1841 One Penny Plates 1-40 Revised (April 2007), J.W.M. Stone
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