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Philatelic News Briefs


NOTE: The following section will be utilized to communicate philatelic news and items of interest.

NOTE: The Mid-Cities Stamp Club encourages collectors to be informed regarding current philatelic events. One way to do this is to keep up with the philatelic press. If you are not currently subscribing to a philatelic publication, you might consider one or more of the sources featured in our recaps.

Local News


04-12-2004

JOHN BARRETT MNH INQUIRY

In a letter to the editor of Linn"s Stamp News, MCSC member John Barrett asks for assistance in determining the market for mint never-hinged stamps over the past 20 years. Barrett is seeking up-to-date real-market information that could be used in lectures to beginning stamp collectors.
(LSN - April 12, 2004).


State News


09-20-2004

TPA YOUTH HOLIDAY COVER CONTEST

The Texas Philatelic Association (TPA), through its' journal Texas Philatelist, is sponsoring its' 15th annual Holiday Cover contest. The contest is open to stamp collectors who are 18 years old or younger. Entries should combine stamp collecting and a holiday theme. The entry of the First Place Overall winner will be featured on the cover of the Nov/Dec issue of the Texas Philatelist.
(LSN - September 20, 2004).


National News


09-20-2004

US RAIL MAIL TO END SEPT. 28

Amtrak has decided to end its' mail carrying contract with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), on Sept. 28, 2004, due to the cost and disruption of adding mail cars to the system. Railroads have been used for mail service since 1832. A USPS spokesperson said the USPS was not planning any special ceremony to mark the last day of rail postal service.
(LSN - September 20, 2004).

09-13-2004

STAMPS.COM ISSUES WORLD LANDMARKS STAMPS

Stamps.com is now offering a set of "World Landmarks" stamps, consisting of 5 varieties, one each for Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas (North/South). The upper left corner of each stamp shows a landmark for the associated area (eg., the Leaning Tower of Pisa is depicted on the Europe stamp). The stamps are part of what the USPS refers to as "PC postage" (ie., generated from a personal computer) which can be purchased through the USPS under terms of an agreement with the issuing firm.
(LSN - September 13, 2004).

09-06-2004

APS HIT BY EMAIL SCAM

The American Philatelic Society (APS) is working with the FBI and the Secret Service to identify the perpetrators of scam email messages sent to members around mid-August. The email messages attempt to persuade members to update their credit card information, and thereby impart sensitive personal and financial data, using a fraudulent online link. The messages went to APS members who are registered on the APS' Internet Stamp Store. Subsequently, the APS sent out an email saying it would never ask for sensitive personal information, such as a credit card number, in an email.
(LSN - September 6, 2004).

08-23-2004

FORGED STAMPS FOUND ON CALIFORNIA MAIL

Charles Snee, writing in Linn"s StampNews, reports that forged examples of the 2002 Flag coil stamp (Scott 3622) have been spotted on mail from at least three California towns. The forged stamps have a "2003" year date rather than the correct "2002" date. Examples of the same stamp have also been sold on eBay in large numers. Earlier this year, forged examples of the 37c Flag self-stick stamp (Scott 3635) were also sold on eBay in large quantities.
(LSN - August 23, 2004).

08-23-2004

MANNING OFFER $3 MILLION FOR NPM REVENUES

Bill McAllister, writing in Linn"s StampNews, reports that Greg Manning Auctions, Inc., has offered to pay $3 million for the National Postal Museum's holding of obsolete US revenue stamps. The offer is for the entire NPM stock of revenue stamps, as opposed to NPM's stated intention to sell some of the stamps and resdistribute or destroy others. The Manning offer was submitted on the final day for accepting bids for what the NPM had previously said was up for sale. In 2003, the Manning firm also purchased the United Nation's Postal Administration archives for more than 3 million.
(LSN - August 23, 2004).

08-23-2004

STAMPS.COM ISSUES SPORTS STAMPS

Stamps.com is now offering two sets of "Sports" stamps, referred to as "Sports I" (5 varieties) and "Sports II" (5 varieties. The upper left corner of each stamp shows a human figure engaged in the activity of the represented sport (eg., a basketball player). The stamps are part of what the USPS refers to as "PC postage" (ie., generated from a personal computer) which can be purchased through the USPS under terms of an agreement with the issuing firm.
(LSN - August 23, 2004).

08-09-2004

COMPUTER-GENERATED "PHOTOSTAMPS" AVAILABLE

In the July 22 Postal Bulletin, USPS announced that computer-generated personalized stamps were "authorized postage" and should be processed accordingly. Initially, 7 denominations will be issued: 23c, 37c, 49c, 60c, 83c, $1.06, and $3.85. The issuing entities will be required to assure USPS that the images used on the stamps will be in good taste and not defamatory, according to Wayne Wilkerson, USPS manager of postage technology management.
(LSN - August 9, 2004).

08-09-2004

FDC FAKE CACHETS UNCOVERED

Carol Shelton, writing in Linn"s Stamp News, reports that hundreds of early US FDCs bearing bogus cachets came onto the market in early 2004. The covers are believed to carry genuine stamps and authentic first-day-of-issue cancelations. However, their cachets appear to be bogus add-ons, usually applied with a rubber handstamp. Many of the covers came onto the market inadvertently through an April 15 mail auction conducted by Nutmeg Stamp Sales of Danbuty, CT. Shortly thereafter, collectors began raising questions about the covers. Nutmeg is offering a full refund to buyers of the bogus covers. An investigation is currenly underway, but is complicated by the fact that the covers may have passed through several buyers before being identified as bogus.
(LSN - August 9, 2004).

07-26-2004

BOY SCOUT COIL BRINGS $1150 AT AUCTION

The Patrick Murphy collection of 1c Washington-Franlins 1908-1922 sold for over $155,000 at a June 25 Harmer-Schau auction. Included in the 171 lots was a 1922 precanceled 1c Washington coil stamp with guage 14 private perforations, known as a Boy Scout coil because these stamps were used on mail from the executive council of the Boy Scouts of America in New York City. The stamps were created from imperforate sheets of Scott 481, and only 20-25 copies are known to exist.
(LSN - July 26, 2004).

07-19-2004

STAMPS.COM FEATURES U.S. PRESIDENTS

Five new Stamps.com computer-generated ("PC postage") stamps feature presidents of the United States. Depicted are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Reportedly, the new stamps went on sale April 15 at www.stamps.com, website for Stamps.com.
(LSN - July 19, 2004).

07-12-2004

NEW PRICE RECORD - U.S. 20TH CENTURY SINGLE

Rob Haeseler, writing in Linn"s Stamp News, reports that the June 12 Robert A. Siegel auction of an unused 1914 2c Washington with gauge 12 x 10 compound perforations realized $176,000, thereby setting a new record for a United States 20th century single stamp (excluding error stamps such as the 1918 24c airmail invert). The stamp is the only known unused example of Scott 423B. By contrast, the same stamp sold for $9,900 in a 2000 auction, and was subsequently sold for about $25,000 to the collector who put it in the June 12 Siegel auction.
(LSN - July 12, 2004).

07-05-2004

APS INTERNET RADIO PROGRAM

William F. Sharpe, in his "Stamps on the Internet" column for Linn"s Stamp News, writes about the American Philatelic Society's new Stamp Talk internet radio show. The program is hosted by Nancy Clark, who has served as both a director and treasurer of the American Philatelic Society (APS). Broadcasts are every other Wednesday at 3pm EDT. Previous broadcasts, back to January, 2004, are available as archived files. Go to www.wsradio.com/apsstamptalk/ to get started.
(LSN - July 5, 2004).

07-05-2004

GREG MANNING ACQUIRES H.R. HARMER

Greg Manning Auctions has agreed to acquire certain assets of the H.R. Harmer auction firm. H.R. Harmer was founded in England in 1918. The firm opened its New York auction gallery in 1940. In 1946, it was selected to sell the renowned collection of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In May, 2004, the firm had sales of almost $10 million. In the past 10 months, Manning has acquired 12 companies. Manning hopes to close on the purchase by mid-August.
(SC - July 5, 2004).

07-05-2004

STAMP COLLECTOR SOLD TO AMOS PRESS

F+W Publications announced June 21 that it had sold all of its stamp publishing business, including the periodical Stamp Collector to Amos Press, Inc., of Sidney, OH. Amos Press currently produces Linn"s Stamp News and Scott Stamp Monthly. Amos agreed to substitute one of these two stamp periodicals for unexpired Stamp Collector subscriptions. The last issue of Stamp Collector was published with an issue date of 07-06-2004.
(SC - July 5, 2004).

06-14-2004

3c STAR COIL FOUND TAGGED

Robert Rabinowitz, writing in Linn"s Stamp News" , notes the recent discovery of tagged U.S. 3c Star water-activated coil stamps. The U.S. Postal Service has a policy of not tagging any stamps with a denomination less than 10c. Rabinowitz raises the intriguing possibility that the Postal Service may have specifically ordered the tagging of some rolls of 10,000 of the 3c Star stamp to accomodate their use on reply envelopes by a mass-mail solicitor.
(LSN - June 14, 2004).

06-07-2004

MILLER COLLECTION TO DISPLAY IN WASHINGTON

The National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. will display stamps from the renowned U.S. collection of Benjamin K. Miller. The collection is currently at the New York City library, where it has been locked in a safe since 1977, despite a 1925 agreement that said the collection would remain on public display forever. The lock-up was imposed after the discovery that 153 stamps had been stolen from the collection. The Miller collection contains one of only two known copies of the 1868 1c blue Benjamin Franklin Z-grill (Scott 85A).
(LSN - June 7, 2004).

06-07-2004

IMPERF 2003 DUCK STAMPS REPORTED

Bob Dumaine, writing in Stamp Collector reports that imperforate examples of the 2003 duck stamp (Scott RW70) have been discovered. This is the first report of an imperforate duck stamp since the program began in 1934. Dumaine points out that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed all duck stamps through the 2001 issue. Since then the issue has been contracted out to private security printers. Whereas BEP produced heavily engraved stamps, Dumaine states that the current printer (Ashton Potter) "uses only a few engraved lines, and the colors are often untrue and inconsistent."
(SC - June 7, 2004).

06-07-2004

NATIONAL TOPICAL STAMP SHOW

The National Topical Stamp Show, sponsored by the American Topical Association, will be hld in Memphis, TN, June 11-13. The show will include 28 stamp and cover dealers, plus 180 frames of topical exhibits. The show theme is "Memphis Music" and the United States Postal Service has approved 3 cancellations, one for each day of the show, with designs that tie into the show theme.
(SC - June 7, 2004).

05-17-2004

SHIFTED "5" PORCH COIL DRAWS $5700

Charles Snee, writing in Linn"s Stamp News reports that a mint strip of 8 of the US 32c Flag Over Porch coil, found with the first digit of the plate number ("5") on the stamp immediately preceding the stamp with the remainder of the plate number ("5555"), recently sold at auction for $5,724. The cause of this plate number split is believed to be due to a misregistration of the cylinder applying the tan ink, and it being out-of-sync by about the width of one stamp, causing the tan "5" to print on the stamp prior to the stamp which showed the remainder of the plate number.
(LSN - May 17, 2004).

05-10-2004

1898 "BATTLESHIPS"

Michael J.Morrissey, in his "U.S. Revenues" feature for Linn"s Stamp News reviews the revenue stamps of 1898, known as the "Battleships" because they depict the battleship Maine which blew up in Havana Harbor, Cuba. The destruction of the Maine led to the Spanish-American War which in turn led to the issuance of revenue stamps to help finance the war. Morrissey depicts various types of cancels applied to the series of stamps (Scott R161-72), and points out that it is quite easy to assemble a representative collection of these stamps.
(LSN - May 10, 2004).

05-10-2004

WHY NOT SENIORS ?

Les Winick, in his "The Insider" column for Linn"s Stamp News makes the case that far too much energy is devoted to the largely unsuccessful recruiting of youth to become stamp collectors, and that we should instead focus on enlisting senior citizens. According to Winick, seniors "have the money, the intellect and the time to collect stamps."
(LSN - May 10, 2004).

05-03-2004

NPM CHANGES REVENUE STAMP PLANS

In a radical departure from previously announced plans, the National Postal Museum (NPM) now says it will offer about 6.5 million of its US revenue stamps to collectors and other museums. Previously, the NPM had announced that most of their 7.8 million revenue stamps would be sold, loaned or destroyed. This report comes from Bill McAllister, Washington Correspondent to Linn"s Stamp News. The change is attributed to additional research by the museum that showed more of the lower-value revenue stamps could be sold than earlier estimated.
(LSN - May 03, 2004).

04-19-2004

US 37c FLAG FORGERY FOUND ON COVER

Charles Snee, writing in Linn"s Stamp News, reports on a forged example of a 37c Flag stamp found to have been postally used. Snee points out that the current Postal Service emphasis on using less costly printing methods (such as offset lithography and gravure) has opened the door for counterfeiters, especially the use of offset-printed stamps, because the technology is available and affordable. On the other hand, older issues utilizing line engraving techniques and built-in security features were virtually immune to being forged in large numbers in any convincing fashion.
(LSN - April 19, 2004).

04-19-2004

2005 SCOTT SPECIALIZED IN COLOR

Beginning with the 2005 edition, the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers will feature color stamp illustrations. The 2005 Scott U.S. specialized catalog is scheduled for an October, 2004 release, at a suggested retail price of $54.99 for the color catalog (softbound).
(LSN - April 19, 2004).

04-12-2004

NEW STAMP COLLECTOR FEATURE

Editor Wayne Youngblood has announced a new feature for Stamp Collector. Youngblood hopes to feature philatelic items from individual collectors who may treasure a particular item for its visual appeal, historical significance, or due to some interesting story behind the acquisition of the item. [Note: Unfortunately, Stamp Collector ceased publication in July, 2004.]
(SC - April 12, 2004).

04-12-2004

NEW 37c SNOWY EGRET SURFACES

A new 37c Snowy Egret coil stamp is now being sold at some post offices. The new version bears a "2004" year date in the lower left corner, and is printed by Ashton Potter. Previously, a 37c Snowy Egret coil stamp (Scott 3829) was printed by Avery Dennison and bore a "2003" year date.
(LSN - April 12, 2004).

03-29-2004

MICROSOFT "PENNY BLACK" PROJECT

Microsoft Corporation has named a software project to control spam messaging the "Penny Black" project. The idea is that the cost of sending spam, or unwanted internet mail, would be charged to the sender. This would be similar to the concept of pre-paying postage to send a letter, as implemented in England with the issuance of the world's first postage stamp, known as the "Penny Black".
(LSN - March 29, 2004).

02-09-2004

YELLOW-MISSING FLOWER COIL CERTIFIED

A 1991 U.S. nondenominated (29c) F-rate flower coil (Scott 2518) with a yellow-missing error, was certified as genuine by the American Philatelic Expertizing Service in Nov. 2003. The stamp was discovered by a Colorado collector in 1991 while rummaging through a box of letters to an Ohio organization where his daughter worked. So far, the stamp is believed to be unique.
(LSN - February 9, 2004).

02-02-2004

BENNETT TO AUCTION MARKOVITS OFFICIALS

What is believed to be the finest collection of U.S. Officials ever assembled will be sold at auction by Matthew Bennett International on Feb 7. The collection, assembled by Robert L. Markovits, has won four gold medals in international competition, and in 1999 won the American Philatelic Society's Champion of Champions award. Markovits said it was getting very difficult to add anything new to the collection, so he decided to sell it and return to one his earlier fascinations, international special delivery. Bennett's presale estimate for the collection is just over $1 million.
(LSN - February 2, 2004).

09-29-2003

USPS TO USE WADP NUMBERING SYSTEM

The United States Postal Service (USPS) will make use of the numbering system for new-issues as outlined by the World Association for the Development of Philately (WADP). USPS spokeswoman Rita Peer said the action was taken by the USPS "to strengthen its relationships with other postal administrations in terms of philately."
(LSN - September 29, 2003).


International News


08-09-2004

JAPAN POST TO PRIVATIZE

Japan's minister for economy and fiscal policy, Heizo Takenaka, indicated on Japanese television in mid-July that Japan Post will become an independent company in the private sector, beginning in 2007. Currently, Japan Post is state-run, involved in selling insurance and providing government-guaranteed savings, in addition to delivering the mail.
(LSN - August 9, 2004).

06-28-2004

QUEENSLAND RARITY UNCOVERED

Rick Miller, writing in Linn"s Stamp News, reports that Australian dealer John Pearson recently acquired a previously unrecorded copy of the 1892 Queensland two-numeral Six Pence stamp (Scott 111A). The stamp came from a collection that was given to the collector's nephew in 1958. The nephew eventually became aware of the rarity of the stamp and recently sold it to Pearson. It is believed to be the finest of the 16 copies known to exist. Lesser copies have sold in the last few years for about $16,500 - $26,000 (US). The stamp is characterized by the fact that numerals for the denomination appear only at the bottom corners. Subsequently, the numerals were placed in all four corners. Of the two-corner issues, only the Six Pence issue is scarce.
(LSN - June 28, 2004).

06-07-2004

SELF-ADHESIVE STAMPS 40 YEARS OLD

Wayne Youngblood, writing in Stamp Collector, points out that at about the same time the Beatles were first appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, something else of historic importance to stamp collectors was occurring - the introduction by Sierra Leone of the world's first self-adhesive postage stamps. The date was Feb. 10, 1964. The printer was Walsall Security Printers. Walsall had a particular interest in developing technologies. The United States, where self-adhesives are now commonplace, issued its first self-adhesive stamp in 1974 (the 10c Dove Weathervane).
(SC - June 7, 2004).

05-31-2004

"THE QUEEN'S OWN" EXHIBIT AT NPM

The National Postal Museum (NPM) is currently displaying items from the Royal Philatelic Collection. The collection was started in the late 19th century by King George V while he was still Prince of Wales. The exhibit opened April 6 and will continue through January 11, 2005. The exhibit includes Great Britain material from 1840-1; an unused Mauritius 2-penny blue, and other rarities from British Guiana and Cape of Good Hope, among others.
(LSN - May 31, 2004).

05-24-2004

MOST PROLIFIC STAMP ISSUERS FOR 2002

Denise McCarty, writing in Linn"s Stamp News supplies new-issue statistics compiled by Michel-Rundschau magazine, that list 27 countries which issued 100 or more stamps and souvenir sheets in 2002. Guinea tops the list with 391 stamps and 35 souvenir sheets, with a face-value of $259. Other members of the top 5 were Liberia, Grenada, United States, and Antigua-and-Barbuda. The United States issued 263 stamps and 1 souvenir sheet, with a face-value of $121.
(LSN - May 24, 2004).

02-09-2004

NEW BRITAIN COMPUTER-GENERATED STAMPS

Royal Mail has introduced Britain's first digital stamps, sold through on online purchasing system known as Smartstamp. The stamps were first available Jan. 14 and the target clientele is small businesses.
(LSN - February 9, 2004).

12-15-2003

OVERWHELMING PRICES FOR FRENCH RARITIES

The London auction house of Spink and the French stamp dealership Behr teamed up to generate about $6.85 million in the auction of the La Fayette collection consisting of just 129 lots of stamps and covers. The collection contained many of the most elusive of classic French errors, in particular tete-beche printing errors. For example, a tete-beche error in the block of four of the 1849 1-fr vermillion was bid to $1.1 million. The front of a cover mailed to New Orleans and containing a tete-beche pair of the 1850 15-centime green Ceres, fetched about $301,000.
(SC - December 15, 2003).


eBay News


09-13-2004

USPS SELLING ON eBAY

The United States Postal Service (USPS) in June began using eBay to dispose of items no longer available in their usual sales outlets. The three month experiment will offer items at a set price (The eBAY "Buy It Now" price, and nothing will be offered at less than the full face value of any stamps contained in the item.
(LSN - September 13, 2004).

08-09-2004

FAKE 37c FLAG COVER GOES FOR $79

In an eBay auction that concluded July 22, an eBay bidder paid $79 for a cover bearing a forged example of Scott 3635, the US 37c Flag Stamp with a small "2002" year date and microprinted "USPS". The forged stamp is not tagged and lacks the microprinted "USPS". The back side of the cover is marked "Forgery," according to the seller.
(LSN - August 9, 2004).

08-02-2004

3c LEWIS AND CLARK BLOCK OF FOUR BID UP TO $26

In an eBay auction that concluded June 18, an eBay bidder drove up the price for a block of four of Scott US 1063, the 1954 Lewis and Clark commemorative, to $26.55 The same bidder would later pay $23.50 for a plate block of the same stamp. The 2004 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values a mint single of #1063 at the 20c Scott minimum.
(LSN - August 2, 2004).

07-19-2004

STAMP HINGES GO FOR $207.53

Proving once again the demand for quality stamp hinges that can be easily removed without damaging the stamp, eBay bidders ran up a sack of 25,000 Dennison stamp hinges from a minimum opening bid of $24.99 to finally close at $207.53. The auction concluded June 24. The seller's description stated that he "found a bulk case of real old time Dennison stamp hinges!"
(LSN - July 19, 2004).

06-21-2004

FAKE CANADIAN POSTMARKS STOPPED

A seller of fake cancellations on Canadian stamps has been forced to cease such activity on eBay. The cancels were derived by scanning postmark proofs in philatelic literature and appling them to Canadian stamps, postcards and covers.
(SC - June 21, 2004).

04-05-2004

$699 FOR $5 PRESIDENTIAL COVER

On Jan.25, a cover mailed from Hawaii almost 3 weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and bearing a $5 Presidential Sereies stamp and 9 50c Presidential Series stamps, sold for $699 on eBay. The cover bore several interesting markings, such as "Via Clipper", "Registered", "Censored at Headquarters", "Via Airmail to Destrination". The price bid is believed to be the 5th highest eBay realization for a Presidential Series cover, the highest being $1800 for a 1941 cover bearing 10c and 25c values.
(LSN - April 5, 2004).


SOURCES


GSN

GLOBAL STAMP NEWS

Contact Global Stamp News by Email (Jan Brandewie) at jbrandewie@woh.rr.com
Mailing address: 715 Johnston Drive, Sidney OH 45365.
Editor: Jan Brandewie.

LSN

LINN'S STAMP NEWS

Visit Linns Stamp News at www.linns.com.
Mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Sidney OH 45365-0029.
Editor: Michael Schreiber.

SC

STAMP COLLECTOR

Visit Stamp Collector at www.krause.com.
Mailing address: 700 E. State St., Iola, WI, 54990.
Editor: Wayne L. Youngblood.

SSM

SCOTT STAMP MONTHLY

Visit Scott Stamp Monthly at www.scottonline.com.
Mailing address: P. O. Box 828, Sidney, OH 45365-0828.
Editor: Michael Baadke.

Theft Reports


NOTE: The following section will be utilized to communicate philatelic thefts.

09-20-2004

US 1875 RE-ISSUES STOLEN

Larry Volovski of Gary Posner, Inc.reports that 6 US 1875 re-issue stamps of the 1861-66 series, valued at $22,000, were stolen from a FedEx shipment Sept. 1. According to Volovski, the theft occurred in-transit, with the package being opened and the stamps removed. Each stamp has a Philatelic Foundation of New York certificate of authenticity. Contact info: Larry Volovski, Gary Posner Inc., 800-323-4279, email volovski@optonline.net .
(LSN - September 20, 2004).

07-12-2004

DR. RAY AMEEN MATERIAL RECOVERED

Philatelic property of Houston dealer Dr. Ray Ameen was recovered less than a month after its May theft. Some of the material from the $400,000 - $500,000 heist was being offered by a couple to New York City dealers, but even before that, in what might be described as a "bizarre" development, some of the stamps had been given to Houston area bartenders and female acquaintances of the male suspect as tips. Some of the recipients called Houston area dealers to see if the stamps had any value, and this led to recovery of a few items. Subsequently, H.R. Harmer of New York City reported a suspicious visit to their office. Shortly thereafter, an arrest was made and many more philatelic items were recovered. The suspects were indicted on charges of criminal possession of stolen property. Ameen is inventorying the recovered material to try and determine what, if anything, is still missing.
(LSN - July 12, 2004).

07-05-2004

CREDIT ASDA THEFT ALERT SERVICE

The American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) played a key role in the recovery of philatelic items stolen from dealer Dr. Ray Ameen on May 18, 2004. Through ASDA's Theft Alert Service, members were notified in 2 email messages regarding the theft. Subsequently, H.R. Harmer of New York City contacted the ASDA office to report a suspicious visit to their office. Shortly thereafter, an arrest was made and philatelic items were recovered. An ensuing warrant to search the hotel room of those arrested led to the recovery of additional philatelic material.
(SC - July 5, 2004).

06-23-2003

LATIN AMERICAN COLLECTIONS STOLEN

Kurt Harding of the Stamp Center of Texas reported the theft of 2 Scott Specialty Album binders containing Latin American stamps with a catalog value of $40,000. Harding believes the albums were pilfered the last day of the Compex show, held in Arlington Heights, Ill., May 23-25. Harding described the stolen material as going up to about 1950. Contact person for the case is Investigator Boyle, Arlington Heights police department, 847-368-5360.
(LSN - June 23, 2003).

06-09-2003

CSA STOCKBOOK MISSING

Alfred H. McDonald reports a missing stockbook containing Confederate States of America issues, possibility stolen at a stamp and coin show in Biloxi, MS, Mar. 1-2. The stockbook is described as an Elbe 10811 red vinyl binder, 7" by 9", containing GMK style 04 pages with black background. About 50 of the 100+ pages contained CSA material. McDonald owns Colonel's Coins & Stamps in Spanish Fort, AL.
(LSN - June 9, 2003).

05-19-2003

CALIFORNIA COVERS STOLEN

Oscar Thomas, a California dealer who specializes in California postal history was robbed of a box of covers prior to the opening of the April 25-27 San Francisco Westpex show. The box contained approximately 125-140 covers, with a total value of $4,000 - $5,000. The covers were inserted in sleeves which had buff backing sheets displaying the name "Thomas Philatelics". Contact point is the San Francisco Police Department, 415-553-1261 (case number 03-0477770).
(LSN - May 19, 2003).

12-16-2002

CHICAGOPEX THEFT

Wayne Youngblood, editor of Stamp Collector, also reports the above (Friedman) theft in the 12-16-02 edition in his "For The Record" column. Youngblood commended Friedman for the concern shown on behalf of his customers.
(SC - Dec. 16, 2002).

12-09-2002

CHICAGOPEX THEFT

Linn's Stamp News also reported the above (Friedman) theft in their 12-09-02 edition.
(LSN - Dec. 9, 2002).

11-27-2002

FRIEDMAN'S COVER CORNER

Dealer Bob Friedman has reported a theft of show receipts which occurred at the CHICAGOPEX SHOW in Arlington Heights, IL. (Nov. 22-24). If you purchased anything at the show from Friedman's Cover Corner, and paid by check or credit card, you are urged to contact Bob Friedman at:
Friedman's Cover Corner
P O Box 300459
Arlington, TX 76007
Phone: 817-467-1841
Fax: 817-467-0966
Email: covercnr@eaze.net