Iceland stopped producing postage stamps in 2020. Finland has indicated it may soon stop as well.

As hand-mailed letters and cards decrease in volume, it seems like the “end of stamps” can’t be too far off.

Wondering what folks who collect them think about this.

I would to start magnifying stamps with an optical camera. There are digital microscope cameras available on Amazon to digitize / scan, but I can still notice the digital aspect.

Does any one have a working setup to take actual high-resolution photos of their stamps using a microscope lens?

Or should I just get an actual microscope with a digital output? Just concerned about light, contrast, etc.

Finally finished. This is the set of the first 5 prussian stamps as the 2nd new printed issues from 1873. The print run was ordered by Goldner, a stamp dealer in Hamburg. It's stated as new print and not as reprint because the original print plates were used and the same official prussian printing authority "Reichsdruckerei" printed them. They have also the original watermarks. The differnce is found in the used papers.

This resulted in slightly smaller versions of the orange and green one then the original printed ones. The gum and paper are a little bit lighter but all in all it's hard to work out the differences to the original prints because the printed colors are nearly perfect matched.

The other 3 are way easier to determine. The paper is harder and thicker and the paper colors are way different to the original ones. Due to the time of the new print these stamps were not valid for postal usage, so all legit ones are unused.

Hello! I have inherited a stamp collection from my aunt. I have sorted through it - I have ~ 200 stamp sheets with a size of 10 to 50 each. Some of the collection however, are blocks of varying smaller sizes. I would like to preserve this collection.

I my plan is to store the stamps in plastic covers and place the covers in a binder. Do I need special materials?

Can I use a basic clear plastic sheet protector (that can be used to protect paper) or should I use special sheet stamp paper (MUDOR?)? Does it matter?

https://tinyurl.com/2y97pgtl

vs

https://tinyurl.com/2djtvr2j

Also, similar question: should I use a regular binder to store the sheets with stamps or do I need a special binder (MUDOR?) as well?

https://tinyurl.com/25df6lyf

This stamp is from an interesting time. Issued approximately a month before Türkiye established their first provisional government. It's neat to see a stamp that illustrates the bridge between the Ottomans and modern Türkiye

https://colnect.com/stamps/stamp/127316

Stamps from 1934, 1981, and 1999

https://imgur.com/a/oId5UI0

Well, Reddit being Reddit seems to have stripped my text. Editing it back in.

1. These two stamps seem to be the horizontal frame variant, but I have been unable to confirm as there are no images of it that I have been able to find. Did I identify them correctly?

2. The $1.20 value did not seem to be issued, there was supposedly some issued at $1.29 though. Is this still a 2587a variant or is it a different stamp.

3. The images in the stamps appear to be professionally created; were they an option from Canada Post or a someone's custom image?

My dad loved collecting things, and he recently passed away and I ended up inheriting a portion of his stamp collection. I would love to continue his legacy by collecting different stamps, so I just wanted to know how best to preserve these?

Thanks in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/pi12caxbwryd1.png?width=3863&format=png&auto=webp&s=5b76c878de511bed3124e23bbef2d17e35fef097

https://preview.redd.it/gwcpmzcdwryd1.png?width=3800&format=png&auto=webp&s=4202f4a090c8147b757af507d5b9acbb61f9ef85

https://preview.redd.it/de8eritewryd1.png?width=3682&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c858fb18b13b24729b3de4f7b01b88604c7b597

https://preview.redd.it/r42whykhwryd1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=e0cce82e33657ec792682177a13a58daa97fffaa