Stamp Collection
Bill "Lars" Colp

It may seem strange, but the purpose of this section is to show you what isn’t included in this stamp collection! If you are looking for the most common BOB items (Parcel Post, Postage Due, etc.), they are in the Back of Book section (where they belong). This section is a treatise of the types of stamps that are NOT considered part of this collection.

I try to provide an illustrative example of each category. In at least one case (Postal Notes), the entire series is presented, but that’s just because I got a good deal on the whole set. There are MANY obscure categories, some not even listed in the Scott catalog, that could be included here.

It bears repeating: This is a collection of Postage Stamps of the United States. There are 7 categories of items that are excluded:

1. It’s not a Stamp
   1. Postal Stationery
      1. Post Cards
      2. Envelopes
      3. Cut squares
      4. Wrappers
      5. Airmail
      6. Official
      7. Reply Cards
   2. Meters
   3. PVIs
   4. Permits
   5. Business Reply Mail
   6. International Reply Coupon
   7. V-Mail
   8. Booklet Covers
   9. Slogan stamps
   10. Backing Paper
   11. Selvage (border surrounding the stamps on a sheet)
       
       
2. It’s not the United States
   1. Confederate States of America
   2. U. S. Occupation
      1. Canal Zone
      2. Cuba
      3. Office in China
      4. Danish West Indies
      5. Guam
      6. Philippines
      7. Puerto Rico
      8. Hawaii (prior to statehood)
      9. Marshall Islands
      10. Micronesia
      11. Palau
      12. Ryukyu Islands
   3. Allied Military Government
   4. United Nations
   5. Independent Postal System of America
   6. Joint Issues (the foreign version)
      
      
3. It’s not Postage
   1. Stamps converted to currency (Civil War Era)
      1. Encased Postage
      2. Postage Currency
   2. Sanitary Fair (Civil War)
   3. War Savings (WWI and WWII)
   4. Postal Savings Stamps (for Postal Savings Accounts)
   5. Savings Stamps (for U.S. Savings Bonds)
   6. Official Seals
   7. Postal Notes (used for money orders)
   8. Test Stamps
   9. Revenue Stamped Paper
   10. Revenue Stamps
   11. Private Die Proprietary
   12. Other Fees
   13. State and Local Revenues
   14. Other Stamps (Telegraph, etc.)
   15. Modern Local Posts
   16. Cinderellas (e.g. Christmas Seals)
   17. Labels
       
       
4. Ancillary
   1. Covers and Auxillary Markings
      1. Stampless Covers
      2. Postal History
         1. Obsolete Postmarks
         2. Mobile Post Office Cancellations (RPO's, HPO's, etc.)
         3. Unique Transportation Methods (Zeppelin, catapult, rocket, etc. )
         4. U.S. Military (APO, FPO, etc.)
         5. Auxillary Markings (Crash Covers, etc.)
      3. Commemorative Covers
         1. First Trip (e.g. First Flight)
         2. First Day Covers
         3. Special Events
            1. Expositions
            2. Inaugurations
            3. Naval Covers
            4. Holiday Covers
            5. Other
      4. Patriotic Covers
      5. Advertising Covers
      6. Advertising Collars
      7. Corner Cards
      8. Cameos
      9. Ladies' Envelopes
   2. Bisects
   3. Tags
   4. Cancellations
   5. Precancels
   6. Perfins
   7. Grills
   8. Secret Marks and Other Minutiae
   9. Watermarks, Perforations, and Press Type
   10. Private Perforations (Schermack, Farwell, Brinkerhoff, etc.)
   11. Local PO Perforations (Kansas City Roulettes)
   12. Souvenir Cards
   13. Souvenir Pages
   14. Commemorative Panels
       
       
5. Errors, Freaks, and Oddities
   1. Inverts
   2. Plate Flaws
   3. Perforation Errors
   4. Paper Folds
   5. Color Missing
   6. Color Shifts
   7. Tagging Omitted
   8. Ink Errors
   9. Double Transfer
   10. Double Impression
   11. Ghosting
   12. Offset image
   13. Multiple Errors
       
       
6. Fakes, Forgeries, and Facsimiles
   1. Fake Overprints
   2. Trimmed Perforations
   3. Altered Facsimiles
   4. Fake Perforations Added
   5. Altered Proofs
   6. Forgeries
   7. Reproductions
   8. Facsimiles
   9. Specimens
   10. Proofs
   11. Essays
       
       
7. Computer Vended Postage
   1. Vending Machine Postage Stamps
   2. Vending Machine Postal Cards
   3. Personalized Postage
   4. Personal Computer Postage

As a stamp collector, it was easy to limit my collection to just the United States, but there are many temptations to collect U.S. postage that isn’t a stamp and U.S. stamps that aren’t postage. Primarily we’re talking about Postal Stationary and Revenue Stamps, but there are dozens of other niches that often find their way into the BOB part of a collection.

I hope you enjoy the hodge-podge on the following pages. To me it is a collage of near cousins to the stamps I have painstakingly collected over the years. Although they don't exactly fit in with my collecting preferences, they are definitely worth a mention and a few illustrative examples. There are literally dozens of specialty areas shown, and I am deeply indebted to those specialists on whose broad shoulders I humbly stand to offer these meager scraps.

Missing items

Although I do not consider ANY of these stamps to be necessary to the completion of my primary collection, I would like to obtain the following:

• Confederate States of America
  • CSA 9, 10, 11
  • wallpaper adversity cover
  • North-South transfers through Kentucky (both ways)
• Official seals
  • OXA* dead letter office seal - forwarded mail (any)
  • OXB* dead letter office seal - returned mail (any)
• Revenue stamps
  • RJM* - marihuana (any)
• Other fees
  • RVC* - camp stamp (any)
  • RVT* - trailer permit (any)
• Cinderellas
  • Remarque example
• Tags
  • "Live plant" tag
  • cotton bale tag
  • M-bag tag
• Private perforations
  • Kansas City Roulette example

I also intend to keep the Joint Issues section up-to-date.

Pages

Click on any thumbnail image below to view the page full screen.

It's Not a Stamp

Postal Stationery, Meters, Permits, International Reply Coupon, Revenue Stamped Paper and Selvage

page 1.1	page 1.2	page 1.3	page 1.4	page 1.5	page 1.6
page 1.7	page 1.8 front	page 1.8 back	page 1.9	page 1.10	page 1.11
page 1.12	page 1.13	page 1.14	page 1.15	page 1.16	page 1.17
	Add page for Latin Dance backing text.
page 1.18		page 1.19

It's Not the United States

Confederate States of America, Canal Zone, Cuba, Office in China, Danish West Indies, Guam, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Ryukyu Islands, Allied Military Government, United Nations, Independent Postal System of America, Joint Issues

page 2.1a	page 2.1b	page 2.2	page 2.3	page 2.4	page 2.5
page 2.6	page 2.7	page 2.8	page 2.9	page 2.10	page 2.11
page 2.12	page 2.13	page 2.14	page 2.15	page 2.16	page 2.17
page 2.18	page 2.19	page 2.20	page 2.21	page 2.22	page 2.23
page 2.24	page 2.25	page 2.26	page 2.27	page 2.28	page 2.29

It's Not Postage

Encased Postage Stamps, Postage Currency, Test stamps, Official seals, Sanitary Fair, War Savings, Postal Savings, Savings Stamps, Postal Notes, Revenue Stamped Paper, Revenue Stamps, Private Die Proprietary, Other Fees, State and Local Revenues, Telegraph stamps, Cinderellas, Modern Local Posts

page 3.1	page 3.2	page 3.3	page 3.5	page 3.6	page 3.7
page 3.8	page 3.9	page 3.10	page 3.11	page 3.12	page 3.13
page 3.14	page 3.15	page 3.16	page 3.17	page 3.18	page 3.19
page 3.20	page 3.21	page 3.22	page 3.23	page 3.24	page 3.25
page 3.26	page 3.27	page 3.28	page 3.29	page 3.30	page 3.31
page 3.32	page 3.33

Ancillary

Covers, Auxiliary Markings, Bisects, Tags, Cancellations, Precancels, Perfins, Grills, Secret Marks and Other Minutiae, Press Type, Watermark, Perforation, Private Perforations, Local Perforations, Souvenir Cards, Souvenir Pages and Commemorative Panels

page 4.1	page 4.2	page 4.3	page 4.3a	page 4.4	page 4.5
page 4.6	page 4.7	page 4.8	page 4.9	page 4.10	page 4.11
page 4.12	page 4.13	page 4.14	page 4.15	page 4.16	page 4.17
page 4.18	page 4.19	page 4.20	page 4.21	page 4.21a	page 4.22
page 4.23	page 4.24	page 4.25	page 4.26	page 4.27	page 4.28
page 4.28a	page 4.28b	page 4.28c	page 4.28d	page 4.28e	page 4.29
				Add page for Attack of the Sharpie!
page 4.30 front	page 4.30 back	page 4.31	page 4.32	page 4.33	page 4.34
			add modern color differences
page 4.35	page 4.35	page 4.37	page 4.38	page 4.39	page 4.40
page 4.41	page 4.42	page 4.43

Errors, Freaks, and Oddities

Invert, Plate flaw, Omitted tagging, Color missing, Printing smear, Dry plate, Color shift, Misperf, Gutter snipe, Missing perf, Pre-print paper fold, crazy perf, and Multiple errors.

page 5.1	page 5.2	page 5.3	page 5.4
page 5.5	page 5.6	page 5.7

Fakes, Forgeries, and Facsimilies

page 6.1	page 6.2	page 6.3	page 6.4	page 6.5
page 6.6	page 6.7	page 6.8	page 6.9	page 6.10

Personalized Postage and Personal Computer Postage

page 7.1	page 7.2	page 7.3	page 7.4	page 7.5	page 7.6