Blog
New Zealand Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of "The Lord of the Rings" Films.
After 12 long months of eagerly anticipating part two of the trilogy, in late December 2002 fans were rewarded with the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. After the unbridled success of The Fellowship of the Ring, which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, the second instalment had a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic audiences for the sequel ensured it was not only the highest grossing film of that year but, at the time of its release, the third-highest grossing
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Oct 24th 2022
THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA OVERPRINTS OF 1929
As early as 1899, the Post Office Department had considered marking stamps to help identify those stolen from post offices. Printing technology during the early years of the twentieth century, however, made implementation of the idea unfeasible.The development of the rotary press changed that. In 1929 a postal inspector again advanced the idea of marking stamps, stressing that $200,000 worth of stolen stamps had been "fenced" the previous year. His argument convinced postal officials, and a plan
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Sep 2nd 2022
FIRST UNITED STATES AIR MAIL STAMPS - SCOTT #1-3-- THE FLYING "JENNIES"
The first US Airmail stamps, or US definitive postage stamps issued for use on airmail letters, were issued in early 1918. They are shown above (Sc. #C1-3), arranged in the order of their issue dates.Note that the stamps are inscribed "U.S. POSTAGE". They were available for use on regular letter mail, as well as on airmail, which was still highly experimental. The central designs feature a "Curtiss Jenny" Biplane in Flight. The "Jenny" was originally produced as an Army training aircraft duri
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Aug 28th 2022
BEGINNING A STAMP COLLECTION--WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO START?
Beginning a stamp collection can be a fairly simple endeavor, or if not thought out properly an overwhelming task. A few basic questions have to be asked. #1) What age is this collection going to be geared for? #2) How extensive (or complete) do I want the collection to be. #3) Are there any areas of concentration that I want focus on. #4) What is my budget or budget guidelines.For a young beginning collector, the answers can be quite simple. Beginner albums and stamp packets can be the
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Aug 14th 2022
SPECTACULAR "STAR WARS" DROID CHARACTERS FEATURED ON USPS FOREVER STAMPS
The first characters fans meet in the first “Star Wars” film, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” are droids — namely C-3PO and R2-D2 — and droids have continued to play pivotal roles throughout the “Star Wars” galaxy.With 10 dazzling new character-inspired stamps, the Postal Service salutes beloved droids from the “Star Wars” galaxy and the imagination that brings these technological marvels to the screen.Representing more than four decades of innovation and storytelling, the droids featured in this pane
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Aug 9th 2022