Organize and enjoy

Collectors of United States stamps get a break in July, compared to the large number of stamps issued in May and June for new postage rates. Only one new U.S. stamp issue is planned for July. That should give you a chance to organize your collection, so our newsletter feature about stock books and stock pages just might come in handy.

This month's newsletter also takes a look at recent stamps that appeal to the senses (the French chocolate stamps are my favorite), a report about stamps from Lithuania, and a preview of the August Scott Stamp Monthly.

If you would like to share this newsletter with a fellow collector, just click on the envelope symbol at the top of this page.

Jay Bigalke
Linn's Online Editor

Lighthouses stand tall in July

New United States Gulf Coast Lighthouses stamps and picture postal cards arrive July 23 nationwide, and collectors won't have to break the bank to add them to their collection. (More...)

Stamps delight the senses

More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle classified the five senses as sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. While most stamps are geared toward the sense of sight — picturing portraits, landscapes, plants, animals, works of arts and numerous other visual objects — relatively few recent issues take the other senses into consideration. (More...)

Linn's Stamp News provides nearly 400 stamp images that you can use as computer desktop wallpaper. This month Linn's features Australia's six-stamp Small Pond souvenir sheet (Scott 1790) issued in 1999. (View)

Stamp hobby firsts, Machin heads, in August 'Scott Stamp Monthly'

Who was the first stamp collector? What was the first stamp album? When was the first stamp catalog published?

Ken Lawrence answers these questions and more in his Spotlight column in the August issue of Scott Stamp Monthly. (More...)

Lithuania elects its first female
head of state

In Lithuania's May 17 presidential elections, Dalia Grybauskaite swept to victory with 69.08 percent of the vote. When she is inaugurated on July 12, she will become Lithuania's first woman president. (More...)

Stock pages help organize your growing collection

The stock page is a firm page with horizontal compartments that can hold your stamp inventory safely. Most stock pages have holes punched along one edge so they can fit into a three-ring or similar binder.

Stock books are bound volumes containing stock pages that cannot be removed from the book. (More...)