Inside Linn’s: In a cover collection far, far away

By Charles Snee

The May 22 issue of Linn’s Stamp News just landed on the presses and goes in the mail to subscribers Monday, May 8. And if you subscribe to Linn’s digital edition, you’re at the head of the line with early access Saturday, May 6. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your mailbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

In a cover collection far, far away

In First-Day Covers, Lloyd de Vries carries on a fascinating interview with a collector in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who combines his interest in FDCs with science fiction and fantasy. The collector’s “initial influences in science fiction and fantasy stories were comic books and then the original Star Trek television series,” de Vries explains. “He has also written and published stories and novels.” Shown here is one of the collector’s Star Trek FDCs, which has been autographed by William Shatner, who portrayed Capt. James T. Kirk.

Unissued Slovenian stamps get royal attention

What Rick Miller calls the “mysterious Celje issue” of Slovenia, which was produced by overprinting Austrian Coat of Arms stamps, is the subject of his Stamps of Eastern Europe column. “These unissued overprinted stamps owe their existence to a group of private investors who hoped that they would be authorized for use by the postal authorities,” Miller writes. He explains in detail the origins of these cinderella issues and why different colors were used for the overprints. Miller also warns collectors about fake Celje overprints and provides measurements of the two types of genuine overprints and the measurements for fake overprints.

Kitchen Table Philately: 13 used U.S. stamps

In each weekly issue of Linn’s, either E. Rawolik VI or E. Rawolik VII dissects the contents of a stamp mixture offered to collectors. E. Rawolik is a pseudonym that is also the word “kiloware” (a stamp mixture) spelled backward. This week, E. Rawolik VI examines a very small assortment of used United States stamps that the seller promised would have a catalog value of more than $150. Two of the 13 stamps had a catalog value of $40 each; both were Washington-Franklin coil stamps. Enjoy the full review in this issue.

Connect with Linn’s Stamp News: 

    Sign up for our newsletter