Inside Linn’s: Revisiting the Virtual Stamp Club

By Charles Snee

The June 3 digital-only issue of Linn’s Stamp News will be available to subscribers Saturday, May 18. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your inbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

Revisiting the Virtual Stamp Club

Computers and Stamps columnist William F. Sharpe first reviewed the Virtual Stamp Club in the pages of Linn’s in 2002, and it’s been almost a decade since he last looked over the site, which is hosted by Lloyd de Vries. His quick overview in this week’s issue will get you up to speed.

Additional-ounce uses from 1981 not easy to find

In Modern U.S. Mail, Richard L. Beecher highlights two unassuming but scarce covers that document a very short period in 1981 (from March 22 to Oct. 31) when the 1-ounce first-class letter rate was 18¢ and the additional-ounce rate was 17¢. The second cover, in particular, has a number of unusual characteristics that Beecher carefully explains in his column.

Kitchen Table Philately: nice stamps from a worldwide mixture

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 VII sifts through a one-fourth sample of 72 stamps from a worldwide packet. Although the Scott catalog value was modest, our reviewer was pleased to find “dozens and dozens [of stamps] that will fill spaces in my album.” Enjoy the full review in this issue.

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