Gifts for stamp collectors

ClipArtBest

Who doesn’t like to be spoiled with a nice gift? If you have a stamp collector in your family, or as a friend, you may wonder what you could get them as a gift. Especially if you’re not familiar with stamp collecting yourself.

Now, if you don’t know what your stamp collector’s particular interests are, it may be difficult to pick something out for him/her. If you want to make the gift a surprise, then it may not be a good idea to go asking them what their special interests are. After all, they might get suspicious and that could ruin the surprise!

Read more

Se-tenant stamp pairs

Do you collect Se-tenant stamp pairs? Since the very beginning of stamp collecting, the most common stamps to collect are “singles.” But there are so many other ways to collect stamps and so many different formats to choose from. Philatelists also collect stamps as pairs, blocks, strips, booklets, souvenir sheets, and the list goes on. Take a look at Se-tenant stamp pairs with me!

Read more

What are Plate Blocks?

set of plate blocks

What are Plate Blocks? Good question! People collect postage stamps in many forms. You can collect singles, pairs, blocks, sheets, and coils. They all have their special characteristics. If the perforations between at least four stamps are unseparated, in a 2 × 2 configuration, then you have a stamp block. Philatelists collect blocks in groups of 4, 6, or even up to 20. However, blocks of four stamps are the most common.

Read more

Cork cancellations special offers!

I love studying cork cancellations! Why? I guess I find machine cancels a little boring. That’s just my personal opinion. However, the fancy cancellations (also called cork cancellations) of the early 19th and 20th centuries have a true artistic flair. According to many sources, Canadian cork cancellations are particularly prized by many collectors. Here’s a little bit of their history.

Read more

«Stamps on Approval» club–join now!

Stamps on approvalWhat is a “Stamp on Approval” club? It’s a long-standing concept first introduced by a great philatelist—Maynard Sundman. And here at Arpin Philately, it’s our specialty! At your convenience, Arpin Philately will regularly send out packages of stamps for you to look over. These packages, which will hopefully meet with your “approval,” are available for you to purchase in their entirety. Or you can just buy the individual stamps which please you. If nothing meets with your “approval,” you can just send them back to us and we’ll try again! Our stamps on approval packets can be as big or as small as you like. We do our best to give you exactly what you want.

Read more

CANADA’S FIRST POSTAGE STAMP-BUY NOW!

canada's first postage stamp
Canada’s First Postage Stamp

Now is your chance to own a piece of history! In our Rare Canadian Stamps section, Arpin Philately now has in inventory the first postage stamp ever issued by Canada. It’s affectionately known as the “three-penny beaver”. It was issued on the 23rd of April, 1851. So that makes it 171 years old! These stamps don’t come around every day, so don’t take too long to decide.

Read more

The first postage stamp-ultimate guide to its history

Image: Clipart Best

Do you want to know the history of the first postage stamp in the world? Humans have used many methods of communication throughout the centuries. We’ve gone from inscribing rock walls and clay tablets to using ink on papyrus. Ink on paper followed and then typing, laser printing, etc. More often than not, messages are now sent by text or email.

In the past, it was often difficult to send messages because there was no reliable system in place. Letters often took forever to reach their destination. Or, they arrived too late-if they arrived at all! Imagine only finding out that a loved one had died many months or years after the fact!

Read more