Post by Tony CooperOn Sun, 12 Aug 2018 15:00:49 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Athel Cornish-BowdenPost by Peter T. DanielsPost by Athel Cornish-BowdenPost by Peter T. DanielsPost by Athel Cornish-BowdenI suspect that neither Ronald Reagan nor the overwhelming majority of
people in the USA had any idea how far away Grenada was (or indeed
where it was).
There were more stamp collectors in those days.
Was Ronald Reagan a stamp collector?
Not that I know of. FDR and GVR were, though. The party for the 150th
anniversary of the Royal Philatelic Society is in Stockholm, however,
though Her Gracious Majesty is lending some of the royal collection
for the exhibits.
Post by Athel Cornish-BowdenOtherwise, how is that relevant?
"[Many] people in the USA had any idea ... (where [Grenada] was).
OK, there were no doubt plenty of people who knew that "Grenada" was a
place that had stamps, but did they all know where the stamps came
from? Even if they knew that Grenada was in the Caribbean did they know
that it was almost as far from the Bahamas as from Miami? Was it the
sort of island where people went for their holidays, or did it just
attract people who couldn't get into prestigious medical schools?
When the invasion took place, all of the media reports included a map
view showing us the location of Grenada. Prior to the invasion, I
doubt if more than a small number of ordinary citizens of the US had
ever heard of Grenada.
The idea that a stamp would familiarize us with Grenada is ridiculous.
Those who collect stamps are interested in a stamp as one they don't
have,
Please stop flaunting your ignorance. Philately is not about hoarding.
Post by Tony Cooperbut that didn't necessarily result in determining where Grenada
is located. Stamp designs infrequently provide geographical
information.
Please stop flaunting your ignorance. Virtually every British colony did
in fact include maps among their issues, and beginners' albums for children
typically included maps locating all the countries represented.
Post by Tony CooperOf the "ordinary citizens" who could roughly place their finger on a
map and be close to the location, most were scuba divers, students
looking for a medical school that would accept them, and people
interested in a vacation destination off the beaten track.
I guess they didn't bother having Geography classes in Indianoplace.
Post by Tony CooperOn January 21st, the USPS issued a new stamp featuring the Byodo-In
Temple in Kahaluu, O'ahu, Hawaii. Some will buy a pane of them, but
No, very few people are likely to buy a "pane" (do you even know what that
means in philatelic terms?) of $6.70 stamps. Mass mailers of Priority Flat
Rate elements are more likely to use meters, and the occasional user of a
Priority Flat Rate cardboard sleeve (or stamped envelope -- every heard of
those?) is going to buy one once to use.
Post by Tony Cooperthe stamp itself does not indicate where the Byodo-In Temple is
located. Some will assume it's in China or some other Asian place.
No, no one will assume that, because they are familiar with the (very long)
series it's in; new ones, on the same pattern, are issued with each rate
increase, along with a Priority Mail Express Rate stamp (the current one
is $24.70, depicting Sleeping Bear Dunes). Previous entries in the set have
included Mount Rushmore, the St. Louis Arch, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Post by Tony CooperOn January 19th, the USPS issued the "Meyer Lemons" stamp. If you
look them up you will find Meyer Lemons originated in China but are
now "widely grown" in California. It's a pretty stamp, but I don't
why anyone but a philatelist would buy a 2 cent stamp for mailing
purposes. I suspect the primary market will be people buying a pane
for framing as a decorative item.
Please stop flaunting your ignorance. Odd values of stamps are perpetually
required both to make up the rates on stamps purchased previously, and to
add up to odd rates that happen not to have specific stamps for them at the
moment. The 2c Lemon coil stamp (that should be a clue right there) is one
of several in that design series, in odd values.
Post by Tony CooperPerhaps PTD can explain this, but the Byodo-In Temple stamp was issued
in Kansas City, Missouri and the Meyer Lemons stamp was issued in
Keaener, Louisiana. I fail to see the connections.
Obviously you did some tiny bit of what you call "research" to come up with
what you thought were mock-worthy statements (remember William Proxmire?),
but you obviously didn't read the paragraphs that go along with them.
Both of the Priority stamps were issued in Kansas City, because when First
Day of Issue ceremonies are held, they are generally tied to some local
celebration relevant to the topic. They require some amount of time,
expense, and local interest. It would be hard to drum up local interest in
a $6.70 or $24.70 stamp.
As for the Lemon stamp, did you bother to check where the Meyer Lemon
variety is grown? such as, Kenner (not Keaener), LA?
For instance: the Bicentennial of the Flag Act stamp was issued, not on
Flag Day (June 14), but on June 9, in Appleton, Wisconsin, in connection
with the traditional "largest parade in the country celebrating Flag Day";
it was, of course, the Saturday before Flag Day.
The "O Beautiful" sheet of 20 different designs -- four photographs
representing each of the five locations mentioned in the first stanza of
"America the Beautiful" (spacious skies, amber waves of grain, etc.);
unfortunately they didn't bother to move on to "alabaster cities" -- was
issued on July 4 in Colorado Springs, about as close as they could get to
Pike's Peak.
Don't ask me to defend Frozen Treats, Scooby-Doo, The Art of Magic, or Here
There Be Dragons. I pretty much abandoned US stamps when they started doing
sheets of fifty different designs for state flags, state birds and flowers,
state sightseeing sites, ....