Stamps forum

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​I think it's time for a Stamps forum here, similar to the Banknotes forum. I see lots of discussion on stamps and think that there are more than enough collectors here to get this forum going and maintain it.
Baseball cards too. And sketchbooks. All what a numismatic site needs.
Library Media Specialist, columnist, collector, and gardener...
It's more than a fair point; to be honest unlike baseball cards and whatever, we have had numerous stamp-collecting related threads in the Free discussions forum in the same manner that Banknotes have had their topics before they got their own forum. Perhaps a compromise would be making the Banknotes forum 'Banknotes & Stamps'?

If I were Xavier, a long term goal might be to found sister sites to Numista for banknotes, stamps and military medals (perhaps more?) with catalogues and forums, etc, all under an '-ista' umbrella. Kind of like a 'federated' Colnect. More easily said than done though.
Quote: "CassTaylor"​It's more than a fair point; to be honest unlike baseball cards and whatever, we have had numerous stamp-collecting related threads in the Free discussions forum in the same manner that Banknotes have had their topics before they got their own forum. Perhaps a compromise would be making the Banknotes forum 'Banknotes & Stamps'?

​If I were Xavier, a long term goal might be to found sister sites to Numista for banknotes, stamps and military medals (perhaps more?) with catalogues and forums, etc, all under an '-ista' umbrella. Kind of like a 'federated' Colnect. More easily said than done though.
Great idea,
It is great and a priority to keep numista about numismatics yet still be inclusive to these other hobbies so many of us enjoy. It would be a great site and direct competition for colnect and many more members could join. Also the 'Banknotes' section is already a largely mixed forum with many stamp identifications so it should rightfully be renamed appropriately.
N.uk
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
Have you tried those stamp forums which are already out there? Like stampcommunity.org.
Quote: "CassTaylor" Perhaps a compromise would be making the Banknotes forum 'Banknotes & Stamps'?

​I think this would be the best solution so that members that like to discuss stamps have a place to do so without involving the rest of the forum. :)

However there are a lot of great places out there to discuss stamps and any other collectables that members interested in those collectables might wanna take a look at. Numista should be a place about coins and I just fear that if every collectable would get it's own subforum the site would quickly become a "Jack of all trades, master of none". :(
I collect and deal in ancient Roman coin. In case you're looking for affordable ancient coins or need any help with the coins you already have send me a message.
Quote: "Numista should be a place about coins and I just fear that if every collectable would get it's own subforum the site would quickly become a "Jack of all trades, master of none". "
If we just stick to coins, banknote, stamps possibly medals it could work.
There could be a referee in charge o​f each part.
I'm not saying we should but it could be a possibility.
We must keep the topic currency related as you said and we should keep Numista a mainly numismatic focused site.
N.uk
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
@cro I agree completely, but catering to stamp collectors (of which many of us also are) in the same way that we have done for banknote collectors on the forums is based on demand, for which there has evidently been more of on Numista than for example, comic book collectors. The banknote section doesn't get that much traffic as of now anyway.

@Numismatist uk Exactly what I've said, but my wider dream was to have sister websites (not just forums) structured like and (preferably) run by Numista and it's contributors, which would prevent the concern of Numista becoming no longer focused on coins.

Such as for example: https://en.notista.com as the banknote sister site, https://en.philatista.com as the stamp sister site, etc. On each site there would be a similar 'Catalogue', 'My coins/banknotes/stamps', 'Exchanges', 'Forum' tabs etc. with the possibility of linking one's account on one to theirs' on another if they choose to expand their collection into that area. Maybe have green as the banknotes colour theme, red as the stamps' etc. in the same way Numista has blue.... :O

Not a formal suggestion, and I'm not volunteering to take on the task, but certainly a likeable possibility for me. I can always dream!
Quote: "Oklahoman"​Baseball cards too. And sketchbooks. All what a numismatic site needs.
​No one collects baseball cards anymore. But if you want to buy my collection, you can.
Quote: "JRo69"​No one collects baseball cards anymore. But if you want to buy my collection, you can.





Forgive my ignorance but what are baseball cards for really? Seems to be an American thing.
Quote: "CassTaylor"​@cro I agree completely, but catering to stamp collectors (of which many of us also are) in the same way that we have done for banknote collectors on the forums is based on demand, for which there has evidently been more of on Numista than for example, comic book collectors. The banknote section doesn't get that much traffic as of now anyway.

​@Numismatist uk Exactly what I've said, but my wider dream was to have sister websites (not just forums) structured like and (preferably) run by Numista and it's contributors, which would prevent the concern of Numista becoming no longer focused on coins. Such as for example: https://en.notista.com as the banknote sister site, https://en.philatista.com as the stamp sister site, etc. On each site there would be a similar 'Catalogue', 'My coins/banknotes/stamps', 'Exchanges', 'Forum' tabs etc. with the possibility of linking one's account on one to theirs' on another if they choose to expand their collection into that area. Maybe have green as the banknotes colour theme, red as the stamps' etc. in the same way Numista has blue.... :O

​Not a formal suggestion, and I'm not volunteering to take on the task, but certainly a likeable possibility for me. I can always dream!

I hope Xavier sees this,
good ideas for theme colours!
I wonder what percent of numista members collect stamps, banknotes, etc.​
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
Sorry guys but stamps forum has like 100% chances to be rejected. This point was discussed when we added the banknotes forum and no other forum is intended to be created for now (be it stamps, cards, or whatever). Numista will keep its focus on coins and bit of banknotes for now.

Still to be fair with any other improvement suggestion, this point will be added for discussion to next admin meeting.
Sapientiae plerumque stultitia est comes.
Si c'est un grand plaisir d'être reconnu par ses amis, c'est peut-être encore plus flatteur d'être reconnu par ses adversaires.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Quote: "pejounet"​Sorry guys but stamps forum has like 100% chances to be rejected. This point was discussed when we added the banknotes forum and no other forum is intended to be created for now (be it stamps, cards, or whatever). Numista will keep its focus on coins and bit of banknotes for now.

​Still to be fair with any other improvement suggestion, this point will be added for discussion to next admin meeting.
I suppose Numista is more for currency anyway.​
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
Maybe a "Other collecting"

Heck no. We waited for years to have a banknote forum. Banknotes are a numismatic item. With a few exceptions stamps are not. We do not need philatelic items on a numismatic page. I also hope that Cass and the diplomacy proposed isnt thought to be a solution when there isn't a problem. No self respecting numismatic site has stamps unless they are the few used as numismatic items. We waited too long to get a banknote forum to have it polluted by stamps. What next? Tickets? They are made of paper. […]

Library Media Specialist, columnist, collector, and gardener...
Thank God. It would be garbage to do stamps on a numismatic site. Except for stamps that were used as currency, there should be no place here. I do not go to a vegetarian restaurant to eat steak! I actually wish that someone would clean up the banknote listings and remove all the stamps. I volunteered more than a year ago to moderate the banknote forum. But was told that it needs to be people who can do all the forums. So many stamp places exist elsewhere. They are not numismatics and I think their inclusion would cheapen and damage the Numista brand. Why can't the stamps just go away to the Free topic forum? I hope a moderator would lock or remove any stamp threads to the Free forum that are wrongfully in the banknote forum.
Library Media Specialist, columnist, collector, and gardener...

Quote: "Oklahoman"​Heck no. We waited for years to have a banknote forum. Banknotes are a numismatic item. With a few exceptions stamps are not. We do not need philatelic items on a numismatic page. I also hope that Cass and the diplomacy proposed isnt thought to be a solution when there isn't a problem. No self respecting numismatic site has stamps unless they are the few used as numismatic items. We waited too long to get a banknote forum to have it polluted by stamps. What next? Tickets? They are made of paper. Numista should be about numismatics.

​Whoa, keep your shirt on, my friend; I'm not proposing any solutions, just sharing an interesting idea I had. No need to get all defensive. 

Besides, that 'interesting idea' was about creating sister websites similar to Numista for other collectibles rather than 'polluting' the Numista for coins that we have here anyway, so I'm not sure why you're all up in arms.

I had an idea, I threw it against the wall, it didn't stick. I am perfectly fine with that.
I agree with Cass and Oklahoman. I love Numista and don't want to see it become Colnect.
I was just merely pointing out that there seems to be interest in stamps among the collectors here. Many people collect more than just coins and banknotes. I would love to see a Notista site similar to Numista, as well as a Philista site.
I appreciate every opinion that was presented on the matter.
Quote: "JRo69"​I had an idea, I threw it against the wall, it didn't stick. I am perfectly fine with that.
​I agree with Cass and Oklahoman. I love Numista and don't want to see it become Colnect.
​I was just merely pointing out that there seems to be interest in stamps among the collectors here. Many people collect more than just coins and banknotes. I would love to see a Notista site similar to Numista, as well as a Philista site.
​I appreciate every opinion that was presented on the matter.
100%, keep Numista for numismatics and still expand the 'ista' brand.
          'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.'
                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
Quote: "CassTaylor"
Quote: "JRo69"​No one collects baseball cards anymore. But if you want to buy my collection, you can.
​​

​Forgive my ignorance but what are baseball cards for really? Seems to be an American thing.
​Speaking from a bit of an outside point of view, but having looked into this a little bit...

First of all, we call them "trading cards", and relate it to the act of swapping one card for another, but really they're "trade" cards, as in "business". These became popular items around the end of the 17th century as businesses would have images printed on one side and general business information on the other, usually in the form of a map pointing to the shop or place of work.

In the United States baseball and photography were both hitting the popular scene at around the same time, so various clubs (baseball teams) would pose for photos and have those printed on their trade cards. Sometime in the 1860s shops selling baseball equipment started using these images on their trade cards, and soon baseball trade cards were included in packages of cigarettes and sold in candy stores.

By the 1930s individual cards featured general statistics on the player pictured. Just simple things such as height, weight, place of birth, and position on the team.

My theory is that the modern popularity of baseball cards is based on five things: patriotism, nostalgia, tradition, economy, and statistics.

Patriotism, nostalgia and tradition are fairly self-explanatory. Very early in baseball's American career it was already being called America's National Pastime, the craze hit New York in the 1850s and due to headlines touting the national pastime and ease of access it spread like wildfire. Any kid who could find a stick and rock could throw a game together pretty easily. It was just a very accessible game overall. Trade cards were essentially handed out as advertising, so it also made card collecting fairly cheap and accessible. Each generation has passed on the tradition to their kids and kept the cycle going.

Economically, baseball cards, and baseball itself, have always seemed to do well even in economic downturn. They're cheap, yet still engaging and social. These days there are of course very expensive and valuable cards but one person can still get a good collection going for very little. They're appropriate for a very young audience and baseball itself is a fairly cost-effective activity for all ages. According to my sources unless it's an important game a ticket to a baseball game is cheap and games last a long long time, so it's easy for a family to make a day of it without breaking the bank. A baseball game being a socially acceptable place to drink beer in the day also helps.

Statistics. Don't ask me the reason but Americans love statistics. If you watch a baseball game on television you're treated to a flood of numbers that don't really mean much but are quoted relentlessly regardless. My best evidence of statistic fever in the US though? The National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL was started in Canada but soon spread to include the US, and now even has its headquarters in America. Despite the large majority of NHL teams being American teams the NHL was seeing the biggest interest in Canada and very northern US. They had good sales south but struggled to get a real popular foothold. Their solution was statistics. They started adding more and more statistics to broadcasts. And somehow it's working.

If you look at baseball cards there are more and more numbers crammed on there with every year. Americans love statistics.

Just my observation as an outsider.

On topic though, a point could be made for stamps being tokens, but the jury came back on both issues so I don't see a need.
@JRo Thanks for the opportunity to have this discussion! The vision I put forward is probably still very far off, if at all something that'll happen; but it's always interesting to imagine.

@Mona Thanks for the detailed runthrough of those cards' history! I see them in their own versions of NGC or PCGS holders on auction sites sometimes, and I wonder if they're really that much of their own niche collectors market?
Perhaps a guideline for the Numista Team would be to exclude any new category that is not going to be catalogued as well. We already have (bank) notes which have their forum and can be swapped for other notes or coins, but so far without a place for them in the catalogue. So, for now, notes are kind of a "second class citizen".

As for stamps, indeed it is perhaps unwise to add this entirely new category, and here too, if they were added without creating a new catalogue category, then we would have another "second class citizen".

I want to stress, however, that stamps have been accepted as the equivalent of currency by many businesses in the past. The Canadian Timothy Eaton Co. (1869-1999), the largest chain of retail stores in Canada at some point, used to accept payments in one cent stamps at the beginning of the 20th century. It could therefore be argued that stamps have more of an economic and numismatic value than the Christmas, Bee Gees and cartoon coins produced by the mints of Canada, Gibraltar, Niue, the Isle of Man, and Australia among many others.
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