Hello,  Hope you enjoy seeing this one. I have started to get some more of my Northern Rhodesia in the online shop. Every now and again I find one that has a nice catalogue value.  This is one example. SG 9 from the 1925 definitive issue  with a Used catalogue value of £50.

Perhaps I should wait to list until the exchange rate improves as I see it is very bad for me and good for the buyers at the moment.

I have also been reading some  threads somewhere about the SG Catalogue prices and how SG themselves are discounting against their catalogue numbers. As regular readers will know I have always said my prices are way below SG (in most cases) because SG are perhaps a bit inflated and as SG do point out their prices are for stamps in top quality condition.

Anyway, enjoy my stamp offerings and my prices and hopefully you can fill a few gaps in your collection.

Have a great week.  Michael
cddstamps.com

Hello, Thank you to all who entered the Valentines Days Competition. Entries from Australia, Canada, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Romania, The Netherlands, Finland the USA and the UK.

I picked 4 winners using an internet random number generator. after giving each entry a number as they arrived in my mail box.

Well done to Scott, Marice, Les, and Jeroen. Prizes will be in the morning mail. I am sorry so many of you did not win. I will do more competitions so please keep reading the blog.

Hope you also have time to look at cddstamps.com website and perhaps find a few more stamps that will fill a gap or two or more in your collection at very competitive prices.

Tonight stamp is from Malta and is in the cddstamps Bidstart Store here . It is SG 306 and has a quite nice Gzira Cancel.

When I was loading some of my Malta stock to the Store I was thinking back to my time in Malta many years ago.  Gzira is a town located between Msida and Sliema  The word Gżira means "island" in Maltese and the town is named after Manoel Island which lies just adjacent to the town. The seafront of Gżira is famed for its views of the walled city of Valetta which I remember very well.

Hope you like this and perhaps the 400 plus I have in the Store.

Enjoy your stamps….  Michael

www.cddstamps.com

Hope you enjoying seeing this. Received today on a large letter from Perth, with some other stamps and a very nice clean postal cancel. No catalogue value I noted for Used. SG 778s (Opt Specimen) Issued 1981 - yes 35 years ago and it finally got used!

Best wishes to all.. count down to Valentines day competition draw.............

Michael
cddstamps.com

Hello, It is Valentines Day here as I write so here is my Valentines Day quiz.  

I have 2 of each of the above Royal Mail Presentation packs, one for the winner, one for runner up and one each for 3rd and 4th correct entry selected.

Usual rule, send answers to cddstamps@gmail.com with your mailing address .. must have mailing address, I do not have time to search previous entries for an address, if I still have them as I delete all previous competition entries.   I will draw winners  on Monday evening my time - as entries come in they get a number, 1, then 2, then 3  etc etc . I use a random number generator from the internet  to select the winner.

I saw this quote, and while Beatles comes to mind it is not a Beatles quote;  who said this ???????

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” 

 I also like humourous quotes.. I like this one so am sharing , hope you laugh. and have a great day.

“I wanted to make it really special on Valentine’s Day, so I tied my boyfriend up. And for three solid hours, I watched whatever I wanted on TV.” 

Enjoy your stamps.. Michael

www.cddstamps.com

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Welcome to cddstamps and the weekend.  Hope everyone is well.

Just found this so thought I would show it as it is a nice little FDC. Issued 3rd December 1946. One of the many "Victory" issues from the British Commonwealth. In total I believe there were 164 stamps in this issue from the various British Commonwealth countries back then.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your stamps.

Michael
cddstamps.com

Hello, Friday night and as promised I made the draw for the Groundhog day competition.

Each entry was given a number and I used a random number generator to select the winner.

Lucky number went to George from Taiwan. I will be mailing the prize, Miniature sheet, in the morning before I fly out for  5 days in the Philippines.

Decided to do a runner up prize given so many entries and that went to Sally from Malayasia.

With entries from Australia,  USA, Romania, The Netherlands, Belguim, Indonesia, China, Canada and UK this was biggest entry of any of my competitions. Thanks to all for reading the blog.

Have a great weekend and Kung Hei Fat Choy, Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers.

Michael
cddstamps.com

Hello,

Browsing an auction site today I saw the above stamp listed. It gave me the idea that it is about time I did another short piece on stamp quality. I would hope people have enough smarts to know the obviously good from bad but there are new people getting involved in this wonderful hobby so it doesn’t hurt to be repetitive on this topic and expand on the obvious.

The stamps above is listed as  ”  fresh color, cancelled, Fine-VF”    surely no one could possible think this was a correct description. As sellers we all make mistakes however hard we try not to. But fresh colour?  I do not think so.  And, it is certainly not Fine-VF (Very Fine) as the postal cancel is blurred, heavy and across the King’s face. And, one more, which you have seen I am sure, the bottom left short perf is really a missing corner in my view. If I was really being fussy I would also point out that the image is not well centered, the white margin at the top of the stamp is larger than the white margin at the bottom.  Centering is often considered an important factor when considering quality condition and price.

Two tips if you are not sure. First, assuming you have a Stanley Gibbons Catalogue, have a look at the front of it for the “Condition Guide” section. It really is very good. Usually there are two or three pages describing quality conditions with words and pictures.  Second, have a browse on the auction site, or another auction site, for the same stamp and compare. That is very easy to do and will most likely give you a good comparison.

I hope you found this useful especially if you are a new collector

Michael

www.cddstamps.com

Kung Hei Fat Choy – Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers.

Hello everyone, Happy Groundhog Day.. actually it is so cold here in Hong Kong, were we ever to have such creatures there is no way they would come up to see if the shine was shining or they could catch a shadow. Anyway, I thought a competition was due. It also being Chinese New Year soon.

So the Miniature sheet above as a prize. Nice one I think.

Just email your answer to me at cddstamps@gmail.com and include your mailing address ( in case you win) I do not keep mailing addresses as I always tell people but still I get entries with no mailing addresses. No mailing address and you are not entered into the competition.. Sorry.

anyway  email me and give me the answer to this question:  In what year was Groundhog day apdopted in the USA?  

Too easy..    I will randomly draw  a winner on Friday 5th February in the evening my time and mail the prize the following morning  I fly out  Saturday for a few days in the Philippines for sun sunshine.  That will be my Chinese New Year break.

Enjoy your stamps, Groundhog Day and Chinese New Year..  Best wishes..Michael
cddstamps.com