| WELCOME to another lot of gossip from ACS! Yes I do realise that it has been some time since the last one but as they say.. GOOD THINGS ARE WORTH WAITNG FOR!!! Oh ok.. You weren’t waiting then I guess.
Where to start is another problem. So much has happened and I do like to keep all clients up to date with the local news and how things are in the land of the VULCAN LANE premises. I won’t bother to go back any further than January 2005.. Yes I know.. It has been more like 2002 if the web site is to be believed. This year really did start off with a hiss and a roar. Nicola, our long standing assistant had decided that her family needed increasing so we are now pleased to advise that she had a baby boy called Noah, in December and has decided to be a full time mother. I am very happy for them both to be able to do this, but it has also meant that at ACS we have lost a very good worker and someone who had been with me for 9 years. She was an expert at getting the New Issues done and also at organising the office to run well. So we will all miss her, but wish her well. In the mean time,
Yann has taken over the running of the New Issues and so we have noticed an increase in the TOPICS that are becoming available and the lists of NEW ISSUES that are now being done on a two monthly cycle. If you are not receiving this and would like to, let me know your email address and I will include you on that listing. Don’t worry if you do not have an email address as we also mail out printed copies so just let me know you would use them and I will arrange for a copy to be sent. That left Yann, Tane, and Myself to get by and make sure the office ran successfully. Come April we were doing OK as we had had the Auction in February and it was good for us. Plenty of variety with some interesting results.
The 1d Blacks were a complete disaster with a Dealer doing very well in UK buying the strip of 4 for only $850 Kiwi, but I was pleased to sell the 1d Black OFFICIAL – a very nice item. Interestingly the self-adhesive teddy bear did not sell but has since been sold.
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607 U 1840 1d Black STRIP OF 4 sold for NZ$850 bargin
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As always the collections sold very well with some spirited bidding totals being put in.
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Post Cards
The Post Card market has also strengthened and sales were good from this section. The postal History was also another amazing area with the Hand Painted Covers selling WELL above the estimates.
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1926 STAMP CARD Muir & Moodie 1898 type stamps with view of
BOTANICAL GARDENS DUNEDIN.
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1900 ONEHUNGA Comic card Cynicus Publishing Co. “The last car for Onehunga” showing a large crowd of people rushing to get the Tram and overflowing it
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See this sale for the some more for those who missed out last time. Again a good smattering of Full Face Queens sold from a very good selection available and some of the Advertising covers proved very popular.
The ERRORS & VARIETIES are always of interest with competition being very strong. With the Auction over, I decided to hold fire for a while so that we could take most of our stocks to the World Trade Show in Sydney in April. While the show was acceptable, I need not have bothered about saving the better items. In all, the Show was probably not very profitable, however it gave my Manager Yann, and I a chance to catch up with many of our Australian Clients and some of our Kiwi ones as well. After the Show finished, a quick trip home saw me preparing for another BIG EVENT.
The following Saturday I got married to the most wonderful lady. If you remember me talking a few years ago about this MASSIVE postal History accumulation I bought??? Well I met Robyn at the time, and after a long time getting to know each other, we decided that we should get married. So on 30th April the big event occurred with all our family and children getting together and after a fortnight exploring the Top half of the South Island here in New Zealand we returned to my home where Robyn has proceeded to shift in and get settled down. Yes we are still in the process.. these things take time turning it into OUR HOME.
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July saw us taking a Stand at the NZ Stamp Dealers Show in Auckland, where we just about sold out of our Lindner Stockbooks
It was nice to catch up with many of our LOCAL clients and other New Zealand Dealers. Towards the end of the month I packed my car and headed south to Tauranga for the day as I had a stand at their local Exhibition. This is a great place to be and many people always come in through the door with some of the members coming up to ask about my daughter as they had first met her 18 years ago at one of the shows. It is one thing about being a Dealer in a hobby like stamps, everyone is so friendly all the time. On this occasion I also met up with some one that had helped me in my shop 23 years ago when I first started out. WOW.. did he look old!!! Then he told me to go look in the mirror as well. Then it was another quick pack up to get home that night so that I could be in Church the next day as most Sundays are spent. So that weekend was over before I knew it. Then on the 5th August my stamp assistant Tane resigned, as he decided he was shifting to Christchurch to try his skills in the South Island. As I write this I am down to just Yann and I keeping the shop going. There has been some advertising for a new appointee but at the time of completing this I am just in the middle if interviews so hopefully the next newsletter will see us with a new stamp assistant. As I am writing this, I have just sent out an email advising of another NEW ISSUES Listing. There are some coming back with incorrect addresses etc. If you get a chance and you do have an email address please email me with that address on acs@nzstamps.com so that I can update my address book.
THANKYOU!!!
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NEW ZEALAND POST This is always an interesting topic. We either love what they are doing or hate it. That’s the beauty of stamps. Everyone has a differing opinion. The year 2005 has seen some interest, starting with the FARM YARD ANIMAL series where unfortunately the 45c ewe had horns. Apparently it was an illustrator’s liberty. They don’t really have horns. However as I have said before ANY PUBLICITY for stamps has to be good. The February Joint issue of YMCA – ROTARY – LIONS was very well received. The issues for the 150 Years of NZ Stamps has caused a problem though. The stamp has the date of the issue in bold numbers and then says 150 years. So the stamp is headed 150 Years of Stamps and the next line shows 1855-1905. This has caused many people to phone saying they have an error as the dates are wrong only to be told that they have a normal stamp. Most are still confused but it is just the way the design has been accepted. It is always interesting to see old stamps reprinted on new ones. It can assist the hobby by making collectors want the original as well. Then we had the issue to mark the tour of the Lions Rugby Team to New Zealand. A very innovative issue of rugby jersey design was produced. The stamp was self adhesive and die cut so that the jerseys formed the stamp. There were two values from each side so that we had 2 black jerseys and two red jerseys. Titled “DHL Lions Tour New Zealand 2005”. This caused quite a demand, especially from the touring rugby supporters.
The CAFÉ CULTURE (set of 5 die cut in the shape of coffee cups) was very well done, although to the purist this does not conform to the standard square stamp. It does remind us a little of when Tonga put out their Banana stamps and the like. However, these have proved to be very popular with many good comments being heard. The July GREETINGS Stamps were issued in a small miniature sheet size with a large border (which I understand can in the future be used for having ones photo or the like put on). The pictures of this are very typical of greetings including joined rings, some NZ identities, etc.
Another section of NZ POST has created INTERNATIONAL POST CARD LABELS and unfortunately both LIGHTHOUSE and LINDNER albums have included these in their annual supplements. These are $1.50 labels and there are 3 packs that have been produced by Saatchi and Saatchi in Wellington and printed by Wyatt & Wilson. The 3 packs have 6 labels with pictures.
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One pack has “KIWI CHARACTERS”, airmail stickers plus a sheet of kiwi sayings, The second pack has blank labels each at $1.50 so one can draw ones own picture (This pack is called Draw-It-Yourself or DIY. The last pack has Wildfood labels plus a sheet of stickers and 4 delectable recipes. What a pity that ALBUM MANUFACTURERS have decided to include LABELS in a STAMP album.
STAMP POINTS
This seems to be a very excitable area of collecting. For those who don’t know about them, this is a form of loyalty bonuses from NZ Post. At the end of each year, they add up the DOLLAR VALUE of what one spends with them and then allocates Philatelic Postage Products accordingly. The product can be anything from a se-tenant strip of a set of stamps to complete sheets of stamps. This has been happening since 1996. To date, the set of three miniature sheets are by far the most popular with very little market for the other items. For 2005 50 points (450.00 spent during the year) gets you a se-tenant used strip. For 100 points a mint strip, for 200 points 1 Rewards miniature sheet, for 400 points you get two miniature sheets, for 600 points you get the set of 3 miniature sheets, for 850 points you get 3 unique covers with miniature sheet affixed, and for 2000 points you receive 1 set of imperforate stamp sheets from the 150 Years of NZ Stamps 1955-2005 stamp issue. Each sheet has 25 stamps. A word of warning here. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have found a rarity if you locate this issue imperforate. Some collectors and even Dealers have been caught. As I have said, it is the miniature sheets that have taken off and are well worth collecting. I have always said that I would not include them in the main body of the Catalogue, as they were not available on a NEW ISSUE basis. However, I have made a separate section for them in my 2005 and subsequent years Catalogue. They are located on Page 77. The years 1996 to 2000 are readily available, no sheets were issued for 2001 but the 2002 to date sheets are very scarce.
ONE DEALER LESS
With the sudden death last year of Bruce Alexandre, owner of Stirling & Co, his widow this year decided to close the business. This has now happened with the stocks being purchased within New Zealand. For the Tasman album customers I do understand that possibly all is not lost as the new owner may start up this again, but not necessarily under the same name. But watch this space.
Stirling & Co. were the agents in NZ for NORFOLK ISLAND and I am pleased to advise that as from July AUCKLAND CITY STAMPS Ltd is now the sole agent in New Zealand for the NORFOLK ISLAND PHILSTELIC BUREAU.
If we can assist, please contact us.
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CLIENT details needed
I would also like to ask that every Client advise us of their collecting interest (Country/ Thematic/ Postal History/ Specialised/ etc.) so that we can update our records. If you have an email address send me an email to record it on my files. Often, when a new list of a Country or a theme or other list is prepared I will email to advise of its availability. Also, some offers are sent to Clients on the email data base.
And to those that have not bid in the Auction (New Zealand Stamp Auctions), Sale 171 may well be the last you will receive as it is time to update my posting records. The Catalogues do cost money to produce and send. If you haven’t bid for some time, but would like to continue receiving the Catalogue please advise. We are currently posting 3 to 4 Catalogues a year.
POSTAL BID SALE 171
Closing 10th October 2005
As you can see from this Catalogue, there are many fine items included, with a larger than usual COLLECTIONS section and some many notable Full Face Queens. The Errors are always very popular and there are many listed here and Sale 172 will also have a good listing.
The front of the Catalogue has two very important items in Pigeon Post, especially the overprint on part flimsy. Also there is the Olympic stamp with the inverted picture. This is a very scarce item as is the cover with the FIVE PENCE on 3d Air Stamp which is tied to the cover on it’s FIRST DAY of use. The 30c Toheroa with purple offset is part of only the second sheet recorded.
Don’t forget to bid early as often a “PRIOR BIDDER” who put in the bid first, wins a Lot.
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