Inside Linn’s: The first stamp in the U.S. Americana series

By Charles Snee

The April 1 digital-only issue of Linn’s Stamp News will be available to subscribers Saturday, March 16. While you wait for your issue to arrive in your inbox, enjoy these three quick glimpses of exclusive content available only to subscribers. 

The first stamp in the U.S. Americana series

“Introduced to coincide with America’s Bicentennial era celebration, the Americana series of definitive (regular-issue) stamps saw wide use from its inception in late 1975 and well into the 1980s,” writes Richard L. Beecher in Modern U.S. Mail. After a brief recap of the famous $1 Rush Lamp and Candle Holder stamp with the brown color inverted, popularly known as the CIA Invert, Beecher introduces readers to the first issue in the series: the 13¢ Liberty Bell coil stamp (Scott 1618). The stamp was issued Nov. 25, 1975, about a month before the first-class letter rate went from 10¢ to 13¢. He then discusses two interesting uses of the stamp on postcards. One of those items, pictured above, is a short-paid tourist postcard mailed to the United Kingdom in February 1976. Read the column to learn about the other postcard.

Online magazine for the next generation of stamp collectors

In Computers and Stamps, William F. Sharpe reviews StampEd, the new online quarterly magazine published by the American Philatelic Society that is “aimed primarily at new collectors, especially younger ones,” according to Sharpe. He methodically explains how to navigate around the magazine’s home page and how to read the first issue. Sharpe highly recommends viewing the issue in full-screen mode. Overall, Sharpe gives StampEd a positive review. “I am not a new, young collector, but I found most articles in the first issue interesting,” he writes. The story about counterfeit stamps was a particular favorite for Sharpe.

Kitchen Table Philately: ‘quality off paper foreign mix’

In each weekly issue of Linn’s, either E. Rawolik VI or E. Rawolik VII dissects the contents of a stamp mixture offered to collectors. E. Rawolik is a pseudonym that is also the word “kiloware” (a stamp mixture) spelled backward. This week, E. Rawolik VI explores a mixture described in Linn’s classifieds as “quality off paper foreign mix including classics to recent issues.” In the half-sample of 59 stamps, Rawolik found a number of stamps with high Scott catalog values. One of those issues, valued at $15, was a used Great Britain 1911 4-penny King Edward VII stamp (Scott 150). Enjoy the full review in this issue.

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