Over the years, stamp collectors have commissioned or created stamplike images for use on Christmas cards. The design of this proposed Santa Claus cinderella stamp is dated 1951 in the lower corners. The proof is signed in pencil by Arthur Engler. Handstamped on the reverse is “Arthur Engler, 6340 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland 9, California.”

What would you do if you were aboard a ship as Christmas was rapidly approaching, and you had not yet sent your Christmas cards? In 1934, you could have taken advantage of the British Wireless Marine Service, which allowed for “Season’s Greetings by Wireless.”

In a Dec. 15 announcement, the Mint, a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department, said that it will no longer accept mail orders for coins and medals after Sept. 30, 2016. It blamed booming sales via the Internet for the change.

The United States and Cuba have reached an agreement to reestablish direct postal service between the two countries through a pilot program that should begin “in the coming weeks,” the Cuban foreign ministry announced Dec. 11. The U.S. State Department said the initial plans calls for mail to be flown between the countries “several times a week, rather than routing mail through a third country.”

I recently visited the websites of two stamp auction firms, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries and Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, and discovered that they offer a lot of information in addition to listing their auctions and prices realized online.

In early December, the Scott editors assigned new catalog numbers to the four Geometric Snowflakes stamps issued Oct. 23 in New York City. Imperforate Geometric Snowflakes stamps from uncut press sheets without die cuts also received Scott numbers.

Ameristamp Expo, the nation’s second-largest annual postage stamp event, will take place in Atlanta in the Hilton Atlanta Downtown at 255 Courtland St. NE, Jan. 29-31. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free and open to the public. Ameristamp Expo, co-located with the Southeastern Stamp Expo, is hosted jointly by the American Philatelic Society and the Southeastern Federation of Stamp Clubs.

A cluster of recent Christmas stamps from Brazil, the Netherlands, San Marino, and other countries feature a delightful cross-section of festive and iconic images.

The 2016 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the set in mint never-hinged condition at $172.25. This set remains in demand and consistently sells at full Scott catalog value.

The 2016 Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers values the plate-number strip of five at $10 in mint never-hinged condition. The plate-number strip of 11 is valued at $16.50.

Arthur Fiedler was known to the American public as the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for almost 50 years. The orchestra’s many radio and television broadcasts and Fiedler’s genial nature made him a familiar figure to many around the world.

A featured item from the first session of the Harmer-Schau auction is a used line pair of the U.S. 1915 2¢ red George Washington Type I rotary coil stamp (Scott 449), pictured on page 10. The top and bottom perforations on this pair are intact because the stamps were separated from the rest of the coil by cuts at the top and bottom that left parts of the adjoining stamps attached on both ends.

Grosvenor Philatelic Auctions held a series of sales in London Nov. 9-12 to mark the firm’s 100th auction, a culmination of an 18-year run. The series reaped a total realization of more than £2 million. A scarce, unused 1882 £1 stamp on blued paper with an anchor watermark (Great Britain Scott 92) sold for £35,612 (or about $52,750), including the 19 percent buyer’s premium levied by Grosvenor, even though the stamp lacked gum. An 1885 £1 brown-lilac stamp, overprinted “I.R. Official” for use by the Inland Revenue (Scott O10), once belonging to King Carol of Romania and later to the American industrialist Arthur Hind (who also owned the famous British Guiana 1¢ Magenta), sold for the equivalent of $22,900.

The next auction of material from the Brigham collection of Canada will take place Jan. 23 outside Toronto at The Brampton Golf Club, 7700 Kennedy Road, in Brampton, Ontario. Brigham Auctions will offer almost 400 lots of material divided between King Edward VII (with issues from 1903-11) and Queen Elizabeth II (from 1953-95). As has been the case with most of the previous sessions offering the Brigham material, the Edward VII selections include not only stamps and postal history, but also a considerable number of essays and proofs.

The Year of the Monkey forever stamp continues the Lunar New Year series with images by artist Kam Mak.

The United States Mint has retreated from its plans to end all mail order sales of coins and medal next year. The surprise announcement came two days after the Mint said it was going to stop accepting mail orders for its coins and medals after Sept. 30, 2016.

Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers is holding a two-day public auction Jan. 12-13 at the firm’s West 57th Street gallery in New York City. The sale offers a range of United States and worldwide material comprising 1,483 lots of stamps, covers, collections and more. It opens with classic United States, beginning with unused Providence, R.I., postmaster’s provisionals, the 5¢ (Scott 10X1) followed by the 10¢ (10X2). This session also includes two plate proof sheets of 50 on card of the 1875 reproductions of the 1847 issue.

Revelations of who purchased the world’s most famous stamp, the British Guiana 1856 1¢ Magenta, and the elusive United States upright $2 Jenny Invert pane were among the top stories in 2015 for stamp collecting. These stories and other philatelic reports in 2015 not only made headlines in Linn’s Stamp News, but also captured worldwide media attention, providing much positive exposure for the hobby.

Lack of oxygen and weightlessness in space were the two most popular themes for the November cartoon caption contest, which featured the astronaut half of the pair of 1967 5¢ stamps honoring accomplishments in space (Scott 1331).

One of the leading figures in anthropology — and one of the most controversial — Margaret Mead studied the effect of culture on human behavior.