I did some cleaning-out of my mother's house yesterday. I found my first typewriter, which I'd thought had long ago been thrown or given away. I found some "comic books" (I'm using the term loosely) I wrote and drew when I was seven years old. I found a Bible which from the inscription in it appears to have been presented to my mother on her seventh birthday in 1929.
And I found my old stamp collection.
I have no idea why I ever collected stamps but I did. I have a vague idea it started when my Aunt Dot and Uncle Aaron gave me a "starter" collection but I can't imagine why the idea ever appealed to me. I stopped after about eight months when one day, I suddenly had a thought that went something like this: "I have no interest in this." I then stashed the collection in a box in the garage and never thought much about it again.
I do not mean to demean stamp collectors at all. If you're one, I'm sure you find it fascinating…just as I find many things fascinating that would bore the socks off you. I just plain didn't care about it.
And hey, if you are a stamp collector, maybe you can tell me something. What do I do with these?
I have several hundred stamps — mostly U.S., some properly affixed in a big stamp notebook where they printed photos of stamps and then it was your mission to locate one of each and stick it over their reproduction. Others are in envelopes.
I'd like them to go to someone who will appreciate them. If I can get some bucks outta them, great…but having them go to the right place is more important. I assume if I go to a stamp dealer, he'll tell me they're all very common and offer me a fraction of what he'll eventually sell them for. (I watched Pawn Stars this evening.)
Is there a collector out there who can advise me? Better still, is there someone in the Los Angeles area who knows me and knows stamps and would like to take a look at these for possible acquisition or recommendation? 'Cause I don't have a clue what to do with them.