Does the APS accept donations of stamps and collections? I'm a Life Member and honestly don't know. I cannot find much on their site re this.
My primary issue now is that my multi volume collection is eating up lots of space. I have for example a twelve volume collection of Czech material in a set of K Line albums to 2012, with nothing after 1980. I'll never add to it and need to get it out of here. This stuff sells very poorly on Ebay, I may just list it at a ridiculous price and hope someone takes it off my hands. Probably fifty bucks to ship.
I have a Canada Revenue collection that would probably sell on Ebay. The clutter of all this detracts from my collecting enjoyment, time to cut back.
The APS does indeed accept collections.
You could always donate them to the poor collector, who lives in Shrub Oak...
If the objective is to support APS financially, it is likely that you would be better off selling the collection on your own and then donating the money to them. (APS typically sells off the donated collections but their buyer audience is not as large as venues like eBay.)
If the objective is to get a tax credit, then donating the collection to APS is a good idea since I think they list the value (and supply tax documents) at whatever you estimate it to be.
Don
Anyone looking for an heir to leave their collections to? I am ok with being adopted. hehehehe!!
Seriously the way you have decided to let your collections go are all great ideas. My daughter will add my stamps to her collection, and then in another 50 years or so, then she can do what she wants or needs to do with all of them.
Fortunately I have zero worries about what happens to my stamps.
I may be more concerned with what happens to me and my substance in an environment increasingly becoming a gigantic landfill. Or concerned with wildlife disappearing at unprecedented rates, or the climate with temperatures of over +30C on the poles now.
Those stamps I collect were not in existence more than 100 years or so to begin with. Why care how and when they will disintegrate.
The important thing is the happiness and enjoyment I get with them while both them and me are around.
Enjoyment and happiness are key benefits of a hobby.
Sharing the enjoyment and happiness with others when you are no longer here isn't a worry to me - just something to think about so those who would get the most enjoyment out of what I have will be the ones to receive my stamps. I worry more about the stamps ending up in a landfill somewhere. Even if what I have isn't all that valuable, I would still like it to go to someone who will appreciate it.
I think what philb has planned is a excellent way to disperse his collection.
Thanks philb for sharing your thought process and decisions.
I’m only headed for 62 in September but who knows, any of us can be here today, gone tomorrow..
For my New Jersey postmark collection, which I hope to bring closer to completion before my demise, I told my wife I’d like to give that to the NJ state museum.
For my Ben Franklins I thought that the collection should go to auction.
And my USA collection in its dozen or more binders that include singles, multiples, plate blocks, covers and anything else that strikes my fancy.. I thought I’d leave it to my granddaughter and started referring to it as Kelsie’s collection. Then my daughter had twins!
For those who are not passing their collections to an heir or who are not focused upon converting the collection into needed cash, I'd like to suggest that you consider passing your collections on to SOR to continue the work and camaraderie we all currently enjoy.
To our Management Team, should that become a reality, I'd suggest consideration of a special acknowledgement from the club. The nature of that award a possible area of discussion to have in the future.
Just thinking out loud-totally unofficial in any way unless the idea is deemed meritorious by the membership and the Management Team.
Best,
Dan C.
"And my USA collection in its dozen or more binders that include singles, multiples, plate blocks, covers and anything else that strikes my fancy.. I thought I’d leave it to my granddaughter and started referring to it as Kelsie’s collection. Then my daughter had twins!"
Dan's idea is a good one.
Many family members and friends have been generous in giving me their (generally inherited and unappreciated) stamp collections. And I have been lucky to develop great relationships with a number of SOR members - being able to send them stamps they need, and receiving many more in return. In addition, many SOR members have also made donations to The Holocaust Stamps Project, for which I am grateful.
Since I have no family members who are interested in my stamps, I have already created a codicil to my will, and shared it with my wife.
First, certain albums/stockbooks/envelopes are to be sent to specific SOR members where I know their particular collecting interests. They will probably end up with lots of stuff they already have, but who cares? I'll be dead, so now they can spend countless hours sorting through even more stamps their spouse will probably say they don't need (I know mine would be yelling that at me very loudly)!
Secondly, all of my Holocaust-related stamp collections are to be donated to one of the Canadian Holocaust Museum beneficiaries noted below (I need to have some discussions with them first once this Covid thing allows them to reopen).
Finally, everything else will go straight to the one local dealer I have dealt with (John Sheffield Philatelists Ltd) who does Auctions and has been very reliable and trustworthy. I've asked Cathy to post a note through my SOR account when that happens - in case anyone wants to keep an eye out for the subsequent auctions. All proceeds from these sales are then to be split equally and donated directly to Yad Vashem, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the (Neuberger) Holocaust Museum in Toronto, and the Montreal Holocaust Museum.
Easy for me - easy for Cathy - and hopefully will make more than a few people as happy as I have been in reconnecting with this great hobby in the past 5-6 years.
Dave.
Before i dozed off last night i was thinking about my stamps after my departure. The run of the mill country albums and covers,they can go to our club auction or a dealer. My Guatemala stamps are pretty complete and lots of back of book stuff...but they are not in big demand and would sell for little. My best "stuff' are my Guatemala covers and cards, and my Dutch East Indies covers and cards. The Guatemala could go to the International Society of Guatemala Collecters (I.S.G.C.) they have one or two auctions a year. The Dutch East Indies stuff i may donate to the American Philatelic Society...and if they put it in the donations room...so what,they will price it fairly and another collector will get them. So i guess what i am getting at is...i want my prized things to go to a collector.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
Does the APS accept donations of stamps and collections? I'm a Life Member and honestly don't know. I cannot find much on their site re this.
My primary issue now is that my multi volume collection is eating up lots of space. I have for example a twelve volume collection of Czech material in a set of K Line albums to 2012, with nothing after 1980. I'll never add to it and need to get it out of here. This stuff sells very poorly on Ebay, I may just list it at a ridiculous price and hope someone takes it off my hands. Probably fifty bucks to ship.
I have a Canada Revenue collection that would probably sell on Ebay. The clutter of all this detracts from my collecting enjoyment, time to cut back.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
The APS does indeed accept collections.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
You could always donate them to the poor collector, who lives in Shrub Oak...
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
If the objective is to support APS financially, it is likely that you would be better off selling the collection on your own and then donating the money to them. (APS typically sells off the donated collections but their buyer audience is not as large as venues like eBay.)
If the objective is to get a tax credit, then donating the collection to APS is a good idea since I think they list the value (and supply tax documents) at whatever you estimate it to be.
Don
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
Anyone looking for an heir to leave their collections to? I am ok with being adopted. hehehehe!!
Seriously the way you have decided to let your collections go are all great ideas. My daughter will add my stamps to her collection, and then in another 50 years or so, then she can do what she wants or needs to do with all of them.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
Fortunately I have zero worries about what happens to my stamps.
I may be more concerned with what happens to me and my substance in an environment increasingly becoming a gigantic landfill. Or concerned with wildlife disappearing at unprecedented rates, or the climate with temperatures of over +30C on the poles now.
Those stamps I collect were not in existence more than 100 years or so to begin with. Why care how and when they will disintegrate.
The important thing is the happiness and enjoyment I get with them while both them and me are around.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
Enjoyment and happiness are key benefits of a hobby.
Sharing the enjoyment and happiness with others when you are no longer here isn't a worry to me - just something to think about so those who would get the most enjoyment out of what I have will be the ones to receive my stamps. I worry more about the stamps ending up in a landfill somewhere. Even if what I have isn't all that valuable, I would still like it to go to someone who will appreciate it.
I think what philb has planned is a excellent way to disperse his collection.
Thanks philb for sharing your thought process and decisions.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
I’m only headed for 62 in September but who knows, any of us can be here today, gone tomorrow..
For my New Jersey postmark collection, which I hope to bring closer to completion before my demise, I told my wife I’d like to give that to the NJ state museum.
For my Ben Franklins I thought that the collection should go to auction.
And my USA collection in its dozen or more binders that include singles, multiples, plate blocks, covers and anything else that strikes my fancy.. I thought I’d leave it to my granddaughter and started referring to it as Kelsie’s collection. Then my daughter had twins!
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
For those who are not passing their collections to an heir or who are not focused upon converting the collection into needed cash, I'd like to suggest that you consider passing your collections on to SOR to continue the work and camaraderie we all currently enjoy.
To our Management Team, should that become a reality, I'd suggest consideration of a special acknowledgement from the club. The nature of that award a possible area of discussion to have in the future.
Just thinking out loud-totally unofficial in any way unless the idea is deemed meritorious by the membership and the Management Team.
Best,
Dan C.
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
"And my USA collection in its dozen or more binders that include singles, multiples, plate blocks, covers and anything else that strikes my fancy.. I thought I’d leave it to my granddaughter and started referring to it as Kelsie’s collection. Then my daughter had twins!"
re: Thinking about the future of my stamps
Dan's idea is a good one.
Many family members and friends have been generous in giving me their (generally inherited and unappreciated) stamp collections. And I have been lucky to develop great relationships with a number of SOR members - being able to send them stamps they need, and receiving many more in return. In addition, many SOR members have also made donations to The Holocaust Stamps Project, for which I am grateful.
Since I have no family members who are interested in my stamps, I have already created a codicil to my will, and shared it with my wife.
First, certain albums/stockbooks/envelopes are to be sent to specific SOR members where I know their particular collecting interests. They will probably end up with lots of stuff they already have, but who cares? I'll be dead, so now they can spend countless hours sorting through even more stamps their spouse will probably say they don't need (I know mine would be yelling that at me very loudly)!
Secondly, all of my Holocaust-related stamp collections are to be donated to one of the Canadian Holocaust Museum beneficiaries noted below (I need to have some discussions with them first once this Covid thing allows them to reopen).
Finally, everything else will go straight to the one local dealer I have dealt with (John Sheffield Philatelists Ltd) who does Auctions and has been very reliable and trustworthy. I've asked Cathy to post a note through my SOR account when that happens - in case anyone wants to keep an eye out for the subsequent auctions. All proceeds from these sales are then to be split equally and donated directly to Yad Vashem, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the (Neuberger) Holocaust Museum in Toronto, and the Montreal Holocaust Museum.
Easy for me - easy for Cathy - and hopefully will make more than a few people as happy as I have been in reconnecting with this great hobby in the past 5-6 years.
Dave.