My hobby: stamp collecting


I love to collect old radio stuff, but my house used to be too small for this hobby.
As a substitute for the real thing, I started to collect radio related stamps, and also telecommunications related stamps.
There are quite a few of them, and if you like to download a list, click the button marked "stamps" (but beware; the list is quite long).
Note: the list is always under construction. Last update: July, 1997.

stamps (countries A to E : Y/T and Scott numbers)

stamps (countries A to Z : Y/T numbers only)

I also collect postcards and banknotes with radio and telecommunication
topics, as well as QSL stamps and old radio license cinderella's (no list yet).

postcards

banknotes (updated August, 1997)




If you like, you can take a look at some pictures:

Some strange British revenue stamps

Pictures of radio related postal stationary
Picture of a real 0 (zero) cents Dutch stamp



Pictures of banknotes
Pictures of radio license stamps
Virtual album of radio amateur QSL stamps


Or, you can go to my other homepage at xoom.com to see my virtual stamp album.


Back to my homepage


QSL Stamps


Radio amateurs from all over the world exchange their QSL cards to confirm their radio contacts. To cut costs, they set up some sort of postal service. QSL cards are not sent by direct mail, but they are collected by local QSL managers, who sort them by country, and bring them to the regional or national QSL manager. Here, the QSL cards are collected to be sent in bulk mail to other regional and national QSL managers, and vice versa.
This service is mostly free for all radio club members. To avoid the risk of receiving loads of cards, many clubs used to send their members a limited amount of QSL stamps each year, and sell extra stamps at a given (low) price. These stamps had to be on the QSL cards that were collected by the local QSL manager (note: there used to be other systems, but this was a very common one).
The QSL service still exists, but the QSL stamps are, as far as I know, no longer issued.
One interesting fact is that it may take months or even years for the QSL mail to reach its destination (so this is REAL snail-mail !), but the radio amateurs don't care about that, as long as they get their cards in the end.

Look at some QSL stamps in my Virtual Album


© 1998, 1999 an Anton Haddeman production