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Blog Entry: Philately is a Dirty Word This is a single entry from my blog. You can also view the main blog page, which has additional links and options, including my contact information, links to my home page/other sites, etc

Blog Entry: Philately is a Dirty Word

2005 October 29, 12:19 AM

Way back in the late 1970s, I used to collect coins, but gave it up, because I was always disappointed at how few coins a given amount of money would buy.

Years later, I discovered stamp collecting, after sending away for a starter set from the Jamestown Stamp Company. Along with my first assortment, they sent a form asking me what types of stamps I wanted to receive. After putting down "inflation stamps" [stamps issued in large denominations because currency has been devalued to the point where it costs 1 million marks (or whatever) to send a letter], I was stumped. After rejecting all the "obvious" stamp "topicals" [eg, stamps with puppies, stamps with flowers, stamps with monarchs, etc], I finally let honesty come to the rescue and put down "naked women" (which turns out to be a surprisingly good answer in many situations-- try it at your next job interview).

I fully expected Jamestown to ignore my request, or to send me a polite-but-firm letter explaining that they couldn't help me. I'd forgotten that many old paintings feature naked women [ahh, Rubens-- naked women AND wonderful sandwiches-- is there nothing you can't do?], and that many stamps feature old paintings!

For many years, Jamestown kept the naked women coming [to my mailbox, that is], and, when purchased in bulk, collectible stamps are sometimes less than 1 cent each, making this the cheapest form of "soft porn" I'd ever found! (this was before free soft porn websites, of course).

NOTE: While I think Jamestown is a wonderful company, this isn't an endorsement. I later signed up with Kenmore, which also has a great selection, and I'm sure other stamp companies do too. Jamestown just happened to be the company that introduced me to naked-women stamp collecting.

As crude as some people may find this entry, please note that I refrained from the obvious "and you can lick the backs" joke.