Vintage Stamps Series: Girl Power part 1

This is what I hope to be the first in a series of posts sharing my vintage postage stamp collection. Up first are some of the stamps I'm classifying under "girl power" - stamps featuring strong female role models, both real and fictional. (Gee, I hope I'm not setting myself up by announcing a series, and multi-part topics!) On to the pictures! See accompanying text for more details. Read to the end for a mini giveaway!!

I think it was the Amelia Earhart stamp (1963) that got me going on the girl power category. I've seen them going for $1 each, but since I buy stamps to use, I searched until I found a full sheet at a more reasonable price per stamp.

I had a pretty shitty education, especially when it came to history, so I only learned about Sybil Ludington (1975) in the last few years. (You should definitely go read up on her, but in brief, at 16, she performed a ride similar to that of Paul Revere, only twice the distance.) Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across postage stamps in her honor! I had to buy them!!

I enjoy combining several stamps on an envelope, but am not always able to keep with a theme as wonderfully as shown on this page. This is a birthday card sent to a friend who participated in the Rosie the Riveter Guinness World Record a few weeks ago. Yes, I bought an entire sheet of stamps (Celebrating the Century, 1940s (1998)) for the Rosie stamp, but there were some other goodies on the sheet.

One thing you need to be prepared for when sending stamp collages is that the recipient won't notice. (Happened for the Rosie card, but then the recipient was inundated with birthday cards because she is beloved.) Update: birthday gal did notice. My bad.

This card hasn't been mailed yet, but I have already written a note on the back of the envelope ("check out the stamps!") and informed the recipient's father (my brother) to tell his kids (my niece & nephew to look at the stamps. I think niece will love the Prinecess Leia stamp (2007). Since the value is 41¢, an 8¢ Sybil stamp put it at the current 49¢ rate and continued the theme! (Nephew's card has a Luke stamp (they dressed as Leia & Luke when they were little and are still fans).)

This might be the best or the worst time to buy the 2007 Star Wars stamps. I had to be patient to find some that were reasonably priced (I have 1 sheet to save and 1 to use) - some sellers are charging exorbitant rates - but I'm so glad I got them.

Quick notes about gathering stamps for mailing (a little different from regular stamp collecting)

• It's fun, but can be a little addictive. I recommend getting a 3-ring binder and a bunch of sheet protectors to help sort and protect your growing collection. In a future post, I'll share images of my set-up.
• If you're shopping online (e.g. eBay), make doubly sure the listing says "unused" or something similar. MNH means "mint, never hinged," and that's usually what I go for, just to be safe. Hinged stamps are mailable but have to be separated from their hinges and I'm not up for that.
• You can use any non-postmarked stamp issued by the USPS (can't tell you about other countries). I recommend a good glue stick in case the gummed ones don't want to stick to your envelope. (You cannot tape down stamps, except perhaps along an edge, but don't quote me there.)
• A great way to start is with a "lot" like this one, which gives you enough stamps to mail 20 1-oz. letters for less than face value (FV). The challenge here, of course, is that you have no control over what you get, but the price is hard to beat and you have to start somewhere. I have no affiliation, except as a satisfied customer.
• Don't feel like you must have a theme, or even use all vintage stamps. I have a sheet each of all the stamps currently available at the USPS in denominations up to 20¢, plus a few of some of the other values. Many people use one "spotlight" stamp and finish up with new stamps.
• Use a calculator before you buy. I recently put together a spreadsheet to see what I paid per stamp v. the FV. I did pretty well a lot of the time, but my first few purchases were rather tragic. I was so excited to get Edgar Allen Poe stamps, for example, that I paid over $1 each (42¢ FV). I think I paid 20¢ each for some not-great quality 1¢ stamps (Washington Irving). 

What's this about a giveaway? [Update: we have a winner!]
To celebrate my second-ever commenter (LOL), I'm giving away some Girl Power stamps. There will be several of the Sybil stamps, some Amelias, and maybe some others, all unused (sadly, the Leia and Rosie stamps are not included). While I love and am slightly addicted to Instagram, I'm not requiring shares or tagging of unsuspecting friends. All I ask is that you comment, either here or on the IG post that brought you here, and tell me what you'd put on a postage stamp if you were in charge of the post office for a day. 

Open to anyone, anywhere, until Tuesday, 24 November, 2015. Please feel free to share, repost or tag, but it's not required. Make sure I have a way to contact you to get your snail mail addy if you win.