Last night, as I was putting away my latest acquisitions from Filatelic Fiesta, I realized that I am literally swimming in a sea of duplicates. I’ve got them stashed around the house in every conceivable place, and I find it a bit distressing. So, I’ve been racking my brains on what, exactly, I should do with them.

I could bundle them all together in a big box and sell them at the silent bid sale as a mystery box, but I’m not sure anyone would be pleased with their purchase. I could throw them away, but I really hate to see good stamps go to waste. The problem is, nobody seems to want them… I can’t even give them away.

Then I happened across this letter to the editor over at MailTribune.com this morning. The article is about those non-profits, like Easter Seals, that gathers stamps from incoming mail and sends them off to dealers to soak and resell to collectors. Also mentioned in the article is the fact that some stamps get donated to veterans and other groups to help them get started in collecting.

So, that is exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to gather all the philatelic items I have laying around that will never get into my collection, and I am going to donate them. Now, the question is, to whom do I donate them? So begins the search…

charity, donation, philately, stamp collecting