Postage stamps recycled for use by hobbyists

I have enjoyed pen-palling for several years now and I swap Friendship Books with many of my pen pals. I've seen little ads in these booklets from people saying that they collect used and unused postage stamps for certain charities. What, if anything, do these charities do with the stamps? I mean, I can't see them making any money off of them, especially if they've been used already. Any ideas?

— K.M., Medford

In the world of philately — stamp collecting — relatively few stamps have real value. But to fill the demands of the average collector, who might be filling out series or sets of common canceled stamps, the big dealers need to constantly replenish their supplies.

It's a long-standing, but not overly lucrative, way for nonprofits to earn cash for their group by collecting stamps and sending them off to a clearinghouse where they are soaked and resold to dealers, collectors, etc.

Some groups distribute the stamps to wounded veterans or other patients so they can start their own collections and pass the lonely hours in the hospital.

Commemorative stamps, issued in honor of an important event, person, or subject, are far more collectible than "definitives," those American-flag or Liberty Bell stamps sold in huge quantities. Whether to collect canceled or mint stamps is a personal choice.

Stamp collecting may be akin to watching paint dry to some, but to others, it's a fascinating way to pass the time. Here are some fun stamp facts, courtesy the American Philatelic Society (www.stamps.org):

• Bhutan, an Asian nation in the Himalayan Mountains, issued a group of postage stamps that were actually phonograph records in 1973.
• In 1879 Liege, Belgium, employed 37 cats to carry bundles of letters to villages.
• In 1969 during the Apollo 11 moon flight, the astronauts took with them a die of a postage stamp which they pulled an impression of when they touched down on the moon, creating the moon's first postage stamp.

Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to youasked@mailtribune.com. We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.

Carl Sagan Supporters Demand for Postage Stamp

ITHACA, N.Y. - Supporters of the late Carl Sagan plan to petition federal postal officials to create a stamp commemorating the world-famous astronomer.

Sagan was a Cornell University professor and director of the school's Laboratory for Planetary Studies. He consulted with NASA, briefed astronauts, and wrote or edited more than 20 books. His two most renowned works were "The Dragons of Eden: Speculations of the Evolution of Human Intelligence," for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, and "Cosmos," the best selling nonfiction science book ever published in English.

The postage stamp commemoration is being spearheaded by the Sciencenter and the Sagan Appreciation Society of Ithaca.

Society founder Patrick Fish said the idea grew in part out of a desire to recognize Sagan in a "populist" way and because Sagan enjoyed collecting stamps as a child.

"Carl was an avid stamp collector as a boy, and we treasure the albums he made then," said Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan. "They're filled with his handwritten notes in the margins, perhaps the earliest evidence of his passion for the diversity of earth's cultures. So, this particular tribute to Carl would have held special significance for him, as it does for me."

Sagan has been honored by countless scientific societies, but his contributions to making science accessible for average people inspired Fish to want to see Sagan honored in a broad way, he said.

Sagan, a founding member of the Sciencenter, died in 1996. A year later the Sciencenter dedicated the Sagan Planet Walk, a 1.2-kilometer scale model of the solar system that runs from downtown Ithaca to the Sciencenter.

Four stamp designs will be considered. Two show Sagan holding a candle with a comet in the background and another depicts a young Sagan with a starry sky in the background. The only stamp with a photo rather than a painting of Sagan shows an older, laughing Sagan with planets and moons in the background.

Fish said an online petition is available through the Sagan Appreciation Society Web site.

___

On the Net: http://www.saganappreciationsociety.org/