STEVE LEVINE
United States
Postal Stationery

DECEMBER, 2008

     HOW TO ORDER:
1.  DINOSAUR STYLE  If ordering Dinosaur Style (thru the mail), you can print out this sheet, then circle the price of what you want and mail it in with either a check or a Credit Card #.   
2.  ONLINE  Sorry, this is not a full-function interactive website with a shopping cart and card processing ability.  It's Dinosaur-style; it only has listings.  Still, we can improvise!
     You can send me an e-mail and type out what you want and the price.  Make sure you let me know whether you want a Cut Square or a Full Corner
     OR, you can cut & paste the item with its description and price.  If you need to HIGHLIGHT anything, please do it in green (00CC00 for the techs out there).
     I accept VISA, Master Card, and American Express.  I also accept PAY PAL, at my e-mail address of "slwarking@erols.com".
3.  PHONE  IF your order is relatively simple, or if you have a few questions, you can phone me at 718-939-5788.  For me, there's no such thing as "business hours".  I'm usually in, and if I'm not, you get the answering machine.  Leave your #; I'll get back to you.

TERMS OF PURCHASE:  Items from this list may be combined with items from my other lists for a MINIMUM ORDER of $15.  ALL ORDERS will be shipped via Insured or Registered mail, for your protection.  Please add $2 for
postage and insurance to all orders.  There's never a "handling" fee; just actual postage expenses.  This is for U.S. orders only.  Overseas shipments, please e-mail me in advance for shipping information.
     New York State Residents, please add the appropriate Sales tax.  VISA, Master Card and American Express are accepted: please include all information which appears in raised print, PLUS the 3 digit security code which appears on the back.
          
        SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED ON ALL ORDERS

Dear Friends & Collectors,

     You might wonder what I've been doing with my time lately, since not too much new material has appeared on the website during the past month.
     Actually, I've been very busy, trying to push this business into the 21st Century...and trying to broaden my range of material.  To this end, I'd like to make a major announcement.

     I'm now on Ebay.  There's good news....and there's more good news.  But first, let me tell you a bit about Ebay.  It's well known as an online auction, but in fact, the majority of its listings are fixed price (Store) listings.  It's really one huge pricelist, with some auctions on the side.

     Why do some dealers auction their items while others do fixed price listings while still others do a little of both?  It all depends on the material.  Many items are easy to price; there are CATALOG values (Scott, UPSS), and the CONDITION is well-defined.  Other items are more difficult; there is no catalog, and the item is very condition sensitive.

     Items of Postal History, for instance, beg to be auctioned.  The market for Machine/Slogan/Hand cancels is fuzzy at best, and the price can vary greatly depending on whether the card or envelope is pristine or shows the effects of being beaten up in the mails.  Overseas usages...upgraded postage rates...these items are difficult to price.  Even domestically-used envelopes can vary widely in price depending on the condition.

     I sell clean material at fair, well-defined prices.  But I also have a few trays of...uh, "less-than-clean" material, and this material has some value...to some collector.  Probably not you - most of you are looking for top quality - but there are collectors who'll put up with fuzzy corners or slight creases if the item is cheap enough...or scarce enough.

     On the other side of the coin, there are outstanding pieces - Cut Squares, for instance - where unusually large margins command a higher price than normal.  Not unlike "graded" stamps.  Outstanding quality always commands a higher price.  How much higher?  I have no idea!  That's why auctions were created...to let water seek its own level.

     First Day Covers often require auctioning.  The price of unusual cachets is very subjective.  Again, water must seek its own level.

     At present, I have around 3000 items on Ebay which are not on my website.  These are listings, not auctions.  These listings are in my "Ebay Store".

     All my old listings of Postal Stationery FDCs are up there, as well as my Press Sheet FDCs and "Special Series" of unusual Stationery FDCs.  Also listed are some regular "stamp" FDCs.  Some U.S. Souvenir Cards and Souvenir Pages are listed.  Illustrated Advertising - my old listings plus some new ones - is listed.

     I have quite a bit of U.N. material on Ebay.  I list about 200 Souvenir Cards, both Mint and FDC.  Plus Postal Stationery FDCs.  Plus some "Stamp" FDCs.

     And there are STAMPS.  Both U.S. and Foreign.  Not too much now, but more to come later.

     Auctions will be coming soon, and I'll be sending out e-mail notices to let you know when they're online.  I can promise you, they'll be interesting, and will cover a wide range of material.

     Meanwhile, there's a lot of material in my Ebay Store to look at.  My Ebay Store can be accessed from my HOME PAGE (CLICK HERE).  The boxes below EBAY STORE & AUCTIONS contain links to the various parts of my Ebay Store.

     Any way you slice it up, next year is going to be very interesting.  If I don't hear from you...or you don't hear from me...again this December, let me now extend to you all my best wishes for the Holidays, and for health & happiness throughout the New Year.

UY12 (MINT) SEPARATION VARIETIES  UY12 is a specialist's dream...or nightmare, depending on your point of view.  There are 9 different Sep. varieties (1-8 plus 5a).  None of them are particularly difficult, but what any dealer has in stock is simply the "luck of the draw".
     Until recently, I've offered Separations 1, 5 and 6.  Here are 2 more.

UY12    MR19S7  Sep. 7, Roulette 9 1/2 on M Side...  Unfolded   12.00
UY12    MR19S8  Sep. 8, Roulette 9 1/3 on R Side...  Unfolded   12.00

     Excellent condition; clean, good corners, etc...the way you like it!

UX15 MINT FACE CARD  I've never had much MINT FACE stock of any of the small "library" cards...UX11, UX15, UX23, UX26, UX28, UX40, UX42 or UX43.  If I had to guess, I'd speculate that nearly all of the printed, but unsent cards which were on hand when the rates changed were uprated with stamps to the new rate and mailed.  Libraries don't waste money; these cards were never diverted into philatelic hands.  Imagine my surprise in finding a small bunch of
MINT FACE UX15s...Since 1981, these have never been on my lists!

UX15   S19    1c John Adams, black on buff... MINT FACE   17.50

     Excellent condition

UY16 "GHOST IMPRESSION"  Offset printings sometimes show a second, weak impression.  Sometimes, the impression is very weak; sometimes it's almost non-existent.
     Sorry to say, these cards fall into that last category.  AND, they're PARTIAL.  The entire line isn't "ghosted"; only the letter "R" of FOR shows a weak second impression.  One asks oneself how such an error comes to exist, and one does not come up with a reasonable answer.  Still, the cards exist - about 10 of them - and they all look the same.  It's a constant variety.  The upper scan shows the complete line with the second "R" barely visible; the lower scan shows the error blown up so that it's visible.
     These cards are not particularly exciting; they would be if the entire line was doubled, or if the second "R" was strong enough to be visually striking.  In that case I'd be selling these cards for much more.

UY16   MR26 4c Statue Of Liberty with Ghost Impression of "R"  25.00

UY9 MINT REPLY CARD - FOLDED  These cards have been "embarrassingly absent" from my list for a long time.  Back in the '80s I had a wad of these - unfolded - thicker than my thumb.  But, as the saying goes, "That was then...this is now".  During the past 10 years I haven't even had a folded one in stock.
     At some point in the future, I'll be typing these...along with the UX32s and UX33's I've picked up lately.  But for now, my Ebay activities have drained my time, so I'm just going generic today.  You get UY9, folded...my choice of surcharge.  Based on what I've seen and a LITTLE typing I've done so far, it is highly likely that you'll receive a Philadelphia surcharge.

UY19   MR16 1c on 2c (UY8) Washington, Folded Reply Card  19.50

UY9 UNUSED, UNFOLDED, SAN FRANCISCO SURCHARGE!
     Of the 14 listed surcharge types on UY9, the San Francisco (MR16-14) is by far the most difficult.  I wish I could make some of you advanced collectors happy by offering mint copies, but frankly, I've never seen one.  This (unused) will have to do for me...and hopefully, for you as well.

     Along with a bunch of folded UY9s, I recently purchased some UNFOLDED UY9s with the scarce San Francisco Surcharge.  The condition is what I'd call "near-excellent".  No real problems, but a few very slightly fuzzy corners...as you'd expect on 90-year-old cards which have been surcharged.  For the issue, these are as nice as you'll find.

     UPSS (2005) is $100.00 for UNUSED, FOLDED condition; no price is listed for unfolded.  However, the MINT copies command a 50% premium unfolded, so it's not unfair to assume the UNUSED copies would command likewise.  Having said that:

The price for this scarce surcharge, is only $75.00.

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