Japan and Hungary Issues Stir Interest

Question: I have the Japanese Olympics stamps from 1964 in complete mint sets. What is their value? Also, I have a souvenir sheet from Hungary showing railroad trains and dated 1974.--T.D.

Answer: Japan issued 20 semi-postal stamps for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. This set is worth about $5. Japan also had five regular issues and a souvenir sheet with a total value of about $2. Japan has a lot of serious stamp collectors, and many philatelists both there and abroad bought the 1964 Japanese Olympics issues, so these stamps are not rare or valuable today. The Hungarian sheet is worth $2.

Q: What does t.t.p. mean? I’ve seen this description in dealer’s advertisements of stamps for sale.--J.C.

A: T.t.p. means “tied to piece.” This refers to a stamp still attached to a small part of the original envelope on which it was affixed to pay postal duty. “Tied” indicates that the cancel markings cover both the stamp and the envelope paper.

Q: Is there an organization for collectors of Czech stamps?--E.H.

A: The Society for Czechoslovakia Philately publishes a journal (10 issues per year) devoted to Czech stamps. Yearly membership is $15. For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Lou Svododa, 1476 S. Wheeling Circle, Aurora, Colo. 80012.

Q: Being on a fixed income and unable to afford to join a stamp club or buy newsletters, I must depend on columns like yours for new issue information. Being a collector of first-day covers, I would like to know the date and place of all new issues.--S.A.J.

A: If you can get to the post office (or send someone you know), they will tell you about proposed new stamp issues. The problem is that sometimes the Postal Service announces a new stamp at the “last minute,” too late for including in my column.

Linn’s and Stamp Collector, weekly newspapers, announce all new U.S. stamps proposed for the coming year, but this information often changes as the months go on. You can see these publications at any stamp shop or in some public libraries.

I’ll try to keep you informed about important new issues.

Stamp Calendar

Saturday and Sunday--Torrance Stamp and Coin Show at the Holiday Inn, 21333 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance (across from Del Amo Square). Fifty dealers will be present to buy and sell stamps, coins, jewelry and related items. U.S. Postal Service station and special show cancel. Hours: Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $1 for adults, free to senior citizens and Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform. Telephone 540-0500. Free parking.

Stamp News

First day of sale of William Jennings Bryan $2 definitive stamp in the Great American series is Wednesday at Salem, Ill. 62881.

March 21 is the first day of sale at Seattle, Wash. 98109 for the fish commemorative stamp booklet with two panes of five 22-cent designs of American fish. Included are the muskellunge, Atlantic cod, largemouth bass, blue-fin tuna and catfish.

Barry Krause, a member of several national stamp-collecting organizations, cannot answer mail personally but will respond to philatelic questions of general interest in this column. Do not telephone. Write to Your Stamps, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.