Stamps or Candy at Halloween?

On another site "Bundles of Duplicates" an owner of common stamp bundles was asking if there was any market for them. Probably over 25 years ago at Halloween my wife and I not only gave out candy but also packets of common stamps. One of the groups of kids actually came back and asked "Is this the place that gave us stamps?" They wanted more stamps! Frankly in my current neighbourhood we don't see many kids but I have still given out the odd packet of stamps with the candy. Not sure if this has created any new collectors but I like to think it has. This is not an argument about what is better for kids, many diff. stamps or candy. This does seem like a good way to get rid of a lot of common stamps without doing anyone any harm. What do you think?

Comments

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  • Sound like a plan.
  • edited July 2017 0 LikesVote Down
    I have done that in the past. However, with the environment today, we get very few, and sometimes no, children coming around. Last year, we didn't even buy candy, and no one came to the house even though we had the light on. We did have a little bit of candy in the house that we would have given if anyone came.

    Now you also have to be careful. The children could talk to others about the person who collects stamps. Could put you on the radar if the wrong person hears about it, if you know what I mean.
  • Michael: Since the candy and stamps would be thrown into a large bag that the kids carry and they really wouldn't know who gave them the stamps. Just like the kids that came back and asked is this where I got the stamps since they wanted more. Also since the stamps are probably cheap a thief might not think it was worth raiding the house for valuable ones.
    Lets try to be positive on this and think there is a slim chance that a new young collector may be started on the hobby!
  • That's why I have done this in the past.
  • I hope many of you are now going to be giving out some stamps at Halloween to hopefully stimulate a new young collector or perhaps renew the interest of their parents or grandparents. The heading for this straw should perhaps have been "Stamps and Candy at Halloween' rather than stamps or candy. Yes please continue to hand out some candy but just for fun give out a few old stamps as well. We may never know the results. This week I was invited to an afternoon party at the home of the Principal of a University College in Toronto. There were many children of the Professors, etc. at the party. In one room where I spent most of my time there was a piano and a visiting boy of 11 played for a short time and a (I think) younger girl also took to the keys. They were great! A visiting music teacher sat down and played some classical music and some Jazz music and at my request also played a bit of NEW YORK, NEW YORK. The kids watched every move the teacher made on the piano and even asked how he did that. Great to see. I had brought a stamp auction catalogue for the host of the party and when I set it down the kids jumped for it and paid a lot of attention to it. The young have a lot of intelligence and when I told them that President Roosevelt, King George V, Charlie Chaplin and John Lennon were stamp collectors their eyes opened wide. Among the young there is a great potential for stamp collectors. Start getting those stamps together for the kids at Halloween. John Talman
  • Thread - Thread that's it John - Not straw as printed in the second line above. Still learning or trying to!
  • Today, Sept. 30/17 The New York Times put in print an opinion piece "Stamped Out". Many of you will not like the article but there are some interesting facts included in the article.Statements such as "I did earn the stamp collecting merit badge in Boy Scouts (thankfully, the badge still exists). The author states "the average collector,I was told, is 65 to 70 years old. "
    We all know that those of that age today are expected to live another 20 years on average (Due to their peaceful intellectual life stamp collectors may live longer.). Now to get some new stamp collector started. In talking of his start in stamp collecting the author Eugene L. Meyer, states "dealers would advertise in the back pages of comic books. For a few bucks they'd send a package of loose stamps to get you hooked. Stamp collecting could be addictive and for many in my generation it was." This brings me back to my original theme in this thread that should probably have been titled "Stamps and Candy at Halloween". You still have a full month to get ready to hand out some stamps to the kids making the rounds on Halloween. Those of you who still have kids coming to the door at that time might tell us if they received any positive comments from the kids or their parents. Who knows you might even have an impact on the parents who might pick up their old collection and start taking another look. What else can we do to stimulate stamp collecting?
  • While I would like to see many children collect stamps a new collector can also be an adult when he or she starts collecting stamps. The first stamp collector was said to be a lady who liked the look of the penny black (GB #1). Apparently she advertised in the paper for copies at that time as she wanted to wall paper her room with that stamp. Collectors are still searching for that room. I think it was about 1950 or mid 1950's when Life magazine did a story on rare stamps. I think they did a story on a rich playboy named Green or whatever his name was. He had a lame leg and had his limo designed to let him walk out of it. Back in the mid1920's as his chauffeur drove him thru New York he asked his driver to stop on Nassau St. He entered one or more stamp shops that day and apparently spent about $100,000. on stamps, having to any ones knowledge ever having spent a cent on a stamp collection prior to this. When he sold his collection it apparently did better than other things he owned at that time. During the peak of the market in the 1970's many an adult spent some money on stamps because that was the thing to do. Some of them are still collecting to this day. I would like to encourage kids to collect stamps and learn from them but I have sold many a stamp to adults who up until that point never had a great interest in collecting. In any case, if you do have kids coming to the door for shell out give them a few stamps as well as some candy. You may even interest the parents in the hobby when they find them in the bag.
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