Monthly Archives: December 2014

Canadian collectors will be keeping an eye south of the border this month, as three U.S. auction houses are offering Canadian stamps. On Jan 21-22 Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, of Danbury, Conn., will be offering the first part of the Boca collection, including Canadian and British North American stamps and postal history. Spink USA also has a nice selection of Canadian and British North American in its sale, also Jan. 21-22, being held in New York City. A scarce missing moose (Unitrade #1693a) variety appears in Regency-Superior’s Orcoexpo auction, being held Jan. 9-11 in Anaheim, CA. Continue reading →

The big news in 2014, for collectors and mail users alike, was a whopping increase in postage rates. As announced late in the previous year, money-losing Canada Post intended to increase the price of mailing a 30-gram domestic first-class letter from 63 cents to 85 cents, a 35 per cent hike only if customers bought stamps in bulk, such as in booklets or in rolls. There was a sly little first-time addendum, however. Beginning March 31, the price of buying a single letter stamp was $1, with a small-format definitive printed for that purpose. Other rates, of course, also went up: A U.S.-bound letter now costs $1.20 to send, up a mere 10 cents; while the overseas letter or postcard rate, gasp, flew up by 65 cents, to $2.50. A $1.80 rate was introduced for heavier, 100-gram domestic letters. Costing $2.50 each to mail, I can’t help wondering how many visitors to Canada were posting piles of pretty postcards to pals and relatives back home! Parcel postage and costs for other services also climbed the mailing ladder. Continue reading →