We've posted our almost-Fall sale on GothicStamps.com! When we first started out in the 1990s we did the whole world, especially Europe (where our name 'Gothic' came from) and the USA. Along the way we became more focused on Germany and moved much of that German material to GermanPostalHistory.com and the US to UsaPostalHistory.com. But since I'm traveling to all the auctions anyway, I've decided to spread my wings a bit and look for interesting postal history from different areas.

So, this month's Gothic sale includes:

Postal History from the Italian States of Tuscany and Sardinia (we used to live in Italy and have a real affection for the Tuscan and Umbrian regions).

British Commonwealth - on our penultimate trip we bought a large group of overseas usages from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean in the mid-late 1800's to early 1900s and have posted the first group already.

Germany postal history from Empire on to WWII, along with a group of interesting group of *unused* German Colonies picture postcards.

And what else? Have a look...

Our first sale of the year for GothicStamps.com!

Our Summer offering includes:

German 2nd Empire (Kaiserreich) with many Real Photo postcards, patriotics, Feldposts from multiple fronts, ship mail, etc. An interesting group of 1912 Nuernberg Real Photos from a local photographer during the Singer's Festival, which shows lots of detail from the city before it was bombed to rubble in WWII.

Austria with WWI Feldpost, ship's mail, as well as Republic postal stationery and other inter-war uses.

Germany WWII-era postal history with a lot of Feldpost.

And what else? Post-WWI airplanes, numerous Zeppelin postcards, and ephemera from wartime as well as inter-war years.

Just got back from Germany, will be leaving again soon for the Ulm show at the end of October. The Ulm show replaces the Sindelfingen show, once the largest in Germany but which was yet another victim of Covid.

Our Fall sale includes a large amount of budget-friendly material from:

German 2nd Empire (Kaiserreich) with Germania frankings and lots of WWI era material from Feldpost and POWs to patriotica.

Austria, including dozens of airmail letters including many trans-oceanic, first flights, and interesting destinations. Also some beautiful RPPCs from Franz Joseph's Huldigungsfest / 1908 anniversary festival, as well as WWI material.

Germany WWII-era postal history, including quite a bit of Gerhard Zucker Rocket Mail from a large collection we purchased.

And what else? Since Gothic Stamps does the whole world (trying to spread out from only German-language material) we have the key sets from Greenland (mint), Swiss WWII Internee Camps, Rocket Mail from the 1936 USA-Canada flights, French proofs, plus a lot more... a big sale of mostly-under-$50, diverse material with the addition of some rare ringers!

Long time no sale on Gothic; busy traveling and keeping the other websites up to date, it's been a while since I put out a sale here on Gothic Stamps, but after four months, we're ready with another big offering of value items from across Germany and Austria:

Lots of WWI and Imperial items from both the German and Austrian empires, with Real Photos, patriotics, Feldpost, POWS, general postal history, and more.

The WWI era material segues into the second half of the 20th Century's Thirty Year's War, with Feldpost, patriotics, and Weimar Inflation in the middle.

And what else? Vignettes, revenues, a little USA, some flown Zepps + a lot of RPPCs, and other non-German areas across the globe including some better Great Britain Victoria stamps that stowed away in an Austrian collection.

This week sees another huge group of value covers and stamps with:

WWI including a large number of POWs out of a specialized collection by an Austrian man, from different Russian/Siberian camps in WWI, mostly sent home to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Also patriotic postcards, German POWs, and Feldpost.

WWII-era items with ephemera, postcards, Feldpost, POWs, Sudetenland, etc.

And what else? Lots of 1936 Olympics, a little Danzig, and a little USA.

Trying something different... I have so,so many stamps now, I'm going to start offering collections. Most of these won't be up long because this is a short stop on the way to a floor auction, so take a look now. I have a great collection of German se-tenants (more or less complete 1932-45), a great MNH postwar Austria with the Renner sheets, a WWII Kriegsmarine collection with FP to Bismarck (and much nore), Italian volunteer group, WWII ephemera, etc.

In addition, in singles this week I have:

Feldpost WWI-WWII.

Propaganda and Patriotic postcards.

Lots and lights of WWI or earlier flight/patriotic vignettes/cinderellas.

Plus -- POWs, Zeppelin postcards, Weimar covers, airplane photos, Sudetenland... anything and everything German+Austrian.

This section contains categories (and sub-categories) for every item currently available on our website, sorted by country.

I started collecting stamps and coins very young, like many of the kids of my era, with my first purchase being around the age of 5. I made extra money in high school by buying/selling coins and building a collection of German stamps because that's where the majority of my ancestors came from in the 1800's --aus Bayern und Wuerttemberg. I still have distant relatives in Boeblingen, near Stuttgart.

Computers seemed like a much more lucrative endeavor than collectibles dealing, so I became a software developer in the '80s. I started a side business of maps, rare books and autographs -- pre-1700 items + 1st edition Science Fiction, all while building a stock of European-area stamps with aneye to dealing in an early retirement.

By 2000 the mind-numbing stupidity of Fortune 500 companies became too much to bear, and I also had my first child on the way, so in 2000 I quit my 50-weeks-a-year consulting business.

I had discovered that the book business, while fascinating, presented huge challenges in both in acquisition and distribution. Especially shipping internationally. So I changed the name to Gothic Stamps and started my website, as well as attending US shows.

My wife and I have been in continuous business since then. We started with GothicStamps.com, then switched to www.GermanPostalHistory.com, and as of August 2020 have now re-started GothicStamps ere as a standalone website for all those items that just don't quite fit on GermanPostalHistory.com, aggregating our more affordable German-area covers and stamps, while GermanPostalHistory continues to house much more expensive items for investment, museum acquisitions, Gold-medal exhibits, etc. You might want to bookmark both sites, as they tend to complement each other in their offerings.