Genuine old stamps for SALE, If the price is right
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-17 19:13:06
Hi all,
Some may recognise my part user name : With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk. The full family user name whilst out on the moors was : With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk.we.will.search. ( The Miltons )
Let me take you back to the 70's / 80's. My dad and i, infact the whole family and friends were into the letterbox hunting. Sadly, we have moved on and at present do not find time and in my case i have moved out of the area.
In my hands i have several stamps ( originals ) that some old boys would give their right hand for :
Yealm tor, Avon head ( 2 stamps, old and new ) Potato cave, Watern tor, Crow tor, Belstone tor and Oke tor all have the original books less Yealm tor. These were NOT stolen by me, but handed to me by my Dad ( Mr R P Milton ) some people out there may remember his name.He and with help from friends and family placed these on the moors. It's great flicking through the old books remembering the old names, The padleys and Brian Lavis, Roy, Barton bog hoppers, dartmoor box hunters, The Moor-ons, Torbay Wheezers the numerous Scout groups just to name a few.
Obviously, the books have seen better days, having said that these are a small piece of history.
Sensible offers need only apply. Good luck everyone.
Nik - KOTM
2008-08-18 05:57:55
What sort of price are you looking for for these stamps? Although I already have copies of a few of them - I might be interested for the sake of "preservation"
I may be able to collect in person as I have a job to do down in Salisbury in the not so distant future
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-18 11:40:05
Having spoke to my Dad who initially paid for 6 of the stamps to be made , the preservation of the books, one original box complete with chain and stamp etc. The minimum we could accept is £180.00. For that price i would pack and send to anyone, anywhere in the UK not Northern Ireland. International prices please ask.
Happy hunting people. Andy
moorland wizard
2008-08-18 15:29:27
I think you might not sell them at that price, probablly ebay would be your best option, not sure people would pay that much as letterboxing on the moor is a free hobbie..
m & s
2008-08-18 16:49:33
I find it quite sad that you would ask such a high price for these stamps. Letterboxing is not about making money.
I appreciate that you have some very old stamps there, and wouldn`t it be nice if perhaps you were to just resite them for all the newer people to letterboxing who have not got them, to enjoy.
We put out a series of boxes of which we release one a week. We are nearly up to number 200, and these stamps cost us £44 for a sheet of 16, however we would not dream of expecting any monetary gain from them. They are there for people to collect and enjoy.
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-18 19:18:39
Having spoke to my father he spent years and like you i expect his own money for the enjoyment of others. I feel, it only right he get a little back for the years of dedication and enjoyment that others have had at his expense, and still can if someone would like to take these originals on-board.
I thank you for your interest, if anyone else is interested in this one off sale that cannot be replaced, please get in contact.
Kindest regards andy
moorland wizard
2008-08-19 22:57:49
could we get a ful list of the stamps and if they have ever been registered, were clubbing together a few of us, but we would like a list, or if possible a scanned image of the stamps so we know the quantity we are buying
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-20 19:14:04
Hello again people, there are eight stamps intotal, please see my first post for the list. Photos available, i will needn email addresses for this to happen tho.
I have no shortage of offers, i will be honest.
Regards andy
moorland wizard
2008-08-20 19:49:25
you say 8 stamps, you have only listed 6 can i ask of the other 2? also can i ask anyone who reads this were Yealm Tor is? As i would like a trip up there before winter..
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-21 09:04:26
They are as follows :
Watern Oke, combeshead Potato cave, Oke Tor ( 2 Stamps old and new ) Crow Tor, Avon head ( 2 Stamps old and new ) Yealm head, Belstone Tor.
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-21 10:12:25
We have thought long and hard over the last couple of days and have decided to reduce the price of the stamps on offer to all. ( This is the final price, as i had an offer very close to this price. )
I am pleased to annouce that the new revised price that incudes pack and post costs is £120. ( Next day delivery by Interlink Express, pending payment ) This offer is final and will come well packed to the lucky person who decides they want it and calls my mobile on : 07904937529.
Thanks for looking and happy hunting people.
Regards andy
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-21 10:55:18
Additionally, if anyone wants to see some photos, please leave your email address and i'll send some.
Regards andy
With.the.eyes.of.the.hawk
2008-08-23 10:18:31
Sold ! Sorry everyone, thanks for all the interest, bids , private messages and so on.
The stamps are now SOLD.
Kind regards Andy
( Happy future Hunting ) :D
Nik - KOTM
2008-09-05 12:07:28
Of course I want to respect the anonimity of the buyer... but I wonder who bought them?
The asking price was far too high even for such a piece of Dartmoor Letterboxing History. I wish the new owner well and maybe I hope one day I will see these stamps
Jones family on tor
2008-09-05 16:54:56
Hi Nik,
I can tell you that these were purchased by a member of this forum (not us). If he wants to make himself known I am sure he will. I know that the new owner intends to re-site them on the Moors for everyone to share.
The Sly Fox
2008-09-05 23:55:45
I am now the owner of these stamps. They are in the hands of a genuine letterboxer.
And, of course, i will be re-siting these boxes on the moor. But to be honest with you I will probably leave it until next spring before placing them out. In the meantime I will be researching to find a suitable place as near to the original locations as possible. And I am also hoping that they can be relisted under the original catalogue numbers.
Rob
Nik - KOTM
2008-09-20 05:59:20
I would be seriously worried if I put out those stamps because the DLT is still out there and that is a lot of money to lose if they went walkabout.
But having said that I am glad someone like Sly Fox has bought them at least they will be maintained - and I dont see why they cannot be relisted under their original numbers.
I can remember going up to Avon Dam to get one of those stamps only to find out it was taken in the week before :?
NanoRuler
2008-09-20 21:59:06
Rob, you deserve a medal! As for the seller, well, personally I feel he doesn't deserve any reward and I'll not say anymore of him!
I'm still very much a newbie and currently I have only one stamp out - the other was stolen.
However, this month I will be placing out seven more boxes. I didn't keep tally but when one consider fuel, the click-lock boxes, the price of having the stamps made up, etc. then the seven boxes so far has cost me upwards of £ 50-00 BUT NOBODY FORCED ME TO SPEND THE MONEY so I'm not complaining at all! I also don't expect anything in return, except for people to replace the boxes with care after having stamped them.
There are other senior boxers that must have spent thousands in total over the years with the oodles of boxes they've placed out.
I never thought of boxing as anything but an enjoyable hobby. To my mind it certainly isn't a money-making scheme, nor should it ever become that, save for some charity fund-raising.
Even the stamps were made for an honest price for me - fantastic quality Leanne - and I highly recommend the maker. If you're looking to have stamps made, go to www.letterboxingstamps.com.
Mooncat
2008-09-20 22:52:20
Would it be acceptable or possible to have the stamps you bought copied and then put the copies out on the moor? I appreciate there will be more cost involved with having copies made, but at least if they were to go missing, you would still have the original and the little pieces of letterboxing history (and your investment) would still be preserved? :?
MagicHarry
2008-09-22 15:10:43
I'm so glad that these stamps were not posted on E-Bay - we would probably never see them again!
In the future, instances like this could be "donated" to the Dartmoor National Park and "hopefully" they would agree to display these in their heritage centres, or something similar.
Seems a shame, that "cash" has to change hands for a "free" hobby.
Thanks all.
The Sly Fox
2008-09-29 11:37:10
Just got back from two weeks in Zante so a lot to catch up on :D
Thanks for all your comments. I agree with you all that no money should be made from this hobby. But as Harry says, I was really worried about something like this appearing on eBay and never to be seen again.
Mooncat ... I have already considered getting copies made. I would hate to see the DLT take these. I will probably take some photos of the stamps and books to place inside the visitors books. At least, that way, letterboxers will still know that they have found a very old box. The way I look at it. It is the box, and not the stamp that is found. Reading through the visitors books ... two of the stamps had to be replaced several times due to being stolen.
Rob
brockie
2009-03-08 19:11:21
Well, Belstone Tor has always been owned by Godfrey Swinscow and is still on the moor over 35 years after being established so I'm not sure what that guy was doing with one of his stamps and book? Although the stamp has been changed regularly over the years, usually annually.
Racking my brains here but I also believe the Watern Tor box was established by an organisation - not an individual person. This box was last on the moor during the mid/late 90's. My last visit was around 2001 and it had disappeared, not sure if it has returned.
Potato Cave has reappeared countless times. Last time I checked it was on site and listed in the catalogue (about 2 years ago).
Crow Tor is similar to Potato Cave, come and gone many times (prone to vandalism) - last time I heard a family in Exeter were maintaining this box but not from what I could tell, not very often.
I recommend more research before re-siting and contacting the club about re-listing into the catalogue - some of these boxes may well be on site and not listed in the catalogue. Many of the original letterboxers were simply walkers and have no idea of how the catalogue has grown (which, to be honest, is basically Godfrey Swinscow's personal record). I have found many old boxes that can be linked back to a catalogue number - but have not featured in the catalogue for decades.
I am now the owner of these stamps. They are in the hands of a genuine letterboxer.
And, of course, i will be re-siting these boxes on the moor. But to be honest with you I will probably leave it until next spring before placing them out. In the meantime I will be researching to find a suitable place as near to the original locations as possible. And I am also hoping that they can be relisted under the original catalogue numbers.
Rob
The Wandering Artist
2009-09-01 21:51:17
Excuse me for butting in at such a late date on this but I feel a point should be made.
I feel really sad that someone has put a price on old stamps, and even more sadder that someone paid a price, irrespective of the noble intent for which the purchase was made.
To my mind the mere act of paying for old stamps, for whatever reason, could and probably has given the notion to someone that any and maybe all stamps placed on the moor may at sometime attract a monetary value.
Already I have seen an offer on the web to buy 'old stamps'; and having heard of the existance of the 'Dartmoor letterbox thief', to me this in itself is enough to register concern.
During the 'nineties' I put out most of my stamps and after an accident in 2000 have not boxed hardly at all till this year. I still have a couple of hundred stamps out there and some are now being 're found'even as long after as 13 years, still in good condition.(all mine were WOM!) How many of you are (relatively new to the boxing), putting out stamps and within a short time they are missing.
Times really have changed; and the technology of today and the computer programming for logging and recording stamps is so safisticated, coupled with GPS and whatsoever that a real fundamental element of enjoyment has been lost from boxing.Does making things really easier(?) enhance the pleasure? I do not think so!
Best Regards
TWA
moorland wizard
2009-09-02 08:47:15
i must admit in five years and putting over 30 boxes out on the moor i think i have only had five go missing over this time, a few came off the backing and a few wet boxes were people didnt put the lids back on the pots on properly,
I just think if people want to get rid of stamps like this why not put them on the 100 club update or take them to the meet and sell them for a charity??? I did think about taking a couple of copies of some of the stamps i have and selling them on ebay but then putting the money in a charity box.
but thankfully these old stamps are now in safe hands
Station Master
2009-09-02 09:14:06
what a rip off for selling the stamps for cash, your Dad did it has a hobby and for his enjoyment, I have many stamps on the moors and I will be passing them on to anyone willing to place them back out on the moor when I get old or to ill to go out.
The trouble with selling them they may never go out on the moor again, or if they do and people know the price paid may get pinched, was not a good idea in advertising them for sale.
But I must admit the older stamps were better most were home made back then, I send off my designs and get them done.