Kiloware
Encyclopedia
Kiloware is a term for packages of postage stamp
s sold to stamp collectors
by weight rather than by quantity, often in kilograms, hence the name. Kiloware usually consists of used stamps on paper
from mail clippings, although off paper stamps may also be sold as kiloware.
Mission kiloware, or mission mixtures, are kiloware produced by charitable organizations, churches, etc, whose volunteers gather used stamps and then sell them to dealers. Mission kiloware will normally have high duplication of common letter rate definitives
, but good mission kiloware will be advertised as "unpicked", meaning the scarcer or better stamps will not be removed from the mix, and there is at least the possibility of the collector finding good stamps for a low price.
The stamp newspaper Linn's Stamp News
has a regular feature entitled "Kitchen Table Philately", in which the reviewer buys mixtures from various dealers, and analyzes what is in the mixtures, noting percentage of duplicates, oldest and newest stamps, better stamps, and concluding with a computation of the cost-to-value ratio. Typical numbers are in the 5% percent range, meaning that the stamps cost a small fraction of their price when sold individually by dealers.
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
s sold to stamp collectors
Stamp collecting
Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million.- Collecting :...
by weight rather than by quantity, often in kilograms, hence the name. Kiloware usually consists of used stamps on paper
Postage stamp paper
Postage stamp paper is the foundation or substrate of the postage stamp to which the ink for the stamp's design is applied to one side and the adhesive is applied to the other...
from mail clippings, although off paper stamps may also be sold as kiloware.
Mission kiloware, or mission mixtures, are kiloware produced by charitable organizations, churches, etc, whose volunteers gather used stamps and then sell them to dealers. Mission kiloware will normally have high duplication of common letter rate definitives
Definitive stamp
A definitive stamp is a postage stamp, that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time...
, but good mission kiloware will be advertised as "unpicked", meaning the scarcer or better stamps will not be removed from the mix, and there is at least the possibility of the collector finding good stamps for a low price.
The stamp newspaper Linn's Stamp News
Linn's Stamp News
Linn's Stamp News an American publication, is the largest weekly newspaper for stamp collectors, with a paid circulation of just over 46,000 Circulation peaked at almost 92,000 in 1978 and has declined ever since because fewer new collectors are subscribing to replace those who subscribed in the...
has a regular feature entitled "Kitchen Table Philately", in which the reviewer buys mixtures from various dealers, and analyzes what is in the mixtures, noting percentage of duplicates, oldest and newest stamps, better stamps, and concluding with a computation of the cost-to-value ratio. Typical numbers are in the 5% percent range, meaning that the stamps cost a small fraction of their price when sold individually by dealers.