The DUDUCKCK REPORREPORTT Second Issue 2003 A Journal for Duck Stamp Collectors Whole number 28 Good looking state duck stamps headed your way! It is shaping up to be a great 2003 for duck stamps! on a bluff at Ft. Some beautiful stamps are headed for your collection – Wetherill in with a number of new artists making a mark. Jamestown, Connecticut will dis- Rhode Island. continue the “artistic” The falcon has stamp and print program his eye on the and will begin issuing a Oldsquaw flying sticker stamp, similar to by. what collectors have seen New Jersey’s Goebel’s design for the 2003 N. Carolina duck stamp. from Kansas since 1997. 20th Anniversary New style for Connecticut. Stamps will still be Edition Waterfowl stamp is painted required for hunting and the state estimates the stamp by Jim Killen. The decoy depicted will continue to generate $30,000 or more annually that in the painting was done by New will be used for wetland conser- Jersey decoy carver, Clarence vation. Fennimore. Fennimore carved the The 2003 Rhode Island pintail decoy in the Delaware Fisher’s Colorado design. Duck Stamp Waterfowl Stamp will depict an working bird style. This 20th Anniversary Edition is Chief resigns, Oldsquaw (rapidly becoming the first in the Retriever Puppy Series. The stamp fea- see page 13. known as the long-tailed duck). tures a black Labrador Retriever puppy and the pintail. The artist, Keith Mueller, has Arkansas will feature “Bayou Lagrue Mallards” by put a peregrine falcon high up Zettie Jones. Jones is the first native Arkansan to continued on page 12 Pennsylvania student wins Junior Duck Contest Sales continue to escalate A portrayal of a green- support participants in the program and a scholarship winged teal pair won for contest winners. first place in the Federal Bauman’s art teacher is Linda Hilgert at Lebanon Junior Duck Stamp County Career and Technology Center. Design Contest held “The Federal Junior Duck Stamp program helps fos- April 26, 2003, in Ocean ter a conservation ethic in America’s youth,” said City, Maryland. Service Director Steve Williams. “By combining the JDS11, the 2003 Junior duck stamp. The acrylic painting by arts and wildlife conservation into one curriculum, stu- Nathan Bauman, 18, of Jonestown, Pennsylvania, was dents learn about wildlife management principles as judged the top painting among the winners from 50 well as the aesthetic qualities of wildlife and nature.” states plus the District of Columbia and American Colby Brandt, 18, of Sealy, Texas, took second place Samoa. Bauman’s painting became the 2003-2004 with a colored pencil called “Woodies,” a depiction of a Federal Junior Duck Stamp. pair of wood ducks. Proceeds from Junior Duck Stamp sales are used to Third place went to Amanda Edsall, age 17, of continued on page 4 New valuing guides for stamp collectors By Bob Dumaine al duck stamps, since that is my scope. For those in their cata- For the better part of ten years, Scott example, a comparison of the value guides logues, which are Catalogues have listed prices for stamps for the 1934 issue, RW1 NH, are shown in commonly used by graded as very fine. the accompanying box. most auction houses. That value reflected the editor’s opinions A huge surprise to me was the price for a These values coin- for a stamp with above the normal center- complete set of federal duck stamps. Scott cide with the VF ing, very fine, a mid range grade between lists at $6,426 and PSE at $5,600. The top grade listed in the good and superb. Collectors were left to fig- grade for a Superb NH set really raised my Valuing Supplement, ure the value of an XF stamp, or a lesser eyebrows! Scott’s value was $13,596, and and extrapolate high- grade without the benefit of professional $14,500 for the PSE. Until I saw this data, I er and lower esti- Scott Valuing Supplement. pricing estimates. would have figured a superb set at about mates from the In the Spring of 2003, PSE (Professional $8,500. However, many would not have prime VF grade, so there is a Stamp Experts), began issuing a quarterly qualified for the rigorous PSE grading of consistency. value guide which expanded prices to seven 98, superb. Either is a welcome refer- grades, and included photos of the stamps in Most auction houses will not accept a ence to collectors and dealers the various grades. The PSE also provides a return based on a grading difference due to to form a common pricing new grading service as part of their exper- its subjective nature. I have found PSE’s benchmark for a specific tizing service, and for a fee will give an grading to be fair, but to attain the highest grade. Not to have one or the opinion of the grade. grade of superb is very difficult and most other in your possession is to Scott followed with the first edition of stamps so graded by sellers would not come fly blind. their semi-annual Valuing Supplement, close to qualifying, particularly on public The PSE guide is $6 and PSE’s Quarterly much like the PSE’s guide but larger and offerings such as eBay. the Scott 2004 Valuing pricing guide. with a slightly different set of grades. The The variations in different thinking is Supplement is $12 (also Scott publication lists six grades, compared obvious, plus Scott has a grade of F-VF available on a CD-Rom for $12). We have to seven by the PSE. Both guides offer a which the PSE does not offer, and the PSE both guides available, please add $1.50 range of values for early United States has a grade of XF-Superb which Scott does shipping to your order. stamps, as well as all federal duck stamps. not provide. Overall, the guides prove an Both guides have clear photos of each The Scott product assumes a fault-free invaluable reference on approximately what grade to help apply valuing estimates. This stamp, but the PSE offers a chart of variable to pay for a certain stamp, which is particu- product was long overdue and should be a values for grading and soundness. larly useful at auctions. However, be cer- great help to buyers and sellers. These guides are both very helpful, and a tain the “grading” by the auction house is must for most auction bidders and stamp commensurate with that of Scott and the buyers. In this article, we will refer to feder- PSE, and the respective example grading photos will be very useful in this respect. SCOTT Which one is best? Both have advantages. — V- Good Fine F-VF VF XF — Superb — $130. $280. $550. $775. $1,250. — $2,000. For example, the PSE actually certifies RW5 RW23 PSE grades on their certificates; Scott does not. PSE VF PSE Superb Good V -Good Fine —VFXF XF-Sup Superb $90. $240. $450. — $750. $1,100. $1,700. $2,500. However, Scott VF values are identical to Grade 80 Grade 98 Mute swans becoming a nuisance The mute The USFWS has released a draft environ- population is the largest in North America swan is get- mental assessment for the management of with an estimated population of 14,313 ting a little mute swans in the Atlantic flyway. The birds. heat for mess- assessment analyzes the consequences of Mute swans are sedentary, rarely moving ing up the actions to minimize the damage caused by more than 30 miles. The swan requires habi- environment the increasing numbers of mute swans. tats with shallow vegetated shorelines. In … and now Because of its graceful form and beauty, the Northeast, it prefers coastal ponds, estu- the U.S. Fish the mute swan is a frequent subject of sto- aries, backwaters and tributaries. It occupies and Wildlife Service wants to do something ries, but it is not native to the United States. these habitats year-round. As their popula- about it. Mute swans were unknown in the U.S. until tion grew, some birds began to occupy The Duck Report sometime prior to 1900. inland freshwater wetlands. Mute swans are The original introductions probably almost totally herbivorous, feeding on a Published by Sam Houston Duck Co. 13310 Westheimer, #150, Houston TX 77077 occurred as semi-domestic birds in eastern variety of aquatic vegetation. North America. Through the first half of the Alarmed by recent rapid growth of the Publisher Bob Dumaine twentieth century, there were several more population and detrimental impacts caused Editor Rita Dumaine releases of birds along the Eastern Seaboard by exotic species such as the mute swans, copyright © 2003 and Great Lakes. In 2002, the Atlantic Coast continued on next page 2 Second 1959 inverted back inscription discovered Even considering beak, and eyes out of their socket. The the discovery of the reverse offset has two clear sets of inscrip- second example, the tions, one slightly lighter than the other. The RW26a error is of stamp has a certificate from the P.S.E. stat- major importance ing the reverse doubling is due to a “kiss since the owner of the print” and not double printed or double first example has impression. bequeathed it to the For sure, I was and still am confused by Newly discovered copy of RW26a Smithsonian National the terminology. Anyone can see the stamp Postal Museum. has two impressions, so if not double print- by Bob Dumaine Collectors and treasure hunters would be ed, was it almost double printed? I feel if the A major federal duck stamp error with wise to continue to look for such examples.