Linn's Stamp News
Linn's Stamp News Weekly   Linn's Stamp News

For many decades, if you want to know what's going on in the world of philately, right now, the periodical to turn to is Linn's Stamp News.  This is especially true for those who live in North America.  Whether you want to catch up on the new issues or discoveries, find the latest dealer offerings, see what is attracting other collectors, or track the evolution of the postal administrations, pick up or click on Linn's.

Although they try to cater to all segments of the stamp collecting public, they have been, in my opinion, particularly friendly to bringing the message of topical collectors especially Scout stamp collecting to the philatelic community.  From the first years of SOSSI's existence when whole Linn's issues were focused on our topic to coverage of the most recent Canadian and US Scout stamp new issue releases, Linn's has been there.

Linn's is owned by Amos Media Company, publishers of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue.  Linn's may be contacted online at www.linns.com, thorough email at linns@amosmedia.com or by mail, PO Box 4129 Sidney Ohio 45365.

In early 1967, with the World Scout Jamboree coming to Utah that summer, the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee had refused to recommend a stamp for the occasion, even under heavy public pressure.  Linn's editor, Carl P. Rueth solved the stalemate by suggesting that a commemorative postal card would be a possible alternative.  The 6¢ Jamboree airmail postal card was designed and printed in two short months.

Presented here are excerpts from Linn's issues during the last 65 years which are of particular interest to collectors and researchers of Scout philately.

May 25, 1953

Boy And Girl Scout Philately

• Scouts On Stamps Society Sponsors Current Edition; Organized in December 1951, page 1

The Story of Mafeking Cadets And Their Boer War Carrying of Local Mails, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., pages 1,8

• Officers Of The Scouts On Stamps Society, page 2

Polish Scouts Plan Camp To Camp Mail In England, by Andrew J. Goszczycki, page 2

• Stories Of Scout Stamps In Brochure, page 4

A Scout Show Of Living Stamps, by Willard H. Boyles, page 5

Scout Stamp Check List, by Harry Thorsen, page 7

SOS Convention At Scout Jamboree July, page 9

June 27, 1955
not yet available

Scout Stamps Appealing Field

Scouts On Stamps Society Is Specialized International Group; Sponsors This Edition, by Paul S. Bickett, pages 1,15

Experimental Rocket Mail At All-India Scout Jamboree Tried During February 1937, by Gordon Entwistle, pages 1,3

Scouts On Stamps Society, page 2

Boy Scout Stamps Of 25 Countries, by W. Arthur McKinney, page 2

The Scouts On Stamps Society, editorial by George W. Linn, page 4

• International SOSS Convention - Canada, page 5

Sweden Boy Scout Seals [Collecting Charity Seals], by Amy Ellen Davis, page 6

• Scouting Countries Of The World As Recognized By Boy Scouts International Bureau, page 7

Mafeking Siege Stamps - How They Originated And Why, by Gordon Entwistle, page 8

Baden-Powell Stamps And A Green Feather, by Willard H. Boyles, page 9

Scouts Prepare Jamboree Cachet, page 10

Informative Book On Scout Stamps, Seals, page 12

Scouts On Stamps World Check List, page 15

July 4, 1955

Canadian Boy Scout August 20 - Honors 8th World Jamboree Held At Niagara-On-The-Lake Ontario From August 18-28, pages 1, 15

September 16, 1957

Brazil First Day Maximum Card, page 14

December 7, 1959

Scout Stamp FD In Washington, pages 1,22

December 28, 1959

Boy Scout Stamp Adds Red [Color], pages 1,7

US Notes "The Scout is said to be Thornton Percival", by Carl P. Reuth, page 5

June 27, 1960

"Scouts On Stamps" Featured

Large and Active Organization Developed From Publication In 1949 Of Book On Scout Stamps, by George V. Holland

Scout Stamps We Often Overlook, by Herbert W. Dieckmann, page 2

Sir Robert Baden-Powell On Stamps Of The World, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 5

• New Zealand Girl Guide Story Told, page 8

Message Of Scouting Taken To World By 1957 Jubilee Issues, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 10

The Story Behind The Three U.S. Scout Stamps, by Russell H. Eliot, page 11

The Boy On The Penny Blue - Story Of The First Boy Scout And Mafeking "Siege Mail" Stamps, by Dr. K. Freund, page 12

Cracked Plate On Mafeking Stamp, by Jay Rogers, page 13

• "Scouts" Stamps Appearing In '60, page 15

Trial Proofs Known of Siam Scout Items, by Jay Rogers, page 20

January 2, 1961

• Trinidad Single For Caribbean Jamboree, page 12

• Scout Week Cachet By Vicksburg, Miss. Troop, page 27

April 2, 1962

New Stamp Tribute To Scouts

Barbados Trio Commemorates Golden Anniversary Of Scout Work In West Indies Colony, pages 1,27

August 20, 1962

• US Girl Scout FD Cachet hand painted by Ralph Dyer, page 3

August 31, 1964

Philately Of Scouting Explored

Scouts On Stamps Society In 13th Year: International Hobby Group Active In 47 Countries, by W. Arthur McKinney

• Scouts On Stamps Society International Officers for 1964; Regional Chapters, page 2

• Canadian Collector Favors Scout Seals, page 2

• Scouts On Stamps In Topical Handbook, page 2

U.S. Scouts on Stamps Of Indonesia And Japan, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 3

Successful SOSSI Unit Explains "How Come", by Bennet D. Kitts, page 8

Unusual Items For Scout Pages, by William Anderson, page 9

• Cyprus Jubilee Issue by W. M. Menear, page 10

Story Behind Scout Stamps Of Trinidad And Tobago, by Russell H. Eliot, page 12

Sky High Olympics Overprinted On Haiti And Dubai "Scouts", by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 14

• A Scout Good Turn by Howard Reeves, page 14

Design Errors On Scout Stamps, by C. F. Black, page 15

Study And Analysis of Errors And Major Varieties In Scout Philately; Side Areas Included, by Sheldon S. Levy, pages 18,31

The Scout Salute, Sign And Handclasp On World Stamps, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., pages 20,21

Scouting Philately In Benelux Area, by Ph. R. van Hille, page 21

Libya Scout Set Issued July 24, by Harry D. Thorsen, page 23

Things To Come In Scout Stamps, by William Anderson, page 24

Attending World Jamboree Of Scouting Rare Treat, But All Can Collect Jamboree Stamps, by Robert H. Berlin, page 25

May 17 & December 20, 1965 and May 16, 1966

Portugal 885a Double Impression

Double Print On Portuguese Scout, page 10, May 17, 1965

Scout Error Still Ranks As Unique, by Wilbur Kattner, page 7, December 20, 1965

Portugal and Colonies (advertisement by Wilbur Kattner), page 39, May 16, 1966

March 28, 1966

William Hoffmann to Lead SOSSI in '66, page 34

July 18, 1966

Hungarian Stamp Designer [Légrády Sándor] Is Surprise Visitor At Ohio Club, by Louis J. Zoehrer, page 23

November 28, 1966

Scouts On 80 Nation's Stamps

• Boy And Girl Scouts, Scouting Popular Topical Subject; First Issue Antedates Organization, pages 1,15

• Scout On Stamps Society International [Officers for 1967, Regional Chapters, Cooperating Clubs], page 2

The First Scout Stamp: Czechoslovakia, November 7, 1918, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 8

Baden-Powell on World Stamps, page 14

Scout Meter Slogans - A Breakthrough For Youth, by Howard R. Reeves, page 18

Earning A Merit Badge In Stamp Collecting, Lesson Three, by Mrs. E. W. Viel, page 24

Girl Scout Philately, by Floyd W. Steutel-Dean, page 26

Scout Stamp Collectors Are Specialists, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 28

Some Notes On The 1918 Czech Scout Stamps, by Lester A. Behnke, by page 30

How I Buy Scout Stamps, by John W. Owen, page 31

April 3, 1967

US Notes "it will be possible to produce a commemorative postal card...with a Scouting theme", by Carl P. Reuth, page 6

Boy Scout Jamboree postmark, by Carl P. Reuth

May 22, 1967

Air Card For Scout Jamboree, page 1

US Notes, by Carl P. Reuth, page 6

July 3, 1967

6c Card For Scouts Jamboree, page 1

July 17, 1967
not yet available

Jamboree Card "In Tradition"

U. S. 6c Scout Commem Card Maintains Custom Of Philatelic Tribute From Hosting Country, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., pages 1,26

Forgeries Warning To Scout Collectors, by Thorsen and McKinney, page 2

The First Scout Stamps, by Lester A. Behnke, page 5

World Jamboree Market Values Of Scout Material, by William Anderson, page 8

More On 1918 Czechoslovak Scout Stamps With Overprints, by Lester A. Behnke, page 10

Our Eighth World Jamboree Cachet Project - Canada 1955, by Herbert F. Curthoys, page 14

Some Rubber Stamp Cachets, page 19

Advice To The New Scout Stamp Collector, by George V. Holland, page 21

Postal Cancellations Of The World Boy Scout Jamborees, by John C. Schmidt, pages 24-26,31

April 15, 1968

A Major Stationery Error, page 8

June 2, 1969
not yet available

Scouts, Stamps - No Odd Couple

SOSSI Joins Indoor, Outdoor Activities; "Marriage" In 18th Year And Still Going Strong, pages 1,23

Famous British, American Scout Leaders On Togo Set, by Thorsen and McKinney, page 10

Sir Robert Baden-Powell Boer War Hero 1899-1900, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr, page 10

Lady Baden-Powell On SOSSI Jamboree Program, page 14

Philatelic Exploration Of The Fourth World Scout Jamboree At Gödöllő, Hungary In 1933, by Sheldon S. Levy, pages 18,19,30,31

Dressing Up Girl Scout Albums, by Floyd W. Steutel-Dean, page 27

Scout Stamps 1968, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr, page 28+

Polna 1945 Scout Overprints on Czechoslovakian Stamps, by Lester A. Behnke and Jan Dvorak, by page 32

SUNTRAPEX For "Scouts On Stamps", page 35

The Development Of Scout Stamps Clubs, page 36

Scout Book In Cartoons, page 40

March 30, 1970

Pamphlet 'Generates' Scouts On Stamp Unit, by William E. Hoffmann, pages 23,37

August 3, 1970

Japan Notes Girl Scouts, page 43

June 10, 1974

Nordic countries to co-host Scouts in 1975; many stamp issues likely, by Harry D. Thorsen, Jr., page 6

September 12, 1977

Which bicycle came in first questionable, by James E. Starrs, page 65

May 3, 1982

Scouts contribute to Nauru's progress, by Dennis Martin, page 88

June 27, 1983

• Scouting design contest results in stamp, page 2

August 12, 1985

U.S. to recognize International Youth Year with se-tenant block of four 22¢ stamps, pages 1,10

May 23, 1988

Founder of Boy Scouts portrayed on rare Mafeking local stamps [Philatelic Gems], by Donna O'Keefe, page 28

March 3, 1991

Juliette Low, scout leader [Who's Who on U.S. Stamps], by Richard Thomas, page 32

May 22, 1992

World Columbian Stamp Expo '92, by Wayne L. Youngblood

Philatelic Organizations and Events, pages 38,39

COMPEX 92 Exhibits, page 74,78

Society Exhibits, pages 86,87

September 28, 1992

Pitney Bowes' experiments with tagging detailed in recent discovery of essays, by Wayne L. Youngblood, pages 1,16

Computer-related U.S. stamps, stationery [Computers and Stamps], by William F. Sharpe, page 20

December 14, 1992

Girl Scouts [U.S. Notes], by John M. Hotchner, page 6

March 21, 1994

Offset missing on 22¢ Girl Scouts, by Michael Schreiber, page 14

November 7, 1994

United States domestic airmail postal cards [Airmails], by Dan Barber, pages 22-23

May 13, 1996

Scouts on Stamps society plans CAPEX events, covers, unattributed, page 32

May 29, 1997

Official Program Pacific 97, Schedule, etc.

June 2, 1997

Scouts at Pacific 97, unattributed, page 38

January 5, 1998

So Let's Celebrate!, by Colorano FDCs, page 21

January 26, 1998

Designs unveiled for first Century stamps, by Michael Schreiber, pages 1,16

Scouting design shown early, by Michael Schreiber, page 8

May 3, 1999

Scouting topic on the web [Stamps on the Internet], by William F. Sharpe, page 28

November 8, 1999

• Indonesia's personalized stamps, page 2

March 27, 2000

First known Celebrate errors found in Illinois, by Michael Baadke, page 20

May 1, 2000

New Girl Scouts error surfaces in Vermont, by Charles Snee, page 14

May 21, 2001

Scout stamp society celebrates 50th anniversary, unattributed, page 10

December 3, 2001

The Insider, by Les Winick, page 22
SOSSI's role in the development of the 1 Frame exhibit category

January 21, 2002

Collecting Queen Elizabeth's Hong Kong [Asia], by Michael Rogers, page 30

December 4, 2006

Counterfeit cancels, fake Scouting cachets, page 19

February 5, 2007

• SOSSI creates web site for cell phones, page 2

July 16, 2007

Stamps for 100th anniversary of Scouting coincide with world jamboree in England, by Denise McCarty, pages 1,50

July 23, 2007

• Scouting Stamps Mark 100 Years

Fleur-de-lis design for Canada's 52¢ Hundred Years of Scouting stamp, by Rick Miller, page 2

Many nations issue stamps to to salute 100th anniversary of Scouting, by Denise McCarty, page 19

September 17, 2007

• Readers' Opinions, page 4

November 23, 2009

Scouts will get their U.S. stamp in 2010 [The Editor's Column], by Michael Baadke, page 3

November 30, 2009

USPS will recognize Scouting centennial with single 44¢ stamp; July release planned, by Jay Bigalke, page 1

December 14, 2009

Boy Scouts created Scouting stamp patch for stamp design unveiling at Smithsonian, by Bill McAllister, pages 1,54

December 21, 2009

• Readers' Opinions, page 4

July 26, 2010

Scouting stamp debuts July 27 in Virginia; ceremony planned at centennial jamboree, by Jay Bigalke, pages 1,18,19

Scouting stamp really commemorates Boy Scout centennial [Modern FDCs], by Lloyd de Vries, page 32

August 16, 2010

Boy Scout Jamboree postmark [Postmark Pursuit], by Jay Bigalke, page 30

August 23, 2010

44¢ Scouting stamp is a big hit at National Scout Jamboree, by Bill McAllister, pages 30-31

Congressmen exhibit their stamp collections at Rayburn House, by Bill McAllister, pages 10-11

August 15, 2011

New 2012 stamps: Scouting, Santa, Heart Health, by Jay Bigalke, pages 1,26

June 11, 2012

Scouting stamp to be issued at Girl Scout event, by Denise McCarty, pages 1,30

July 2, 2012

Quickie event for Scouting stamp with no first-day ceremony program [Washington Watch], by Bill McAllister, pages 12-13

September 10, 2012

Error pane of Celebrate Scouting stamps found, by Jay Bigalke, pages 1,18

March 9, 2015

Unusual format for 1960 Boy Scout commemorative card [U.S. Stamp Notes], by John M. Hotchner, page 6

July 9, 2018

Cartoon Contest [U.S. Stamp Notes], by John M. Hotchner, page 6


Scott Stamp Monthly

Scott Monthly Journal & Scott Stamp Monthly

February 1972
Vol. 52 No. 11
Boy Scouts and Stamps, pages 6-10
Stamp of the Month, page 7
October 1975
Vol. 56 No. 8
Scout Stamps & Scout Postal Cards, pictured on front cover, page 1
August 1986
Vol. 4 No. 10
Dragons - A Fire-Breathing Topical, by Malcolm M. Ferguson, pages 6-9
May 1990
Vol. 8 No. 7
The Scouting Topical, by J. G. Nash, pages 6-10
October 1996
Vol. 14 No. 12
Amazing Stamp Stories - Scout's Honor, by Lodge and Rockwell, © 2001 Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate, page 63
January 2001
Vol. 19 No. 1
Amazing Stamp Stories - Acorn to Oak!!!, by Lodge and Rockwell, page 92

Scott Catalogues

The front covers of the six volumes of the Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 163rd edition and the Scott 2007 Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers 85th edition features images of Boy and Girl Scout stamps of the world on the occasion of the celebration of Scouting's 100th Anniversary.  View these 7 front covers.  For information regarding the newest Scott Catalogues, please visit Amos Advantage.

By 2010, Amos Publishing was printing the Scott Catalogues in full color.  At SOSSI's request, a full set of the catalogues were made available to SOSSI for use at the 2010 & 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree where SOSSI Staff members taught Scouts how to use them in the Stamp Collecting Merit Badge tents of the Merit Badge Midway.  THANK YOU Scotts.