Nice weather has finally arrived this spring - for a while we thought spring might not arrive this year at all! The warmer weather has motivated us to get the garden planted and to finish up outside projects started a year ago!

We seem to be busier than ever this spring! We just returned from a buying trip to Chicago. We acquired a very nice German area collection from an advanced collector and also bought some nice lots at Rasdale= s auction in Chicago.

This month we are mailing our Austria Part II price list. We priced stamps using last year= s catalogs If you read the rest of this newsletter you will find that Scott prices are finally starting to reflect the increased demand for Austria stamps. Many items on this list are one of a kind so you can expect to find us sold out of some pretty quickly. We wish it were not so but it has been increasingly difficult for us to acquire the better items! As always we very much appreciate your giving us a few alternate choices to avoid your receiving a refund instead of stamps.

We are working on our year group price list and our Private Post stamp list for June. Private post stamps are another area in which it very difficult to find good stamps! Last month was the first time in many months that we were able to land a nice collection of these.

SCOTT VOLUME I

In recent years I have been telling you to save your $$ if all you need in Volume I is an Austria update. This is the year you really do need a new catalog!

There are price changes affecting the great majority of Austria listings in all categories. The vast majority of changes are solid price increases but there is much variation in the amount of increases and there are even a few decreases here and there.

Here are some of our observations.

Almost all mint and used issues from Scott #1 through 1945 show increases! Most increases are substantial but there is a lot of variation in the amount of increases throughout.

1 * was $155 now $175

1 U was $100 now $110

7* was $260 now $290

7 U was $210 now $240

22-6* was $825 now $910

22-6 U was $29 now $35

128-44**was $935 now $1150

128-44* was $17 now $568

128-44U was $856 now $1031

250-87** was $140 now $168

250-87* was $38 now $41

250-87U was $18 now $21

380** was $1100 now $1300

380* was $725 now $800

380U was $1000 now $1250

428-31** was $375 now $450

428-31* was $167 now $189

428-31U was $760 now $915

500-15** was $60 now $84

Post WWII issues are mostly up but there are a lot of the early post war used issues which show substantial declines.

558 U was $5.75 now $4.50

368-71U was $26 now $18

958-7688 was $21 now $40

Europa issues hold steady!

Issues of the last ten years are all up but only about 5% except that all used issues are now priced the same as ** issues.

Semi-postal issues through the end of WWII are up substantially except that Scott has adopted the Michel pricing of used issues. CTO issues (by far the most common) are priced first and are greatly reduced from last years prices for used. Each listing is followed by an explanation that postally used copies are priced at much higher values and those higher prices are given.

(In fact there are 3 market pricing categories for these cancelled issues. The cheapest are CTO, followed by substantially more expensive stamps with FD cancels, and the most valuable category postally used with dated town cancels.

Scott prices the first and latter categories.)

B81-92** was $465 now $575

B81-92* was $210 now $180

B81-92 CTO now $180

B81-92 postally U now $630

Post WWII semi-postal show modest increases and decreases.

Back of the Book issues show increases through out all categories.

J33-44 * was $48 now $63

J33-44U was $9 now $13

M1-21** was $350 now $430

M1-21* was $176 now $218

M1-21U was $311 now $430

Italian occupation issues by far have shown the greatest price increases in the Austrian area compared to all other Austrian stamps for years and continue so again.

N1-19** was $575 now $975

N1-19* was $289 now $409

N1-19U was $288 now $403

Offices and Lombardy show similar increase to early Austria issues throughout.

Bosnia breaks the pattern by showing mostly unchanged pricing but with a few increases and decreases throughout..

Again - if you are going to buy or sell Austria - you need this year= s catalog.

We just received our new catalogs - we will tell you all about them next month.

45665 Recklinghausen, Germany. The easiest and fastest way for you to order from Werner is via his web site at www.wernerziel.de. (His English is excellent.)