This’ll be a series that runs every Tuesday, where I ask random questions unrelated to the environment, fair trade, or local politics. Questions I’ve been wondering about but haven’t been able to google the answers to. I’ll warn ya — Some are odd, some are frightening, and some deal with death. Any advice is appreciated.
Back in my young, nerdier days, I collected stamps. Organizing them provided hours, nay DAYS, of anal, organizational amusement that didn’t attract the attention, anger or criticism of my almost-always angry and critical father. The thing is, I moved out once I turned 18, and don’t collect these anymore. I do, however, have a bunch of commemorative Korean stamps from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Someone told me a while back that these’re worth a lot of money now. I could use that money, but how do I get it? Where do I trade foreign commemorative stamps for moolah in the US?
I’ve officially drunk my local Trader Joe’s out of all Bodegas Iranzo wines, as well as both the Five Hills Blue merlot and cabernet. Are these organic wines still avaliable at other LA Trader Joe’s? Or should I order a case of wine for my V-day party directly from an organic winery?
Is it unhealthy to take more than the recommended dosage of Claritin? One a day seems rather low…
My late father — who was not only gullible but also a non-native English speaker, did some silly things. One of these: buying a bunch of “authentic” 1999 $1 silver certificates from the National Collector’s Mint. As the gal assigned to combing through all the junk my father left behind, I’m not sure what to do with these. Are they worthless? Should I just try to recycle them? Or are they worth holding on to? Can I sell them? And if so, where? (Update, 2/11/06: I successfully sold these certificates on ebay for $71.67, per Fletch’s advice! Thanks Fletch! Was super psyched, till I looked at the old receipt and found out what my late father originally paid: $417.)
What are your thoughts on Nip/Tuck?
Stamps take only little room. If you aren’t in dire straits with money (which you probably aren’t really) it might be a wise move to save them for later. Usually collectibles just go up in terms of price.
As for Claritin (I am not a doctor and hence take no responsibility), data sheets of the active ingedient (loratadine) indicate one is unlikely to die from a small OD, but it seems it is important to take it *before* one is exposed to allergens, not after the allergic symptoms start, as loratadine needs to bind to its target receptors before histamine does. So if you feel that it won’t work, this may be one reason.
Ask a real MD, not the blogosphere…
Comment by Anon — January 25, 2006 @ 12:32 am
Well, my sis is an MD, and I’d ask her, except she always says scary stuff (“It’s prolly nothing, but it could be an inoperable brain tumor”)…
Comment by Siel — January 25, 2006 @ 12:45 am
Selling stamps at a decent price is hard. First, you need to find a stamp catalog – do *never* trust anything else but that. That allows you to find out what you’d pay if you bought them.
To actually sell them, you need to find somebody who trades stamps for a living, and let them know that they can have those stamps – if the price is right. If you try to outright sell them, you’ll only get ridiculously low prices. Unless they make you an offer that seems right to you, just hold on to the stamps. (In other words, the “great investment” thing on stamps, like with all other collectibles, is not necessarily true..)
As for the coins – the National Collectors Mint is as dubious as you can get without being outright illegal. See this article on their WTC dollar. Or see what the US Mint has to say about National Collectors Mint. In short, take those coins and keep them as a memory – that’s all they are.
Comment by Robert 'Groby' Blum — January 25, 2006 @ 4:57 am
Hey Siel, Good advice above. As you know, I’m no MD but used to take TWO claritins a day for a little while. Bad allergies in the Midwest. No side effects. But when I told my doctor, I got slapped on the hand pretty hard. He then prescribed my Allegra…which was even worse. And finally I’m on Zyrtec which works wonders when I pop one with a Sudafed. =)
Comment by Kristy — January 25, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Ok — I think I’m gonna have to hold on to the stamps until I make a personal friend that deals in this kinda stuff.
I’ll see if anyone wants these “minted” dollar bills on freecycle. Otherwise, they’re going in the recycling bin.
Kristy — I did flonase for a while, but I don’t feel like it works any better than Claritin. I’m gonna take this 1 a day recommendation thing about as seriously I take the “Avoid alcohol” instruction on most pharma bottles…
Comment by Siel — January 25, 2006 @ 5:52 pm
I want to play, but all the good questions have been answered. So, regarding Nip/Tuck…
OMFG! I watched only part of, what I guess is, the last season ender. Golly, television has changed. It seemed to me to have some sort of frat boy gross out vibe. Kind of like an Aristocrats riff. I watched the episode and felt satiated slightly nauseated and just a little bit dirty. Maybe this is what happenned to all those fucked up Brett Easton Ellisonians I went to school with.
Comment by Lloyd — January 25, 2006 @ 6:16 pm