New Zealand Collector Uses Hobby to Raise Funds for Church

New Zealand's Aucklander website reports, "Victor Sutcliffe has put his own stamp on philately. His house in Titirangi has stamps everywhere you look. You could say he has this hobby licked. He has boxes of stamps in his lounge, dining room, kitchen sink and his 'operation' room. He has drawers bursting with stamped envelopes and a cupboard full of albums."

Sutcliffe, shown here, is the exchange superintendent for the Auckland Philatelic Society. He also sorts, values and sells stamps on behalf of the Baptist Church according to the article by reporter Rowean Orejana.

"His volunteer work is almost a full-time job. It takes him six hours a day to go through boxes and boxes of stamps from churches around the country," pens Orejana.

Orejana goes on to say, "Mr Sutcliffe then painstakingly sorts stamps that are valuable from those that have little value. The ordinary stamps are put in a bag and sold per kilogramme. The others are put in books and priced accordingly. These books are the ones that go to Auckland Philatelic Society collectors who buy them.

Sutcliffe is quoted as saying, "In round figures, around the country, I've constantly got about a thousand books in circulation. And every three months, I send the Baptist Church of New Zealand a cheque."

To read the entire article, click here.