ALL NATIONS STAMP & COIN

Stamp and coin collecting has been Brian Grant Duff’s lifelong passion. As a young boy, he was hospitalized for a lengthy period, and his grandmother would visit him regularly with gifts. When the novelty of comic books wore off, she began to bring him stamps and coins, which were instant hits. Little did Brian realize the introduction of this hobby would lead to celebrating 40 years as a stamp and coin dealer.

At age 14, Brian ran his first stamp approval business. This involved sending selections of stamps to other collectors on approval – they would purchase the ones they wanted and return the rest.

After graduating from high school, Brian began an arts degree but abandoned his studies to run and eventually own stamp and coin concessions at Eaton’s and The Bay. Eaton’s also sent him to Toronto to run the stores and auctions in that city.

All Nations Stamp and Coin opened in 1949, making it one of Canada’s longest-operating stamp and coin shops.

In 1998, an opportunity arose to purchase All Nations Stamp and Coin in downtown Vancouver. For ten years, he juggled his work at The Bay with the ownership of All Nations. In 2008, Brian moved the shop to Dunbar, where he resides with his family. He is proud to have retained clients since his days at Eaton’s 37 years ago.

Brian’s vast experience includes buying, selling, and auctioning Canadian and worldwide stamps, collections, and postal history.

The pandemic was initially a challenging time for his Dunbar business. He boarded up the windows to keep the store safe; some thought it had closed. On a positive note, Brian says, “The pandemic renewed an interest in hobbies. People got tired of looking at YouTube videos all day.”

“The store’s demographic is largely baby boomers. Young buyers mainly purchase online; it’s harder to get young people started collecting.”

The magic of collectibles is you are holding history in your hand.

During the early days of the pandemic, when stores were closed, people began to shop online more, which spawned considerable growth in All Nations’ weekly auctions. On March 16, 2024, the business held its 1450th weekly auction. Every Saturday at noon, there are 215 lots, and 30 to 50 vendors are represented.

Auction collectibles include stamps, rare stamps, covers, cancels, freaks, error stamps, postal history, postcards, RPPC, photographs, historical documents, autographs, artist-signed stamp design booklets, concert

programs, memorabilia, ancient coins, ancient Greek and Roman coins, modern Canadian coins, world coins, numismatic tokens, bank notes, paper money, medals, medallions, hockey cards, trading cards, British Columbia history, and Canadian historical items.

Brian has dealt with some of Canada’s most valuable coins and stamps. He invites you to talk to him if you have any rare collectibles.

Are you thinking about selling your collection or perhaps just a few pieces? This can be the right move if you realize you’ve gone as far as planned with your collection. Sharing your material with other collectors who have been searching at length for material you possess can be very gratifying.

In early 2022, Brian lobbied Canada Post to create a fundraising stamp to support Ukraine. “I harassed everyone I thought would support my petition,” says Brian. He successfully collected 1,600 signatures. Arran Stephens, co-founder of Nature’s Path Organic Foods, joined the lobbying campaign. Brian was grateful for his support and enjoyed the collaboration.

“Canada Post quickly got the stamp out the door and into the customer’s hands. Normally, it takes two years to take a stamp from proposal to production, but they managed to do it in four months.” The first-day cover sold out instantly, but the stamps are still for sale.

Canada is the only country outside Europe to have created a humanitarian stamp to support Ukraine. In 2023, Brian received an award from the Ukraine Stamp and Coin Society for his efforts.

Brian has an active petition on Change.org encouraging the United States Postal Service to issue a special edition Taylor Swift stamp in honour of her significant musical and philanthropic contributions. He suggests that a portion of the proceeds from each stamp sold could go towards charities that Taylor supports, thus combining recognition with action. It may also expose a younger demographic to stamp collecting.

The Royal Canadian Mint released a small batch of King Charles III coins on his 75th birthday in November 2023. Brian indicates the coins disappeared quickly; however, the stamps with the King’s image did not have the same appeal.

Collections mean different things to different people. For some, collecting may be a trip down memory lane or the thrill of finding a treasure. For others, they may open doors to connect with other collectors or reap financial rewards.

“People tell me it’s great to have a collection; it brings them joy and takes their mind off things happening in the world. I always welcome people to join in our merry band of collecting,” says Brian.

All Nations Stamp and Coin

5630 Dunbar Street

Vancouver, BC V6N 1W7 Phone 604-684-4613

www.allnationsstampandcoin.com

Story by Sarah Gordon (April 2024)

Photos @sandrasteierphotography