Gordon Eubanks - the Nuclear warrior with the finest US stamps
Gordon Eubanks
Gordon Eubanks has an obsession with communications. For 25 years he was one of the leading lights of the computer software industry and in his semi-retirement he has become one of the most scholarly and devoted collectors of American stamps.
I met him at the Royal Philatelic Society London, where he was showing his collection of United States Imperforate Issues of 1851-6, which won the Champion of Champions award from the American Philatelic Society.
He is quietly spoken, very personable and happy to talk about stamps to anyone. He even publishes his email address on his handouts in case philatelists have any queries or suggestions to make.
Born in 1946 in Cambridge Massachussets, his father worked for Collins Radio and various other hi-tech companies. Eubanks went to school in Iowa, which was where Collins Radio was based, and then went to Oklahoma State University, which was near where they were living at the time.
At university, he started dabbling with computers and taking classes in maths. After graduating he taught Fortran – a basic computer programming language – to business students. He claimed that he knew relatively little about the subject, but bluffed his way into a job and managed to stay one lesson ahead of his pupils. In 1969, he was drafted into the services. Rather than going to the army (this was during the height of the Viet Nam war) he joined the navy, where he spent nine years on nuclear subs and was able to do a post graduate degree in computing.
After the navy, he worked for a succession of computing companies, eventually running Symantec which produced anti-virus software and Oblix which is also involved in security. Now he is semi-retired and spends a lot of time with his stamps.
He started collecting as a schoolboy, gave it up in high school and then took up the hobby when he was in his 40s. His collections are very precise and well ordered and his explanations of stamps are very clear and easy to understand. Perhaps it's not surprising that at one time he considered becoming a teacher.
'I don't really have a theory of collecting. I just enjoy it, so I collect,' he said. 'It gives me places to go and nice people to meet.' He is interested in the social history of stamps and how they shaped America. During his talk he suggests that America was shaped by the 'Post Office age' which lasted until the 1950s, when the telephone became the principal means of communication. 'I am interested in communication. I try to collect the early stuff before electronic communication had an impact on postage.' He is particularly interested in the way that the post service linked the east and west coast of America, at a time when travel through the centre of the United States was unreliable and dangerous. He primarily collects USA but he dabbles with other countries. 'I think I would collect everything if I could afford it,' he told me.
His collection is worth serious money. In 2011 he sold his collection of the US 1869 issues. Just one stamp – the 15c with inverted centre – (Scott 119b) – went for $110,000.
see also - John duPont - the billionaire who collected from his jail cell
Joseph Hackmey - the chess master who has amassed one of the finest collections in the world
Other leading collectors
I met him at the Royal Philatelic Society London, where he was showing his collection of United States Imperforate Issues of 1851-6, which won the Champion of Champions award from the American Philatelic Society.
He is quietly spoken, very personable and happy to talk about stamps to anyone. He even publishes his email address on his handouts in case philatelists have any queries or suggestions to make.
Born in 1946 in Cambridge Massachussets, his father worked for Collins Radio and various other hi-tech companies. Eubanks went to school in Iowa, which was where Collins Radio was based, and then went to Oklahoma State University, which was near where they were living at the time.
At university, he started dabbling with computers and taking classes in maths. After graduating he taught Fortran – a basic computer programming language – to business students. He claimed that he knew relatively little about the subject, but bluffed his way into a job and managed to stay one lesson ahead of his pupils. In 1969, he was drafted into the services. Rather than going to the army (this was during the height of the Viet Nam war) he joined the navy, where he spent nine years on nuclear subs and was able to do a post graduate degree in computing.
After the navy, he worked for a succession of computing companies, eventually running Symantec which produced anti-virus software and Oblix which is also involved in security. Now he is semi-retired and spends a lot of time with his stamps.
He started collecting as a schoolboy, gave it up in high school and then took up the hobby when he was in his 40s. His collections are very precise and well ordered and his explanations of stamps are very clear and easy to understand. Perhaps it's not surprising that at one time he considered becoming a teacher.
'I don't really have a theory of collecting. I just enjoy it, so I collect,' he said. 'It gives me places to go and nice people to meet.' He is interested in the social history of stamps and how they shaped America. During his talk he suggests that America was shaped by the 'Post Office age' which lasted until the 1950s, when the telephone became the principal means of communication. 'I am interested in communication. I try to collect the early stuff before electronic communication had an impact on postage.' He is particularly interested in the way that the post service linked the east and west coast of America, at a time when travel through the centre of the United States was unreliable and dangerous. He primarily collects USA but he dabbles with other countries. 'I think I would collect everything if I could afford it,' he told me.
His collection is worth serious money. In 2011 he sold his collection of the US 1869 issues. Just one stamp – the 15c with inverted centre – (Scott 119b) – went for $110,000.
see also - John duPont - the billionaire who collected from his jail cell
Joseph Hackmey - the chess master who has amassed one of the finest collections in the world
Other leading collectors