The Easter Story Told in Stamps

(Ashburn, VA) - According to a recent article in Smithsonian Magazine, the world's most valuable stamp is now estimated at a worth of over $10 million, but stamp collecting isn’t just about the ‘Benjamins’.  An Ashburn man’s large stamp collection tells its own stories, including the Easter story.

A stamp collector since the 8th grade, Ashby Ponds retirement community resident Otto Jacobson has designed a presentation that tells the Easter story in about 100 postal stamps, from Christmas through Holy Week and the Resurrection.  His presentation is back by popular demand; during the Christmas season, Jacobson shared the Christmas story in stamps with a presentation of over 300 holiday stamps from across the world with his friends and neighbors at Ashby Ponds.

In 1977, as a pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Oakland, N.J., Jacobson created the original Christmas presentation for his congregation.  He photographed his collected stamps, put them on projector slides, and using LPs, a phonograph, a microphone, and a boombox, he created the presentation.  During the summer of 2012, Jacobson spent five weeks reworking that presentation into a digital format, and now has produced a new Easter presentation.

In his collection, Jacobson notes that most of the Easter stamps issued worldwide depicted events during Holy Week, and many came from countries in Central and South America, as well as African countries and countries in the Middle East. 

About Ashby Ponds: Ashby Ponds, one of 17 retirement communities managed by Erickson Living, is situated on a scenic 132-acre campus in Ashburn, Virginia (approximately 30 miles west of Washington, D.C.). The community is home to more than 725 residents and has over 120 resident-run and resident-driven clubs and groups, an indoor pool, a fitness club, transportation services, 24-hour security, and flexible dining options. More information about Ashby Ponds can be found at www.ericksonliving.com.