There is an ever-increasing numbers of stamps that far exceed the postal needs of many countries

How stamp collecting has changed

Stamp collecting is alive and well, despite the counter-attractions of a hi-tech age. But it’s not quite the pastime it used to be. Thirty years ago, most “postage stamps” were exactly that. Today far too many are pretty bits of over-priced gummed paper. There is an ever-increasing numbers of stamps that far exceed the postal needs of many countries. These extra choices may sound like fun but they can be a headache for the serious collector.

Walt Disney characters, the world’s locomotives and cars, and other countries’ sportsmen, are typical of the hundreds of stamps issued every year by Britain’s former colonies - few of them reflecting the national life of those countries, and only a small proportion ever being used for postage. Britain is relatively conservative compared to other countries when it comes to new issues. Nevertheless even here some collectors have become disillusioned with too many esoteric designs which have little relevance to Britain.

Collectors have adapted accordingly. While some concentrate on older issues, or just one country, others prefer stamps showing a particular theme such as sport, butterflies, famous paintings, animals, aircraft and so on. It is easy and cheap way to build up a collection, with the option of buying more expensive items if one wishes.

Stamps with errors, such as missing colours or missing perforations, have always been popular but often command high prices. A cheaper alternative are those with errors in the design. There are all sorts, making a happy hunting ground for sharp-eyed and discriminating philatelists. A 1957 Pitcairn Islands design shows the schoolteacher’s house hut and is wrongly captioned “Pitcairn School”; a corrected version was issued a year later. Other stamps from around the world have the wrong captions for various flora and fauna, makes of bicycles and cars, and works of art. One stamp shows Columbus wielding a telescope 120 years before it was invented, another has two flags blowing in opposite directions.

Even more individualistic would be a collection of stamps from localities now forgotten or absorbed with others, and which briefly issued stamps a hundred years a more ago. Anjonan, Dcdeagatz, Guancaste, Saseno, Tolima - not names that roll off the tongue or are instantly recognisable. Some of their issues have a catalogue value of a few pence (though others are listed at hundreds of pounds), and asking for them would cause many a dealer’s brow to furrow in perplexity! Where were these places? For how long did they issues stamps? Of which nation do they form part today? There is plenty of scope for research and "writing up" - providing descriptive text that puts the stamps into context.

Another option is selecting stamps for their elegance of design, and it's easily done by working through dealers' stocks for those that please the eye. This could lead to a delightful treasure-hunt as you pore through catalogues for stamps that merit a place in your collection and then start searching for them.

More and more stamps may be being issued, but in contrast stamp shops are on the decrease. Once any town of any size had at least one, but nowadays where there is a dealer he is likely to cater for other types of collector as well. The specialist shop has given way to traders who work from home or at fairs, An Internet search will yield details of dealers, auctions and individuals all over the world who can cater for particular interests (though I’ve yet to discover a satisfactory and economical way of remitting small sums of money overseas, and Customs officials occasionally open packets and impose VAT on the contents' value).

Perhaps the simplest and cheapest way of collecting stamps is the traditonal one. Just hang on to any stamp that comes your way and put it in an album, A bound one with names of countries printed at the top may be suitable for children to see if stamp-collecting will interest them, but inevitably some pages will remain stubbornly empty whereas others overflow. I would recommend an album with blank pages (albeit printed with a faint grid to help position the stamps) and use a computer or typewriter to produce printed headings.

One way to fill out the album is to look in charity shops and car-boot sales or market stalls that sell secondhand books and discarded stamp albums, though the best choices come from dealers. You’re get some fun and at very least will end up with something to pass on to a young relative. Inheriting a stamp album has led many a child to become a serious collector, and the hobby is still educational, especially with all the confusing changes in countries' names.

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Stamp Collecting for Canadian Kids

Stamps hold a fascination for people of all ages. Is there anyone who has not clipped a beautiful or interesting stamp from an envelope and tucked it away or put it up on the fridge? Kids Can Press has produced Get Started: Stamp Collecting for Canadian Kids, a slim, highly illustrated volume full of fascinating and interesting stamp facts.

The book's organization is logical with each theme being placed on a double page spread. Stamp Collecting introduces a number of stamp facts (including the smallest, the largest, and the rarest stamps), which serve to whet the potential collector's interest. The book proceeds with parts of stamps, tools to use to start collecting, suggestions for choosing what to collect and how to go about it. Bits of stamp history and information on how stamps are created are also included. Definitions of more specialised terms are provided both within the individual sections and the glossary, "More Stamp Talk".

Even though each section builds on prior information, readers need not read the book from beginning to end. Also, there are a few "tips" placed in corners, on yellow backgrounds -- a great idea -- but it's too bad they weren't used more liberally. While Stamp Collecting has an index and table of contents, it is just as easy to browse through the book.

Illustrations, by Bill Slavin and Esperança Melo, add even more interest to this already informative book. A minor quibble - the cover illustration features a collage of the Canadian comic book superhero stamps, and a quick glance (for example when scanning the shelves in the library, or at the local bookstore) might lead a potential reader to believe that the book is about comics rather than stamps.

An interesting and informative book!

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Stamp Collecting

The writer, Michael DuBasso has been an International dealer and Foundation Director for forty years. This book has been ten years in the writing and covers everything that a collector or dealer would want to know about stamp collecting and dealing. It is an important tool and no collector or dealer should be without it. Here is some of subject matter covered.

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Stamp Collecting As A Hobby - A Beginner's Guide

Stamp collecting is called Philately. Generally speaking, that's just a big word that does not mean a whole lot. However, if you go online to find out more info on this hobby or you go online to find out more info about one of the stamps in your collection, or you go to your local library and want to get a book on stamp collecting, then this is a good word to remember so that you can access this field.

Stamps highlite people, places, and things. They can be educational in the fact that they usually lead to the study of a stamp topic. For instance, I got one stamp one time that had the word, Eire, printed on it. I had to do some research on it to understand that this is another name for the nation of Ireland.

I collected stamps when I was a youngster. I got the stamp collectingmerit badge in the Boy Scouts. I really enjoyed this hobby and discovered a lot of information about other countries, besides my own. I fell on hard financial times when I was a young adult and had to sell that collection, however, I started this hobby again when my daughter was a young girl.

Here's how to get started. You can purchase a stamp collecting starter kit in order to begin this hobby if you want to. You can usually buy one of these at a hobby stamp store. One such kit is made by the W.E. Harris Company. This company has been around since I was a youngster. I have bought stamps from them and they have never disappointed me. One Harris kit contains the Independence U.S. Album, 150 all different U.S. Postage Stamps, a Magnifier, 300 stamp hinges, and U.S. Presidents and State Flag Seals. They claim that it is perfect for the beginner or weekend collector.

The company also has a book for sale named, "How to Collect Stamps". It's a useful resource for the beginning to mid-experienced collector. It offers the information one needs on how to get into the fascinating world of philately and it also provides a wealth of useful facts and data for current collectors. It has 116 pages.

When my only daughter got to be about eleven years old we started collecting stamps together. I had a few boxes full of old letters sent to my ministry from many countries of the world. I showed her how to soak the stamps off of the letters, dry them, and then how to mount them in our stamp albums. Besides being a lot of fun, it was a great way to give her quality healthy daddy attention. It also helped introduce her to various regions in the world where missionaries lived, and to general world geography. We had to get the world atlas out to find out where each of those nations was located from which we had a stamp.

Many Saturday afternoons just her and me would venture out to visit a hobby stamp store within a 50 mile radius of where we lived in Northern California. We would have a nice lunch together at a restaurant and then finish driving to the stamp store. We would browse through thousands of stamps from all around the world. We bought mostly the pretty ones that caught our interest that was within our price range. We collected stamps the topical way. She was mainly interested in cats and I was mainly interested in historical/military ones.

Several such stores were geared towards selling high-end expensive stamps to select collectors. They made some money that way. But we went mostly to the stores that sold stamps to all folks, including folks like us who collected as a hobby. One such store had a big plastic bin that was full of stamps. It had a sign on it that read 5 cents each. We bought a lot of pretty stamps out of that bin.

We collected stamps strictly for the fun of it. We spent some money but then every hobby will cost you some money, and besides, my daughter was worth the money and the time. This same store owner had a set of old catalogs that he sold us at a real discount. It gave us some way to try to figure out how much money our stamp collections were worth, anyways.

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Beginner's guide to stamps and stamp collecting

You too can join the throngs of stamp enthusiasts around the world by folllowing the simple steps explained in this article. And when you begin your collection, you will become a philatelist and start the old-age hobby of collecting stamps.

First, in order to start your fascinating collection, you will need to purchase a few supplies from your local hobby store. You will need a pair of tweezers to use when you handle your stamps so they do not become soiled; a stamp album to keep your collection clean and free from dirt and stains; hinges to hold certain types of stamps in your album; plastic holders to hold other types of stamps in your album, specifically the new, uncirculated ones; and, of course, some stamps. Note: Certai stamp albums are designed to hold the stamps without the use of hinges or holders. Purchasing this type of album will save you time and money in the long run, and is really the best way to go.

The stamps that you collect may either be new or used. You can either purchase some stamps to start your collection out, or ask friends and family members to save their stamps off of envelopes, cards, etc. they receive, for you. You can add to your collection by saving the stamps off of your own mail, too. If someone you know is going to take a trip overseas to a faraway land, then you can get some foreign stamps easily that way too.

Next, start your collection by arranging your stamps by countries, theme, etc.first. If you are not sure about the different countries, consult a world atlas and find out. Then, arrange your stamp collection one step further by sorting them alphabetically. This way it will be easier to find a stamp you are looking for. Think of the country, then what letter it begins with. Or, if you choose to arrange them by theme, that is, birds, celebrities, states, etc., you should still arrange them alphabetically for ease in finding them.

Here are just a few of the most common terms used in stamp collecting that you will need to know:

Coil Stamps- These stamps are attached together in a large roll.

Commemorative Stamps- These stamps are issued by the post office in order to mark a special event or occasion, such as the U.S. astronauts landing on the moon. They are usually larger than regular postal stamps, and come in either single stamps or in small blocks.

Face Value-Not to be confused with the collecting value of a stamp, if it has one. The face value is the price of the stamp which is printed on the stamp's face.

Pane-A separate section of stamps, either a quarter, half, or full sheet.

Postage Due Stamps- These stamps cannot be purchased. They are attached by the post office to an envelope which is being sent but does not have the suffficient amount of postage on it.

Postmarks-These marks which are normally found on used stamps, is applied by the post office as a way to cancel or prevent the re-use of a stamp. Re-using a stamp, by the way, is mail fraud and is punishable by the law.

And, there are a few basic things to remember about your stamp collection:

One aspect of a stamp that makes it more valuable is if it has a flaw or printed defect of some kind on it. Like flawed coins or paper money, flawed stamps can be quite valuable! It is a most important thing to watch for in your stamp collection!

Don't forget to use your tweezers when handling your stamp collection, store them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, and, above all, have fun with your new collection!

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