Stamp collecting is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. Philately is a broader term for the study of stamps, and it is frequently - but wrongly - equated to stamp collecting.
Through stamp
collecting, people find information about history, currency, science, politics,
arts, architecture and customs of different nations and countries of the world.
All stamp collectors have fun with their stamps because no collection is ever complete,
and there is always a challenge.
First, decide
whether you would like to collect unused (mint) or used (cancelled) stamps. If
starting a mint stamp collection, purchase unused stamps from the post office.
And if you see interesting stamps coming in the mail - collect them.
Many collectors
prefer used stamps because they are less expensive or they may cost you
nothing.
Some collectors
save stamps by "topic": for instance, if you are interested in ships,
you may want to collect stamps of ships and boats. Car fans often collect
stamps with cars on them. You can disregard the countries and only collect
stamps that have pictures that you like. Some people like to collect stamps of
one or several countries, but which are all of the same subject. Popular
topical themes are birds, cats, butterflies, flowers, sports, space, art, chess,
famous people and other.
Specialized
collecting means that you can collect all the varieties of a single stamp or
collect stamps used for a special purpose.
Country collecting
is usually done chronologically by date of issue, sub-divided into reigns or
political periods.
Some collectors
specialize in collecting only the first stamps, one for each country that has
ever issued a postage stamp, or collecting first-day covers, which carry a
stamp on the first day it was sold with that day's postmark.
Some areas of
collecting cost less than ten cents a stamp, while others can cost thousands of
dollars.
A lot of people
collect "Cinderellas" - stamps that are not official stamps issued by
a country's postal administration. Cinderella collectors include in their collection’s
local postage issues, telegraph stamps, tax stamps, forgeries and counterfeits.
The
"hobbies" section of your local library may have basic books about
stamp collecting, and the reference department may have a set of
stamp-collecting catalogs. To find the value of a specific stamp, visit some
good stamp-collecting web sites.
If looking for more
information on stamps and stamp collecting, the local post office is the best
place to start.
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