Stamp Collecting

[Raphaeline]

Anyone collect stamps? A friend of mine recently turned me on to it. I'm lucky enough to have saved the envelopes from previous PF holiday card swaps, so I have a few to start me!

Share your tips and experiences with me, pretty please?

[Caelia]

Re: Stamp Collecting

It was my first hobby as a kid. I haven't really kept up with it, though.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Stamp Collecting

I never meant to collect them but I have quite a collection, nonetheless! I don't think any are collector's items but I like them. I have lots with birds on them, from different countries, and some with celebrities/presidents on them. They're not in albums or anything, just in a small box.

[thalassa]

Re: Stamp Collecting

I did as a kid...somewhere I still have my collection. I've been thinking about turning some of it into art--like collages or something.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Stamp Collecting

Anyone collect stamps? A friend of mine recently turned me on to it. I'm lucky enough to have saved the envelopes from previous PF holiday card swaps, so I have a few to start me!

Share your tips and experiences with me, pretty please?

Not sure if your looking at a topical collection, country collection or regional collection so it makes it a bit difficult to speak on anything specific.

Being in the US it would be of benefit to get a set of Scott stamp catalogs. There are like 6 volumes that have pictures, write ups and pricing guides for almost every country and many dead countries or incorporated territories. They can be expensive to purchase though I've found an older set that was converted into pdf file format that was free. If your going for a country collection you can get extracts from the catalogs for the specific countries you desire. Scott is the main pricing and number system used in the US but for Britain you'll encounter Stanley Gibbons numbers and pricing guides. They are a pain to cross reference.

If your going for a country collection and desire an album there are a number of companies that produce albums of various sorts. Some come with printed pages and you have to use hinges or mounts to place them into the collection. Others produce pre-mounted pages that you simply place your stamp into the mount. For topical collections you can use blank pages or purchase the pages created by printers such as Light House which have topical framing around the pages but allow you as the collector to layout your design.

A good publication I found was Lynn's Stamp News which typically has write ups on specific regions or stamps of interest. Usually has sections dedicated to auctions of stamps and what are called approval services. An approval service is basically a dealer who will send you stamps on approval and you purchase the items you desire or the entire set of stamps sent to you. Many of them will coordinate their approvals to match your category or collection interests. Even the pricing range of each shipment can be tailor made to suit your budget. Many dealers will also have bulk packages that can be purchased and have a few hundred to a few thousand common world wide stamps.

A habit you'll want to develop is using tongs to handle your stamps so the oil from your fingers does not stain them or disrupt the glue on the back of the stamp. You'll also want a stamp gauge and perforation guide as many stamps are valued not only by the design but also by the perforations used for separating it. You'll also want a black light, short wave usually is all you'll need. A lot of stamps have water marks or paint schemes that illuminate beneath ultra violet and help identify them. For instance Great Britain has a lot of issues where some are both plain and marked and only the black light can reveal the difference.

There's a lot of other things to consider but what i've put up is pretty basic and would get you started. Please feel free to ask any questions and i'll do my best to answer them.