Stamp Collecting & Philately | Collectibles & Collectors Items

It seems a lot of people picked up this habit while they were in school. Drab lessons in Geography suddenly acquired a new meaning when small, brightly coloured pieces of paper started bringing alive the images of lands which until then existed only in the pages of text books.

Why Collect Stamps?
The basic guideline for stamp collection is that it should appeal to your lighter side. Suppose brightly coloured stamps of Caribbean nations appeal to you. You should carry on collecting them without bothering about what their future value would be, or whether a reasonable collection of such stamps would increase your prestige in philatelic circles.

F. Burton Sellers, a renowned stamp collector, focuses on stamps from Haiti, Panama and other United States dependencies. He also specialises in stamps which have odd shapes, unusual cancels or even advertisements printed on their gummed sides. When asked about his rather peculiar preferences his one line answer was, "Cuz I Like 'em!".

Another famous stamp collector, Ernst M. Cohn has a special collection which he likes to term as postal goofs. He is on the lookout of those mails which are properly stamped but sent to wrong addresses and redirected due to slip ups of postal employees. The stamps by themselves are not rare or beautiful. Their importance is associated with the mistakes by the postal service.

What To Collect
Just begin collecting whatever you are able to lay your hands on. First make a start, and then you'll have enough time to decide on your special area of interest.

Some people specialise in a particular country while some specialise on the design of the stamp. A renowned stamp collector specialises in stamps of fish. He collects stamps which have fish printed on them from any country whatsoever. And there are a large number of people who do not have any specific area of specialisation but collect whatever they can lay their hands on.

As you continue collecting, keep on reading as much as you can. You'll soon find your own area of interest. It might require a few hits and misses - you may become interested in one category for some time and then the interest may dwindle, but finally you'll home in on a particular type. When you reach this stage, with your interested firmly focussed on a specific area do you become an avid and hardcore stamp collector.

There is another word of advice at this stage. If you are planning to buy a set of stamps wait till you get the complete set. Many a times it happens that out of a set of stamps only stamp has the distinction of being rare. If your set does not have that rare stamp, then the rest of the stamps in that set hardly have any value.

Caring for Stamps
The fist thing you must learn about stamp collection is the use of tongs. Though they apparently look like ordinary scissors, they don't have sharp edges. Always hold stamps with the help of tongs. Never use your fingers to handle stamps. The oil in your fingers may stain the stamps and lower their value.

The second thing to remember is to never spread them on a bare table. The dust on a table may dirty your stamps over time. If you want to have a look at your stamps, pour them out of the envelope on a white sheet of paper. It would be better if you pour them out on a sheet of paper placed inside a drawer. In that way, you may simply lift the drawer and put it at a different place if the need to remove the stamps out of the way arises.

Another item must always be with you when you are dealing with stamps. It's a magnifying glass. It helps you to minutely inspect a stamp for any distortions or damages before deciding on whether to acquire it or not.

Many papers have some acidic ingredients in them. So, after your collection has reached a reasonable volume, buy glassline envelopes. These are made of special type of paper which doesn't have acidic properties. These glassline envelopes are made specially for storing stamps.

Other Stamp Collecting Accessories
You'll also need stamp catalogue for proper evaluation of your stamps. Since values of stamps don't change very often and very drastically a catalogue which is not absolutely current will also serve your purpose.

You may face another problem while you're pursuing the hobby of stamp collection. Some countries use their own language on the stamps and they might be completely different from anything you have ever encountered. There are certain dedicated websites on this topic where you'll find enough tips to get over your problem.

When you are a philatelist, you'd obviously need stamp holders and albums. These holders are small rectangular pieces of paper which are fixed on to the pages of the album and the stamps are slid into them. In this way, the edges of the stamps remain protected and you can take them out and place them back with relative ease.

You may have to use thin sleeves called mounts for expensive stamps and keep those stamps inside their mounts even inside an album. These mounts don't disturb the original gum on these stamps and also protect them from accidental damage while handling.

Go for albums with metal posts. They allow you to put in supplementary sheets and also have some space between pages which save your stamps from rubbing when the album is closed. Ensure that the pages are thick and made of acid free paper.

Conclusion
Stamp collecting or philately as it is more accurately referred to has been around since the first stamp was issued. Like all other collectibles, stamp aficionados start their hobby as fun and gradually get more and more involved in it till it becomes a full blown passion.