• Instead of issuing stamps in large sheets of 40, 100 or even 200 stamps, smaller sheetlets with 20 to 24 stamps are issued with a large selvedge area which may incorporate
  part of the stamp design or theme.

• [2] Sales of postage stamps are an important source of income for some countries whose stamp issues may exceed their postal needs, but have designs that appeal to many stamp
  collectors.

• • Pre-printed stamp album with United States country pages affixed • Custom printed loose-left album page displaying stamps postmarked in Prague Acquiring stamps The main
  ways of acquiring stamps are through retail market stamp dealers who have online websites, or post on eBay or other forums, and conduct local stamp show dealer “bourse” events.

• [3] Postage stamp collecting began at the same time that stamps were first issued, and by 1860 thousands of collectors and stamp dealers were appearing around the world as
  this new study and hobby spread across Europe, European colonies, the United States and other parts of the world.

• Although the stamps received by major businesses and those kept by elderly relatives may be of international and historical interest, the stamps received from family members
  are often of the definitive sort.

• Stamp pricing is also based on the look of the stamp, and the stamp that has an image that is very well centered will sell well.

• Collecting Stamp collecting is generally accepted as one of the areas that make up the wider subject of philately, which is the study of stamps.

• [5] As the hobby and study of stamps began to grow, stamp albums and stamp related literature began to surface, and by the early 1880s publishers like Stanley Gibbons made
  a business out of this advent.

• It has been one of the world’s most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth century with the rapid growth of the postal service,[1] as a never-ending stream of new stamps
  was produced by countries that sought to advertise their distinctiveness through their stamps.

• By the early 2000s, stamp collecting was seen to be in decline as the digital world surpassed traditional hobbies even though by 2013, The Wall Street Journal estimated the
  global number of stamp collectors was around 60 million.

• Collectors and dealers at an outdoor French stamp bourse Duplicate stamps are those a collector already has and are not required, therefore, to fill a gap in a collection.

• Stamps can be displayed according to the collector’s wishes, by country, topic, or even by size, which can create a display pleasing to the eye.

• Although such organizations are often advertised in stamp magazines and online, the relatively small number of collectors – especially outside urban areas – means that a club
  may be difficult to set up and sustain.

• For Canadian stamps there is a specialized catalogue called the Unitrade (which reflects more accurately the actual values of the stamps vs the Scott catalogue values), and
  for Great Britain and Commonwealth stamps most collectors use Stanley Gibbons catalogues.

• Collectors usually opt for a block of four stamps, complete with the selvage area which will sometimes have the printing details on it.

• o Souvenir sheets – many postal services sometimes release stamps in a format that look like a sheet with a big picture.

• In 1862, Gray stated that he “began to collect postage stamps shortly after the system was established and before it had become a rage”.

• o Federal Duck Stamps (stamps for duck hunting licenses, mainly U.S. with some other countries such as Canada and New Zealand) • First day cover (FDCs) – envelopes with stamps
  attached and canceled on the first day that the stamp was issued.

• The first UK commemorative stamps, 1924 Some of the more popular collecting areas include: • Postage stamps – particular countries and/or time periods o Airmail stamps – stamps
  may be required for airmail, which is typically more expensive and has special postage rates.

• The stamps were issued in several denominations to make up different amounts due.

• Rare and old stamps can also be obtained, but these can be very expensive.

• In 1774, he assembled a book of the existing embossed revenue stamps, ranging in value from 6 pounds to half a penny, as well as the hand stamped charge marks that were used
  with them.

• See example with 10 stamps in one picture.

• Many dealers sell stamps through the Internet while others have neighborhood shops which are among the best resources for beginning and intermediate collectors.

• [8] Introducing either variety or specific focus to a collection can require the purchasing of stamps, either from a dealer or online.

• The stamps need to be attached to the pages of the album in some way, and stamp hinges are a cheap and simple way to do this.

• Rare stamps Rare stamps are often old and many have interesting stories attached to them.

• For this reason, many highly specific stamp clubs have been established on the Web, with international membership.

• • The Canada 12d Penny Black • The Canada 10 Cent Montreal Small Queen Pale Milky Rose Lilac First Printing • The United States Hawaiian Missionary Issue • The United States
  “Inverted Jenny” (which is actually a printing error) • The United States “1-cent Z grill” stamp • The United States One Dollar Trans-Mississippi Issue “Cattle in the Storm” – widely considered to be America’s Most Beautiful Stamp • The Treskilling
  Yellow • The Mauritius “Post Office” stamps • The British Penny Red plate 77 Early stamps of the United States are known as classics.

• Many adults dismissed it as a childish pursuit but later many of those same collectors, as adults, began to systematically study the available postage stamps and publish books
  about them.

• Collectors are able to establish the exact position of a stamp on the original sheet of 200 stamps.

• In the latter cases, using acid free paper provides better long-term stamp protection.

• Social organizations, such as the Lions Club and Rotary International, have also formed stamp collecting groups specific to those stamps that are issued from many countries
  worldwide that display the organization’s logo.

• Many collectors limit their collecting to particular countries, certain time periods or particular subjects (called “topicals”) like birds or aircraft.

• [9] Large numbers of relatively recent stamps, often still attached to fragments or envelopes, may be obtained cheaply and easily.

• Popular topical themes are animals, dogs, cats, butterflies, birds, flowers, art, sports, Olympics, maps, Disney, scouting, space, ships, Americana (topics relating to the
  US), stamps on stamps, famous people, chess, Chinese new year, and many others.

• These are similar to first day covers except that they are issued as printed sheets of paper instead of envelopes, and the specification of the stamp is printed by the official
  source.

• Collecting specialties A worldwide collection would be enormous, running to thousands of volumes, and would be incredibly expensive to acquire.

• Mint (not used) full original gum stamps that have never been hinged will always sell for premiums.

• It included, for example, all of the rare stamps described above that had been issued by 1917.

• Duplicate stamps can be sold or traded, so they are an important medium of exchange among collectors.

• Postage stamps are often collected for their historical value and geographical aspects and also for the many subjects depicted on them, ranging from ships, horses, and birds
  to kings, queens and presidents.

• Typically stamps will sell at auction for a range of 10 to 30% of catalogue list price, but if the stamp is of the very top quality then the sell price may exceed the catalogue
  list price.

 

Works Cited

[‘Vickers, Marcia (15 December 1996). “Delivery Isn’t Guaranteed, but Stamps Are Turning Profits”. The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
2. ^ “What is stamp collecting?”. Learn About Stamps. 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
3. ^ “The origin
of stamp collecting in America, Part 1”. Linn’s Stamp News. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
4. ^ Gray, John Edward, A Hand Catalogue of Postage Stamps for the use of the Collector. 1862. Robert Hardwicke. page viii.
5. ^ The American
Philatelist, Volume 75, p.32
6. ^ “Graph: The Wide World of Stamps”. WSJ.MONEY. 2013. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
7. ^ Mowbray, Nicole (11 April 2020). “Post modern: why millennials have fallen in
love with stamp collecting”. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
8. ^ Klug, Janet (2012). “A limited budget can still mean unlimited fun”. Linns Stamp News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
9. ^ “Stamps on Colnect”.
colnect.com. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
10. ^ “Carré Marigny”. 11 Filming Locations in Paris You Can Actually Visit. Condé Nast Traveller. 2015. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
11. ^ “Stamp Clubs And Philatelic
Societies”. Stamphelp.com. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
12. ^ A Sharp Eye on collecting US Classics (Sharp Photography Publications, 2021) ASIN B091MBTGJ7 (read online)
13. ^ “Rare stamp sells for record price in Geneva auction”. BBC News. 22 May
2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
14. ^ Jump up to:a b Feldman, David (1993), Prices Realised for Public Auction November 1-6 November 1993, Prces Realised, Zurich: David Feldman, p. 1
15. ^ “”Philatelic Collections: The Tapling Collection”, British
Library”.
16. ^ Courtney, Nicholas. The Queen’s Stamps – The Authorised History of the Royal Philatelic Collection. London: Methuen, 2004, p.303. ISBN 0-413-77228-4
17. ^ “FDR–Stamp Collecting President”. National Postal Museum. Archived from
the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
18. ^ “Why I Like Stamp Collecting”, Minkus Stamp Journal, 1971 [1], cf. “The new Ayn Rand companion”, Mimi Reisel Gladstein, p. 130, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, ISBN 0-313-30321-5
19. ^
“Famous Philatelists”. The British Postal Museum & Archive. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
20. ^ “John Lennon – The Lost Album”. National Postal Museum. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
21. ^ Anatoly Karpov Belgian stamp collection offered at David Feldman, justcollecting.com,
2015.
22. Cabeen, Richard McP. (1979). Standard Handbook of Stamp Collecting. Chicago: Collectors Club of Chicago. ISBN 0-690-01773-1.
23. Nankivell, Edward J. (2007). Stamp Collecting as a Pastime: Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Handbooks (1902).
UK: Dodo Press. ISBN 978-1-4065-3058-2. Free download here.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seven_of9/5666286130/’]