Looking For Advice

Here are some examples of designs which really interest me. I know little to nothing about collecting, preserving, finding what I want and would appreciate advice regarding what I should do and will need. Sorry image quality is poor.

If you are just beginning I would suggest a stock book. That way you can arrange your collection however you like and not fuss with hinges & mounts. Then when you find an era, country, or topic that you want to focus on you can expand from there. Also, I would suggest going to a library on online philatelic site and peruse a stamp catalog to familarize yourself with collecting terms, determination of value, etc. What kind of info are you looking for? I suggest using our sites SEARCH function to see what else has been posted that interests you.

Hello alexarne, welcome!

In stamp collecting, for a beginner, there seems to be a vast array of terms to be learned. But fear not, only a few need to be learned right away, and some you might never ever come to use.

It is nice to know what others are talking about though.

www.askphil.com (philately) is a good site for a beginner that has a list of terms, so that if you run across one then look there or just ask here and be enlightened.

If you get interested in a certain area or era of history then postmarks and covers (envelopes) will come to interest you also.

As stamperdude says above, a good stockbook is a great way to start out, and is never a waste. Vario plastic pages (hagners in GB) are wonderful single pages of varying numbers of pocket sizes to hold different sized stamps and cover. To my mind, also never a waste.

As you can tell from reading on SCF here there are many many topics to collect and I do like your choice of the words 'certain designs' as that shows me that you are (or can be) passionate about certain choices and likes and dislikes. Using your heart is the best way to collect and one gets the best return on investment (so to speak).

Thank you very much for the help and suggestions. I am really looking forward to searching through and discovering so many beautiful little prints.

Hi again alexarne.
Your local library (assuming it has not been closed in the current round of local government cuts) should have a copy of Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue. This is organised by country, and basically lists every stamp issued in date order, with an illustration, and assigns each a number (you may see these written elsewhere as e.g. "SG 342"). (The USA tend to use a different catalogue known as Scott, which essentially does the same job, but with a slightly different numbering system, and there are others too).

You can identify any stamps you have using this catalogue, and it also lists values for each stamp. In reality, catalogue values are higher than you might realistically receive or pay for a stamp, although they do give an good idea of relative values)

I notice you also have First Day Covers in your illustration. I think these are listed in a special catalogue. However, there are lots on ebay and most seem to be listed at 99p.

I like the stamps you have chosen to post - they have a strong visual identity and you obviously have an eye for that style of graphic.

If you want ideas on expanding your collection, ebay can be a good place to browse, even if you don't end up buying from there. You can narrow your search by country and era to get some nice images of what's "out there" to tempt you!

SCF is a fantastic resource. Try a search for "newbie" as new members have previously posted similar "where do I start" type questions with "newbie" in the title.

SCF is also a great place to buy, sell and trade stamps when you have been a member for 14 days and have 50 posts.

Most of all its a great place to share your enthusiasm, especially when friends and family may be a little bemused at your new hobby... or was that just me??

The move toward color catalogues has been a welcome advance, in my mind. So many designs just didn't "pop" in black and white. Flipping through a catalogue is not a complete substitute for looking at stamps, but you can explore countries and eras at a pretty fast clip.

You could also search the archives here for past threads on art deco, art moderne and design. Lots of great stamps and discussions tucked away there...