Cheesehead Newbie

For all living outside the U.S., "cheesehead" is the nickname anyone living in the state of Wisconsin gets titled. We're proud of it (I think) as it relates to our cheesemaking industry and resemblance to our Super Bowl champ Green Bay Packer helmets.

My interest in collecting stamps took a jump-start when I visited Boys Town, NB. We saw the world's largest ball of stamps and also they have available containers where you can take old stamps for a penny. It's as easy as that to have something that simple re-kindle an interest I've had off and on since I was a kid - now just a big kid at 52 years of age.

Here's to hoping that I can conquer some initial frustrations with the hobby. I'm really trying to educate myself about the hobby but am finding all the terminology mind-boggling and discouraging.

I thought I'd try taking the advice someone submitted and narrow my interest to a certain topic. Since I have a keen interest in the Scandinavian countries, I thought I'd start focusing on stamps from that region. To my disappointment, I'm just not finding the wealth of information that should be available. Dealers, etc., seem to like to focus on presenting their stamp products but don't offer a lot of detail and trying to search for a particular stamp is an impossibility.

This leads to another source of frustration. It's amazing to realize there are so few sources of complete reference materials. I am betting there are a plethora of hobby books that I know nothing about but "free" online information is more challenging than what I had anticipated...at least info that is readily available versus having to purchase a subscription or membership. Also, stamp "values" I would expect to be published in an online reference database, not in a printed publication.

One last comment. The hobby itself needs to have a catalist to get a lot of this printed information online. I have read with great interest the Scott catalog finally going digital but it doesn't even need to be something that massive of a project. I have noticed many clubs have social gatherings, which is really a wonderful asset to have organized, but this is a little bit of a detriment for those still working long hours or for young families. Online club "communities" would further enhance the hobby. It appears too often that in order to join a majority of the stamp clubs I must either just show up at the local gathering spot or email a contact.

These are all observations as a newbie to the hobby which probably are nothing more than misperceptions. I guess what's of concern to me is that easily attainable information, to the newbie at least, is information as provided by a dealer or someone who has financial gain to provide the info. I've spent a number of hours reviewing online sites, and links from sites, only to find that the reference site I'm looking at is a dealer site. Frustrating!

Having said my peace, it's wonderful to be interested in stamps. What a fantastic why to broaden one's global knowledge and open doors to other interests. Maybe I won't have a particular niche in the hobby, and that's fine, revolving and evolving interests keeps the hobby new and invigorating. To be honest...give me 1,000 stamps, whether you experts call them garbage or not, and right now I would be happier than a pig in mud. I already have ordered a grab bag from ebay just so I can explore and appreciate.

Thank you to this forum and its community for hopefully encouraging, informing, maybe even correcting me on my observations. I look forward to a lot of learning and respecting everyone's views!

Hi Cheeshead !



Have fun at your new home. All questions will be met with a response, that's a cert. There are a number of threads about Scandinavian stamps though probably not as many as the more popular countries/topics.
But you will find plenty of information to satisfy your needs, but a friendlier forum you won't find !

Enjoy yourself, search the forum and get posting !

Londonbus1....that's an order !

Hi mattb, welcome.
I hope you find SCF gives you the club or community atmosphere you seek. I certainly find it does. Spending time here, whether reading posts or posting my own questions, has increased my stamp knowledge incredibly in the last year, and fuelled an interest which may otherwise have petered out. As someone like you, new (or renewed!) to the hobby, it can seem like a bit of a closed world for all the reasons you mention in your post. SCF is your door to that world. Start with searching for some older posts on topics that interest you. And feel free to jump in and start posting pics and questions.
Have fun!

Thanks so much for your responses. Yes, I am hoping SCF does give me the sense of a club atmosphere and I'm eager to get the time to be able to sit and go through the threads. This will be an educational process so as eager as I am right now to learn I know that someday I'll feel confident enough to gain some sense of expertise despite the initial frustrations and roadblocks I happen to be encountering right now.
Thanks again for your welcomes and I do look forward to contributing once I get my hands around what I'm doing. Your encouragement is appreciated!

welcome matt
i'm not long here myself and all the guys and gals are very knowledgeable and will always help you when they can, so much so that i'm starting to feel right at home. gerry

Welcome! There is always something new to learn or relearn what I've forgotten. I can understand the limited time available due to work & a young family. The beauty of this forum is that it is open 24/7 and there is always someone logged in even if it is just "Google". Plus I find the ACTIVE tab very handy to catch up on new postings since the last time I had logged on.

Hello mattb, welcome!

If you are searching on ebay and the like auction / sell sites, then remember to also try searching in other languages for results from those countries.

Example, Sweden is Sverige in Swedish, etc.

Knowing the special words that people from these countries use to describe their stamps can help you find that special stamp online somewhere.

Other sites similar to ebay are Bidstart.com in the US, delcampe.net in Belgium, Wensy.com in the US also. There are more sites but those are the biggest I believe. Delcampe and Bidstart are free (mostly) to list on so there are a lot of single stamps priced reasonably there. The shipping can be a factor if that is a concern of course, but I find that finding that special stamp (or cancel or cover) is worth the extra bit of shipping rather than being patient and waiting for one to show up locally.

Once you have 50 posts (at this time) on here you can trade and buy and sell and that is another avenue to explore.

I think it is less over whelming to start small and as you get to know more about what interests you or other areas of interest that you didn't know about before reading on Stamp Community (or elsewhere maybe) your interest and collection(s) will naturally grow.

Welcome Mattb. Glad to have you aboard. As a die-hard Patriots fan, we will not hold the fact that you like the Packers against you. My brother in law is from WI and also loves the Packers. And I can admire Lombardi. So on to stamps. Hope to see lots of your scans, and question. You found the right place to put your collection in motion and we are ready to enjoy your atamps and help with questions. - jeff

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. Your advice and encouragement are appreciated.
My online search for information and background continues to lead to a lot of dead end links or dealer sales however one little area with gold nuggets I'm finding is that some, and I emphasize a minority, but nevertheless some of the local chapter clubs throughout the U.S. have websites which provide archives of their newsletters. A few of the newsletters provide more than just board minutes and show announcements so I've been able to glean some historical information from these web sites.
As a newcomer to the hobby, one thing apparent to me is that many organizations / associations related to stamp collecting seem to feel it ok to charge, at least a nominal charge, for online electronic archived newsletter and reference material. I find this to be discouraging because it doesn't promote the hobby but rather sends a subtle message that information is a "commodity". This seems to be the nature of the hobby, or at least my very first impression as I seek to try and educate myself.
Because of that circumstance, I wish to express my appreciation to this forum's administrator as well as everyone who contributes their time and knowledge to make this site a primary vehicle for encouraging, promoting, and sharing information for the true benefit of the hobby!

Hello mattb and welcome from a fellow Cheesehead, by marriage. Does that count?!

This forum is a fabulous place to learn about the hobby and I have to admit it can be quite addictive! Now you can't say you weren't warned!

Donna Moses (Janel Moloney) on West Wing was a chessehead.

Are all the girls in Wisconsin as attractive as her?

Welcome.

Yes, we are.




Especially those of us who moved here from the South.

Cheesehead




It's a good start. Enjoy the hobby. I am on my way to the grocery thinking of you..

Welcome Mattb

Glad you could join us.

Dianne