Address On Covers

I'm new to collecting covers and was wondering if it's more desirable to have covers that are addressed or left blank?

Thanks
Tom

Ones that have gone through the postal system. Many FDC (First Day cover) collectors prefer no names and addresses.

Some will have written addresses, some will have printed addresses, some will have address labels, some will have "peelable" address labels so you can make them "blank". In my view a cover is a cover and it's the stamps and postmark that count. Collect what you can afford AND what looks good to you.

No one has yet identified what covers it is that you prefer to collect. That makes a big difference in how to collect them.

If you're talking about First Day Covers or modern pictorial cancellations, than the previous post about collecting them unaddressed is the preferred method.

On the other hand, if you're talking about covers from the 1800s and into the mid 1900s, having them addressed does lend quite a bit of interest to them, especially when you can easily research some of the names and addresses and can often come up with a complete biography of some notable people.

Then there are war covers dating back to the Civil War or even up to World War I or World War II that are highly desired by collectors, who can often identify not only the individuals who whom the covers were addressed, but also the postal markings that can often identify the location of the regiment to which the military member was assigned.

Advertising covers are yet another specialty that seems to be growing in interest in recent years, especially the ornate printing and engraving that was used on many of them.

Of course, there are other fields of collecting too, such as Paquebot Mail, Pneumatic Mail, V-Mail, Mourning covers, first flight covers, parcel post, air mail and special delivery, among others, all of which have their respective collector following ... and that's not even touching on those who collect covers for the stamps and postmarks and other postal markings contained on them.

As suggested by scotzm, I concur that you should focus your collection on what you can afford and what looks good to you, as there are many aspects to cover collecting and you are only limited by your own preferences and budget.

Agree with most of the above. You will find that addressed U.S. and Canadian first day covers of the past 50 years are practically impossible to sell at any price.

Gee thanks for all the info. I didn't realize how large of a collection covers can become. I like railroading so I'll look into some RPO covers.

I view unaddressed covers as strictly philatelic and I don't collect them. I want covers that actually traveled through the mails. I do not collect FDC's and Event covers. I understand that people that collect them want them unaddressed and they do not care that they did not serve a commercial purpose.

Absolutely true, however for 1949 and earlier FDC's, addressed are acceptable, especially for the more rare cachets. In other words, for these early fdc's, the cachet usually is what determines the value.