My Hobby Who Do I Disclose It To !

i do not go around broadcasting that I am a stamp collector unless I know that the person reads more than the sports section or the best selling romantic novels. Most people do not read much of anything and they are not going to have a clue about me paying thirty dollars for a cover from Italian offices in Constantinople...of course my buddies think nothing of spending a hundred bucks for a day of golf..and one a year I can see it also..its a fun day but I wouldnt want to do it 20 or 22 times a year..my sons sometimes pay 49.95 to watch a sports event I can see a few days later on cable...to each his own !

When I tell people that I collect stamps, I usually get a little chuckle and a response like, "Yeah, right. What do you REALLY do in your spare time?" Or this perennial favorite, "Kids collect stamps. What do you really do?"

Outlaw 1-3

I have no problem telling anyone. Just this past Thursday I mentioned it to a friend who opens mail for a company. Yesterday she brought me a few hundred used that she clipped on Friday. To my surprise there are some more of us out there, included were some 30 year old stamps with 2008 cancellation marks.

I profess to my own "geekiness". I do not mind mentioning I collect stamps and usually do not care what someone thinks of my hobby. I can also say that I have been to comic book conventions and loud rock concerts (Ozzy Osbourne), & enjoy going to musuems. I wear ties with stamps on them to work (I am a manager at a bank). I usually get questions about coins & currency values (I keep a set of blackbooks in my desk). I try to impart upon someone the artistic value of silly little pieces of paper. I also buy the stamps for my branch, so you never know what current commemorative I'll have on hand. No forever stamps for my staff. I think I've went a little off, rambling on and on.

My wife calls me a snerd

Snerd = Stamp Nerd

I don't mind telling people that I collect stamps (I don't say philatelist because most of them would think that means pervert or something like that), but I do get strange looks from a lot of them. I don't personally know any local collectors, but I'm sure there are some.

Stamp nerds!?

Who among us would guess by looking at a photograph of any of us
(not counting Bob in his PJ's, of course) that that the other person
was a stamp collector if we didn't already know it?

It takes all kinds, even among stamp nerds!

Stamperdude I worked for a commercial bank in the city for a year when I got out of the service..sold travellers checks, bought and sold foreign currency, savings bonds etc..couldnt find a job upstate so New York City had the only job supply..several of the people on the front counter and the tellers collected coins..there was quite a bit of silver around..Franklin halves etc..lunch time I would have 4 or 5 beers to make life worthwhile..imagine that and working in a conservative bank or on occasion I would walk to the U.N. where you could buy a set of the latest stamps in an envelope for 15 or 20 cents !!

I let just about everyone know that I collect stamps and coins. Now I have people saving me stamps or passing on whole collections to me. They also look out for odd coins as well.
Just the other day, I updated my Facebook profile to add that I collect stamps and coins. My best friend from school contacted me and said his Father use to collect stamps and coins and has an awesome collection. His Father passed away a few years ago and his Mother wishes to sell the collections. So I will be helping her to appraise and sell.

Steve

Trig, its good to help appraise a collection for a trusted friend or relative...strangers always seem ..well a little suspecting !!