Hello! I Am A Young Person!

As the title of this post implies, I am young. I think a lot of people think that stamp collecting is only for old people, but I am here to prove them wrong! My name is Connor Jordan, and I am 19 years old.

A couple of years ago, my dad gave a H.E Harris Traveler Stamp Album to my sister for her birthday. No offense to my dad, but it was an awful gift. She had absolutely no interest in it, and threw it in a bin, hoping to never see it again. It was very old (I'm guessing 70s or early 80s) and in pretty deplorable condition. However, it sparked my interest. I've always been a history buff, and I think stamps are like little pieces of artwork smothered in history. That's why I ordered an updated version of the Traveler Stamp Album, and plan to start a collection, and immerse myself in the hobby.

As of right now, my "collection" consists of stamps from the old album that my dad tried to remove. As you can probably imagine, they're in pretty useless shape. There are a few good ones, but I plan on starting a fresh collection that I can call mine.

Sorry for the long post. I'm kind of excited. Nice to meet you all, and I look forward to a long and enlightening journey on this forum!!


Connor Jordan

Hi Connor. You can ask people here to send you duplicates......and some may take you up on it. Tell people what countries / subjects you are collecting.

I did not know that! I don't really have a particular area I'm collecting from. In my HE Harris album, I plan on starting in the USA section. So I guess, for right now, I'm going to specialize in American stamps.

Hello conner, welcome to Stamp Comunity!

Always lots to enjoy and learn on SCF here.

Remember to read to rules (button top right) for ettiquette online here.

Email between members through thr forums will only work when you have 50 posts or more, either way. This takes no time at all really, once you get interested and talking or typing away.

To ask most questions, please ask them out in a regular forum area rather in here in the members welcome section, as not all members view this area all the time.

Worldwide is fascinating to collect. I did that for years, got out of it as my eyes got worse and then as they got better (and my attitude also!) I am getting back into worldwide adventuring again.

"It was very old (I'm guessing 70s or early 80s)"

If 70s or 80s is old then many of us here would be quite Neanderthal! But that means that we KNOW stuff & my first piece of advice, after welcoming you to the hobby, is to join a local Stamp Club.

A quick Google shows me that there is a stamp club in your town & they even have a Facebook page. Membership tends to be a vast $5-10 a year, usually a monthly meeting in a local hall/meeting room, chats/displays about stamps, swapping/selling stamps & stamp-related things like albums & old catalogs. Most of us have boxes & cartons full of stamps that we collect/accumulate/hide from our spouses, that desperately need passing onto someone who will enjoy them.

The knowledge, friendship & guidance you will get from a club is invaluable & will help you avoid pitfalls such as that Abkhazian sheet you bought, but eh, we all make mistakes of that nature, I have several items that I should have researched a bit more before putting my money down. Making friends online is one thing but you can't beat face-to-face.

You want to collect U.S., punch "free u.s. stamp album" into google & print away, how about "u.s.stamp association" or just "u.s.stamps". There's just SO much info out there to help you on your way.

Again, welcome to the hobby & enjoy...

Thank you! I have actually looked into my local stamp club, and will be attending the next meeting. I just hope that they are more active in person than on Facebook.

Also, I suppose the album my father gave us wasn't old in the big picture, its condition added many years to its life.

The Abkhazian sheet wasn't so much a pitfall, because I am glad I bought it! Regardless of its legitimacy, it is a really cool looking sheet! The symbols on it are true to Abkhazia, and that's good enough for me.

Thank you for replying. So far, I am really enjoying this forum and the wealth of information it offers while I (im)patiently wait for my album to get here!

Welcome from another newer person. Most people will be very helpful with identifying stamps. Read around about watermarks and perferations esp for older stamps. It appears to be the difference between feast and famine for some

Conner welcome to SCF. Don't do anything to that old album. Keep it for sentimental memories. Start fresh with your own collection. However if you are determined to remove the stamps you can remove them if they are used and pasted in the album by soaking them in room temperature water. IF your goint to collect U.S. I recommend the American Heirloom Collection (Album) from Mystic Stamp Co. It's $39.95 for three volumes plus 200 U.S. stamps plus 1,000 hinges and will last you for a long time. It Gives you a brief description and history of every U.S. Stamp. Also get a good set of Stamp Tongs for handling stamps and a 10 power or more Magnifying Loupe. Again welcome to SCF. Stamp Community Family. Feel free to ask questions and read several of the posts for a real good education and feel for Stamp Collecting.

Oh, I'm definitely not doing anything with the old album! That would just be disrespectful, seeing as it is kind of what got me into stamp collecting. As for an album, I recently purchased the HE Harris Traveler album, but I'm going to wait to start filling it. I also got a stockbook, so I can put my stamps somewhere besides the glassine envelopes they came in.

The American Heirloom Collection sounds pretty nice. I might have to get that in the near future. The Traveler album came with a measly ONE US stamp.

Welcome to the site. Please feel free to ask questions, thats why most of us are here, to help.

Hello Conner! What a nice and interesting intro! I started at the ripe old age of 18 while in the Army stationed in the Canal Zone, the canal that traverses the country of Panama.

I did not find your introduction long at all. You ought to see some of mine, a newbie also.

I have, as of late, significantly narrowed my collecting field to Canal Zone, early US including Revenues and the like, EFO's and BOB's in general.

Take care, good health and have a great day!

Mudhut1000, John or just Mud