At What Date Does Your Stamp Collection End?

Topicals and thematics forever.
Dead Countries and dead services (e.g. US Special Delivery) until death.
USA generally until I started with postal history, after that new issues at bulk mint postage wholesale prices only.
A couple of small countries I stay current with but usually not until the new issues aged five years or so.

Hopefully all Australia issues up to 2065.

It depends on the country. For the U.S., I arbitrarily stopped in 1993 because that's where my albums stopped at the time, I wasn't wild about self-adhesives and the fact that the U.S. puts out stamps like candy, things that look like a 6-year old did it in Photoshop, doesn't appeal. Other countries have different cut offs, or some don't have a cut off. It's really hard to get most modern non-U.S. stamps, period.

I don't have an "end" date to my collection. Since I collect worldwide, I have and accept all stamps that come my way thus I have stamps that were either issued last year or this year. The only "end" date I have is when colonies became independent or countries simply ceased to exist.

I attempt completion up to cut-off dates appropriate for countries I collect, but still seek out a few stamps that carry the story of each country up to the present day.

For the US and France, countries I have collected since childhood, the cutoff is the millenium.

For Central Europe, I actively collect up to the point when the dust settles after WWII, generally the late 1950s. For colonies, up to the first few sets after independence.

For the US - 1992, simply as it was when I graduated high school, and it became evident that there were more and more issues every year and it just became not so much fun and the second Harris Liberty album was bulging at the seams.

Worldwide - Generally stop at 1970; an arbitrary (although a seemingly popular cutoff year in this thread) but also a conscious decision as in my opinion; stamps from many countries simply started becoming "commercial" for lack of a better term. The goal being completion up to said date based on Scott. Exceptions would be South Vietnam as an example, where they "end" so to speak in 1975, or the Belgian Congo which "ended" in 1960 and so forth.

Well, and then there is the Philippines, which I only collect under US/Japanese occupation, and some Japanese prefectures which are quite modern and a whole new world to me lately. This could go on forever!

Final answer: 1970.

Good subject though, and interesting answers.

For the US, I peter out in 1981, but it tapers off such that one day I could see filling in to 1984, maybe '86. No further cause the cartoon stamps, self-adhesives, and other profligate issues just annoy me.

I make an exception for US airmail, and collect that to the very end, and tacked on the global forever stamps to-date just because.

France, I end with 2001 which was the second year French issues were in Francs and Euros. After that they went to Euros and the currency change seemed like a good rational place to end, although they still put out some interesting stamps which tempt me from time to time.

French airmail I collect to the present. Some really interesting issues and varieties, and they are not yet self-adhesive (knock on wood).

My topical collections (still photography/cameras and recently autogiros) I go the the present.




and French Airmail

I have several specialized collections that are already "expired" automatically since the stamps are no longer issued.
As far as the US goes I collect the Transportation Coils, which cover the time period from about 1981 through the early 2000's. Plating the first issue of the Netherlands and a specialized collection of postage dues of the Netherlands and Colonies was also a specific era, as was the Japanese Occupation of South-East Asia
Thus I have not got the problem of deciding where to stop!


Peter

- Foreign 1958 (from a Minkus album I use)
- US & Canada 1975 (when I felt designs, use of engraving, and subject matter seem to go downhill)

US to 1989
Germany, Italy, and France to 1979
Canada to 1967
various other countries such as Hungary, Poland, San Marino, etc to 1969
Anything I run into that is later than the dates listed is not tossed. Everything is kept in case my mind ever changes.

US to 1976. That's as far as my album goes. Other countries, it depends, but I also tend to like the older, engraved stamps.

For most countries, 1980 or so.

Agree with ANGORE --About 1980 . A more accurate answer would be where do you stop buying stamps . Usually I don't buy anything after 1960's but if it comes for a ride inside those big lots that I purchase then ok ,I will keep it and mount it on a page .

I collect worldwide in 2 Scott Brown albums - 19th Century and 1900-1920. Most countries I'm only 19th century and some I go to 1920 which captures the occupations related to the aftermath WWI.

If it had to do it over again, I would restrict my collecting to 19th century only. Love the classics!

I have my dad's US collection which stopped in '76 which I keep for sentimental reasons.

Saylor1971, here's an album for you, and without the USA, there is no reason to bother with those pesky new fangled take money form from collectors Columbian Exhibition Issue.




I passed on this last Sunday due to the lack of USA. It went for $69 plus SH and taxes on eBay.