Have You Returned Back To Stamp Collecting?

I started collecting about 1964 at age 11. My first album was a Majestic, but eventually decided to specialize in US with a Scott album. I developed a pretty good collection (1969 catalog value $100!) with the help of a stamp store in South Orange, NJ, within biking distance from home. The dealer was a young guy with fair prices - I still have his business card somewhere.

It may be hard to believe, but there were plenty of distractions back then: coin collecting, baseball cards, baseball, car modeling, HO trains, and being in the NY media market: TV! Oh, and family, school, and all that.

I stopped when I left home for college in 1971. There were a couple of false starts, but due to work, marriage, and family the collection (which by then included my father's and brother's) languished in a footlocker.

Finally, about six years ago, kids gone, job secure, wife happy, I took it up again, bigly. It is now much more extensive and occupies a room in the house. But I still collect just for fun. Nothing more satisfying than a full album page, even if they are just a page of US regular issues.

It is a fabulous hobby - it touches on everything - art, science, politics, history, flora, fauna, you name it. Sometimes the biggest challenge is what NOT to collect.

Geoff

Geoff Meyer,

Your story has been repeated many times on this forum; myself included. Did you notice the precipitous decline in pricing from your 1971 hiatus?

Jack Kelley

Jack,

I am sure I am the rule, not the exception.

I paid enough attention to see the bubble in prices during the '80's but knew my $100 collection was not worth much more.

Yes, inflation probably means the really nice US Scott 573 Used $5 America that I bought in the late 60's for about five dollars probably was not a good return on investment. But it is the pride of my collection, because it is a beautiful stamp.

Most importantly, I don't care. I look at that stamp, purchased from an antique shop in Maine, and remember the trip that took me there.

Geoff

Geoffrey, Welcome!



THAT is the real value of collecting stamps, the fact that just looking at one of them can trigger memories of a pleasant trip and finding something for our collection we did not have.

I agree whole heartedly!

I have a lot of MNH USA stamps that I never dreamed I would have; including a 573.

Jack Kelley

Greetings all.

As a kid, I collected Canada and some world (in one of those junior Harris albums) for about 3-4 years. I was very engaged in it for a time. My brother collected US and my Dad German, with a specialty in Berlin. Two of my grandfathers collected as well. I stopped on becoming a teenager, and haven't looked at my old collection for the last 35 years.

A few months ago, I inherited it all from my Dad, who is downsizing and moving to a smaller house. He hasn't touched it for over 20 years and my brother has no interest in it. I knew he had amassed some more over the years from my grandfathers, but have been pleasantly shocked by the size of the collection.

I've spent the last few months sorting it out and doing an inventory - total stamps in albums is around 49,000. (I'm a software guy, so accurate inventory is key for me...) For world classic - I've got the Scott international albums from I-IV, with around 40,000 stamps in them (with the large majority in I), along with a Scott Junior international partially filled.

For Canada, which was quite a mess, have a mostly complete set from the 1890's to present, with some earlier. And a very nice Newfoundland collection too. For Germany, a large, mostly unsorted collection I've been too scared to tackle as yet, with good coverage up to mid-1960s, and almost complete Berlin to 1980. US albums are not too strong. Plus a bunch of miscellaneous covers, on paper, etc I haven't gone through yet. So a lot as you can see!

Given the collection's strengths, and my own enjoyment of the older stamps, I've decided to focus on older Canada, Canadian provinces, world classic (up to 1959), and at some point the German. Will probably give away/sell the US collection, and anything more modern than 1960.

A lot of work, but tremendous fun so far - and a big thanks to the previous men in my family for passing on all the pieces of it! I've already warned my son to expect this all to come to him in 30 years :)

Like all of you, I started as a kid. It was great fun to soak stamps off envelopes given to me by friends and relatives. My first album, Scott American, cost five bucks; a huge amount, and I waited and waited until my aunt gave it to me for my ninth birthday.
I continued collecting until the self-adhesive stamps came about, and soaking became impossible.
Now, at the age of 87, when most activities are difficult, I've started again. Buying supplements was expensive, but now I can continue. I still enjoy getting stamps off envelopes but I buy some also to fill that big hole.
I started collecting used singles (US only) and so I've continued this.

It's not a joke! I came back to stamp collecting when the barmaid got mad at me 14 years ago. Quit this bar for 2 years and still collecting. The barmaid now has a job delivering mail. Anything is possible in life. Daniel

That is a first for me, have heard all sorts of scenarios for peoples return to philately, but this is new. Glad you're back!

I started collecting in 1975 and I stopped around the year 2000. Then I came back around 10 years ago and I am thinking of throwing in the towel once more again.

Jogil,




I would be interested in your thinking. I've been collecting since 1964. Although I've always considered myself a stamp collector, there were periods where my collecting was virtually dormant. I don't know if that means I've returned or not.

There were also times when I wanted to chuck it all and just sell my stamps in bulk and be done with it but I've always found some new aspect to keep me in the game.

Dan

jogil

I'm not collecting full time all year. I don't participate to SCF for months sometime. When I do stamping intensively for months I get tired of it also. It's a hobby and not a full time job for me.
Regards. Daniel

I hope you stick around, jogil. You are sort of a fixture here on SCF and I enjoy reading your posts.

Jack Kelley

I collected as a kid in the 1950s, and re-discovered the fun of collecting about 40 years later when I was able to take a more mature/sophisticated approach and specialized in a few areas that captured my interest. I discovered auctions, and won a few lots that were very enjoyable to work with.
Since then it has been on-and-off, partly influenced by whether I have found a compatible stamp club when I moved to a new residence. Now I am retired, and the hobby fits well, though I have some concerns about what to do with all this stuff someday!

Welcome SEIGAKU , stick around and you will make friends who have all kinds of collecting interest .Retirement works well for those who collect stamps .