What Is Your "Time Frame" Parameter For Collecting?

Hi,
I posted on the "sticker shock" thread and later realized I needed to do a separate one....

I collect worldwide (USA is separate)thru 1960. In merging a newly bought Scott International part 1 with my existing parts 2/3/4, I ended up with 7 volumes - which will likely soon spread to 8.

In going thru every page during the merging process, I began thinking that somewhere in the early '50s, stamps seemed to become "pretty pictures" rather than representations of the country, its history, accomplishments, and people.

Of course this trend expanded to the point that many countries issued stamps of Elvis, Marilyn, dinosaurs, etc.,

Anyway, I realized that maybe I should cut my date back to 1950, to more concentrate on the classic and WWII years.

With that in mind, what is your "end date" - and why so?

For stamps, I have two end dates: 2012, and never. I only collect US airmail and aviation topical stamps. US airmail stamps end at C150, issued in 2012, so that's that. As for topicals, it will continue as long as aircraft or something related to aviation shows up on US stamps. The most recent was the Chief Anderson stamp, 4879, issued in 2014. It looks like the next will be the US Coast Guard commemorative set for August (it has a Coast Guard helicopter on it, making it "aviation related").

But I also collect covers for these stamps. I think the number of covers is unknown. I'm always finding new ones. Just on "The Transports," I started with keeping my collection with Vario pages (three to a page) in a 3" three ring binder. Then a 4" binder. I'm now working on a second 4" binder. Collections like these have no end date.

That's an interesting question, the problem is that no country is the same. Since you are talking about Scott int, I will say 1950, I purchased up to 1980 but if it was do redo again, I will stop to 1950. But even do, they are so many stamps I don't want. Countries like France and Austria, I will cut at 1900, Argentina, Belgium, Columbia and UK at 1930, Canada 1950, US 1960 ( all those are from memory ) Russia , Czecosclovakia and Sweden, up to present. But Canada and other still make few nice engraved. So I will say, Scott int or brown up to 50 and Steiner after only for the one I want.

I generally try to not buy stamps issued after 1960. I prefer postally used stamps and sometimes I violate my cutoff date when I see a post-1960 stamp with an attractive cancel. (I have a "cancels on stamps" collection.

Then, also like blcjr, I collect identifiable aircraft on stamps, primarily mint, and that brings me right up to the present in that area.

I definitely agree, though, the era of postally used stamps/mail was pre-1960s, with, in my opinion, the 1930s as the pinnacle of the importance of the mails as a means of communication. The societal shift to electronic forms of communication has lessened the value of the mails to the level we presently see.

Don

My stamp collection ends at 1935ish. I collect used Bank Note Issues, used Officials, Official Special Printings, Official proofs, all varieties of the preceding, used Bureau Issues and National Parks/Farley Issues. I also collect postasl history of two California counties, and use John H. William's California Town Postmarks 1849 - 1935 as my catalogue.

I will find a place for any stamp I get, but mainly seek out stamps for certain countries within certain years that vary by the country. For defined periods, I attempt completion, for others I just want a fuller collection that tells the story of that country. For my topical collections, I will try to get anything that fits the theme that is not blatant wallpaper right up to the current year, but my themes are minor enough that I can do that.

For France, my goal for completion is 1989, but continue to collect stamps that appeal to me up through the late 1990s. For the US, completion stops at 1976 but would like a fuller collection through 2000. For Germany, completion stops at 1945 but I am filling out the area up to about 1959 when the Saar is absorbed. For Canada, 1952. For French colonies, I stop at WWII, but include the wave of exquisite engravings afterwards.

I collect Dead Countries - and for my collection I only collect countries which died by the end of 1955.

Note, "country: is somewhat of a loose term.

I collect WW Classics to 1949 (1952 for British colonies and some other exceptions). This corresponds to the Classics plus the WWII period and downstream impact. After that, I think the issue of stamps became a revenue-generating industry for most countries and resulted in the disappearance of national emphasis on stamp themes and the rise of topicals and others.

Mobil man - you have made the classic mistake of generalizing from the particular.

I currently collect (with varying degrees of serious-ness) roughly 3 dozen countries, mostly in Europe. There are a few that I collect to the present day and I'll probably cut them off when my binder of Steiner pages for that country gets full. For a few other countries, my cutoff is either the year 2000 or 2001 (the introduction of the Euro). For most countries of Eastern Europe, I go until approximately the fall of communism and/or the breakup of their countries into smaller units.

I don't currently attempt a collection that's worldwide in scope, but I may get around to doing that at some point. If I do so, I'd probably make the cutoff at the end of 1949 so as to include issues from WWII and its aftermath, with British Commonwealth going to 1952 (George VI).

Modern mostly now.
1973-now, with postmarks from everywhere and everywhen too.
Soon I will need another house to appreciate them all.

I only collect US Vending & Affixing machine stamps, so my period is 1907 - 1927. My main focus are Schermacks with control marks, 1909 - 1914.

Well I collect pretty much every thing I can get my hands on (used stamps) I'm like puzzler and will soon need another house if I don't slow down.

I keep telling myself that I don't need any more stamps until I sort through what I already have, but do listen to myself, of course not just bought a bunch more along with 2 collections at the latest stamp show.

That being said I am thinking on limiting my collection to 20 or so countries but we will have to see how that goes.

Dianne

I collect Worldwide to 1940, which sometimes doesn't quite fit with logical looks at the country. Many countries entered WWII at different times, so an arbitrary 1940 cutoff might overlap the war. on the other hand, having a hard cutoff date does make it easier to decide which items to buy. It does tend to shrink the occasional country, with Faroes (for instance) covering only a half dozen stamps. :)

I fudge with US (to the start of the self adhesives) and Canada (to the turn of the century), but they are special cases for collectors located in either country.

WELCOME ---Bill, to the Stamp Community , you will find a lot of friendly fellow collectors here.

I collect 19th Century U.S. revenues, so that collection spans 1862-1900. I also collect worldwide to 1940 in a Scott International Part One (I "collect to the album"), which, as indicated in other threads on this forum, has become a semi-popular collecting niche.