Newbie Stamp Book???

Guys, I know there are a lot of books about stamps in the market. My question is based on your experiences..which one is most helpful for newbies? I would want to learn about your experiences in terms of the book's helpfulness before purchasing a new book since I am new ..Thanks

Well, I am a total newbie but everyone has told me to get a set of Scott's catalogs. They can be pricey, so I just got a set of used ones for $30. I should get them tomorrow. I can't wait. I plan on using Scott's numbers in my albums so I really need one. And there's tons of info and pics in there.

I am going to the library tomorrow to check out some books on stamping, I'll let you know what I find.

Look for a stamp collectors handbook or guide. These books are more generalized and directed more towards new to intermediate collectors.
The handbook I used was by Samuel Grossman, still have it, but it is close to 50 years old so it's at best 80% relevant to today's world, but there must be something more current out there.

What kind of info and stamps are you interested in? There are a few stamp websites that have a lot of terms & definitions about general knowledge, and the basics that you can view for free. Try the stamps.org site under the education tab for some beginner tips and the resources tap for several site links. Askphil & stamp collecting round up both have some useful info. For a good book that is not a catalog/price guide take a look at the Encyclopedia of US Stamps or Encyclopedia of World Wide Stamps,

I know they are strange, but I bought the Stamps for Dummies book I found it very helpful. Also got a set of 2007 Scotts Catalogs for around $50 total off Amazon. I find them difficult to use and not really worth it at this point in my hobby.

Hi Jay....

For identifying stamps very nothing beats the Scotts catalog.....but it sound to me like you are really just beginning and need help identifying some languages and symbols to help lead you in the direction of where to look in your Scott cat. Things like....Star & Crescent being from the Mid-East countries.....Sickle & Hammer = Soviet Block nations.....RF = France or French colony.

Is this type of thing what you mean ?

I have the scotts catalog on CD and I like it & once I figure out how to use it better I will love it.If you ever get stuck just ask on here or scan stamp and these guys are more than happy to help you.Most of the guys will even go out of there way to help you. i've made some new friends on here that are just AWESOME people who maybe someday ill meet a few of them,ive met one in person and he is very helpful and an awesome person.I hope to someday travel outside the Usa to maybe meet 1 or 3 of them

Linn's Stamp News sells a handbook for a few dollars on getting started in stamp collecting. It's small and printed on newsprint; but it is excellent!

Go to their website to order it.

David