What Stamps Do You Collect And Why?

I collect us and love it. I also just started collecting Newfoundland . Newfoundland is a great country to collect because it stopped producing stamps some time ago. Although that being said some are very expensive.

Collect worldwide here. The world is my oyster, and I want to be able to sample the grand buffet, not just one or two dishes. :)

I also found Newfoundland a pretty intriguing place to collect stamps from too stamps660. It has a really interesting history.

I agree with you DJCMHOH that a worldwide collection is like a buffet ;-) There are certain areas of collecting that call to me more than others, but everywhere seems to have some interesting stories and appeal in it's own right.

Happy day!I just received my first King George VI era British and Commonwealth stamps today. According to UPS Tracking, I'll be receiving the Palo albums to go with it. This is a brand new venture for me, having collected MNH USA for the past 50 years. Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?

Jack Kelley

I don't mean this as an insult to collectors who specialize in just one country or in a narrow area of some sort, but I've never understood people who can stop at just one country. To me, that's like going to the cereal aisle in the store and just buying the same cereal over and over again without ever trying one of the other boxes. Or like going to the grand buffet and picking only the roast beef at every trip. But, to each his own, as they say.

oceanguy,

If I could add to the conversation, I would recommend that you focus or restrict your collection st first. It is really easy for things to get out of control and become quite expensive. As for myself, I selected the KGVI Commonwealth era as it only covers a 15 year period. Historically a very interesting period in history ((WWII). I could have selected King Edward VIII (the one who resigned). That era (1936) consists of only four stamps!

Jack Kelley

Another idea for a new collector would be to go to your local library and browse through the volumes of the Scott Catalogue. This will give you an idea of how many stamps a country has issued, how expensive they are, etc. I would just add to not get discouraged when you see a lot of high (tens of dollars and up) catalog values as the vast majority of stamps can be had for a small fraction of catalog prices. Chances are, that $50 stamp can be had for $5 or $10 and that $20 stamp for $3 or $4. Still a lot higher than the pennies per stamp in starter packets, but still doable for most collectors who are determined to build a nice collection.

Hi Jack - For my collection I am focusing in particular on Canada. I got a starter album at a garage sale, that was maybe half full. I am going to work on increasing that ratio and bringing it up to date, while collecting worldwide. I just can't resist trying everything at the buffet as TheArtfulHinger mentions. I think it will be through collecting worldwide that I will see where or when I went to specialize, but for some reason I can't see not always having some kind of world collection, but who knows?

TheArtfulHinger, I have actually done some research like that for Canada, as that is where I am going to centre my focus. As other countries pique my interest, I will do the same or them. I have already noticed that catalogue values don't really seem to apply, which initially struck me as odd, but it does work in my favour and allow me to get more stamps! I am starting with more affordable stamps until I know what I am doing ;-)

Artful Hinger,

I can understand your point about stopping with only one country, particularly if someone collects only mint singles or used singles.

One of the reasons I've stuck with only U.S. is there is just so much to do with it. Like most people in my generation, I got started as a kid collecting used stamps and getting approvals from places like H.E. Harris. Then I decided maybe mint stamps would be fun as well, so I started adding them. What about plate blocks or First Day Covers? Yep, those got added. Well, heck, while we're at it, what about some Postal History? Some of that made its way into the "collection". Now, half a century later, I find I'm filling in the gaps, not just a single in a preprinted album, but getting into the historical aspects of the stamps including proofs, essays and post office documentation as to the why, how and wherefore of each stamp.

What someone like myself ends up with is a more complete story of the stamp, its design process, printing process and uses, as well as a more complete story for each stamp. It's almost become a miniature exhibit for each stamp I've collected, with some issues nearing completion.

So while it might appear that I'm "getting the roast beef with each trip to the grand buffet," I'd beg to differ. It might still be beef, but there are hamburgers, filet mignon and even a cut or two of rump roast in there...

The bottom line - and one of the points of stamp collecting or philately that I believe most germane - is that whatever you collect, however you collect, it should be a source of enjoyment and enrichment for you.

Here's a small sampling of what I was referring to. All of these items pertain to Scott 742, the three cent 1934 National Parks stamp. Hope you enjoy it!

Very well done and very well put, stampman2002!

Peter

Stampman 2002 - What a beautiful collection and subject matter! You must have an incredible collection! How many stamps have you built up a collection like this around? It is something I could see myself doing at some point for my favourites or issues and subjects that speak to me.

I can imagine you exhibiting a subject at a stamp club or philatelic conference. I love digging deeper into the subject of a stamp.

That's a great question, Oceanguy. It's a rather massive collection for a single country collection.

I had no idea a few years ago just how large it really was. I had shown a few items at the local club and one of the long term members, asked if I had bothered getting it insured. I hadn't really considered that, but he suggested it would be a very good idea.

I called the APS insurance folks and Collectibles Insurance and the first thing they asked me was "How much insurance do you need?" I had no idea, so I started inventorying the collection....

That was six years ago and I'm still at it. As of right now, I'm approaching 45,000 stamps, covers and related items.

If you haven't started an inventory yet, I strongly recommend it. It does a couple of things for you. First, you get to spend the time looking - I mean REALLY looking - at each item as you list it. For me, I had to decide whether it was really an item I still wanted to keep or was it one which might be better off finding its way to another collection. The second benefit is you have a real idea what's in your collection and a good base idea as to the value of the collection. This is important as your heirs may have absolutely no idea what it is or whether it has any real value.

I included ALL items, regardless of whether it catalogs .25 cents or $250.00. Each item is described as to what it is, the condition and the value from the current Scott Specialized catalog (since I collect only U.S. stamps). If something should happen to me (and it eventually will) my daughter will have this inventory to figure out what she's inherited. I've also noted in the inventory where I got it from and provided a list of potential buyers/avenues of disposition for her to consider.

I have to admit, I was really surprised at the value of the collection. If I'd had to give a figure for insurance six years ago, I'd have grossly undervalued the collection.

By the way, I'm still at it. I'm hoping to finish the initial inventory in about two years, so it's an ongoing endeavor just to get the final baseline. If I'd been doing this from the start, it would have been a much better idea than to wait for decades to get around to it.

I should add that I also collect postmarks and postal history of a few small towns in NW Iowa around where I grew up. The town are pretty small, so pickings are pretty slim. If I acquire 1-2 pieces a year from my hometown (pop 300) I'm doing well.

Wow! 45,000 stamps, covers and related items. I can't imagine how you store them all! That is incredible. I imagine you could create some pretty outstanding exhibits. I can imagine you would still be inventorying.

It is funny you should bring that up, because I just actually started doing an inventory for my Canada collection. So I can appreciate the volume of work involved, even though I have no where near that volume to inventory.

I am also including all items, even the stamps with a low value. I see it as a good opportunity to learn and it will come in handy to be able to possibly trade with others and a good reference to fill some gaps.

I think it is great you are so organized and I am sure your daughter will appreciate it. Thanks for sharing your images and helping to broaden my mind in terms of how and what I collect. This whole forum has provided me with so much learning, and I really appreciate the experience of others who have been at it for awhile.

Well I continue the US and Canada collection the uncle of my grand-father started 100 years ago.

World to 1980 in Scott Int. with many pages added ( print on scott blank pages, steiner's style pages in plastic protectors and recently, Vario in plastic protectors.

Philippines , I lived there 3 years and I'm married with a Filipina, host in a Minkus with a lot of add on pages

Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia in Minkus albums

Last year I get interested in the Krajcáros series of Hungary the crown series) , Then I get a specialised book of Hungary, discover the revenues of that country, so I started revenue, since Austrian stamps was used in Hungary , I then extend to Austria, and I found a nice book on Stampsless cover of Austria, so another extension, So this Austrian-Hungarian collection will be very specialized

I do find an interesting tread on India revenues here, so I ordered a 3 volume specialised book on them. I have not yet started anything but it will come