Poll On How You Like To Collect Stamps

My Approach - "The World Is My Oyster" and Specialized Catalogs are treasures of varieties not listed in mainline catalogs. I use Vario pages and organize my collection by year for each country, creating "pages" in Xcel that I print out and interleave between the stock pages to provide a "key" as to what is on the page.

Will I ever complete a collection, probably not, but it's a fun adventure :)

As for mint/used, generally used (preferably with clear Circular Date Stamps) to ~1900-1920, then Hinged mint ~1900-1960 and Never Hinged thereafter. Exact breaks differ per country.

ETA

This is how my pages look

The Earth's largest Jigsaw.
The Earth's largest collection of stories.

How could you not, enjoy spending some time, with these bits of paper ?

I collect as many mint/used all different as I can but I only spend money on what I like. By that I mean I will save at least one example of any stamp that turns up in a lot or collection I buy (even wallpaper-y issues and CTOs) but there are large chunks of the catalog that I have no intention of ever buying intentionally.

Hi, I now collect mainly plate varieties on U.S.A. stamps (plate varieties refers to all varieties)!

Hi, I collect queen victoria mint but some have to be used as I dont have an endless supply of money.

I collect stamps of every country- preferably mint- and house them in 1 stockbook.
I spend a lot of time looking at fdc's and sheets- im a hoarder of sheets:)

I collect one country (Ireland) in a serious way and the used stamps from the rest of the world in a fun way.
I think it is important to have a balance.

So far, I am a bit surprised...

What were you expecting?

I didn't know how to answer, though the option about being "very specialized" is probably closest. As far as stamps go, I collect only US airmail and aviation topical, a finite number of about 200 or so. I have mint singles of all, and plate blocks or booklet panes and line pairs for as many as I can afford (from C8 on except for the Zepps for the airmails, for example). So only when a new US stamp is issued that is aviation topical do I any longer add to my collection of stamps. I'm expecting something next year to be issued for the centennial of US airmail. Last stamp I acquired with the US Coast Guard commemorative in 2015.

I have an extensive collection of FDC's (and First Flight covers) for the airmail and aviation topical stamps I collect, and do add to it from time to time.

And I have an exhibit on the life of General Hap Arnold that I am always on the lookout for new material to add to it.

That's it for my collecting. How does that relate to your expectations?

Basil

Surprised that no one identifies as a topical collector and that only 2% say they simply "collect what they like." It's virtually impossible to create a poll like this that would succinctly cover every possibility so I was shooting for best fit, though I should have said that. Maybe I can edit the introduction further.

Hi All

Some years ago, I decided to drop a lot of countries so that I could concentrate on those areas I really want to specialize in. I collect Canada, GB, Belgium, Germany, Iceland, Greenland, US airmails only, and Hawaii. The reason I maintained these countries is because I have large collections of 'most' of the above mentioned. Some areas are not as strong but, I am still searching for them. So, to sum up,I still think that I collect too much <G>. Bear in mind though that this is just for the postage stamps and I am not counting in my postal history areas.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I wonder how many "topical" collectors are like myself in which it is only one aspect of my collecting, so I would be looking for a category a bit less limited to identify my collecting. I suspect that is why "specialized collecting" is getting so many votes, and that there are some topical collectors among them.

Is this the same subject as the previous posting under MAIN STAMP COLLECTING FORUM ?