A Poll: Who Else Enjoys Your Collection?

Oh, what general area of Tampa are you in? I'm in Riverview. Have not seen Funcitypapa back on since his post...

I am in Citrus Park near the mall. Lived in Valrico for a bit over 20 years before downsizing and moving out here.

I was adding some repartee to get you to 50 posts faster

Funcitypapa is around; he's perhaps more selective about the threads he participates in then I am.

So how did you get into collecting?

Thanks, have been looking for places/reasons to up the post count without being too obtrusive. Started collecting in elementary school; the school I went to had "hobby" classes every other week for an hour (stamps, coins, models, cooking, etc...) to give us young'uns an introduction to various hobbies. I chose stamps, and collected for a few years until girls became more interesting (as happens,) and also got to the point where my allowance didn't really allow me to fill many spaces.

Took up the hobby again a couple of years ago after seeing a Harris Liberty album that reminded me of my old collection and off I went, again!


How about you?

I seemed to naturally have an interest and expressed it to my parents when I was about 8. That December I got a Traveler's stamp album kit as a gift. Within the year I was mostly focused on British Commonwealth.

And you've been at it ever since, or have you taken a break like I did for 30+ years?

On and off but did not take a break for 30 years. Stayed with it until I was 21 then stopped for a few years but picked it up when I was around 24 or 25, albeit in a limited way. I sold that collection when I was 28 but from age 31 to now (59) I've been all-in like a Flush on the River.

Would like to see your collection; have not ventured out in to world stamps, yet; but likely will at some point soon.

That would be great, I would be delighted. My collection is not as well organized as others as I have been in acquisition mode for awhile and limited on time to "curate." But I have tons of sets in various types of stock cards and a few collections purchased at auction which have primarily MNH material (KGVI, Venezuela Arms & Industries which I believe to be complete MNH). I will invite Funcity over at the same time.

Speak of- there is a local stamp club that I've attended twice and which Funcity visited with me last week. It was a hit or miss kind of thing- there were a lot of guys who seem to be looking for nickel stamps in boxes but 2-3 who seemed very engaged and who I want to befriend. The club meets this Monday at 7 PM, doors open at 6, and it's held in North Tampa in the Forest Hills area. Funcity may or may not attend this time, but I plan to as I am picking up an order of 102B cards.

Perhaps if it's not too far off the path for you you might want to check it out with me. Honestly, I am not sure it has a future, but I am hoping we can create a group of 5 or 6 "engaged" collectors to hang with to talk stamps and socialize. Funcity is am amazing guy- his knowledge of American history and it's relationship to philatelics is beyond extraordinary.

In the interim, get yourself to 50 posts so we can connect in email and take things from there.

Well, this should be my 50th... Would be interested in attending Monday, and thanks. Happy 4th as well!

Andyrich74: congrats on reaching your 50th post. Shermae and I have been communicating privately in anticipation of all three of us getting together. Why don't you send me an email providing a little more specific information about yourself and what your collecting interests are to speed the process. Shermae and I had a few back and forths before we ever met in person. You will find he is very friendly, easy to talk to, and has a wealth of knowledge in many fields and philatelically emphasizes British commonwealth, but not exclusively. He is more focused on Worldwide collecting and comparatively less on US, whereas I started collecting US exclusively, then inherited a partially filled Blue international album of I believe 1930's vintage which then
sparked my immersion into WW issues. Shermae's collecting, he has told me, is more heavily swayed towards
Post 1940 issues and I generally stop there, although naturally that is a very general statement for both of us. Regardless, it is good for me to hear from him about things I would otherwise know nothing about and we both feel that sharing the hobby with others is one of the true joys of collecting.

Believe it or not - my wife. She has taken serious interest in my MNH duck stamps. She is an artist and is well aware of the Hauptmann brothers. She wants to enter the contest some day.

Jack Kelley

I own a bookstore and often work on my collection at my desk in the store when I have time. I get lots of interest from random people who walk by. I've gotten to know other stamp collectors in town. I get stories of people collecting stamps as a kid. Lots of questions about the pile of mint stamps they've accumulated/inherited and do they have any value. I've even gotten some really nice collections from people who dug them out of an attic.

Not really. An occasional guest takes an interest for a few minutes, and sometimes I'll post something on Facebook that will get a little reaction. But it is mostly for me.

No one but myself has any interest in my collection.

I am late to this thread, but have enjoyed reading all of these posts. I especially loved reading about the custom albums that one of you has designed for friends and family based on their particular interests. What a thoughtful and lovely gift! I would be so touched if someone did something like that for me.

I inherited my mother's childhood stamp collection when I was a child, and I recently mentioned to her that I had taken up the hobby again, and she seemed somewhat interested. My mother is so lovely that I know she'll spend time poring over my albums when she next visits, even if it's only a courtesy. I think she did appreciate that I had saved a number of stamps from her collection, and integrated them into the ones I'm now designing. She told me she used to spend all of her babysitting money on grab bags, and that she just liked the pretty ones with bright colors or odd shapes. She mentioned reading in some book or another at the time about philatelists who would look for printing errors with magnifying glasses, and thinking that it sounded rather different from what she did! Haha.

My father-in-law has a serious interest in coins, and was delighted to hear several years ago that I was collecting stamps. He was very kind and let me choose what I liked from his worldwide collection, since he only concerns himself now with US and Canadian stamps. When he visits next, I think he will enjoy looking through my albums.

But aside from my mother and father-in-law, who both live far away, I don't have anyone to share my interests. My husband is supportive, but shows interest mostly out of kindness and love for me. I've been pouring so many hours this summer, before the academic year starts again, into researching stamp designs and designing custom albums, that it made me sad to think that when I'm gone, I'll have no loved ones to pass my collection on to, since my husband and I don't have children, and I have no siblings. I'd be happy to pass it on to a younger person with an interest in stamps, but it seems to be a declining hobby amongst millennials and Gen-Z-ers.