Digital Nomad Getting Back To An Old (Good?) Habit

Hello everyone,

I'm Eric.

I used to collect when I was a little kid, given my dad collected a bit as well.

After many years, I thought it could be fun to re-kindle that activity for 4 main reasons:

1) It's something I can share with my kids, since I'm now a father.
2) It's an "offline" or "tangible" activity. More and more our lives are becoming very digital. Having activities in the "tangible" world is healthy.
3) I have the collector's gene. So I have a calling to collect something.
4) I like collecting stamps!

So, even though I delved into stamps when I was young, I consider myself a beginner collector. I've never used a catalog (I am using one now: I subscribed to the Yvert & Tellier online catalog), and don't know the jargon or almost anything for that matter. But I have already started doing some research, watching YouTube videos, and reading some forums.

Regarding the forums. I didn't know which one to use. So I Googled them and selected the ones that came up first organically. Then I ensured they were active and that threads would be answered quickly (a sign of enthusiasm). I chose the three main ones and signed up for them. In all three, I'm using this same introductory post, to save me some time (I hope that's fine with all, and within guidelines).

I'm currently collecting Argentina, France, and Portugal. But will soon add the US and the UK to that list.

I'll collect by country, in chronological order. My idea is to have a collection of MNH and one of Used stamps per country. I'm not sure if that's doable, but that's my beginner's idea.

I leave you three stamps I like from my small collection. Hope you enjoy:

1948: Abbey of Conques - Aveyron
(Yvert et Tellier FR 805; Scott FR 593)
Front:

Back:


1948: Céres and Marianne de Gandon
Yvert et Tellier FR 833A; Scott FR 615a
Front:

Back:


1941: Clement Ader (1841-1925) Aviation pioneer. Surcharge
Yvert et Tellier FR 493; Scott FR 414
Front:

Back:


Glad to be here.

Looking forward to participating.

Eric

Hello again. I'd abandon the unmounted mint for QV GB. In fact, I'd abandon the mint too.

@GeoffHa

After googling QV GB, I see what you mean lol (why do I feel like a naive beginner now hahaha)

So, it might make more sense to collect MNH whenever possible. And keep things to just one collection per country.

Thank you for your welcoming, your advice, and your prompt reply

Eric!

Eric,

Collecting for the enjoyment of collecting, whatever that might be, is the name of the game. Don't hesitate to ask questions especially if you need basic information and especially more advanced sources of information for any possible topic. You should be able to find folks on this board a little further along on their collecting journey glad to share experiences.

Personal bias. Used stamps are best collected on the cover they carried through the mails. This documents their journey.

Wishing you many enjoyable future days in our hobby. Russ

Welcome to the forum! I'd be curious how one balances digital nomadding with stamp collecting, as it seems like frequently moving would make almost all aspects of stamp collecting very challenging. In my case, my interest in stamp collecting was largely fueled by covid19 travel restrictions, and the accumulation I've built up in the past couple of years is going to make my next household move a bigger challenge and makes nomadding--something I had previously aspired to--impossible.

Hello @tsmatx (sorry, not sure how to tag in this forum)

I guess it depends on your type of traveling and collection. You can leave the bulk of your collection in a "base" and then travel with whatever you want to work on during your traveling period.

In my case, for example, I was recently in Paris and bought some stamps there. Now I'm in Portugal and bought some local stamps here. With what I got from those two purchases, I have enough to entertain myself for months. And carrying a big envelope of "paper" and an album doesn't modify my luggage too much. But, ask me in a couple of years, and I'd reckon I'll have a more sophisticated answer :)

Welcome ericdrive !

I like the stamps you chose to display on your intro page.

Welcome to the forum!

- Lance

Hi Eric,
Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.

I just want to say that you should collect what you want to collect, how you want to collect it and always do what makes you happy.

Trying to always meet the expectations of others just adds stress to the hobby and makes it unpleasant. Just because others have been unsuccessful doing something doesn't mean you can't forge a new path.

It's your life, live like you wanna live!