Do You Have A Goal In Collecting

I was wondering if it was just me, or did others set goals when they first started?

I set goals to get a good collection of Canadian history stamps, and I was looking for the Seaway project, the Olympic games in Canada, and the history of the queen.

I have managed to meet some of these goals, and some are always changing with the addition of new stamps.

I also added the United States and Japan as places of interest.

So what are your goals? Have you met them?

Having fun and yes.

My goal as a ten-year-old was to collect one of everything. My goals now are radically different and constantly change/evolve. I collected mint/unused U.S. for nearly 50 years and wanted well-centered stamps with no thins on the back. I haven't compromised on that goal much, it's been a constant for my collection. Late last year, I began collecting Mexico for a change of pace. In January, I began collecting Canada and have been focusing on that. My immediate goals for that collection are to continue filling the spaces of classic Canada. I finished the QV Maple Leaf issue this week (just waiting for the last 4 to arrive in the mail) and am now working on the QV Numerals and Edward VII issues. I guess that's where my goals are for now.

I started collecting WWII/Reich stamps because I'm interested in the history behind the issues.

My primary objective is/was to learn.

And I have met that objective 100% because even when I made stupid mistakes, I learned from them.
Don

Still too new to everything for goals, but it would be nice to learn enough at some point to be confident in owning a high value stamp of some kind. Still having fun though, and the history behind things is always interesting to read. That's not bad for now.

My goals are to have fun and learn more about interesting stamps and covers. As primarily a collector of Worldwide Used, completeness is not a goal. However, a good representation of issues in most popular (and some not so popular) countries is. And I have learned a ton since starting out, while having a good time.

I can't say my goals really has changed, since I was around 10 years old, when I first time started. My number one priority is still Scandinavia, and it's still the same stamps which attracts me.

Yes, my goal is 1 stamp per series for Scott International up to 1960.

My philatelic goal for a long time was to acquire as many stamps/sets that fit my focus- mainly definitives. Now things are a bit different. The vast majority of my collection now is in 13 red boxes of 102 cards and 6 other larger plastic containers containing material, mainly sets, that live in larger stock cards compared to 102s.

My goal now is to organize things more since many singles I've acquired have not been united with the sets they belong to. Additionally, since I collect a number of categories of varieties, I need to decide how to arrange things when the material goes into Vario pages. One thing that has me extra excited is the solution Don (Studebaker) provided on how to label varieties without having to put white pieces of paper next to or behind the stamps. My plan is to use black paper behind the stamps, tall enough to allow a label with details above each variety. The labels will be printed on a Brother label maker with white or gold lettering.

This will be a huge project but will allow me to once again view all the stamps I've accumulated as part of the enjoyment of arranging them in Vario pages.

I've had multiple, but modest, goals. My initial interest was in US Airmail and Aviation Topical stamps. I don't know the exact total, but there are roughly 250 stamps that fall into that category. I am sure that is a very small number compared to most collectors. I started off trying to have one MNH example of each. I soon added plate blocks (or panes and line pairs for booklet and coil stamps), and then first day covers for each, with the FDCs having plate blocks, panes or line pairs where practical (mostly everything except C1-C6 and the Zepps, where I have FDCs of each, but just with singles on the covers). I finished a collection of all US Airmail stamps and covers in two Linder Binders several years ago with singles for each, plate blocks, et al. as just described, and FDCs for all 150 US Airmail stamps. While the number of US Aviation Topical stamps is much smaller, collecting their FDCs is a more never-ending goal. I've also developed a highly specialized interest in WWII patriotic covers from Victory, VT, that I continue to add to almost daily. I have three exhibits that I've exhibited a total of six times since 2016, so getting those together qualify as goals too, I suppose. I've written articles for FIRST DAYS, and last year entered a three-part series in the literature competition at GASS 2023. I have other writing projects that I have started, but are not yet finished. Getting those done are goals too, I suppose.

As long as I enjoy this collecting journey I will collect.

No specific goals if by that you mean "things I planned to complete someday" but I just loved stamps and wanted lots of them on album pages -- which of course I've done.

That started with the world, then got focused on the U.S. for some time, but now I've gone back to the world again, as well. My current goal is to collect a few dozen countries' stamps in some depth. Which countries? The ones I think have the best-looking, best designed stamps of all, and that includes Sweden, Switzerland,Japan, France, Italy, and a bunch of other countries -- and to collect some unusual countries like Nepal and others which aren't as popular but interest me. All my extras and duplicates go into my worldwide album so that keeps growing, as well.

My only real "goal" is simply to learn about the world, its culture, and its history -- and to use stamps to relax and keep me out of trouble!

As well as enjoyment my other goal is never to learn how relatively worthless my collection is compared with how much it cost!

Collect until I die !!!

To collect every single stamp. This way I will never stop collecting