Bonjour From France.

Good morning everyone. My name is Rob & I have been searching for a stamp forum to talk about my grandfather's collection of stamps. Having looked online I kept coming back to this one as everyone seemed very helpful & friendly so here I am. Although I have been an avid collector of too many things all my life I know nothing about stamps at all. I am quite interested in the Penny Reds of Queen Victoria for some reason. I also have a small collection of hammered silver coins I found metal detecting so hope to join in with the coin forum too. Thanking you all in anticipation & if I can help in anyway due to me living in France then please ask. Bien cordialement Rob.

Welcome. Whereabouts in France are you?

Many thanks. I'm in the Auvergne which is the Volcanic region in the centre of France. Clermont Ferrand is probably the nearest big City you may know although we are equidistance from Limoges too. Do you know France?

Un petit peu. My daughter and I visited the Auvergne a few years ago. Stayed in Clermont, then went on to Vichy. Also stayed in Limoges on a separate trip. I was visiting a different French city each year until Covid, then finance, got in the way.

Rob,

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.

My personal bias is a used stamp loses the story of its journey in the postal service when it is removed from the cover it transported to its destination. Collecting postal history adds a whole new aspect to your journey in our hobby.

Wishing you many enjoyable future days in our hobby. Russ