Beginner's Guide to Stamp Collecting
Stamp collecting was first encouraged by teachers as a way of helping their pupils to learn about geography. There have been famous philatelists throughout history, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Great Britain's King George V.
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Collecting by Country
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Soccer stamps go well with a sports-themed collection. Many philatelists choose to collect by country or region. Some countries are far more collectible than others, with Great Britain and the Commonwealth being the most sought after, followed by the U.S. and its dependencies.
Collecting by Theme
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Other collectors focus on a certain theme, such as sea mail, air mail, wartime mail, or even stamps featuring dogs and cats. This can be a good way of creating a unified collection.
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Housing a Collection
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The traditional way of housing stamps is to mount them in a spring-back or multi-ring album using a tiny strip of gummed paper known as a "hinge." However, a good alternative is a stockbook, which has glassine strips with transparent guards to protect the stamps and is a very flexible way of storing your collection.
Buying Stamps
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There is a whole category on eBay dedicated to philately, but be cautious because old stamps can be faked on modern color photocopiers. Before sailing those waters, ease your way in by snapping up a few old albums at yard sales.
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References
- Photo Credit post stamp image by Svetlana Kashkina from Fotolia.com
