Jerald Shin Shapiro asked:


What are Stamp Collecting Organizations?
Due to the massive, albeit apparently dwindling popularity of stamp collecting, numerous organizations have been formed concerning this activity. From local community stamp collecting clubs, to stamp collectors’ online communities and forums over the internet, to other special-interest groups and national organizations, stamp collectors definitely find even more joy and satisfaction in their passion for postage stamps when they are able to share this passion with other individuals of the same interest.

Are there Stamp Collecting Organizations in the US? If so, Which Among Them are the Most Credible and where Can I Get a Hold of Them?

In the United States, one of the largest and most well-known as well as respected stamp collecting organizations is the American Philatelic Society, a non-profit organization that has their own site over the internet. The organization boosts of thousands of members and are serious about their interest and passion for stamp collecting.

What Happens if You’re a Member of a Stamp Collecting Organization?

Stamp collecting organizations not only provide its members the opportunity to meet and mingle with individuals who have the same interest as they do, it is also an important venue in which avid and serious stamp collectors obtain valuable resources and links to hard-to-find collectible postage stamps. Through exhibits and auctions, stamp collectors are able to make deals and trades with fellow stamp collectors.

Do Stamp Collecting Organizations Cater to the Needs of Stamp Collectors and Dealers alike?

Stamp collecting organizations are also a venue for stamp dealers and companies to advertise and market their items and goods to a very interested and niched audience. Stamp collecting organizations may form links and affiliations with trusted and credible companies or dealers. They may also organize events where stamp dealers can show off their items to very eager and interested prospective buyers. And because stamp collectors trust the judgment and standards of the stamp collecting organization they belong to, they will also see stamp dealers and companies that their organizations advertise as credible and trustworthy as well.  

How Can I Join a Stamp Collecting Organization?

You may coordinate with your local stamp collecting club and check if it is affiliated with a larger stamp collecting organization. If so, inquire with your club president or leader on how you may join the stamp collecting organizations that your stamp collecting club is connected to. You can also research over the internet, by visiting the official sites of stamp collecting organizations.



PETER

Jerald Shin Shapiro asked:


There’s no question about the interest and fun value of stamp collection. All you have to do is let them see special stamps that contain famous cartoon figures and they’re instantly hooked! Add a few interesting facts about other types of stamps - like explaining how many Sony Playstation sets they can purchase with a rare stamp - and you’ll no doubt have an obsessive philatelist in your hand.
Indeed, there’s no trouble in catching the interest of your kid - but the problem is how you can maintain that interest and turn your kid into a good stamp collector.

It would be such a waste if your kid started early on this hobby then end up bored or disappointed with his collection. With proper training, however, you’ll be able to ensure that your kid will be a responsible stamp collector and grow up with a hobby that he can always depend on to cheer him up - and maybe earn him a few bucks as well in the future.

Lesson 1: Let Your Kid Know about the Importance of Taking Responsibility

Kids are essentially immature and irresponsible but that doesn’t mean they can’t change or we can’t train them to become more mature and responsible. With the right motivation and guidance, your kid can become a good stamp collector - one who knows the value of his collection and gives it the care it deserves.

Don’t force your kid to love his stamp collection if it’s obvious that he’s not into it. There are just some things that parents and kids can never agree on. On the other hand, don’t be too harsh in reprimanding your kid when he commits a little mistake here and there. That’s the easiest way to drive your kid away and make him lose interest in stamp collecting entirely.

Lesson 2: Help Him Discover the Beauty of Stamps

Use illustrations and vivid descriptions to help him appreciate the stories behind each and every stamp he adds on to his collection. Explain the significance of the Penny Black and commemorative stamps that were issued by countries like Afghanistan or Russia.

Kids are known to let their imaginations govern their minds and hearts so it’s important for parents to capture their kids’ imaginations as well if they wish to succeed in turning them into responsible stamp collectors.

Lesson 3: Lead by Example

One of the most difficult things to do when collecting stamps is sorting, cleaning and drying them. Make sure that you teach your kid how to remove bits of paper stuck at the back of a stamp in a careful, step-by-step process. Be patient if he doesn’t get it at the first try. Be properly impressed when he finally does it right.

Lesson 4: Mounting Stamps

The penultimate step in this process is teaching your kid how to properly mount his stamps. Teach him how to organize stamps in an album and why some stamps should be always kept in front while other stamps are not worth keeping. Let him know about the importance of keeping duplicates and how it will help him widen his collection.

Lesson 5: Trading and Earning

Even kids are not invulnerable to the lure of money. To increase your kid’s love for stamp collecting, let him have his first try at trading stamps. Make sure that he truly has a rare stamp he could sell at a profit. His first trade will be something he’ll remember for a very long time and it would also be the one that would serve as motivator to keep him hooked with stamp collecting - and away from befriending gangs or exposed to any bad influence.



TRACEY

Jérôme Dufresnes asked:


Stamps are used by millions of people daily yet few of us give them any thought. We take them for granted, seeing them as mere functional objects. It is true that they are functional objects but not only. Ask any stamp collector and he or she will tell you that a stamp is a lot more than that. In the case of used stamps, a lot of them tell a story and reflect the period and mood of the country in which they were issued.
Let us backtrack for a while and talk about the history of stamps and how they came about. It is commonly accepted that stamps were first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1840 with the penny black stamp. It was a revolution of sorts since it meant that the sender had to pay the postage fee and not the recipient like before. Shortly after the two pence blue stamp was issued. On thing to note is that the United Kingdom is to this day the only country whose name does not appear on its stamps.

As you know, stamp collecting is a very popular hobby throughout the world. Some people prefer to collect brand new stamps while others prefer to collect used stamps that actually served their purpose. Some of course do not discriminate and collect both. There are a lot of different types of stamps. Some stamps are issued for collecting rather than postal use. Let us have a quick look at the type of stamps available and their characteristics.

First is the definitive stamp. This is simply your regular stamp in any denomination that you can buy at the post office. These stamps often feature symbols of the country of issuance. They usually begin at the smallest unit of currency and can go up to fifty to a hundred times the usual postage rate. Collectors are looking to collect every denomination of a definitive series.

The commemorative stamp, like its name suggests, is a stamp issued to commemorate an important event, person or location. A few of these are usually issued each year, the first day of issues normally taking place where in the location associated with the person or event.

Pictorial stamps, also referred to as simply pictorials, are stamps depicting a representative landscape of the country of issuance.

Revenue stamps are stamps that were not intended for mail (although some stamps could be used both for revenue and postage) but for collecting taxes and fees. These stamps actually predate the postage stamps. Revenue stamps are issued by the finance ministry.



RUFUS

Jérôme Dufresnes asked:


French Stamps: Historical Background

The first postage stamp was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1840 by Rowland Hill and James Chalmers. This stamp, the penny black, had a face value of a penny and revolutionized the postal system in that it was now up to the sender to bear the cost of postage and not the recipient as had been the case until then. Because it was now so cheap to send letters, even by 1840 a penny was not a lot of money, the change prompted an almost instant increase in the amount of mail. Other countries took notice and reformed their own postal system, amongst which Brazil in 1843, the United States in 1847 and France in 1849.

While the same change was proposed as soon as 1837 in France, it took nine years for the postal administration to change, following the 1848 revolution and the impetus of Arago. The first French stamp featured Ceres, the Roman divinity for agriculture and had a face value of 20 centimes or cents. The drawing of Ceres is from Jean Jacques Barre. The Ceres stamp was enough to pay for an envelope up to 7.5 grams to be sent anywhere in France. Shortly after was released a 40 centimes stamp color orange for bigger envelopes and a vermilion red 1 Franc stamp. However, the color of the 1 Franc stamp was too similar to the 40 centimes stamp and people were confusing them. This lead to a change in color for the 1F stamp from vermilion red to deep carmine. Today, the vermilion red 40 centimes stamp is the rarest of French stamps.

French Stamps Today

Stamp collecting is the number one hobby in France with more than two million people practicing it. Exotic islands, botanic, birds, stamp sheets, specimens or air post stamps are popular themes amongst French stamps collectors. Like in other countries, the value of French stamps is often determined by some type of unusual feature some stamps are known to exhibit. This is true for old and new stamps alike. For example, the 1989 stamp commemorating the Revolution designed by Folon is worth less than a euro, but if the signature of Folon is lacking the value of the stamp jumps to 180 euros. Similarly, if the face value of the stamp issued in 2004 commemorating the entente cordiale between France and England is lacking, the stamp can be worth 300 euros and up.

How old a stamp is also plays a big role in its valuation. There are three main periods in the history of the French stamp: the classic period from 1840 to 1900 ; the semi modern period, from 1900 to 1939 and the modern period from 1939 onwards. Stamps from the classical period are highly valued, especially the vermilion red 1 franc featuring Ceres from 1849-1850, which costs 90 000 euros new and 20 000 euros used. A bloc of four of such stamps sold for 820 000 euros at auction because one of the stamps was “tête-bêche”, printed upside down.



WILFORD

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


provide humans with a kind of contentment that other activities cannot provide. It is by indulging in such activities, that humans find a vent for their creative frustrations.

Today, coin and stamp collection are two extremely popular hobbies in today’s world. These two activities have a value that no other hobby can compare to.

Why?

This is due to the fact that stamp and coin collecting, in addition to embodying the act of collecting different types of stamps and coins, also help in the preservation and personification of the world’s history. Both coin and stamp collecting help highlight different images used to visually record significant events in history.

In terms of appeal and value, both stamp and coin collecting are indistinguishable. People who want to collect stamps, coins or both need to follow a few guidelines before starting on the hobby.

1. Conduct a research

In addition to being interested in the hobby of coin and stamp collecting, it is important to do homework before starting the activity. This will help you gather enough information and knowledge before getting into the activity.

2. Exercise caution before buying anything

Do not purchase any coin or stamp before knowing how to identify and classify them. When it comes to coins, knowing how to grade is extremely important. When it comes to stamps, it is important to know the procedure of identifying the slight disparities that creeps into the type of paper used and other distinguishable features like colour, perforations or watermarks.

3. Identify the correct product

You should never purchase coins or stamps without having full knowledge on how to identify or classify them. When it comes to coins, knowledge on grading is important. When it comes to stamps, you need to be able to distinguish between slight disparities in features such as perforations, color and watermarks.

These are few of the various pointers that need to be considered by every coin and stamp collector should know. Following these tips will help you overcome all the difficulties that come in the hobby of coin and stamp collection with confidence.



BRETT

Jerald Shin Shapiro asked:


So, you want to start your own stamp collection, don’t you? You may have heard at how satisfying and fulfilling a stamp collection has proven to be for countless people around the globe. The great thing about stamps is that you not only get the satisfaction of browsing through the cultures and the history of the origins of these stamps, but you also stand to gain financially as the value of these stamps increase along with age.

Aside from being just postal implements, stamps have attained the status of being important memorabilia. Stamps typically increase in value when they are rare or are of age. Some people collect stamps as an investment, hoping that the increased value these stamps accrue with age will pay off dividends when sold in the future. Others collect stamps purely for fun.

Whichever collector you belong to, you will always need a good, steady supply of stamps to fill your albums. But where do you get these stamps? And how do you procure them?

There are two ways to get stamps - the free way or the paid way. The free way is fun, since you get to work like a detective sorting, soaking, mounting and processing these stamps on your own. If you wish to collect stamps the quick way, the paid method works pretty fine - especially when you seek bulk amounts of stamps. Paying for stamps is also a great way to acquire rare stamps. However, paying for stamps is not advisable to beginners unless they go for bulk stamps to beef up their collection.

Free

Yes, the oldest and cheapest means of getting stamps is the mail that gets to your mailbox. And while the amount of mail you are receiving may be affected by the advent of the internet and email, mailboxes are still a great way to get stamps. However, you will have to take great care in handling such stamps as you have to learn how to properly soak and mount these stamps for you collection.

Let your friends and neighbors in on your hobby and they’ll only be too eager to share in your efforts. You may have to instruct them to give you the envelope as it is so that you can properly process the stamps out. Or you may have them cut out the stamp from the envelope - while, of course, leaving a lot of leeway around the stamp.

You may also want to trade duplicate stamps with other stamp collecting enthusiasts. This way, both of you get to acquire unique stamps. It’s also a great way to browse and admire each other’s collection while learning more of the hobby itself.

Paid

As time goes on, modern ways of collecting and buying stamps have evolved. In the past you had to go to specialty shops or other collectors to purchase stamps - not to mention dropping by your local post office to snag unique ones. Today, the internet helps stamp collectors communicate with each other. You might want to browse the internet for sites that help stamp collectors band together.

There are also over 1,200 stamp stores in the United States, so it really shouldn’t be too hard to find one around your locality.

Some will sell bulk orders of assorted stamps. This is a great way to beef up your collection, especially if you are starting out.

Knowledge is Power

This phrase cannot be stressed enough. It is really possible that you come across a really valuable stamp and discard it as useless all because you do not know enough about your hobby. Try to know as much as you can about stamps, rarities, current values and useful trivia that will help you gauge the value of stamps in your collection. It is really possible that some glitch or error in a stamp has made it valuable. Without information about such stamps you would probably just let it sit around not knowing that it has great value.

Try subscribing to stamp collecting magazines and sign up for organizations or clubs that cater to collectors just like you. There’s no better way to know more about your hobby than to engage in study and discussion with fellow stamp collectors.



JESSE

Ryusanaga asked:


Stamps collecting, especially the old postage stamps has great value. They are fun, affordable, history, travel, art, valuable, and important. Here is the explanation of their great value.

1. Stamps Are Fun - Stamp collecting is fun because it’s personal - you collect the kinds of stamps you want, the way you want to collect them, whenever and wherever you want to. There’s no right way or wrong way.

2. Stamps Are Affordable - Imagine owning a genuine U.S. postage stamp that’s over 130 years old for as little as $1.25! Even very old stamps can be very affordable, especially in postally used condition. Used stamps have a real history and romance all their own.

3. Stamps Are History - Every time you open your album, stamps take you wherever you want to go in our nation’s past… the plains of the Old West, the Space Race, the White House, the American Revolution, the battlefields of the Civil War, and so much more. Stamps chronicle 19th and 20th century America like nothing else. Stamps are souvenirs of our past - history you can hold in your hands.

4. Stamps Are Travel - Stamps show us traveling the globe as well as taking our first tentative steps into outer space… exploring the frigid icefields of Antarctica and the eerily beautiful landscapes of the moon; celebrating the diversity of America from exotic Hawaii north to Alaska, with the variety of 48 great states in between; discovering the Pacific Ocean and blasting off aboard the space shuttle; flying across the Atlantic to Paris with Charles Lindbergh and floating above the clouds in a lighter-than-air ship called the Graf Zeppelin.

5. Stamps Are Art - Having a stamp collection is like having a miniature art gallery right in your own home.

6. Stamps Are Valuable - Some stamps are tremendously valuable. A stamp may be worth thousands of dollars because it has a tiny printing error, or because only a few examples survive.

7. Stamps Are Important - Stamps are important because they enable us to communicate through letters. The issue of the world’s first adhesive postage stamp in England revolutionized the way mail was sent.



CARLTON

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


The kids of modern society usually spend their free hours watching movies or playing video games. While it may be fine to do so in moderation, parents are often worried about the educational impact of them on their kids’ minds. Old fashioned hobbies such as stamp collecting and coin collecting still apply even in modern society, and they encourage the child to plan, design and stick diligently to a cause.

1. It is easy to start off

Getting started with a coin collection does not take a whole lot of effort on the kids or the parents. Professional collectors do concentrate of particular types of rare coins but a child need not, to start things off. Young children have great pleasure in collecting nickels and dimes and pennies. They like counting how many of each they can collect. The parent gives the child the penny every time they get one, and soon the child has a considerable number of coins in the collection. As a parent, you would be happy to see that your child is sticking to the task that he or she has taken upon.

2. A family Hobby

Yes, coin collecting need not be a lonely hobby unless you want it to - why not involve the whole family into it? What better way to instill the values of diligence and goal setting into the young child’s mind rather than to lead by example? If you start collecting coins right along side the child, the child looks keenly upon your style of collecting, realizes what works for you is better and learns something new from you every sitting.

3. It is an affordable hobby

Well, not if you are going to auctions looking for the prized coins, but coin collecting can start of pretty inexpensively. Apart from the coins themselves, you may want to but your child a con collecting album where the coins could be stored to prevent them from being damaged. A magnifying glass can be used to look closely at damaged and faded coins, and you may want to buy one of these to make the child feel a little more important. That is about all you really need to start collecting coins.

Some parents decide to go to hobby stores and purchase starter kits for their children. These kits would include the album, a magnifying glass as well as a few coins and a how-to guide as well. This may be ok for teenagers who like spending time on their own, but keep in mind that younger children tend to lose interest if you just give them a box - they need your attention and personal guidance to start anything in life. Grandparents often take on the responsibility of starting the kids off on such hobbies that stick with them through life.



OCTAVIO

Jerald Shin Shapiro asked:


Stamp collecting can start out as a hobby but it can also become an individual’s life’s work. From waiting for the next print to purchasing stamps dating far back, this hobby takes a lot of passion and heart. There are people who collect baseball cards and people who collect comic books. These are basically kept in special plastics or containers to preserve their newness. But for the people who collect stamps, starting the hobby begins with meticulous preparation.

Before even thinking about soaking stamps in water, there is a need to sort good stamps from bad stamps. Like sorting laundry, stamps need to be sorted as well because of color and ink, setting aside stamps that have colored paper on the back and stamps printed with red and purple due to colored cancellations. In addition, stamps that are dark in color, stamps printed on paper of poor quality or stamps that have any kind of colored ink which can disperse in water should also be set aside. The reason behind this is that when soaked, these might stain the good stamps.

To remove the glue at the back of stamps, fill a low basin with some water from a tepid to cool temperature and let the stamps float with the image face up. Waiting until the adhesive dissipates which is tested by carefully testing the wet stamps by ease of sliding off paper. Once the glue is completely dissolved, let the wet stamps dry on paper towels. If the edges curl or the stamp looks all wrinkled, there is no cause to worry. Once it is completely dry, use tongs to lift them one at a time and insert them in a heavy book like a directory or an encyclopedia. This method will make the stamps look nice and flat.

What can be done with the bad stamps mentioned earlier? They are not entirely bad stamps because there is a way to include them in the stamp collection. First, there is a need to trim off extra paper around surrounding the stamp. To soak these, use cooler water than what was used earlier to let the stamps float. Then wait until the glue is dissolved, dry them, placed in a heavy book, until they can be included in the collection.

What can be done with the dirty or stained stamps? A little quantity of pure dishwashing liquid can be used for soaking. Afterwards, rinse with cool and clean water. On the other hand, a weak water solution and some detergent can be used to treat badly stained stamps. However, be very careful with this method because it might as well eliminate the ink.



JOSEPH

Jerald Shin Shapiro asked:


Stamp collecting, one of the most popular hobbies in the world, is an activity that involves the gathering and organizing of postage stamps and other related items such as covers, that is, packages or envelopes with stamps pasted on them.

The first stamp ever to be issued was of a portrait of a young Queen Victoria in 1840 Britain, called “One Penny Black”. By the 1860s, the activity of collecting stamps was already beginning to become a popular pursuit, particularly for children.

Further on into the 1800’s, it was named “timbromania”, that is, “stamp madness”. The activity gained a huge following in Britain and eventually all over Europe and its colonies, so much so that businesses with the sole purpose of providing services for stamp collectors began to come about. These companies often sold stamps as well as supplies related to stamp collecting, such as stamp albums, in which the collected postage stamps are neatly stored.

In the United States, it was the rise in value of the postage stamps issued in the 1920s that provided much publicity and heightened interest on stamp collecting. By the 1930s numerous stamp collectors began to collect postage stamp issues of that decade by the hundreds, in the hope that, similar to the stamps of the previous decade, these too would become of great value in the future. But perhaps because of the high availability of such stamps, the “rarity” factor was lost and to this day, stamps from the 30’s are still available at very affordable rates.

The hobby of stamp collecting has also evolved into a much serious and organized activity regarding postage stamps, called philately, which is the study of postage stamps.

Rare postage stamps are perhaps one of the easiest to store and the most transferable investments, and are hence an ideal substitute to collecting artwork or precious jewelry.

With the advent of numerous technological advances such as email and SMS that are gradually making postal service rather obsolete, the creation and use of postage stamps have naturally also decreased dramatically, making it seem as if the hobby of stamp collecting might soon become obsolete as well. This may not be entirely true, however. To begin with, most stamp collectors are often interested in rare, old postage stamps, as opposed to new ones, so the decrease in the usage of postage stamps won’t affect the hobby too much. Perhaps some things never change, and stamp collecting, it seems, is, for now at least, here to stay.



KIRK