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How to Collect Stamps

Edited by Rob S, Melodie R, Maluniu, Dave Crosby and 18 others

Collecting stamps can be a rewarding hobby. It can be pursued at any level of skill or expense. A beginner or child can be perfect with an album of pretty pictures. An advanced collector can be enthralled with a detailed study of a single stamp. The right way to collect is the way that makes you happy.

Edit Steps

1. 1
   Get some stamps. Start with easy sources. Stamp dealers and hobby stores offer affordable packets with hundreds of different used stamps; these are excellent for kicking off a new stamp collection. Sometimes online sources can give even better bargains. At this stage of collecting quantity and variety are important. Make sure the packet is all-different stamps. Packets of "mixtures" are available much more cheaply, often by weight, but these include quantities of heavily duplicated common stamps that have not yet been removed from the envelope paper.
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2. 2
   Acquire stamp tongs . These are often called tweezers because they so resemble them. They differ from tweezers, however, in several significant ways: They are not strong, so you cannot use them to apply serious pressure on anything. The grasping area is smooth, not ridged; this helps to avoid damaging stamps when you squeeze too hard. The tips are thin; this makes it easier to slide the tip under a stamp when you want to take it from a flat surface. The weight and length of tongs vary, so this is a matter of what is comfortable in your hand. Some have bent tips; for some collectors that makes it easier to pick up the stamps. The shape of the point varies. Avoid the ones with tips that are too pointed; when you are working with stamps, especially wet ones, there is a greater risk that you will accidentally poke the point through the stamp.

   In addition to protecting the stamps from physical damage when picking them up, tongs also protect the stamps from damage by any acidic moisture that normally comes from your fingers. 

3. 3
   Start sorting. It doesn't matter how you do this. The best way is the way that means something to you. Sorting by country is one of the most common ways of doing this. Knowing the country that produced a stamp will be helpful later when you are looking for further information about the stamp. Another popular way of collecting is by the subject represented on the stamp. This is known as "topical collecting" in the United States, or "thematic collecting" in the United Kingdom. There is a great variety of subjects that can be considered here: butterflies, sports, famous people, or airplanes. Many countries take this into account when developing their stamp issuing programmes. Others may choose to sort by colour or shape. You can also just let your imagination run wild and do unique categorizations.
4. 4
   Store your stamps. Once you have spread your stamps in neat little piles across the dining room table, your family will object if they can't use the table for other purposes, notably dining. So you need someplace to put your stamps without undoing your sorting work. A quick solution would be to put the stamps into a series of envelopes, each marked with a note about what's inside. The problem with this is that you can't see your stamps without emptying the envelope and spreading them out. It's time to invest in a stock book .
5. 5
   Stock books can be in either bound or loose leaf format, and come in various page sizes. If you go with loose leaf pages, prefer pages that are punched in the left margin for insertion in a standard three-ring binder. Other hole punching formats are available, but the binders could be hard to find and more expensive.
   • The pages of stock books are made of light cardboard with strips of transparent plastic across the page. The strips are fastened to the cardboard at the two ends, and glued at the bottom edge to create a wide pocket for inserting stamps. The cardboard backing for the pages can be white or black; the black pages tend to be of better quality, but they are more expensive. The stamps, which are mostly printed on white paper, stand out much better on a black background.
   • Another kind of stock book is made of manila cardboard similar to that found in file folders. For these a layer of slotted cardboard is glued to a layer of whole cardboard to form the horizontal slots. The effect is that you can't see the bottom of the stamps. These are, however, sturdy and less expensive. They are convenient for storing duplicate stamps.
6. 6
   When adding or removing stamps from a stock book it is always easier when you use your tongs.
7. 7
   Swap stamps. When you have sorted through a few packets of stamps you will find that you have a number of stamps that are duplicates, or are from countries or about topics that don't interest you. You can do better than just putting them in the trash. Start asking people from school, work mates, and even your family members to discover other stamp collectors who have the same problem. Their duplicates are likely to differ from your duplicates; this gives ample opportunity for both of you to be rewarded by trading your unwanted stamps. At this stage of the hobby it is best to trade on a one stamp for one stamp basis. You do not yet have the knowledge to bargain based on the relative market values of individual stamps. One possible exception to the one-for-one rule would be the condition of the stamp in fine condition is always worth more than the same stamp in poor condition or with a heavy cancel.
8. 8
   Borrow books from the library. The best way to learn as much as possible about stamp collecting is to digest the wisdom of those who have written a lot about it. Most libraries will have quite a large collection of such books.
9. 9
   Get the right equipment.
   • Magnifying glasses : With the designs of many stamp issues only differing by a line or a dot, magnifying glasses are probably the stamp collector's most valued tool. They vary enormously in size, strength, and type and many come with extra comfort features such as built-in lights for better viewing and stands for hands-free use.
10. 10
    Early United States stamps are notoriously difficult to distinguish between since many have the same design for two or more issues.
    • Perforation gauge :
11. 11
    • Watermark fluid and tray :
    • Drying book :
    • Glassine envelopes :
    • Stamp hinges :
    • Stamp mount :
    • Stamp album :
12. 12
    Learn the values and the rarity of your stamps. Once you have a good idea of the values of the stamps and how rare they are, you will be able to more easily determine the direction of your collecting interests. Stamp catalogues and price guides price guides are excellent resources, having illustrated lists of stamps, arranged by year, that give a current market value for a given stamp issue. The most widely recognized catalogues are: the Scott Postage Stamp Catalog, Stanley Gibbons for Great Britain issues, Yvert et Tellier for French issues, Unitrade for Canadian issues, and Minkus and Harris US/BNA for United States issues.
13. 13
    Collect new stamps. Visit your local post office for these. If you have friends living overseas, ask them to send you stamps from their country.
14. 14
    Join a stamp collector's club or an online discussion group. Seasoned stamp collectors often meet to share tips and tip-offs. By joining a club, you too can benefit from their years of experience.
15. 15
    Increase the value of your collection over time. As you learn more, start investing in more valuable stamps.