All About

Stamp
Collecting!
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction................................................. 6

Chapter 1: The Joys of Stamp Collecting ....... 10

Chapter 2: Some Terms Used in Stamp

Collecting .................................................. 17

Perforations ............................................. 17

Postmarks ............................................... 18

Envelopes / First Day Covers ..................... 19

Commemoratives ..................................... 20

Overprints and Perfins .............................. 21

Coil Stamps ............................................. 22

Booklet Pane............................................ 22

Errors ..................................................... 23

NH ..................................................... 25

H ....................................................... 26

LH ...................................................... 26

HH ..................................................... 26

HR ..................................................... 26

DG ..................................................... 27

NG ..................................................... 27

Chapter 3: Tools and Supplies Required in

Stamp Collecting ........................................ 28

Minuteman Album ................................ 29

Scott’s Basic Album .............................. 29

Scott National Album (loose leaf) ........... 29

H.E. Harris Statesman Album Kit ............ 30

Stamp Catalogs........................................ 30
 Watermark Detector ................................. 31

Stamp Tongs ........................................... 31

Magnifier ................................................. 32

Color Guides ............................................ 33

Perforation Gauge .................................... 33

Glassine Envelopes ................................... 34

Stamp-Lifting Fluids.................................. 35

Hinges/Safe Vinyl Mounts .......................... 35

Stamp Periodicals/Newsletters/Magazines ... 36

Chapter 4: Starting Your Hobby ................... 37

Stamp Grades.......................................... 41

Superb ............................................. 41

Very ................................................. 42

Fine.................................................. 42

Good ................................................ 42

Poor ................................................. 43

Additional Tips! ........................................ 46

Chapter 5: Resources for the Stamp Collector 47

Books ..................................................... 48

Websites ................................................. 52

CONCLUSION............................................. 55
 Introduction

Funny thing about albums.

First, they hold memories – preserve remembrances of

your son’s 10th birthday party somewhere in a busy
downtown restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, the volleyball
tournament on the beach that hot summer day, the
forbidden snap shot of a famous painting in the
museum that you got reprimanded for, security guards
threatening to boot you out of the premises.

That’s probably the first album you pluck out of the

dusty shelves to show to friends – so that you can tell
them how a police officer in Paris gave you that stern,
warning look and all you could say was “oui, monsieur,
je m’excuse.”

Second, this whole thing about albums may have given

rise to a craze called scrap booking. An offshoot most
likely, but who knows how long it will be around. All of
a sudden there are web sites promoting the hobby of
scrap booking. Stores in your neighborhood are setting
up shop selling all things big and small relating to scrap
booking.

But albums and stamp collecting?

Now, there’s a classic. It has remained à la mode,

even if it started ages ago, 140 years to be exact.

Stamp collectors have their own specialized albums.

And as seasoned and professional philatelists will say,
“just make sure you have enough pages in your album
to hold a lot of stamps.” Some people have been
known to keep more stamp albums than photo albums
in their attic.

Stamp collecting is a “mature” hobby – not because its

enjoyment is limited to older adults – the shut ins as
we like to call them – who derive much pleasure from
gazing at the flowers and the trees, the fish in the sea,
the airplanes and the towers – not only in their territory
but in places as remote as Papua New Guinea and
American Samoa.

Stamp collecting is mature hobby because of its colorful

role in history, because of how it has evolved into a
pastime that has brought joy to millions of people
around the world.

Yet stamp collecting has an innocence all its own.

It’s a hobby that stirs something in each collector – a

longing to visit foreign lands, a keen investigative
sense for print and color errors, a yearning for
friendship, and an intellectual curiosity about what
other collectors are up to or have discovered.

Photographs in an album preserve those Kodak

moments that cannot be re-lived again. They trigger
friendly and humorous conversations among cousins
and aunts and great grandfathers, and they remind
people of what it was like when their hair was curly 10
years ago and not dyed. They bring to mind the tall
and lanky years, the awkwardness of a first kiss and oh
yes – that toga that was worn with so much pride.

But stamps in an album? How about history,

geography, and culture, for starters? How about
friendships that know no barriers or frontiers? How
about an all consuming passion that never ebbs or
flickers?

This is the beauty of stamp collecting. It opens doors,

it’s the bottomless well of knowledge, and it’s the
pictorial story of a country and its heritage. It’s also
about the story of the men and women who work five
days a week to deliver our mail.

It’s about stamp dealers who wheel and deal and know
all about value and price and rarity. It is or was – once
a upon a time, about you and me.
This ebook will take you on a tour of the joys of stamp
collecting as a hobby, the terms and symbols used by
stamp collectors, the tools you’ll need should you
become a collector one day, and how to get started.

There’s also a section for you on the resources you can

tap to make your hobby as enjoyable and pleasurable
as you want it to be.

And much as we were tempted to include a poem about

stamp collecting, we’re not doing it. Because stamp
collecting is, in itself a poetic endeavor.

Chapter 1: The Joys of Stamp Collecting

You will probably meet very few people who say they
have never collected anything in their life. But there
are people, even when not deliberately collecting a
particular object, who tend to have more than one of
the same thing. It can be anything – tennis socks of
different colors, brand name trainers, books by a
particular author or CDs of their favorite singer.

And then there are people who deliberately collect –

baseball cards, foreign-made lighters, crystal vases
from Europe, vintage crochet hooks or coffee mugs
from the Far East. And there’s a reason for their
collection. One might say, “oh, I was in this baseball
game and just watching idly.

When I turned around, I saw Mark McGwire – he had a

baseball cap on and was smiling. Thought he was the
cutest thing in the stadium. So I ended up collecting
anything that had to do with baseball.”

Why do people collect stamps? The reasons are not

any different from those cited by baseball card
collectors. It defines our personalities, it’s a form of
personal entertainment and enjoyment, it’s an
opportunity to learn more about stamps and the
countries that issue them. It provides a chance for
like-minded collectors to build friendships and swap
knowledge.

There are added joys to stamp collecting: it is a good

way to peek into a country’s history, geography,
biography and science and sports. A stamp, especially
when it is beautifully designed in an attractive blend of
colors sparks human curiosity.

First the colors and image attract people, and then they
look closer at the stamp to see what it stands for. For
instance, if someone from the Czech Republic sees a
Canadian stamp with a beaver or maple leaf as a
design, the person receiving the letter might be
tempted to find out more about beavers or the maple
tree.

Stamp collecting also satisfies our desire for order,

symmetry and organization. Some people may start
their stamp collecting by tucking stamps into a
shoebox, but there will come a time when those pieces
will need to be organized. By collecting stamps, our
organizational skills become finely honed. And the
aesthetic rewards can be emotionally satisfying.

Stamp collecting opens our eyes to foreign travel, and

while we are not able to travel to every country on
earth in our lifetime, our stamp collection will show us
lands and sites that we have not yet explored, and
introduce us to a country’s flora and fauna, of high
powered hydroelectric dams, of cliffs and mountains
that no human has dared to venture out to.

Jim Watson says that anyone who starts stamp

collecting can proceed at his own pace and at his own
whim, but stamp collecting – or the field of philately –
is a disciplined field of study.

There are standards and rules that guide the study of

philately and there is a considerable amount of
literature that documents the knowledge from long-
time and sophisticated stamp collectors. Research
continues, and there is always new knowledge to be
gained.1

No one has to pay dearly for nurturing a hobby such as

stamp collecting. In fact, an expensive collection does
not necessarily mean that it’s the most interesting or
the most valuable.

Rather, it is the way the collector has organized his

collection in an interesting manner because of his
knowledge and experience. Many prize-winning
collections that have been declared “outstanding” in
club shows often started as inexpensive endeavors.2

While a few collectors of stamps have an investment

objective in mind, the beauty of stamp collecting lies in
the pure enjoyment of the hobby.

1
http://pages.ebay.com/community/library/catindex-stamps-why.html
2
Ibid.
Think how much more there is to be gained if you just
sat back and curled up on your sofa to admire your
collection, or else show to friends and family. If you
consider your collection to be a financial investment,
then you’ll need to familiarize yourself with evaluating
the value of your collection, learning about stamp
auctions, and finding the right dealers.

Making money out of one’s collection is a fundamental

right, but think of the many other possibilities open to
you if you didn’t limit yourself to profit motive.

Stamp collecting is about 140 years old. It all started

when England issued its first stamp on May 6, 1840.
There’s a funny story about one of the earliest efforts
at stamp collecting. A woman put an ad in a British
paper looking for all kinds of used stamps so she could
wallpaper her room.3

3
coins.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=coins&zu=http%3A%
2F%2Fwww.aeiou.at%2Faeiou.stamp.hobby
The real fun started, however, when post offices
realized that stamp collectors can be a huge source of
revenue.

Given the production of numerous stamps in a given

year, people branched out to “motif” collecting, instead
of confining themselves to “country” collecting. A few
collectors have even embarked on collecting stamps to
tell a story, or focus on a famous person’s biography,
but this would entail an enormous amount of research.4

The joys of stamp collecting are reinforced because it is

not an expensive hobby. In the first few months,
collectors don’t have to invest a cent, except ask for
used stamps from friends and family and fellow office
workers.

People who were once collectors and who gave up the

hobby would be pleased to give their collections away

4
Ibid.
with the hope that it can be continued by the person
taking over.

They have felt the joys of stamp collecting once so they

would be only too eager to help out a beginning
collector.

Stamp collectors will also find plenty of support from

local stamp clubs, their neighborhood post office and
the World Wide Web. Stamp collecting is a widely-
discussed subject on cyberspace, and the beginner will
be pleased to discover how many resources are
available to him.

Chapter 2: Some Terms Used in Stamp Collecting

Perforations
The very first stamps that came out did not have
perforations, but cutting them became cumbersome.
Perforating machines came into use to solve this
problem. They punch holes vertically and horizontally
so that stamps can be torn from the sheet more easily.

Even after stamps were being perforated, post offices

also produced stamps that were not perforated, to help
collectors collect them.

A perforated stamp has “perf” characteristics and the

perfs go by number. Some stamps have perf # 12 on
one side and maybe a perf # 8 vertically.5 So
perforations come in different sizes. The larger the
holes, the fewer perfs there are on the side of stamps.

Postmarks

5
http://www.bnaps.org/tutor1a.htm
Have you ever entered a contest where one of the rules
state that all entries “must be postmarked no later than
December 31, 2005?” When post offices have the
letters and other material mailed by the public, they
will mark the stamps or stamp "cancelled". This is to
show that the stamp has been used so that people
don’t use them again. Post offices sometimes used a
kind of hammer wet with ink to hit the stamp.6

Envelopes / First Day Covers

When stamp collectors save the envelopes that have

stamps on them, it is called collecting first day covers
or simply “covers” for short. This is an interesting
branch of stamp collecting because the covers actually
provide information about a certain major event.

Three components go into a first day cover: the

envelope, stamp and postmark. The last component –

6
Ibid.
postmark – is the key element as it signals the date on
which a particular stamp was cancelled. Generally, the
United States Postal Service releases a stamp in one
city on the day before a new issue is sold.
A new stamp that is issued is often a cause of
celebration.7

Commemoratives

Commemoratives are stamps that highlight or

“commemorate” a person or event. For example the
first landing on the moon by American astronauts
produced a commemorative stamp to call attention to
this milestone. While the stamp may be pretty, the
first day cover is more meaningful because it contains
information about the event.

7
reviews.ebay.com/Collecting-First-Day-
Covers_W0QQugidZ10000000000016295
Another interesting commemorative was the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth. In Canada, the first day cover was
issued in a town called “Coronation” in Alberta!8

Overprints and Perfins

As we’re going along this glossary, are you somehow

getting the feeling that there are many facets to stamp
collecting that you could specialize in? When stamps
have something written on them, there is usually a
meaning attached.

For example, the tutorial web site of the British

Philatelic Society said that the letters “OHMS” may be
put “over the stamp” which means (on His Majesty’s
Service).

When letters are punched into the stamp, leaving small

holes, they are called "perfins".

8
http://www.bnaps.org/tutor2.htm
The word "Perfins" stands for PERforated INitialS. This
was to discourage postal employees from stealing
stamps for their own use.

For collecting purposes, therefore, you may think of

collecting just perfins that display the names of
companies. This is one field of collecting that could
intrigue you at a later time.

Coil Stamps

Coil stamps come in long rolls and have no perforations

at the top and bottom sides. Because they are
connected to stamps in the strip, they do not need to
be perforated on the other edges. Note that coil stamps
may be vertical coil or horizontal coil.

Booklet Pane
Stamps used to be sold in “booklets.” The booklets
usually had a sheet of five or six stamps. Each of these
sheets was called a pane.

Errors

Stamp collectors spend hours looking for errors. It

seems that laughing at people’s mistakes is a favorite
human pastime. The same theory goes for stamp
collecting. Collectors have a great time when they do
spot an error.

And because errors are not something you see

everyday owing to automated stamp manufacturing,
when errors do occur, the stamps can fetch a fortune.
For instance, the US and Canada have stamps with the
center part upside down.
While some errors will not fetch you a huge amount of
money in auctions or stamp clubs, they are still
interesting to most collectors. A good source of
collecting entertainment would be the Canadian
“Admirals” issues of 1911-1925.

They are not really errors, but they do have minute

differences.9

Color errors are also common. When a color is left out

in the printing, this constitutes an error. So the next
time you buy stamps, look at them more closely.
Perforations may also contain errors. Many stamps
have perfs running right through the middle.

Stamp collecting does not end with the basic

terminology. As you become more sophisticated in the
activity, you may be motivated to begin visiting stamp
dealers and stamp shows.

9
Ibid.
You will be meeting some symbols – usually a symbol
such as an “asterisk” or acronym (two to three letters)
that are used by stamp dealers.

Used and unused stamps have symbols: “0” for used;

“*” for unused, and “**” for unused, never unhinged.
These symbols don’t have any mystery to them. When
a stamp is cancelled (post office puts a mark on the
stamp), then it is considered used. If it wasn’t
cancelled, then the stamp is unused.

Have you ever licked the other side of a stamp so you

could affix it to your envelope and then mail it? Did
licking it ever leave a pleasant or unpleasant taste on
your tongue? Believe it or not, gum plays a prominent
part in assessing the value of a stamp. A stamp’s gum
condition can be characterized with the following
letters:

NH
Never hinged: this means the stamp has never had a
hinge applied to it. NH can also mean that the gum
must be in like condition with no marks of any kind.10

H
Hinged: the gum has had a hinge applied to it.11

LH

Lightly hinged: the mark is small or minor after the

gum has had a hinge applied to it.12

HH
Heavily hinged: the mark is very conspicuous after the
gum has been hinged.13

HR

10

http://www.mcphilatelics.com/education/stampterms/stampterms.html#used
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
Hinge Remnant: a portion of the hinge applied to the
gum was difficult to remove that it was left in place,
attached to the stamp.14

DG

Disturbed gum: the gum was damaged except by

hinging. Fingerprints, glazing or bubbling can
contribute to damage.15 - The gum has been damaged
in some way other than hinging.

NG

No gum: there is no gum, stamp is unused.16

Many other symbols are used but the above are the
more commonly used. Also, you may encounter the
word “centering” which is another determinant in a
stamp’s value.

14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
Chapter 3: Tools and Supplies Required in Stamp
Collecting

Thank goodness, stamp collecting is not as expensive a

hockey or skiing, where the tools and materials
required cost thousands of dollars. Hockey or ski
clothes are very expensive.

Stamp collecting is what we’d call a “financially

comfortable” hobby. Unless you join the big leagues
and treat it as an investment, practicing the hobby
shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.

At some point in time as you progress in your stamp

collecting, you’ll have to fish out your stamps from that
old shoe box under your bed so you can mount them
on a stamp album. Like a photo album, stamp albums
are a means of storing your stamps safely and to
organize them in any way you want.
A good quality stamp album must have plenty of space
for a growing collection, and have strong binding that
won’t separate the album sheets easily. Each page
must be sufficiently thick with acid free paper.

Stamp albums are specialized and you will find a wide

variety of albums being sold by retailers. Through their
experience and conversations with collectors,
manufacturers understand the important features of an
album. Some examples of stamp albums include:

Minuteman Album

A good beginner’s album especially made for collectors

of US stamps.

Scott’s Basic Album

For collectors of Canadian stamps.

Scott National Album (loose leaf)

This is the industry standard for specialist collectors of
US stamps.17

H.E. Harris Statesman Album Kit

This is an ideal starter kit for collectors of stamps from

all over the world.18

Stamp Catalogs

Essential tools are stamp catalogs. Catalogs are

excellent references for knowing the present value of
stamps, and provide information on how to identify
them and collect them properly. If you’re not prepared
to invest in a stamp catalog, your local library carries
them. Some catalogs come in about five or six albums.

17
http://www.stamps.net/tools.htm
18
Ibid.
Watermark Detector

If you want to examine the printed pattern that was

embossed on the stamp, you can use a watermark
detector. Not all stamps have watermarks but identical
stamps, for example, may have different watermarks.
Watermarks can help detect forgeries and can assist in
identifying stamp varieties.19

Stamp Tongs

If you handle stamps with your bare hands, you could

be leaving dirty finger prints on the stamp, thus
decreasing their worth. To avoid this, you will use
stamp tongs (tweezer-like instruments that are used
for handling stamps.

19
http://coins.about.com/od/stampbasics/a/stamptools.htm
If your collection has been assessed with a high value,
the last thing you want to do is NOT use tongs!
Collectors may choose from either stainless steel or
plastic tongs.

They’re about 3 to 5 inches long; good sets can be

purchased for $5.00 to $15.00, but there are high-end
models that sell for considerably more.

Stamp collectors turned experts also use a very special

tong with very pointed tips so that only a miniscule
portion of the stamp is touched.

Magnifier

Many stamps are so tiny you can’t even see the letters
on them. And your eyesight is not exactly that of an
eagle’s. A magnifier should solve this problem.
A magnifier will enable you to see details that you
might otherwise not have noticed or merely to help you
examine its characteristics, as well as its conditions.

Color Guides

Stamps have one of the more beautiful colors ever

produced by man. There are publications,
appropriately called Color Guides that can assist
collectors in identifying the various colors used by
stamp manufacturers around the world.20

Perforation Gauge

As we mentioned earlier, perforations differ in size and

type. A perforation gauge helps collectors separate
stamps on a sheet and helps in identifying which stamp

20
http://www.stamps.net/tools.htm
is which. While stamps may look identical, they may
have a different perforation.

Glassine Envelopes

Before mounting stamps on an album, you need to

store them somewhere safe. This is the purpose that
glassine envelopes serve. They are thin, transparent
envelopes and come in various sizes.

Before they’re ready for being put in albums, stamps

need to be sorted by theme or by country, and these
envelopes are ideal for that task. You can also use
glassine envelopes to mail stamps to a relative or
friend.21

21

http://coins.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.mastorck.co
m/images/tong901.GIF
Stamp-Lifting Fluids

When someone sends you stamps that are still on

envelopes, you can remove the stamps with the use of
stamp-lifting fluids. These substances are used to “lift”
stamps off from various forms of paper without
damaging them. They are used when using water will
not achieve the desired lifting.

Hinges/Safe Vinyl Mounts

When you’re ready to mount your valuable stamps on

an album, you will need hinges or safe vinyl stamp
mounts. These hinges are sold already pre-folded to
make a collector’s life easier.

The smaller segment is moistened and then pressed

into the center of the stamp, upper portion, after which
the larger segment is also moistened, and then the
stamp is mounted.

Care must be taken in moistening as the gum on a mint

stamp may stick to the album page as well, thus
making it difficult to remove the stamp later.22

Stamp Periodicals/Newsletters/Magazines

Making your collection into an intelligent collection

requires literature that you can refer to. Hence, stamp
periodicals and newsletters and magazines will open
doors for you as you want to expand or branch into
another field of stamp collecting.

It’s not just a question of showing your stamp

collection to friends with pride, it’s being able to talk
about a portion of your collection in a very enlightening

22
http://www.downtownstamps.bc.ca/newsletters/news44.html
and educational manner. Reading about the latest
developments in philately will make you appreciate the
hobby at a higher level.

Chapter 4: Starting Your Hobby

Obviously the first step is to acquire stamps. Many

beginning collectors hardly pay for anything when
they’re just starting to build a collection. Talk to your
friends and family and colleagues in the office and
simply tell them you’d like to have their stamps if they
don’t want them.

Word of mouth works like magic. Before you know it,

you’re receiving stamps from people you haven’t even
met.
Join a club of collectors. It doesn’t have to be a fancy,
high-brow club if you’re just starting. First, learn the
basics and when you decide you’re ready to specialize,
then join a larger club -one that’s a regional chapter,
instead of just a community-based organization.

By joining clubs, you get to enlarge your collection

because fellow collectors will give you their duplicates.
When you’ve set saved enough money, you can buy
stamps like most collectors do.

This involves looking for a dealer; make sure the dealer

has a good reputation and is authorized to engage in
the trade.

They usually put ads in newspapers and magazines,

and will join a trade show in your town or city. You can
write dealers to ask if they would send you stamps on
approval, meaning they’ll send you a set, you keep
what you want and return the rest.
Once you’ve started collecting, you will need to decide
what theme(s) you will use to build your collection. Or
you may wish to specialize in collecting only mint
stamps (they have never been cancelled) or on
cancelled stamps. Many collectors prefer the latter, as
they cost less.

In buying stamps, begin with mixtures. This is an

unsorted bunch of stamps that some dealers will sell
based on weight. You tend to get duplicates when you
buy mixtures. This should not concern you. You
simply trade them for stamps you don’t have at your
next club meeting.

Want more bang for your buck? Buy packets. Packets

do not contain any duplicates, but are more expensive.

Or else, collectors will opt for sets of stamps. A set

usually has all government issued stamps; sets can be
either whole or broken. A broken set means that one
or two stamps will be missing.
Got all your stamps now? Next step is to sort them.
You also need to separate them from their backings.
Choose which ones you will work first. Put the rest in
glassine envelopes until you’re ready to tackle them.
Do not try to rip them, the risk of damaging them is too
high.

Try soaking them in lukewarm water in a clean dish

and let them soak until they separate from the
envelope or paper. Take blotters and blot them dry, or
you use a face towel. If your stamps end up wrinkled,
put them between sheets of paper and put a paper
weight on them overnight.

If you choose to do country collecting, arrange them in

piles and do it in alphabetical order by country. When
you’ve finished sorting them, you can start mounting
them on your album.
Before mounting them, however, do a sort one more
time – and this time by the condition of the stamps. Put
stamps of the best condition in the album.

Do not develop an emotional attachment to all your

stamps, the way investors stick to their stocks like
glue. Not all stamps – like stocks – are worth keeping.
Only rarity and a stamp’s condition will determine its
value.

Stamp Grades

Want to know how dealers and collectors grade

stamps? We’ll provide an overview:

Superb

This means the stamp is as new with a clean and fresh

color. No creases or tears mark the stamp. It is
perfectly centered with even margins on all sides. The
perforation is perfect and complete.23

Very fine:

This is a physically perfect stamp – like a beauty queen

of sort. Color might be slightly off and margins are
slightly uneven. It does not equal a superb stamp.

Fine
This is a stamp that is free from defects or stains or
imperfections, but it is not up the very fine or superb
standards.24

Good

A good stamp does not have tears or wrinkles. Color

may be faded, however or may be heavily postmarked.
It could also be a little off-center.

23
http://mi.essortment.com/beginningstamp_riep.htm
24
Ibid.

Poor

Very low quality stamps are poor stamps. They could

have a tear or may be creased, even have thin spots.
Keep them only if they are irreplaceable.25

It’s now time to open your album and mount your

stamps. Make sure you have your magnifier, tongs and
catalogs ready. Remember that good quality albums
will provide plenty of room for you to manipulate your
stamps with ease.

Each place for a stamp is also clearly marked. In some

albums, images of the stamps are printed so all you
need to do is mount the stamp over where the image
is.

One of the preliminary steps in stamp collecting is

buying your stamps. Follow these tips when you spend
to acquire your stamp supply; you should especially be

25
Ibid.
careful when you intend to buy rare or very expensive
stamps.

Check out the seller or dealer. Was he recommended

by a fellow collector? Has your club included his name
on the list of authorized dealers?

It is correct to assume that a dealer who has been

selling stamps for a long time is reliable and is
therefore safe to deal with. He should also be a
member of a philatelic society or the American Stamp
Dealers’ Association.

Identify the stamp correctly. When you go to a dealer,

make sure his collection is properly identified in terms
of color, paper, watermarks, perforations, etc.

These features play a role in determining market value

of stamps. Stamp catalogs are good references to have
handy when identifying stamps.
Assess the stamp’s condition. Use the parameters we
provided earlier. Check for tears, creases, marks,
perforations. Stamps in poor condition are not worth
spending the money on, no matter how dirt cheap the
price is.

Determine whether the stamp is being sold at a fair

price. You can do this by referring to the Scott
Standard Postage Stamp Catalog. Note, however, that
catalog prices are mere estimates, as most stamps sell
below their catalog values.26

Try to develop a keen sense of detecting forgeries or

counterfeits. To the average collector, it may be a little
tricky to tell a genuine stamp from a repaired one.
Unless you believe your stamp collection is very
expensive, it may not be worth the money to use the
expert services of evaluators that some philatelic
organizations charge.

26
http://coins.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb111801.htm
Additional Tips!

Two more tips for you: Have you got dirty or stained
stamps in your collection? Try soaking them carefully
in a small amount of undiluted liquid dishwashing
detergent (not dishwasher detergent – there is a
difference!), then rinse the stamps in clean, cool water.

If your stamps are badly stained, try washing them in a

mild solution of water and a bit of enzyme laundry
detergent, but be very, very careful. This might prove
too efficient and remove the printing ink as well.27

A note about self-adhesive stamps. These were

produced in the US in the beginning of the 90’s. These
are the ones you can soak in water, but you can’t do
the same for self-adhesive stamps produced at an
earlier period.

27
http://stamps-auctions.com/lists/3tips.html
Some self-adhesive stamps are made with a special,
water-soluble backing, and while you can soak them,
they just take a bit longer, like an hour or so.

If you don’t want to soak them, just cut the paper as

close as possible, making sure you don’t touch the
perforations and then mount them on your album.28

Chapter 5: Resources for the Stamp Collector

Stamp collecting is an enriching hobby because it has

educational and cultural value. In about six months,
you shall have learned about countries and special
events, and a lot about the stamp collecting industry as
well. You will probably meet a lot of interesting fellow
collectors with whom you can swap notes and news.

28
Ibid.
Stamp collectors, however, must try to gain knowledge
continuously be reading and by joining clubs and
seminars and talking to as many dealers as possible so
that they get a flavor of current market news. We’ll
start with the basic references you will need to help you
gain a better understanding of stamp collecting:

Books

Here are some suggestions for stamp collectors:

About Stamps: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Philatelic Terms

This was written by Wayne L. Youngblood and targets

both the amateur and the more sophisticated collector.
The reference is rich in high quality photographs and
provides references.
It talks about Cinderella stamps, Omnibus issues and
uses terms like socked-on-the-nose cancel. In
paperback form, published in 2000 by Krause
Publications.

The World Encyclopedia of Stamps & Stamp

Collecting: The Ultimate Illustrated Reference to
Over 3000 of the World's Best Stamps, and a
Professional Guide ... and Perfecting a
Spectacular Collection (Hardcover).

As the title suggests, this beautiful hardcover is the

collector’s guide to the world’s best stamps.

The romance of stamp collecting: Notes from the

world of stamps, stamp collecting and stamp
collectors
This book by Ernest Anthony Kehr is expensive
($144.00 at Amazon), considering it was published by T
Krowell Company in 1947! But stamp collectors who
are passionate about their hobby will be attracted to
the title – who can’t use a bit of romance even while
stamp collecting? Stamp collectors also share their
experiences.

Blackbook Price Guide to United States Postage

Stamps

This EXTREMELY good book is a complete reference and

price listing of US stamps as far back as 1847! It’s
very well organized (via the Scott numbering system),
and also has some wonderful tips on caring for, and
grading, stamps.

Stamp Collecting
By Stephen Datz, This fun, easy to read, and
introductory book on stamp collecting is a must for new
stamp collectors. It covers where to find stamps, how
to grade them, and how to build a collection from the
first stamp to the 1000th. It also has a great glossary
for stamp collecting terms.

All About Stamps: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of

Philatelic Terms

This tremendously useful book from author Wayne

Youngblood is a beauty all its own. It contains pictures
of stamps, reference information, and insight into
everything there is to know about stamp collecting. A
MUST for the new and serious collector alike!

Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps

This wonderful resource, published by the USPS, takes
readers on a beautiful historical journey of US stamps
and stamp collecting. It includes EVERY stamp ever
issues by the USPS, and has gorgeous illustrations that
are sure to impress every collector, novice and expert
alike!

Stamp Collecting for Dummies

What list of book recommendations would be complete

without a mention of the astonishingly popular
Dummies series? Stamp Collecting for Dummies by
Richard Sine is a wonderful and straightforward
introduction to the hobby. It covers how to acquire
stamps, how to keep them organized, how to care foe
them, and how to sell them.

Websites
The World Wide Web – you can start with the philatelic
societies of your country and then branch out to
philatelic societies in other English-speaking countries.

American Philatelic Society – www.stampcampus.org

They have an excellent course program that covers

basic stamp collecting, first day covers, using the
Internet to collect stamps, and exhibiting your
collection – all taught by qualified philatelists.

British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS) –

http://www.bnaps.org/

This site has tutorials, and many articles on Canada

and US stamps. They also have a youth program, a
“Krazy Collection”, regional groups and study groups.

The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada -

http://www.rpsc.org/
The site has links to other web resources such as the
International Philately Federation, Vincent Graves
Greene Philatelic Research Foundation, the Canadian
Stamp Dealers’ Association and other useful links.
Australian Philatelic Society - http://aps.org.au/

Most of the philatelic societies’ web sites will also lead

you to links of stamp dealers and collectors. The
American Philatelic Society, for instance, will carry sub
links to dealer members, shows and conventions,
specialty societies, local clubs and chapters.

You’ll never run out of resources. There are stamps

and more stamps, and there are collectors who keep
growing in number!
 CONCLUSION

Stamp collecting is probably one of man’s older

pursuits that can be labeled “wholesome” and
“promising.”

It is wholesome because of the educational and cultural

value that collectors are treated to every time they
acquire a stamp.

Once they acquire one, they then put their knowledge

to a test when they try to identify it. Whether one is a
grandfather or a grandchild, stamp collecting can offer
many hours of enjoyment.

It is up to you to decide whether you want to pursue an

expensive hobby or one that is within your budget, for
stamp collecting can be both.
While it is true that there are hundreds of stamps all
over the world that are out of reach to the average
collector, there are many more thousands – out of the
200,000 recognized varieties – that will only cost
collectors a few cents to own.

As proof that stamp collecting is a hobby with a huge

following, there are reportedly some 30 million stamp
collectors all over the world, and 10 million of them are
in Canada and the United States.

Once upon a time we too started a stamp collection and

we did begin with an old shoebox. But once we
mounted them on albums, their aesthetic qualities
came out. One never really tires of flipping stamp
album pages. The colors alone make them a prized
possession.

While many stamp collectors are happy, there are

those who pursue the hobby out of loneliness. Stamps
have been known to uplift the morale of downtrodden
souls, and when they discover an error, their spirits
soar – for who can possibly resist telling anyone, “I
found a mistake, I found a mistake!.”

These errors can be a source of laughter and joy.

Perhaps post offices deliberately produce one or two in
every issue because they are aware that sad people
become happy – even if only momentarily – when they
uncover a slip-up.

Barry Krause once said, “stamps are a window to the

past, a paper link between living and past generations,
a documentary record of the glory and foibles of human
beings.”29

Many people who live on the fast lane will probably

want to slow down at some point in their lives,
consumed by what modern society calls a “burnout.”
Burnout is such a fashionable term these days, simply

29
Krause, Barry. Advanced Stamp Collecting. Betterway Publications, Inc.
Virginia, USA. 1990.
because it can tear whole beings apart. Of course
there’s always Yoga. Or your parish priest. Or that
unopened bottle of Sangria, imported straight from the
Andalucian region.

But perhaps stamp collecting can be the permanent

cure to being harried and hurried. It can probably slow
down the aging process too because once hooked,
you’ll bury yourself deeper and deeper into a stamp
and delving into the mysteries of its message.
Instead of having doctors poke at you with their
stethoscopes, plucking out some kind of tumor that
grew out of nowhere, you will be the one poking and
dissecting your collection – with magnifying glass and
tongs.

And with childlike expectations. With stamp collecting

we can be children again, excited with every discovery
because we just spotted a true mint amongst the lot.

We think “superb” is the term used by graders.