Stamp Collecting

When the first stamp was issued in England in 1840 nobody would have ever dreamed that some day people would collect these postage stamps but people have been collecting stamps ever since. That first stamp was the Penny Black and it had to be cut with scissors so that it could be attached to an envelope. It was only later that stamps had the perforations which made stamps so much easier to use. Stamp collecting has developed to become a very popular hobby with millions of collectors in the United States alone.

Most likely the very first stamp collectors and hobbyists were children and teenagers who saw the stamps as something new and interesting. Variety of stamp designs made stamps interesting and children like trying to collect a set of anything. The adults saw the stamps as practical objects simply to pay for postage and had no interest in collecting them. When the young stamp collectors grew up, they continued to collect stamps even into adulthood and because they were intensely interested in stamps, they began to study the stamps available from all over the world. Their research encouraged others to begin collecting. Many collectors even began to see that stamp collecting might become a lucrative business. It wasn't until the 1920's that stamps did begin to have a real monetary worth. Because so many collectors had kept their older stamps in pristine condition, collectors began to pay to buy for the rare ones.

You would expect that the Penny Black would be worth a small fortune since it was the first stamp but surprisingly, these stamps are worth less than $200. Sometimes the Penny Black stamps that are in poorer condition barely fetch prices over $20. If a stamp collector is lucky enough to run across an unused Penny Black, the stamp would be worth quite a lot of money. Most of the supply are used stamps.

Most stamp collectors take up the hobby because they enjoy stamps and they are not attempting to make money from their hobby. Some people collect stamps because they are attracive to look at since some stamps are beautiful works of art. Many countries produce more stamps than they can use so that they can sell them to collectors. They devise extraordinary stamps to lure collectors to their stamps. It's a great source of revenue for the people that are allowed to produce stamps.

Some people worry that stamp collecting will soon be a thing of the past because so few people use snail mail, as it has become known, these days. They rely almost completely on e-mails rather than postage stamps. It is doubtful that stamps will ever go entirely out of business and they will probably become more valuable as less are produced. There is something special about getting a real letter in the mail and it may be that people will start using the mail again. Getting cards and letters are so much more personal.

Stamp collecting is a very popular hobby still and unless you are a stamp investor, you don't have to spend much money on your hobby. Every post office offers stamps especially for the collector. If you enjoy travel, you can buy postage stamps all over the world. They make great reminders of your vacations and your friends will enjoy seeing the stamps on cards and letters from around the world.

Stamp Collecting News:
Stamping error at Mint makes 20ps worth 50 (The Herald)
An "incredibly rare" error by the Royal Mint has seen up to 200,000 20p coins issued without a year date - making them worth 50 each. The coins are missing their 2009 stamp and are instantly valuable EUR‘ and could become more so...


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