Starting A Stamp Collection Means Family-Friendly Fun For Years To Come

Collecting postage stamps turns your free time into something everyone in your family can enjoy. Because no one is too young or too old to enjoy a stamp collection, no one is left out when you collect stamps.

And if you take a few minutes to learn about this hobby, you’ll find it isn’t as boring as some people think.

Stamp collectors also get a fancy name by which to call themselves: philatelists. While some word snobs think this term is wrongly applied to stamp collectors, it can mean the study of stamps or the collecting of stamps, so calling a stamp collector a philatelist may sound weird, but it’s perfectly correct.

Nothing Is More Popular Because We Start Young

If you think about it, collecting is often one of the first hobbies kids learn. Starting a collection is as simple as gathering a few marbles, some baseball cards or some kid’s meal toys. When a respected parent or grandparent encourages collecting, the child can learn the value of properly acquiring, storing and displaying prized possessions.

A stamp collection is one of the simplest collections to start because stamps are so easy to acquire. Many children start by collecting used stamps from envelopes that arrive at their homes. Soon, they’re asking their parents how they can learn more about them.

Because so many people start collecting at a young age -- and because it’s so easy to do, estimates show that perhaps 20 million people in the U.S. alone collect stamps. Untold millions more, of course, collect postage products around the globe.

It’s popular for other reasons, too. The initial investment is small -- you can start with only a few stamps -- and you don’t need any expensive or hard-to-find tools to get started.

Deciding How To Focus Adds To Enjoyment

Starting a stamp collection is as simple as gathering together a few stamps, but you’ll eventually want to decide how to focus your efforts. Since used stamps are much less likely to have value that unused ones, most focus on either new stamps or older-but-still-unused collectible stamps.

Buying stamps as soon as they are issued is one tactic. Collectors who do that are hoping their stamp stash will grow in value over time.

Some collectors take an obvious shortcut: They buy older stamps that already have some monetary value from collectors who either deal in them professionally or as their own hobby.

You’ll also have to decide if you want to focus on foreign or domestic postage products.

Locating Sources Isn’t Tricky At All

If you want new United States stamps, head to the United States Postal Service office nearest you -- and also have a look at their website. The USPS issues announcements and stamp catalogs, and they offer special covers, holders and other materials for collectors.

Current foreign stamps are often easily acquired directly from the governments of the countries in which you’re interested. Like the United States, some other nations offer products and services geared toward collectors. Some even make special products intended for foreign collectors. A few small nations get a significant portion of their country’s budget from foreign stamp dealers.

If you focus on older, collectible stamps, join with the thousands of collectors who organize and attend stamp and paper shows around the nation and around the world.

Do It For Fun, Not For Money

Many old stamps are worthless, and many new stamps never increase in value. A foreign stamp may be unique and unusual to you because it comes from an exotic or far-away place, but there is no particular reason to expect it will rise in value either.

If you collect things you like for the fun of collection them, however, you don’t have to worry about that.

Start a stamp collection for fun rather than money and you’re guaranteed to have a successful experience. Because it’s such a wide and multi-faceted hobby, there are too many paths to explore to ever get bored.

And you get that funny name to call yourself, too.