Starting A Stamp Collection

You will need a few basic tools in order to start your adventure. Check in the local yellow pages for a stamp collecting store in your neighborhood. At the stamp collecting store, purchase an album, a pair of tongs, a package of hinges, and some mounts. You may be interested in getting a magnifying glass, but if you're low on funds, this can be optional.

Often times, a reference book is helpful to identify and price your collection. Stamp collecting guides and price books are available at retail bookstores for a nominal price. An even better place is to browse for copies of these books at the local library. Books can provide historical background for the more popular stamps.

Initially, begin your collection with your own mail and with mail from your family and friends. Other than stamps, a variety of interesting items can be amassed using these resources. You can get postcards and even international aerograms from the daily mail.

To get the stamps off your mail, cut away the upper right corner of the envelope or package, making sure you do not cut the stamp in any way. Make sure that you don't need to keep the envelopes intact for other reasons (kids, ask your parents if you can have the envelope first) before you cut them up. The stamps can be removed from the paper backing if you soak them in a bowl of warm water. When the stamp separates from the paper and sinks to the bottom, take the stamp out using tongs and allow the stamp to dry between 2 paper towels. Place a book on top of the paper towels to flatten out the stamp. Once the stamps are dry, you can put them in your stamp album by either placing them in mounts or using hinges to attach the stamps to the album page.

The post office is an excellent place to obtain newer stamp issues. Most post offices now sell philatelic products within their own doors. You can obtain commemorative stamps, definitive stamps, special stamps, airmail stamps, booklets, blocks, and other items at the post office. The United States Postal Service posts upcoming stamp releases on their web site.

By getting advanced notification from the USPS by way of its website, you can plan ahead and start collecting First Day of Issue covers. First Day of Issue Covers are envelopes containing a special postmark by the postmaster general at a designated post office on the first day the new stamp is released. The USPS website will list the city and state for which the First Day Covers will be issued. You can purchase specially made envelopes for these events, called caches, or use a plain white envelope. Mail the envelope or cache, the appropriate payment to cover the cost of the stamp, and a self-addressed stamped envelope with your return address to the issuing post office.

Besides the mail and the post office, you can join a stamp club and trade with members to supplement your collection, or to get inside information about particular stamps. Stamp clubs are a great place to meet people with similar interests and passions.

Once you've exhausted your source for stamps from your family, friends, post office, or local club, consider attending a stamp show or visiting a stamp dealer. These venues often will cost you more considerably, but may be good sources for rare and hard to find stamps.

As your stamp collection grows, organization will come into play. Once you've organized your collection, it might become apparent to you what you're passionate about. You might decide to specialize by collecting stamps of countries, by theme, by historical significance, or by design. Specializing in a subject will determine how you continue your collection.

Starting a stamp collection does not require a huge investment, and is relatively easy with a few pieces of mail and a slight spark of interest. Stamp collecting can also be incredibly rewarding if you have a love of lore and an eye for interesting art.