Stamp Collecting Tips

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The streets of London were cold, dreary and poverty-stricken in the early 1900s. Kids in wool scarves huddled together and practiced their hardest bargaining tactics, trading new postage stamps. It was an inexpensive hobby and provided hours of fun. As these children aged, they found their old collections tucked away in a drawer and, unable to part with them, passed them down to future generations. Over time, these stamps became exceedingly rare and valuable -- thus, the stamp collecting hobby was born. Today there are millions of stamp collectors worldwide who collect various types, for various reasons and at various prices!

Proper stamp collecting requires some "gear," much like any noteworthy hobby. For instance, collectors should purchase online or hardcover stamp albums or stockbooks to hold their collection. To affix the stamps in the album, collectors will also need peel-able stamp hinges (small rectangular piece of paper coated with a sticky gum) and metal stamp tongs.

To carefully examine the stamps (every philatelist's favorite pastime!), collectors will need a magnifying glass, at minimum, but can also get a perforation gauge, color guide and watermark detector for more in-depth looking! People who like to collect stamps will also find a host of literature, catalogs and magazines to help them cultivate their hobby.

What do people look for when collecting stamps? This depends, of course, on personal preference. Some people collect themes, artwork or stamps from countries they like, just to have a collection of some sort to show off to friends and family or pass down to future generations. Maybe there's someone who collects Star Wars, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and other pop-culture ones. Or there could be another collector who specializes in war-time ones from around the world. Others look out for exceedingly rare prints that are worth a great deal of money.

Generally anything before 1900 and in good condition, will be worth a good sum. The first United States postage stamps -- the five-cent Franklin and the ten-cent Washington (unused) sold for $1,400 and $28,000, respectively. Britain's first official adhesive one ("Penny Black") sold as used postage stamps in an auction for $200 in the year 2000 -- and unused for $3,000!

Also, errors, misprints and flukes are naturally the most coveted. For instance, the "Inverted Jenny" is a US postage one from 1918 featuring a photo of a Curtiss JN-4 airplane where the plane was mistakenly printed upside-down! Only 100 were ever printed and a block of four just sold at an auction for $2.7 Million! Similarly, the "Treskilling Yellow" stamp from Sweden was misprinted in the wrong color, placing its value at over $2 Million.

Stamp collecting is a bit like collecting art in that it requires an eye for detail and exemplifies personal taste. It can be rewarding and profitable to trade stamps in auctions or dip into international conventions with like-minded collectors. Philately, as it's called, has become one of the most nostalgic (but popular) hobbies amid a world of dizzying technological advances and faster communication.

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