People collect stamps for various reasons. Some collect by country, subject matter (historical events, famous celebrities, sports, etc.), or just they way the stamps look. Stamp collecting (also called philately) can also be educational in that they might introduce an unknown person or a subject that you may have never heard about and are now curious to know.
Not surprisingly, philately, or stamp collecting, has been often described as the "king of hobbies and the hobby for kings." As a first-time beginner, you are definitely in great company when you discover the names of famous people who have collected stamps: King George V of England, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Lennon, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. There is even a museum in the United States called the National Postal Museum, devoted to postal history.
In future articles you will learn the basic introductory steps to collecting for the complete novice. We will get into specifics such as how stamps are cataloged and valued; the ways to properly handle and store stamps; and the types of resources and stamp organizations available. For now let's talk about the different types of stamps and how to go about finding them.
Types Of Stamps
There are really two main types of stamps that collectors should know. The first and most popular type is commemoratives, which are stamps that honor a person, place, or a historic event. They are usually large-sized and colorful, and available on sale at post offices for about a year. Some popular examples of commemoratives are the 1993 Elvis Presley stamp and the 1995 Marilyn Monroe issue.
The second type of stamp is definitives, which features stand-alone, sometimes ordinary, subjects such as a flag, a flower, a bird or a person. Some can be just one or two-colors, while others are multicolored. These stamps are smaller in size compared to commemoratives and available on sale for a number of years. And unlike most commemoratives, definitives can vary in denominations (postage rates) staring at one cent and higher.
Where To Look For Stamps
The great thing about collecting stamps is that you don't have to look hard for them. You can start with the ones that you already have at home to mail letters with-a strange concept in this era of e-mail. There is always the post office to buy stamps. And you can also use the stamps that are already on letters, packages or postcards.
Ask family and friends if they have any used stamps that they might donate to you rather than discarding their letters. (Just make sure to tell them not to rip out the stamps. You'll find out how they can be removed effortlessly and painlessly in another article).
If you are interested in current and new stamps, you should visit your postal service's website, where they will have a list of stamps that are being released in the calendar year. Most postal services around the world usually have a philatelic or stamp collecting department that caters to both first-time and experienced collectors. In addition to stamps, the postal service's philatelic division also sells albums and catalogs and other products.
And of course there are dealers who specialize in older stamps that are not found at the post office. They are now easy to find on the Internet and offer mail order services. (How to buy from them will be discussed at another time). For now the best thing to do is find stamps that are readily available such at home and at the post office.
Now you now know how to distinguish the types of stamps and where to find them. Just let your imagination fly and have fun!
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