| What do you collect? | Clothing + Fashion | Jewelry + Watches | Pottery + Glass | Furniture + Home | Art + Photos | Music + Movies | Toys + Games | Sports | Coins + Stamps | Paper + Books | Ads + Signs | Autos + Transport | Eras + Decades | All » |
Many of today's collectors started collecting U.S. postage stamps as kids, often with a parent or family member. The US stamp collecting market has weakened in recent years, however, with many stamps and even entire collections trading below face value (so many copies of common stamps were printed that there's not enough demand to warrant a premium).
Rare or unusual U.S. stamps, however, are another story - there's a robust market for those, and some specimens can be worth thousands of dollars or more...
There are many ways to approach collecting U.S. stamps. Some collectors focus on a specific time period, like the 19th century. Others choose specific themes like airmail stamps or duck stamps. Some focus on specific formats like sheets, plate blocks, coils, or booklets. There are also a large number of collectors who focus on first day covers - stamps that were affixed to a special envelope and cancelled on the first day of issue.
As with many collectibles, rarity and condition are two key determinants of value. U.S. stamps can be either unused (never cancelled) or used, and there are collectors who focus on both varieties.

Like many collectors, I collected when I was a child, and then I became interested again in the ‘90s. I think eBay … [more]

I have a stamp collection, but I don’t consider myself a collector. I have a collection of my initials on stamps fr… [more]

I’ve been a lifelong collector, even as a kid. There are just certain people for whom collecting seems to be part o… [more]

My father was a stamp collector, and I just took to it. He was perfectly happy to mentor me, so I began collecting … [more]

It was a shock to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when a critic pointed out that the view of "Gatun Locks," wh… [more]

Paintings and sculpture galore have been reproduced on postage stamps, sort of an Everyman's art gallery. But this,… [more]

Bob Allen's beautiful and well organized catalog of US stamps from 1847 to 1970 is a fantastic resource for all US … [read review or visit site]

Richard Frajola's incredibly rich database of over 11,000 U.S. and foreign 19th Century postal stamp covers. This s… [read review or visit site]

Post Office in Paradise showcases Hawaiian postal history from the years before Hawaii became a part of the United … [read review or visit site]

This creative website is essentially a giant glossary of stamp collecting, 'from advertising covers through Zeppeli… [read review or visit site]

Don Schilling's long-running, in-depth blog on stamp collecting and postal operations. Schilling stays up on all th… [read review or visit site]

If you're into postal history or collectibles, check out the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum. This extensive s… [read review or visit site]

Bob Hohertz's impressive database of U.S. Private Die Proprietary stamps from the Civil War and Spanish American Wa… [read review or visit site]

This auction house site offers an extensive online database of US stamp information. Includes PDF catalogs of past … [read review or visit site]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
Are we missing one? Tell us.
Source: Google News
For millions of people around the world, stamp collecting is not only a wonderfully enjoyable hobby; it can also be a remarkably profitable investment...Read more
Several collectors came in, such as Paul Nevin, who said his interest in history sparked an interest in stamp collecting...Read more
Genealogy is a far more personal investment than hobbies like say, coin or stamp collecting. The post office could do away with stamps tomorrow and all...Read more
He is also condemned by his only known hobbies, game shooting and stamp collecting, as if either of those was the certain mark of a small mind...Read more
Are you a stamp collector? If so what do you collect? When I was a child, I started a collection of Belgian stamps but stopped when I was 15...Read more
"Stamp collecting has been such a rewarding and educational hobby for me that I wanted to share the joys of philately in a way that would benefit future...Read more
Mr Sarkozy's revelation will hopefully go some way to the dispel the social stigma which surrounds stamp collecting in some quarters...Read more
But it may be time to face the fact that stamp collecting is about as popular as traveling by horse and buggy or using the phrase, “23 Skidoo...Read more