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| What do you collect? | Fashion + Jewelry | Watches + Clocks | Pottery + Glass | Furniture + Home | Art + Photos | Music + Movies | Toys + Games | Sports | Coins + Stamps | Paper + Books | Ads + Signs | Autos + Transport | Eras + Decades | Other » |
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 thi… [more]
I have a stamp collection, but I don’t consider myself a collector. I have a collection of my initials on s… [more]
It was a shock to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when a critic pointed out that the view of "Gatun Lock… [more]
Paintings and sculpture galore have been reproduced on postage stamps, sort of an Everyman's art gallery. But… [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]
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Source: Google News
one of the top postal historians in the country who wrote a stamp column for the New York Times and authored "Stamp Collecting for Dummies...Read more
Stamp Collecting Meeting, The West Essex Philatelic Society (WEPS) meets at 7 pm second and fourth Mondays at the Verona Public Library,...Read more
"Just to focus this book because stamp collection is dying in the world. To promote this book is written on railways philately through railways," said...Read more
Stamps We`ve all heard of the famous `Penny Black`. Recently one of these rare stamps sold for £250000 - making stamp collecting a lucrative investment...Read more
Stamp Magazine, a publication devoted to stamp collecting, debuted in Britain the same year. For the past 75 years, the magazine has reported on news and...Read more
Collecting naval covers is a specialized area of philately, the official term for stamp collecting. "This has been a viable hobby now for almost 100 years,...Read more
October is National Stamp Collecting Month and the National Postal Museum has launched a new Web site designed to introduce visitors to stamps and stamp...Read more
“The Complete Illustrated Guide to Stamp Collecting,” by James Mackay, is a good book to check out for those interested in starting a stamp collection but...Read more
