Wondering about stamp collecting and how you should go about it? Well, there are lots of things you can do and every stamp collector is unique.

In this article I give you a list of great ideas for starting and growing a collection.

Geography is a big reason why people collect and they make it a point to collect certain countries. There are a lot of countries with a lot of beautiful stamps. You can do the United States, All of the World or any country that you want. Me personally? I pretty much stick with U.S. stamps with some exceptions I will talk about below.

Post marked or Mint? This means do you want to collect stamps that have gone through the mail? Or do you want stamps that are pristine and never used? There are several factors involved in this. First off is the cost. Collecting unused stamps is more expensive and more valuable in a collection. Secondly is the beauty of the stamps. Mint condition stamps that do not have the postal marks on them are more aesthetically pleasing.

This picture shows a stamp that is still on the envelope. It has been postmarked. That is those black bars running through it.

Topicals - This term is used by stamp collectors to identify stamps by subject. For example stamps with Cats on them, or Birds on them. Etc. I love topicals that coincide with my interests. A lot of these interests are right here on my website. So, I collect topicals on Castles, Bonsai, Telescopes and of course even Stamp collecting. There are lots of stamp collecting stamps!

Commemoratives - These are stamps that commemorate a person, event or other thing of signifcance. They tend to be larger stamps with beautiful designs.

Airmail stamps - This is a vibrant aspect of collecting and sometimes they are called back of the book stamps because most albums don't put the airmail stamps in the normal pages. They have space for these stamps at the back of the album.

Special Delivery - Wonderful category of stamps that was discontinued in 1997. What it meant was that as soon as a letter arrived at the local post office it was dispatched to the recipient. Some people love to specialize in these stamps.

First Day Covers - This is a stamp on an envelope that is specially postmarked on the first day it goes into circulation. This is a very popular way of collecting. And you can get specially designed envelopes made specifically with art and graphics that accentuates the release of the stamp.

Grilled Stamps - I love grilled stamps. They are very unique and only were printed for a few years in the 19th century. They also vary in value quite a lot. This picture here shows the grill on a stamp. It is that waffle pattern. I have more about grilled stamps right here.

Do you like making projects and exploring a variety of hobbies?

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