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Stamp Collecting 101

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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Stamp Collecting: An Educational Past Time

by Rose Hillbrand

Stamp collecting, also known as philately, is a popular
and educational past time. Stamp collectors save stamps
from letters, especially those from other countries. They
also search out old stamps that represent a past time.
Stamp enthusiasts can be found everywhere. Their
notebooks and glassine envelopes filled with stamps are
fascinating to look through. Many of the stamps they
collect are very valuable as well.

Materials needed for starting a stamp collection include
a stamp album and special mounting tapes called hinges.
Tools you will find useful are a pair of small tongs or
tweezers for carefully lifting delicate old stamps and a
magnifying glass for finding minute details. The beginning
philatelist can start with the stamps on the mail that arrives
this very day. To remove a stamp from an envelope,
carefully tear away the envelope from around the stamp
being careful not to tear the stamp itself. Now soak the stamp
in warm water. The remaining piece of envelope will turn loose,
allowing you to lift the stamp from the water with the tongs.

Lay the stamp on absorbent paper. When dry, place a heavy
book on top of the stamp to flatten it. As a past time, stamp
collecting requires precision and neatness. Place the dried and
flattened stamp in the album by using one of the hinges, or
store it in one of the tiny glassine envelopes unique to stamp
collecting.

Many collectors specialize in collecting currently available
commemoratives as a past time. Stamp designs are varied,
beautiful and interesting. Commemoratives are those special
stamps that are released by the post office for a limited time.
They can commemorate special people or events. Most
nations print commemorative stamps from time to time.
American stamps have featured wild life, artists, antiques,
and many other themes. In fact, there is an annual contest
in which American school children compete to draw the best
picture of a wild duck. The best duck art is featured on a stamp.

A fun way for a young person to build a collection of foreign
stamps is to find a few pen pals in foreign countries. This
activity helps people make friends as well as broadening their
outlook. There are also companies that will send out introductory
collections of foreign stamps in order to get stamp collecting
customers on their mailing lists. These collections are usually
colorful and contain a wide variety.

Stamp collecting is an educational past time. Stamp collections
can sometimes become very valuable to the right people. If you
are looking for a new hobby or past time, stamp collecting might
be for you!


About the Author
************************************************************

Rose Hillbrand has been a successful internet entrepreneur
since 2001. She owns and maintains several websites, and has
experience in affiliate marketing in numerous areas. To learn
more about arts & crafts and collectibles, please visit Rose's
website, Arts & Crafts For the Whole Family at http://www.10waystowealth.com/crafts/index.html **************************************

1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Hey Guys, I recently found my dad's stamp collection, but it is on very old collection book and I wanted to trans fer stamps to a new book. Can you people please guide me how to do that without damaging the stamps.

6:27 AM  

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