Philately (the art of studying and collecting stamps) is not new and dates back to decades ago. When the internet became popular and more people abandoned the old school letter writing and sending parcels, there was a worldwide fear that post offices might close. The future of stamp collectors was thought to be bleak. This notion has been proved wrong, and regardless of the number of people who claim to have stopped using stamps, stamp collectors are pushing on. If you are thinking of starting out as a philatelist, this is the beginner’s guide:
Find a Theme
To make things easier for you, you should find a theme of the stamps you want to collect. You can decide to collect animals, flowers, people, or even stamps from a particular country or region. Once you decide on a theme, you should embark on researching some of the outstanding stamps that fall within the subject. If possible, you can travel to the countries that have stamps that interest you and shop from their post offices. Find a travel guide that gives you options of how to travel cheaply if you are on a low budget.
Get All Your Materials Ready
Your life as a philatelist will mean that you have the right albums to display your stamps. There are stores that sell custom made albums for stamp collectors, and a simple search can yield many options. You will also need glue to paste them in, and reading materials such as stamp magazines to get more information on stamps. You should also have stamp tweezers for when you need to peel off the stamps and pick them up. A magnifying glass is also one of the must-have tools for when you want to read the tiny prints and details in the stamps.
Buy a Book of World Stamps
If you make a visit to the post office or a superstore near you, you will be able to find books that have stamps from all over the world. To start you off, you should buy the one you can afford and use the stamps you find as a guide when you are setting up your stamp collection. You can decide to cluster the stamps per country or even colour. As long as you have many stamps to work with, it should not be hard placing them on the page.
Do Not Be Afraid to Ask
As tempting as it is for beginners to want to fill their collection with self bought stamps, this is unsustainable. To make it even more interesting, reach out to your friends and family in different countries and ask them to help by donating new and used stamps. In no time, your collection would have grown massively, and you will have samples from more regions than if you were doing it without help. You should try and only use neat stamps, and if you opt for used stamps, they should be gently used so that your collection does not look untidy.
