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Become A Stamp Collector
TIPS FOR COLLECTING STAMPS
It’s As Easy As 1-2-3!
#1 Get some stamps!
You can get new stamps at any Post
Office. Most Post Offices will have some of the cool stamps. You
can also order stamps from the United States Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com
by clicking on "Buy Stamps & Shop," or call their toll-free phone
number at 1 800 STAMP 24 (that's 1-800-782-6724). Now that you've got stamps, what
do you do with them? Put them on StamperSaver Cards™! And keep
them in a cool album where you can show them off. For individual stamps
or stamp panes, you can buy a stamp album or make your own using a three-ring
binder. But don't tape or glue stamps – that destroys their value.
Instead, slip them into specially designed plastic pages with pockets.
Or if your album has paper pages, use hinges or mounts. Like what you collect and collect
what you like! Your stamp collection should express your own unique personality.
You can collect stamps from all over the world or from just one country.
Pick several topics like animal stamps, sport stamps, or stamps about history.
Cool stamp collections are not born...they
are built! You can construct one...if you know how. To begin, gather
as many stamps as you can. Ask everyone you know to save stamps for you.
How to Remove Used Stamps from
an Envelope #2 Get Organized: The Album What You Will Need If you want to get serious about
stamp collecting, you need the cool tools of a pro! Here are some of the
most important ones.
Ever hear of stamps worth over a
million dollars? A stamp's condition affects its value.
Usually, a stamp that has never been used and is in "mint" condition
is more valuable than the same stamp that has been used. Keep your stamps
in a condition as close to "mint"as possible.
The color: The color
of the stamp should be bright. Fading can be caused by sunlight, artificial
light, dirt, pollution, and natural skin oils. Like what you collect and collect
what you like!
Once you learn the how-tos, your
stamp collection should express your own unique personality. You can collect
stamps from all over the world or from just one country. You can collect
stamps with weird shapes, gorgeous stamps, old stamps, animal stamps, or only
stamps about history. Pick several topics. You can combine stamps
with other things in your album, too, such as drawings and writing. Using
loose-leaf pages lets you rearrange and replace parts of your collection whenever
you want to.
March 2003
Another way to get stamps is to trade with your friends. For older stamps,
ask your parents, grandparents, or neighbors for old letters, postcards, or
unused stamps. Or go to a stamp dealer or check stamp collecting sites
on the Internet. There are even stamp shows where people come from all
over the country to add to their collections.
#2 Get organized and display your stamps.
#3 Get excited!
You can create a stamp collection about almost anything. Let the stamps
be your guide!
#1 Get Stamps: The Quest
1. Don't peel THEM! Cut or tear the envelope around the stamps.
2. Float the stamps face up in cool water. Soak for one hour or until
the stamps separate from the paper. Then rinse the stamps to remove any
leftover adhesive.
3. Lay the stamps face down on white paper towels. Cover with more
paper and press flat under something heavy (like books) for several hours until
dry. (Use plastic to protect books.)
Where to Get Stamps
Post Office: You can buy new stamps here.
Mailboxes: Many people get stamps every day. Ask family and friends to
save them for you. Stamp dealers: You can buy older stamps here. Look
in your Yellow Pages under "Stamps for Collectors."
The Internet: Web sites on the Internet sell stamps and stamp-collecting
supplies.
Grandparents and other relatives:Write to relatives about stamp collecting.
It will make them happy and they will probably write back using cool stamps.
Pen pals: Find another kid who likes to collect stamps and become
pen pals. Vacationers: Ask friends who go on vacation to mail you a postcard.
Trade: When you have more than one of the same stamp, trade with a friend
to get new ones.
Did You Know?
Some stamp dealers will mail “approvals.” You get to look
at the stamps, buy what you want, and return the rest — undamaged, of
course.
Did You Know?
You can buy bags of inexpensive stamps from some dealers and at stamp shows.
Now that you've got stamps, what do you do with them? Keep them in a cool
album where you can show them off.
• A 3-ring loose-leaf notebook
• White paper (acid-free, if possible)
• A 3-hole punch
• Stamp hinges or mounts
1.Punch holes in the paper. With a pencil, draw a light line, from
top to bottom, two inches from the left edge. Draw a second top-to-bottom
line two inches from the right edge.
2.Draw light lines from left to right about every two inches. Do the same
on all of your pages, back and front.
3.Use your grid to help you position your stamps neatly. You might mount
two columns of stamps per page. There are no rules; do what looks good
to you.
4.Write notes next to each stamp. When was it issued? What is it
all about? Who gave it to you? What Is Acid-Free Paper? When paper is
acid-free, it does not contain chemicals that may harm your stamps over time.
Look in the scrapbook section of hobby shops, art supply stores, and discount
stores for paper that is labeled "acid-free."
What Are Stamp Hinges or Mounts?
A hinge is a small strip of glassine, which looks like waxed paper. It
has gum on one side and you use it to attach a stamp to a page. A mount is
a clear plastic sleeve. You put your stamp inside it. Then you attach
the mount to the page. A hinge is very inexpensive. Mounts cost
a little more.
#3 Get Professional: The Tools
What You Will Need
Tongs: Pick up and handle stamps with tongs, which are like tweezers
with special tips that won’t harm stamps. Natural skin oil makes
stamps dirty.
Magnifier: View the stamp details. Look for flaws and tiny
variations.
Perforation gauge: Measure the spacing of the small holes on the
stamp’s edges. The “same” stamps with different perforations
are actually different stamps worth different amounts.
Watermark detector: Put a stamp in a watermark tray, pour in a special
fluid, and see if an invisible watermark appears. (A watermark is an invisible
design pressed into paper to help prevent forgery.)
Stock book: Keep your stamps clean and fresh in this storage album
until you are ready to mount them. It comes with rows of pockets for stamps.
How to Use a Hinge
Pick up the hinge with your tongs. Moisten the short end just a little.
Position it on back of the stamp so the fold is under the stamp’s
top edge. Pick up the stamp with tongs. Moisten the tip of the long end.
Place it onto your album page. Place a piece of clean paper or cardboard
over the stamp and firmly press the stamp onto the page.
How to Use a Mount
Trim the mount to the right size. Slip the stamp in. Moisten one
flap of the mount and press it onto the album page.
Where to Buy Stamp-Collecting
Tools
Look in your Yellow Pages under "Stamps for Collectors."
Did You Know?
Stamp supply shops sell all kinds of albums. Some have pictures of stamps.
You find the stamp and mount it over the picture. Some are blank so you
can create your own special collection.
#4 Get Smart: The Money
Try one of the most famous printing mistakes in U.S. postal history: A 1918
airmail stamp with the plane printed upside down! Nicknamed the “Inverted
Jenny” (the stamp pictures a Curtiss “Jenny” airplane), this
stamp is worth more than $150,000, and a block of four sold for $1.1 million!
(Original price: 96 cents.) An 1847 10-cent George Washington stamp in mint
condition is worth about $27,500!
How to Determine a Stamp's Value
An uncommon stamp is more valuable than an ordinary one. The stamp may
be uncommon because it was printed with an error or because it is old and there
are not many left.
The cancellation: For a used stamp, the lighter the cancellation,
the better. The cancellation mark (which a postal service makes on a stamp to
show that it has already been used) should not blot or cover the stamp design.
Centering: Is the stamp centered inside the white perforation border?
The more centered, the better.
The paper: The stamp should not be torn or damaged. All perforations
(the small holes on the stamp’s edges) should be complete. The stamp
should not be creased or wrinkled.
The gum: The gum, or dry adhesive on the back of the stamp, should
be as perfect as possible. Hinges can damage the back of the stamp. Light
hinging is good; heavy hinging (caused by too much licking and sticking) is
bad.
Did You Know?
Occasionally, an old, used stamp on an envelope with a special cancellation
is worth more than the same stamp unused.
The more centered, the better. The color of the stamp should be bright.
#5 Get Excited: The Fun
It's really fun to create a First Day Cover collection. These are stamped
envelopes canceled with the special First Day of Issue cancellation.
Album Ideas
Gift album: a garden of stamps
Have a friend or parent who is into gardening? Collect U.S. and worldwide
flower stamps. Alternate pages of stamps with pages of gardening tips
and facts about the flowers on the stamps. (Do some library research to find
the gardening information.).What a great gift for a gardener!
Into space and sci-fi?
Collect all of the great space exploration and science stamps. Write a
chilling sci-fi thriller story and put it into the center of your album. Or
draw the space creatures of your imagination.
Are you a leader? Do you care about freedom and America?
Collect a whole album of U.S. presidents and other world leaders. Maybe
your face will be on a stamp one day! (Mount a small mirror on your last
page!)
Love the idea of travel and adventure?
Collect stamps celebrating the 50 U.S. states or from exotic places like Belize,
Iceland, Samoa, and Zimbabwe. (Can you find them on a map?)
You can create a stamp collection about almost anything. Let the stamps
be your guide. You can follow them to learn about birds, flowers, animals,
trains, airplanes, holidays, flags, sports, music, movies…the list goes
on and on!
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