Beginner's Guide to Collecting Stamps, Philately

Stamp collecting, also called Philately is an interesting and very rewarding hobby. Stamps always reflect the era in which they are printed. Often, stamps are issued to commemorate a special event or anniversary of something significant. Stamps will not make an average collector rich. However, philately does not take much room, relatively inexpensive, and even your mail carrier brings new opportunities right to your door, just about every day. Here is a brief guide on how to start your stamp collection. This guide also contains essential things you should know, to start your collection the best way possible. 

Starting Your Collection 

First, besides what kind of stamps you want to collect. There is “Topical” collecting, for example. Topical collecting means to collect stamps with cars, trains, planes, flags, or any other specific item. Topical collecting is one of the latest trends.
The easiest way to start is to go to your local post office and purchase new stamps. Another way to start your collection might be right there, in your own home. Look for old mail that you have received. Take the stamps off those old envelopes. Sometimes, it is more valuable to just collect the stamps with the entire envelope. It is more valuable because of the unique postmark date. 

Your friends and family can also be a valuable source for your collection. Ask them if you can have their old envelopes. Stacks of assorted stamps are also, sometimes sold through newspaper classifieds, from dealers. Internet can also be a very good resource for purchasing stamps. If you look in your local, Yellow Pages book, you might find a shop that specializes in stamps. Ask the staff of the about any upcoming stamp shows that might be comic to your area. The shop staff also might know about auction houses that deal with stamps. Stamp auctions are a great way to enrich your collection. However, you can expect the prices for stamp lots to be relatively expensive. Auction houses that sell with stamps, want to sell their lots, usually, for more than 100 dollars.