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Stamp collecting is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide, attracting over 20 million collectors in the United States alone! Stamps are one of the easiest investments to store and preserve, more so than jewelry or art. What started out as an inexpensive trade item for British children, has exploded into a global madness, with auctions, organizations, societies, festivals and magazines dedicated to the subject. Stamp collecting usually starts with a couple stamps and an album that looks like a photo album. Over time, collectors buy tongs and stamp hinges to properly affix stamps into their books, minimizing damage. They may also purchase a magnifying glass to get a closer inspection, a perforation gauge to detect a rare stamp from a duplicate, plus a watermark detector to see the secret images and guarantee authenticity. Catalogs like "Scott's" have become a quintessential guide for collectors who wish to appraise, buy or trade stamps. What do people look for when collecting stamps? This depends, of course, on personal preference. Some people collect themes, artwork or stamps from countries they like, just to have a collection of some sort to show off to friends and family or pass down to future generations. Maybe there's someone who collects Star Wars, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and other pop-culture ones. Or there could be another collector who specializes in war-time ones from around the world. Others look out for exceedingly rare prints that are worth a great deal of money. Generally anything before 1900 and in good condition, will be worth a good sum. The first United States postage stamps -- the five-cent Franklin and the ten-cent Washington (unused) sold for $1,400 and $28,000, respectively. Britain's first official adhesive one ("Penny Black") sold as used postage stamps in an auction for $200 in the year 2000 -- and unused for $3,000! Also, errors, misprints and flukes are naturally the most coveted. For instance, the "Inverted Jenny" is a US postage one from 1918 featuring a photo of a Curtiss JN-4 airplane where the plane was mistakenly printed upside-down! Only 100 were ever printed and a block of four just sold at an auction for $2.7 Million! Similarly, the "Treskilling Yellow" stamp from Sweden was misprinted in the wrong color, placing its value at over $2 Million. Many people do most of their stamp collecting on eBay because the bidding starts as low as one cent and often entire collections can be found for reasonable prices. Online auctions are simple to use (once registered), expansive in size, and great for both beginners and expert philatelists. Before selling, sellers should organize their collection using computer software, as well as upload photos and descriptions of their items, checking the Scott's Catalogue number beforehand (since this is how most stamp collectors categorize their items). Before buying, collectors should check the seller's ranking and user comments to make sure this particular seller is legit. Mike Selvon has some great stamp collecting articles for the hobbist, where you can find out more tips on postage stamp collecting. We appreciate your feedback at our stamp collecting values blog.
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