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I like my stamps like I like my coins - cheap and foreign. Seriously though, I usually look through dealer's stashes for stuff from the British Empire and other historical epochs.

I also collect tax stamps and other officious non-mail stuff. I don't have much yet, but things like stock transfer stamps, gas rations, cigarette tax, wine tax, postal savings, document tax, etc.

What say the rest of you?

Oops, wrong section. Admin move this to the Banknote & Exonumia section

I have to admit - my stamp collecting has taken a back seat to hoarding metal the past couple years. My collection of stamps is primarily pre-WWII worldwide stamps. I guess I've focused on stamps of the colonies of the major empires: French (beautiful French Africa long sets), British (unmatchable engraved stamps of KGV, Falkland Islands and others), and German (love those Kaiser yacht stamps). I have a passion for extinct countries - such as short lived Russian countries formed after the Russian Revolution. If I ever stop hoarding metal for awhile, maybe I get back into my collection of stamps.

Only stamps I'm collecting now are stamps on form 4's. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Deal

Woo - figured out how to use my mod powers to put this topic in the right place. Its a little more complicated on this board than the old one.

I save number plate blocks

I have a lot of stamps that are years old, but I lost interest in them and I have not looked at them in years.

I have some duck stamps that my father gave to me.

I collect/study U.S. Civil war era postage, ie: soldier mail, patriotic covers, cancellations, dead post offices. I also accumulate just about everything else, cheap is good, free is better.

I have several hundred stamps that my dad gave to me, but have no idea what they are????

abe wrote:I have several hundred stamps that my dad gave to me, but have no idea what they are????

Can you determine what country they are from? Think in the native tongue: Italiane=Italy, Espana=Spain, Norge=Norway, Canada=Canada etc..

Are they mounted in an album or loose?

Do they appear glossy (like a Walmart flyer) or dull (like newsprint)?

Post a picture, I'm sure one of us can help you out.

Verbane wrote:

abe wrote:I have several hundred stamps that my dad gave to me, but have no idea what they are????

Can you determine what country they are from? Think in the native tongue: Italiane=Italy, Espana=Spain, Norge=Norway, Canada=Canada etc..

Are they mounted in an album or loose?

Do they appear glossy (like a Walmart flyer) or dull (like newsprint)?

Post a picture, I'm sure one of us can help you out.

Havn't figured my camera out yet. When I take a pic everything is clear, but nothing shows up in close shots. I'll figure it out one of these days. The stamps are all U.S.

I probably only have half a ton of stamps. I don't spend as much time on stamps as I do coins. I have a fairly extensive collection of Olympic stamps and covers. I will have to take some pics.

I like stamps too...My in-laws, including my spouse are either current, retired or former postal workers/postmasters...so I started a stamp collection when i started dating their daughter...I like full sheets of Baseball, Olympics, Military, Space and special occasions..mainly the Happy Birthdays and Happy Anniversaries...I use those on cards. I am not as active on the stamps right now. We do not get free or discounted stamps from the Post Office...my wife has to wait in line like every one else.

abe wrote:

Verbane wrote:

abe wrote:I have several hundred stamps that my dad gave to me, but have no idea what they are????

Can you determine what country they are from? Think in the native tongue: Italiane=Italy, Espana=Spain, Norge=Norway, Canada=Canada etc..

Are they mounted in an album or loose?

Do they appear glossy (like a Walmart flyer) or dull (like newsprint)?

Post a picture, I'm sure one of us can help you out.

Havn't figured my camera out yet. When I take a pic everything is clear, but nothing shows up in close shots. I'll figure it out one of these days. The stamps are all U.S.

If you camera has a micro mode, or is it called a macro mode , anyway the button that I push on my camera looks like a flower. That allows for very close up photos that are clear. I usually set my camera on the green thing on the setting dial too which is automatic and much easier but I have recently begun experimenting again using the ISO setting besides the flower on for close up and off for distance. You'll get the hang of it. Just use it a lot. Practice makes perfect. And, with digital, no expense of developing to know how the picture looks and you can delete until you are satisfied. I wish I had gotten my digital camera years earlier. I have had a lot of fun taking pictures. My inner artist kicks in and receives satisfaction from "capturing a moment in time".......you know, as in PreservingThePast!!!

I no longer collect stamps as I did in my younger days. My father was an avid collector--US and World stamps. I collected for a few years when I was old enough and he was still able to do this hobby. It broke all of our hearts when he was no longer able to see well enough to do this hobby and he eventually had to have his extensive collection auctioned off. He also collected plate blocks and First Day Covers too.

But, in many respects I am my father's daughter.......I can NOT buy ugly postage stamps; although, I don't buy them to collect in albums I buy them to collect to have on hand to use. I had refused to buy any of the "Forever" stamps as I thought it was one of the ugliest designs ever. I did buy some of the new "Forever" stamps on Thursday as they are an Evergreen series and I thought they were pretty.

I have postage stamps from 1 cent up to the current 44 cent and enjoy putting a nice combination on my envelopes whenever I can. Since many of the stamp collectors world wide do not collect mint stamps if no one ever uses the cool stamps then they won't be out there to be collected in their canceled state.

Here in our country we buy any/all postage stamps from the same teller at the post office. Going back to 1973 when I spent about a month in Scotland with my pen pal I had to go to a special window to purchase the "fancy" stamps to put on my letters to send back home. They only sold the regular plain stamps at the rest of the windows.

I also remember being able to go to our local small town post office when I was a little girl and I could buy ten cent or twenty-five cents stamps that went in a special booklet and when it was filled I could turn it in for a $25.00 Savings Bond.

Some of the stamps that I have, I hope the pics enlarge enough to see them.

Some Ausie stamps.

I see my pics are cut off again, more Ausies.

This is an old gas station stamp album by The American Oil Co.. There are places for stamps from Washington to FDR, mine has stamps from Washington to Cleveland. From info that I was told, if you purchased $2 in gas, you got a stamp for that week, and each week was a different preident.

This is a sample of the stamps.

This is Postal Commemoritive Society " Cival War Art Panel ". There is an exact stamp at the bottom as on the panel.

Stamps are a poor investment, they don't collect interest and you can't eat them. (I have a fairly large collection of France and Colonies (and US) in mint condition, but they're packed away for years)