How to Collect Stamps

By: Fiona Whealer

Collecting stamps is a hobby that attracts people from all around the world. When you're collecting stamps you can find them from a multiple of sources, including free sources, as well as paying for those stamps that you just can't do without. When you start collecting stamps you'll want to spend as little money as possible and concentrate on getting a beginner's collection of stamps.

At first, you start your collection with only a few stamps, perhaps some favorites that you have from childhood. A great way to begin to expand your collection is to purchase a starter set from a stamp or hobby store. These collections are usually inexpensive, sometimes costing about $6.00 for a collectors pack. In the pack you'll get a nice selection of stamps from different countries. This is an easy way to start and find out what stamps appeal to you and what you'd like to focus future collecting efforts towards.

The Internet is another great source for finding stamps. Places such as eBay have many stamp sets where you can buy for relatively low prices. Again, you should try to get as wide a variety of stamps as possible, so you can find out what stamps interest you and allow you to get plants from some other countries. Once you have a batch of stamps you'll need to organize your collection so you can make some decisions about what direction you want to pursue in your collecting.

Most of the stamps that you buy will still be on the paper on which they were mailed. This makes them durable and easy to handle. Once you remove the paper backing the stamp becomes much more fragile and you'll have to be very careful in the way that you move it around. This is why you should sort out your purchased stamps according to country before you take off the paper backing.

While taking off the paper backing from the stamps do not just try pulling the paper away from the stamp in a hurry. Take your time and be patient so that you do not damage the stamps. Pulling the paper off in a hurry can rip the stamp edges. So use scissors to cut the paper backing as close to the stamp body as possible.

Fill a shallow bowl or plate with a small amount of clean water. Place the stamp with the paper still attached, stamp facing up, and allow it to soak for about ten or fifteen minutes. After sufficient time ha passed, carefully pick the stamp up out of the water and try to slowly remove the stamp from the paper.

After you've removed the stamps from the paper you'll need to dry them gently and slowly so that they don't fold over and wrinkle. You can do this by laying them flat on a layer of paper toweling, taking care to make sure that none of the stamps touch and overlap. Gently take one sheet of paper towel and lay it over the stamps, pressing gently so that you are carefully removing some of the water.

Once the stamps are dry you can flatten them by laying them in between the pages of a large book, or you can buy a special drying book that is available at most hobby stores or stamp collecting stores. Once the stamps have been dried and flattened, you'll be ready to sort them into categories within your stamp collecting books.

Article Source: http://www.retirementlivingarticledirectory.com

Fiona Whealer is the owner and operator of FW Stamps, the web's premier resource for information about stamps, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.fwstamps.com/articles
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