Collecting 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.

Another good source of stamps is on the Internet using eBay. You'll often be able to purchase large amounts of stamps for a very low price. You'll want to have as wide a variety of stamps as possible so that you can see a good selection of stamps from various countries. Once you've purchased a large batch of stamps you'll need to have a way to organize them so you can determine what direction you want to go with your stamp collection.

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.

To take off the paper backing from the nicely trimmed stamp take clean water in a bowl. Place the stamp with the paper backing into the water and let it soak for some time. Take care that the stamp side is facing up. You can now try to carefully remove the paper backing from the stamp.

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 have had an opportunity to dry out, flatten them by putting them between the pages of a large book, or use a special drying book (you can find these books at hobby or stamp collecting stores). After the stamps have been dried and flattened, you can begin the process of sorting and storing them in your stamp collecting books.

- Mrs. Nagalakshmi Tadakaluri, Philatelist.

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