Topic: stamp collecting

[LadyVirginia]

Sometimes I get tired of thinking about the current state of the world so I'm bringing up another topic.  I put this here under family because stamp collecting takes me back to when I was a kid.

I was around 12 when I asked my mom for a stamp album for Christmas.  I'd figured out by then that if I asked for only one or two things I had a pretty good chance of getting it.  I really don't remember why I wanted it but i did.  Maybe I'd seen it at a Woolworth's or something.  I spent hours on that album.  of course, by the time I got to college I didn't have time for it any more.

When my oldest turned 9 she got interested in all my"old" stamp stuff and I got her an album and we even went to stamp shows.  She outgrew it as other things caught her interest.

Well, now my youngest is interested.  I got her an album (I discovered Hobby Lobby sells them) and we spent today adding stamps to it. Her older sister gave her the stamps and supplies she still had so this daughter will have some older stamps to put in her album.  I've never been a fan of the sticker stamps in terms of collecting so I didn't have many of those to share with her.  Guess I'll be "investing" in some now.  lol However, I think I'll find a good online shop to buy used ones for her.

It raises mixed feelings for me.  I loved stamp collecting as a kid.  As an adult I'd love to see the post office go the way of newspapers and Borders.

It was such a pleasant way to spent a couple of hours with her.  She liked it.  It wasn't too slow or boring to her.  We talked about the hobby and the history depicted on many of the stamps. I've always had an interest in history and art so stamps combined both for me.  This daughter seems to be the same.

When we picked this up this week I had no idea if anyone even collected any more but looks like there are.  It's certainly not a hobby one hears about any more so I wonder where the enthusiasts come from. A new postal museum is going up in D.C.  The idea is to inspire interest in stamps.  Seems odd to me since the post office is dying.  In fact, one of the biggest complaints among collectors today is the notion that the post office is trying to make money and save itself by creating collectibles to sell.

Anyone else a stamp collector as a kid?

[Libertas]

I collected stamps and coins as a kid, other kids collected baseball cards, wasn't I the rebel!

Stopped collecting stamps 25-30 years ago, just kind of lost interest, but I remember being entranced by the history behind each stamp.  I had inherited many from my grandfather.  I have since split the collection apart, much of the stuff from mid-late 60's and forward really isn't valued much above face value since it corresponds to the increasing volume and variety in commemorative releases, so I use those for stuff I mail out like Christmas cards, business mailings and such.  The older stuff that has more value and has more nostalgia and sentimental value I've kept, I thought I would see if one of my Nephews would want to take it over, but I want to get a new binder and pretty it up first.

Coins I still collect although my collection has changed over the years.  I've kept coins of each period for my own interest and much of the bulk was sold/traded to get silver bullion or higher content silver coins in bulk like silver dollars, halfs, and quarters.

[ToddF]

Get that stuff at local shows or through a dealer?

I haven't been to a show in several years but used to go regularly.  Holiday Inn, Bloomington, an Indian guy who ran a monthly show in Roseville, those kind of places.

[Libertas]

Silver purchases & trades through a local dealer, when I unloaded some bulk years ago I sold to the local guy and then bought rounds online, but also traded some items with the local guy for stuff he had available.  Most recent purchases of bullion have been online at Apmex.