Friday, December 11, 2009

Try Stamp Collecting: Penny Black Stamps And Beyond

By Joshua Vogel

The very first adhesive stamps were penny black stamps -- originally produced in 1840 in the UK and Ireland, these stamps became a part of history, just as our own stamps have become a part of our own culture. With technology going out of control, it's surprising that stamp collecting remains a popular alternative to our Information Age.

They're little more than square stickers, but they represent a guarantee to the post office that the piece of mail they decorate has been prepaid for and thus worthy of their time and hard work. Stamps are displayed in the upper right corner of an envelope.

That's not it, though. Technology allows the post office to store data in each stamp that tells them where the particular piece of mail is coming from. An electronic mail sorting device is used for this purpose.

Today, many people engage in the hobby of stamp collecting, a mesmerizing and almost compulsive need to sort stamps by their creative images, place of origin and uniqueness. Famous faces frequently adorn certain stamps, which can add to the fun of collectors worldwide. They reflect real money, sometimes substantial amounts, spent to ship something important - this lends stamps the impression of being quite valuable.

Prior to beginning collecting, would-be stamp collectors learn to ID the different kinds of stamps. This way, they can properly organize them and gather similar stamps by their value or classification.

Stamp Types: Special Stamps

Special stamps are frequently larger than normal stamps, but are sold for the average price. When stock runs low, the prices may dip. Letters or packages sporting special stamps show that these items are first rate posts inside the USA, and are treated with appropriate care.

Stamp Types: Commemorative Stamps

These large stamps are made to consider important events or people that have had important lives in our country. At first, they were created to commemorate the time at which the stamps were produced, such as the penny black stamps previously mentioned, but as time goes on more and more stamps are imprinted with pictures of Elvis, for example, and many other celebrities.

Commemorative stamps are sold in limited runs - what this means is that only 200 of them are produced at a time, which means the chances of a reprint are quite slim indeed. Fortunately, this only makes a collector who runs across one of these stamps all the happier.

Stamps: Definitive

These stamps are less attractive, but they are the bulk of the stamps used every day. A single definitive stamp design might be reprinted again and again for several years before the style can finally change.

Definitive stamps, like the penny black stamps, aren't as big as the commemorative or special varieties but the shape remains the same, if on a slightly smaller scale. They're the generic form of stamp, so it makes sense to keep their size more manageable.

This might make you think they're irritating to a collector looking for unique stamps, but you'd be wrong if you did. Since they're reprinted time and time again, anomalies in the printing of the stamps produce interesting variations that can be fantastic for a collector's sharpened eye.

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