On Becoming a Stamp Collector…Again

Returning to stamp collecting after a 43-year hiatus, I had a number of questions and concerns common to most who retake up the hobby:

• What about stamp collecting would give me the most satisfaction?
• What has changed over the past 40 plus years?
• How do I begin collecting stamps again? And, should I?

The answers will—my journey over the past twelve months of how I got back into stamp collecting. Possibly, my path will be of interest to others. While it is certainly not the traditional stamp collecting model, it has worked very well for me; and, I believe it is an excellent way for new entrants to get into the hobby.

What gives me the most satisfaction?

First, what about stamp collecting gives me the most satisfaction? My short answer is “the endorphin rush.” What? Yes, the true biological result of hunting and capturing an elusive item. Everyone collects something. We are wired to seek. Our biology chemically rewards us for success. We hunt and capture. Stamp collecting exhibits the best of all hunting behaviors. Let’s be honest and call it what it is—the endorphin rush. Computer gamers get the same rush from capturing their tokens and killing their foes. Golfers get the same rush from a great shot. It is exactly the same thing.

The biggest difference I see between stamp collecting, golf, and computer games is that stamp collecting provides the additional tangible reward of building an enduring collection. Internet gaming and golf do not—they are experiences. In addition, stamp collecting provides a wide variety of ways to experience the satisfaction rush, whether it is discovering new postal history facts, figuring out value anomalies, or achieving completion to a collection goal.

To become engaged in the hobby, it is my firm belief that new entrants must experience their own satisfaction rushes and do so repeatedly for a moderate period of time—say two months. Once they are neurologically programmed for success in hunting and capturing, they are hooked on the hobby. I may sound like a drug pusher, but that is how most passions are built—whether it is golf, computer gaming, or stamp collecting. Once that passion is achieved, subsequent growth, development and maturation in the more complex aspects of the hobby come naturally.

What has changed over the past 40 plus years?

In a nutshell—the Internet and the surrounding Information Revolution. If today’s public was aware of how much more interesting stamp collecting today is than 40 years ago, there would be a surge in new entrants. My goodness, you can find everything on-line. And you get instant gratification. One is no longer limited to waiting for approval books or physically going to auctions. With online auctions, a plethora of web sites with great research information, auction houses posting their catalogs, and near total transparency of stamp values on a world-wide basis create a much more vibrant and interesting world than 40 years ago. Of course, one has to sort through all that stuff; but, it is doable and fun to explore.

Finally, the notion of Professional Expertizing and graded stamps is now de rigueur and old-school collections with “mixed condition” are not. So much for the starter collection I inherited from my grandfather in 1973. I discovered I was truly starting over.

In addition, personal computers and sophisticated desktop publishing allow most anyone to readily build their own stamp albums and construct their collections outside the boundaries of off-the-shelf stamp albums.

How do I begin again? And, should I?

I suppose many stamp collectors begin stamp collecting because they know someone who collects. That person can be a mentor and bring their knowledge to help you. However, mentors may have built most of their collections years ago and long forgotten the repeated endorphin rushes that got them passionate about the hobby in the first place.

In my case, I didn’t know anyone who actively collected stamps. So, if you don’t have a mentor, then you likely search the internet. The advice given on the primary stamp collecting resources advises something along these lines:

• Collect what you like
• Collect mint or used
• Consider collecting a topic or a country, or the whole world
• Collect types of stamps, like air mail or commemoratives
• And on and on. It is clearly a big world out there and I imagine most beginners drop out in frustration and without any sustainable endorphin hits.

My path: 1973 to today

In 1973, I collected United States commemoratives, because that is what I inherited from my grandfather. I didn’t buy stamps when I was in college because I had no money. But, I considered myself a philatelist and studied what I inherited. Jumping forward to 2015, amongst my storage boxes, I found my 1973 Want List. Of course the Columbian $5 was my dream stamp. So, I decided to collect all United States Commemoratives from 1893 through 1940. I decided to stop at 1940 because I was told that any stamp newer than 1940 wasn’t worth anything and just a waste of money. I told my wife I would spend $6,000 over the next five years. She thought I was nuts. Boy, was she wrong. I went way beyond nuts.

So, in researching stamp albums, I stumbled across the United States Design concept then proposed by the Professional Stamp Expertising (PSE, now Grading Matters) web site.

1973—when I was a 19 year-old college student with no money. I knew I liked United States commemoratives and I had my 1973 Want List in my five large storage boxes; what to collect today; and, now that I could afford to actually buy stamps, how could I proceed to do that without making any big mistakes.

The best advice?

What is the best advice to give a new or returning stamp collector (or returning baby boomer) for what and how to collect? If we all acknowledge that catalogs are too complex, the […]