Getting Started in Stamp Collecting

More than 22 million Americans collect stamps. It's a fascinating hobby populated by people with inquiring minds. Stamp collectors enjoy finding out everything they can about the stamps they possess: where it came from, when it was made, what distinguishes it from other stamps, what is its place in history, what makes its subject significant enough to put on a stamp?

You don't need much in the way of supplies or specialized equipment to become a stamp collector. It's an easily accessible hobby no matter what your age, interest level or income. These are the basic supplies you need to get started:

• Stamp tongs. A pair of stamp tongs is the collector's most basic tool. They allow you to handle your stamps with more dexterity than fingers can provide. Tongs also prevent damage to stamps from handling, preventing moisture, oils or dirt on your fingers from adhering to the stamps. You can purchase stamp tongs online or at your local stamp dealer for a few dollars. They look like long, blunt-end tweezers, but they have a specially designed smooth, rounded tip that won't harm stamps. Don't use your bathroom tweezers; the tips have sharp edges and gripping grooves that can easily damage stamps. In stamp collecting, condition is a key element in maintaining a stamp's value.


• Magnifying glass. Stamps are tiny and some of their more interesting features can only be seen when magnified. Choose a magnifying glass with a power of at least 10.


• Album. You need something to keep your stamps in. Albums protect your stamps, help you organize them, and allow you to view them easily. Many albums show printed illustrations of the stamps as an aid to organization and focus on a particular type, country or time period. Loose-leaf albums allow the easy insertion of supplement pages. Generally stamps are attached to pages with special mounts, called hinges (see below). Advanced collectors may use hingeless albums that have pre-installed plastic mounts you just slip the stamp into. Albums printed on acid-free or archival paper will better preserve your collection. Albums printed on one side of the page are more desirable than two-sided pages. If you decide on two-sided pages, purchase inexpensive glassine sheets to put between the pages to keep stamps from catching on each other.
  Warning: Don't ever house your collection in self-adhesive (even low-tack) or wax-back albums. The adhesives will eventually permeate your stamps and ruin them.


• Mounts. Stamp hinges are used to attach (mount) stamps to the pages of your album. Hinges are pieces of glassine with a light gum on one side. One side of the hinge is attached to the stamp, the other to the book. Minimum moisture is used to allow easy removal of the stamp. Hinges are perfect for low cost and used stamps, but mint condition stamps should only be mounted with plastic mounts which do not damage the adhesive. Plastic mounts are small sleeves into which stamps are placed. They come in a wide variety of sizes to accommodate any stamp.
  Warning: Never lick or paste the stamps directly on the page or use double-sized or scotch tape to attach stamps. You will permanently damage your stamps and will not be able to remove them from the page. Remember, condition = value in stamp collecting.
• Glassine envelopes. Glassine is a special type of non-stick paper used to store stamps. (If you've bought loose stamps at the post office, they may have given them to you in a glassine envelope.) Glassine envelopes are inexpensive, come in a variety of sizes and prevent damage to your stamps until you have time to add them to your stamp album.
  Warning: Wax paper from your kitchen should not be used as a substitute for glassine. The wax will eventually permeate the stamps and ruin them.
  

As you become more involved in stamp collecting, you may want to acquire additional tools such as a perforation gauge and a watermark detector, but they are not essential for the beginner. Stamp supplies can be found at your local stamp shop, online and in some book and hobby stores which often carry beginner supplies. County Stamp Center offers a variety of supplies for beginning and experienced collectors.