Tips for the Amateur Postage Stamp CollectorFor a postage
stamp collector, "a stamp is not just a stamp". The stamp
collector often detects a mysterious place as well as an interesting
culture the moment when he views a stamp from a foreign country, which
represents a foreign landscape. "Postage stamp collecting"
is a fascinating hobby, which stimulates the curiosity in their mind,
for those who are enthusiastic in the collection of stamps.
On soaking the stamps: 1. Before soaking your stamp, separate stamps from any colored paper and remove the color ink if the stamps having colored cancellations. The soaking activity will spoil the quality and clarity of the stamp if the stamp has purple or red ink stamping or if the color of the paper is of poor quality. The stamps those are with unidentified inks, which could liquefy in the water can discolor other stamps. Any "unusual" stamps should be separated and handled one by one. 2. Trim the paper of the envelope surrounding the stamp, as an extra care to not to scratch or slice the edges of the stamp. 3. When soaking the stamp, take a shallow container with lukewarm water and float the stamps having the pictures side facing the top. Make sure that there is enough space for the stamps to float and not to stick to each other. Avoid soaking too many stamps at a time. 4. Leave
the stamps to float until the adhesive lotion dissolves so that the
stamps easily slide off from the paper. Paper can rip easily, so the
handling of the stamp must be careful. 6. Position the stamps on top of the paper towels or old newspapers to dry it before placing in the album. While drying, the stamps must be placed in a manner that they do not touch each other. 7. Leave the stamps to dry and the stamps may get bend after being dried. So place the stamps in another dry piece of paper, and place a heavy book on them to straighten the stamps. Choosing the right album for your collection: 1. Your first postage stamp album will be an experiment and experience to collect the stamps. If you have looked at someone else's stamp album and you choose that type as ideal for you, then your first album itself can be worthy in your hobby. 2. Listen and take the dealer?s advice when buying a postage stamp album; do not be completely convinced by allegations that a certain album brand is "the best." Note that, a stamp album that is made by a well-known stamp album manufacturer, and which is expensive, does not necessarily mean that it is "the best" and the right one for you. 3. When shopping is concerned, all features and aspects such as the albums price, appearance, and format must be taken care to make a wise choice. 4. Good and efficient ?beginner?s stamp albums? are widely available in affordable price and fully characterized. It will point out, where certain stamps should be pasted and some albums are even with the added informations like maps and data about different countries. 5. If you do not prefer to purchase those premium albums due to its price, choose the other quality very carefully. Stamp albums with weak and delicate pages cannot tolerate the tension of heavy stamp collection, when your collection increases. 6. Choose an album with acid-free pages. 7. When you are planning to buy a stamp album, first you need to search around and examine the album thoroughly before selecting it. Also, do not be discouraged if your first album is not the perfect one as per your needs. You will always need a temporary place to keep your duplicates as your hobby expands. Some popular stamps: 1. The "Treskilling Yellow Swedish? postage stamp is in fact the world?s most valuable stamp in terms of volume, weight, and density. 2. The "Penny Black" was actually the first stamp in the world as an ?official adhesive postage stamp?; released on ?May 1, 1840? by the ?United Kingdom? 3. The "Inverted Jenny" is a postage stamp from United States issued in 1918 which has the airplane at design center. Accidentally it was printed in the wrong side. There were only 100 inverts found, which made the Inverted Jenny as the ?most valuable? stamps and now it is costing about 150,000 US dollars. A postage
stamp collector offers diversity in knowledge. Indeed, stamp collecting
is a worthwhile hobby.
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