The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
What’s in a Stamp?
Have you ever looked closely at stamps that arrive on your mail? With many people using email and other electronic communications, your family may not get as much mail as you once did. But stamps can still be works of art that remind us of events, people and places.
The study and collecting of stamps is called philately (fuh-LAT-uh-lee). More than 5 million people in the United States are philatelists. It’s a hobby that can be done no matter where you live or what season it is.
Some postal history
Before the mid-1800s, people didn’t use stamps or envelopes to send items to others. They just folded and sealed a piece of paper. The person who received the letter had to pay for its delivery.
But in England, the postmaster general changed all that. He decided that the sender had to pay for the postage and attach a small piece of colored paper to the outside.
The first British stamp cost 1 cent and featured a picture of Queen Victoria. The United States soon followed, with 5and 10-cent stamps showing Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. People began collecting the stamps right away.
What’s in a stamp?
Some postage stamps have become quite valuable to collectors. Philatelists learn how to identify a stamp and its value. The parts of a stamp include:
• the name of the country that issued the stamp. The only country that doesn’t use its name on stamps is Great Britain, which uses an image of the current king or queen.
• the cost, or face value, of the stamp.
• the design or topic of the stamp.
• the cancellation. These are the lines or marks that cover the stamp to show that it has been used.
• the color of the stamp.
Collect your own way
The cool thing about stamp collecting is that you can make up the rules for your own collection. You can decide to collect new, unused stamps or those that have already been through the mail. You can collect by country, topic, color or age, and you can collect just stamps or the envelopes and other mail they appear on.
Start by saving mail and stamps that are delivered to your house. Ask friends and family members to save stamps for you.
New stamps can be purchased at the post office. Joining a local stamp club can be a great way to share your hobby and trade stamps. Philatelists also sell their stamps to other collectors.