• Postage Hq
• Everything you need to know about postage
• The Facts About Us Postage
• Postage Stamp Art - Beautiful And Historical
• The Current Rates For Postage
• The Facts About Postage Stamps
• Benefits Of Internet Postage
• Rates For Us Postage
• Using Postal Meters
• Can You Get A Postage Discount?
• The Postage Meter: Saving Money And Time
• Postage Stamp Supplies
• Benefits Of Buying Rebuilt Mailing Equipment
• A Stamp For Every Holiday
• History And How-tos Of A Postage Stamp Collection
• The Philatelist And His Stamps
• Everything you need to know about postage
• The Increase In Postage Price
• The Facts About Postage Stamps
• Us Postage Stamps, A Necessary Part Of Our Society
• Why Stamp Collecting Is Perfect For Kids
• Finding The Best Postage Scales
• The Benefits Of Using Mailing Equipment
• The Facts About Postage Meters
• Valuable Postage Stamps
• The Fun Of Personalized Postage Stamps

The Philatelist And His Stamps

Before the postage stamps came into use, the person who was receiving a piece of mail had to pay for the delivery costs. The rates were very high at the time and cause many recipients to refuse the mail, therefore causing the post office to lose money over delivering and returning of the mail. For this reason, the post office decided to have all mail prepaid, therefore inventing the postage stamp. Soon after the invention of the postage stamp, came the wonderful hobby of postage stamp collecting and as a part of this, the need to determine the value of old postage stamps. After all, why collect old postage stamps without knowing the full value?

A person who collects stamps is called a "philatelist." The practice of stamp collecting is called "philately" which specifically refers to the collection and study of old postage stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks and basically the study of the postal history. A philatelist also learns exactly what makes a stamp valuable and how to determine a stamps value. This is merely done by determining the quantity of specific stamps that are available, compared to the demand and the stamps condition. The approximate values for both used and mint items can be found in a current stamp catalog.

So, exactly how old does a postage stamp have to be before it will be worth more than face value? First of all, to consider is that a stamp will only become valuable if there are few copies made, the age of the stamp and how many collectors there are that want it. It's also important how the postage stamps were printed. If you have an old stamp that is one hundred years old, yet over a billion of them were printed, then they will most likely never be rare and valuable. However, if there are more than ten stamps and only one copy is available, then this would be one of the most rare and most valuable postage stamps. While rarity is only one factor in determining the value of an old postage stamp, the history behind it is also most important.

To help determine the value of old postage stamps, you can obtain catalogs and other supplies from stamp dealers. You can find these dealers online or let your fingers do the walking in your telephone book under "stamps" or "stamps for collectors." you may want to call ahead to make sure the dealer carries the items you are looking for.