Collecting Limited-Edition Postage Stamps

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Stamp collecting is perhaps one of the most popular hobbies in the world; practiced by millions of people in different countries. Postage stamps in the United States were first introduced and used in 1847. The subject of these old stamps often involved historical figures such as heroes and notable people in society and politics. It wasn’t until 1893 that other images were used on US stamps; starting out with fairs, followed by other images such as boats, horses, cars, special occasions, and places.

People get into stamp collecting for varying reasons: some people feel a certain affinity towards stamps of a particular category or even just old stamps in general whereas others may have started out with stamp collecting after being given an old stamp collection by a relative or a friend. Regardless of the reason why people get into stamp collecting, serious collectors have the same goal: to acquire old, historical, limited-edition stamps to add to their collections. Countries typically create limited-edition stamps particularly to cater to stamp collectors as a source of extra revenue.

Old stamps are worth a lot of money, especially those that were released for a limited time only. The first stamp to ever be used in the world is known as the Penny Black, which was officially released in 1840 in Britain. It features an image of Queen Victoria. Since it is quite rare to come across such a stamp, the Penny Black is typically sold around $20 to $2000 or even more. The price of a stamp will significantly depend on its condition and of course, its rarity.

In the US, there are several notable stamps that are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Benjamin Franklin Z Grill stamp, released in 1868, has been sold for $935,000 to a collector. There are only two known copies of this stamp, making it such a rare and expensive find among collectors. Another rare US stamp is the Jenny Plane, issued in 1918 and was widely used in World War 1; this stamp can cost quite a fortune, especially if it is in good condition. It had been reported that one of these stamps was sold for over $900,000 and a set for over $2 million.

Perhaps one of the most expensive International stamps to have been sold to a collector was the Sweden Three Skilling Banco, which was sold in 1996 for $2.3 million during an auction. What makes this stamp special is that it is printed on yellow paper instead of the regular green stamp paper and there is only one copy of this stamp to have been issued.

Stamp collecting, especially when it involves collecting old stamps, can be quite an expensive hobby. Having some knowledge about how to spot limited-edition, high-valued stamps can be useful to pursue stamp collecting as a hobby, although you can always consult a philatelist, an expert at studying stamps, to find out how much a certain stamp is worth.

The Evolution of Stamps as a Hobby or Business

Collecting stamps is one of the oldest and most popular hobbies in the world, so much that it has evolved in to many other areas, one being home based businesses. Because of hobbies like stamp collecting, many hobbies and crafts companies in direct sales were spawned, whether it be an original like stampin' up or a new comer like close to my heart. These companies may not sell postage stamps, but they have taken the almost addictive hobby of stamp collecting and turned it in to a business opportunity for entrepreneurs in the form of rubber stamps or scrapbooking.

Stamp collecting created many stamp collecting businesses resulting from life-long stamp collectors, that get in to the business of selling stamps and stamp accessories. In addition to whole online websites devoted to stamp collecting like the stamp collecting blog.