Where Butterflies Are Winter Guests

Butterflies of every type are popular topical subjects in stamp collecting. Their bright colorful patterns and nature-enhancing presence makes their perfect focal points for stamp designers.

Topical Paradise: Goblins, Ghouls and Good Stamp Collecting

 

 

 

 

Topical stamp collecting is fast becoming the most exciting category of stamping in many a year.  What has becoming the most fascinating aspect is how the categories are expanding and some becoming brand new. Halloween is now a fast grower with France kicking in their two cents by creating a new series.

 

We hope to see more stamp categories join to make topical collecting as fun and educational as humanly possible. Many thanks for collectors around the world giving us the jump on new developments. You guys are awesome.

Eat some candy for me. I'm busy craving out two pumpkins for the kids.

Topical Collecting Soars to New Heights

Topical stamp collecting has shown stronger signs of increasing more than anytime in the recent past history. The topical collector has a specific interest such as space, flowers, shells, famous people, art, etc., that drives their collection. As with all sub-types of collection I respect it enormously but remind beginning collectors of its limitations. There a finite (a small finite number, ha) of topical stamps fitting the interest you crave. Once you have reached that plateau you might be waiting a year or longer for some other entity to produce a stamp. 

The old debate on topical collectors versus "regular" collectors is regulars might more forward with their collection by hundreds of stamps per year---where as topical collectors might only add one, two or a small handful per year. The humor in the debate is both collector is waiting while collecting whether they realize it or not.

I never frown upon it but remind collectors to be more aware of the world before diving into a sub-type collecting mode that limits their scope of the amount of truly diverse countries, cultures and stamps present in the world. I always felt topical collecting was better suited for the more experienced collector, but many are now topical collecting along side their general collecting.

Topical But Not Typical: Thematic Stamp Collecting

Topical stamp collecting has been a past time for decades. Topicals are stamps with a consistent theme like trains, birds, sea life, etc. Though I do not partake in this type of collecting I respect its existence and its hard-won pursuit.

Beginners need to pay heed to the fact that such collecting is difficult because are you automatically limiting yourself to the field (or theme) in question. I've know topical collectors spending 6 months to get 1 stamp of a certain theme.

Intellectually it's not hard to appreciate the excitement of searching for a particular sub-set of stamps out there in the world and placing them in your ever-growing collection. I praise these collectors for their patience if not persistence in obtaining their objects of desire.

Topicals are often the most beautiful, artistic, colorful and valuable of stamps produced by countries around the world. Some countries create them solely for profit on the open collecting marketplace. Some purists mock their presence as somehow "reducing" the quality of collecting as a whole but this opinion is more stamp purist nonsense. Stamps are stamps. Collect what you will and learn what limitations or liabilties along the way.

Your Starter Kit ---The Journey Begins

The Journey towards Collecting Stamps begins after your starter kit comprises of 20 stamps both US and Foreign arrives in the mail.

My recommendation is you purchase a stockbook. A stockbook is a similar to a photo album but its pages are slotted for various sizes of stamps. The book is neutral (not dedicated to a certain country or theme) and will permit you to store the stamps safely until you decide what type or topic of stamp you may want to pursue with your child.

The following are but a few examples---(upon receipt of your starter kit you might decide to stick with)

United States

Certain Countries (i.e, France, Germany, Poland)

All Countries (i.e. the whole world of 150 plus countries)

Certain Themes (called Topicals, i.e, Shells, Fish, Butterflies, Soccer, Planes, Space, etc.)

If you decide to select the United States, then a US Stamp Album is a excellent choice to forever bound your stamps in a permanent collection. You will need a few low-cost supplies to start:

hinges: tiny adhesives that stick to back of stamp and album page

tongs: a type of blunted tweezer to safely handle stamps

magnifying glass: to increase your insight into various designs on stamps

mounts: a type of page protector but sized for stamps (best utilized on unused stamps)


You might not want to go this route so suddenly and just simply use a stockbook to fill with
US and various Foreign Stamps. If you do, you wont need any supplies other than the tongs
for handling stamps safely and possibly the magnifying glass.