Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
How popular is our hobby (philately AND stamp collecting) in the US vs. Europe ?? Percentage of population wise?
I have seen this topic discussed on a forum somewhere, but I cannot find that particular thread. I'm not even sure it was on Stamporama. Anyway, there were some stats referenced, a comparison of US vs Germany, and the percentage of population in the US that collected stamps was fairly low, like 8% or 9%, and in Germany very high, in mid 20s. I have looked around, but I cannot find any credible sources for such info, just blogs and opinions. I was hoping someone here had some info...
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You are unlikely to find any firm statistics. I would have to say, based on my contacts with collectors around the world that collecting in Europe is considerably more widespread than in Canada or the U.S. I live in Vancouver, with a total metropolitan population of more than 2,000,000, but my stamp club, the largest in the city, has only 85 members in it. I would be surprised if there are more than a 1,000 collectors living here -- only .5% of the population. When a major stamp show like Vanpex can draw only a few hundred collectors -- and quite a number of those come from beyond Greater Vancouver -- then there aren't a great many collectors out there.
Bob
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here in the Netherlands the Royal Dutch society of philatelists has 34,000 members. That is not many on a population of 16 million, but these are only the organised collectors. The tip of the iceberg so to speak.
I think that a much larger percentage of the population has at one time collected stamps (or still does). It is just that a. many people have a dormant collection because they got other interests, family life etc. b. a lot of people collect stamps but do not want to admit it as stamp collecting has a very boring image.
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I would assume many people do not talk about their hobby of collecting stamps, or coins, or any other collectable unless they are in the midst of other collectors.
I know I do not broadcast around my area that I have stamps and/or coins in my home. Some creatures on this earth will think that there is a fast buck to be made if there are any valuables in a home and come visting in the middle of the night. The only persons on this island who are aware of my hobbies are my family and closest friends.
Not every stamp collector belongs to a Philatelic Society so I would assume any statistics gathered by these societies mean absolutely nothing when trying to come up with a percentage of a population who collects philatelic material.
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Ahhhh, percentages. I do have fun with those.
But compareing countries cannot bring a fair percentage in an accurate figure.
I think 10 % of 300 million people is greater than 20 % of 50 million. So 20% is not a greater number of collectors, only a geater portion of the population.
If a small island ,with a population of 2 people,and one collects stamps, it would be the highest recordered percentage of the population in the hobby,at 50 % participation.
Sooooooooooo,,,,,
TOM
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absolute numbers are not very useful, I agree with that. But percentages can give information about relative popularity in a country or among a certain population, but only if the populations can be compared. If we can assume that the USA and Germany are comparable in lots of ways it would say something when 10% in the USA collected stamps (or have beards or whatever) compared to 20% in Germany. The fact that 10% of 300 million is more than 20% of 80 million does not really matter.
Small populations distort statistics, so they are normally discarded.
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this is an intriguing discussion, and one in which each contributor has added something. Jan-Simon's quoted Dutch societal participation of 34,000 is just shy of the US-located APS' 49,000 membership, which has been in steep and rapid decline for the last decade, and accelerating. There may be more than folks leaving field involved or dying members not being replaced: dues recently went up, APS politics is smelling worse and worse, and many (in my opinion) are unhappy about the society purchase. Still, the sole general philatelic society's membership rolls speak very very small volumes.
Look at SOR's membeship and you'll see the small, relatively speaking, US membership, given that it requires English and use of US currency.
Note the number of philatelic papers are declining; the absolute absence of stamp stores (long before eBay) anywhere in the US.
in multiplying APS membership by 10 (figuring there are 9 more nonmembers for each participant) and dividing by US population, I came up with 1/10 of 1 percent. I could be off by a factor of 10 and still the measure is only 1.36 percent.
I often talk stamps with others, and I almost never encounter an active collector, although many former dabblers.
The USPS and Linns both discuss collectors in an outward spiral of diminishing interest. Linns usually reports their results yearly with a well explained methodology and detailed assumptions. Maybe one of our Linns readers (I'm one, but don't save much of it beyond my own interests) could find this and report their published results.
David
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Economics! I live in the US and I believe with most families having both partners working they do not have the time or energy to collect. An old timer like me it fills a void of time but I have many other activities I enjoy also. My collection is quite extensive and I plan on passing it down as an heirlom with stipulations that it NEVER be sold. However, my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids have no interest at all, which is discouraging. I agree, it's dying a slow death as a hobby here in the US .... it seems everyone wants things to move fast rather than take the time to enjoy a great hobby.
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Kenneth, if your heirs are not interested in your collection, then I would suggest that you do arrange to dispose of it. I don't think of my collection as a commodity that I own, but as an assemblage of artifacts of which I am the temporary caretaker.
Locking a collection up in an estate with the provision that it never be sold is tantamount to preventing other, future collectors ever from benefitting from it, and preventing philately as a whole from benefitting from it. Collectors have to have stamps and covers to study, and some of those collectors will report on their discoveries and not only about the stamps and covers in their collections and on the history behind them.
For the same reasons, it's not a good idea to bequeath collections to museums, which rarely have the funding or the expertise to deal with collections. I recently saw a cover in a small museum which could probably have been a centrepiece in an exhibit about the participation of Chinese-Canadians in the Second World War. It was displayed in a glass case by a window; it had been faded almost to illegibility. No collector who knows anything about postal history or stamps would ever allow that to happen.
The philatelic marketplace should not be seen as a collective of grasping, unethical dealers out just to make a buck at the expense of collectors. Buying and selling collections is the only hope we have of keeping our hobby alive.
Bob
(Message edited by Bobstamp on November 12, 2008)
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Part of the reasoning I have about my collection is that it is full of personal ( family ) stuff. Letters, postcards, and memorabilia of my family history is inter-twined within the collection itself. My daughter, although not into stamp collecting at all, has taken it upon herself to continue as the family historian. It was my father who started me in the hobby whereas I made it a passion. At some point in time it is always possible that one of my family members will pick it up and say: "wow, this looks like fun" ....
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Since no member of my family is interested in stamps or stamp collecting I have been selling my collection over the last couple of years. I use 4 different auction sites and can say definitively that I sell more stamps in both quantity and dollar value to collectors in countries outside the USA. Which would lead me to believe that stamp collecting is more popular in countries other than ours.
Cheers to all,
Bill Martin / Baldeagle
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Do not forget the dollar has been very low against many other currencies for the past few months. It makes buying in US$ very interesting for us Europeans.
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And very expensive for us Canadians! For awhile there, it was wonderful. Australia, however, is a different story. I recently bought an Australia booklet, and AU $100 came out to be CDN $85. However, my monthly disability check from the U.S. Veterans Administration is adding nicely to our condo payments. It's tax-free, too! Ahhhh, life is...OK. :-)
Bob
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Living in the metro New York area, I am fortunate to be able to access a few stamp stores as well as many stamp shows of all sizes, whether they be "Mega Events", or "Metro Expos" or many dealer bourses held here in Long Island, New York which have about 10-20 dealers in attendance.
I also am fortunate enough to go to the U.N. where I buy current issues and use their stamps and facilities to post my personal mail about once a month. I did go to the the U.N. in August when they issued their Beijing Olympic stamps and souvenir sheets. For the first time in many years, I had to wait on line an hour to make my purchases!! The great bulk of their customers were oriental- I suspect Chinese- and they were buying stamps in the hundreds of dollars per purchase. There was even a Chinese television station present interviewing both Oriental and Occidental customer for this event. I have also been at the U.N. other times and noted that oriental tourists were buying stamps in droves not only to mail, but to take home to fellow collectors as well. While collecting postage stamps might be heading south in the U.S. it apparently is becoming more popular in the orient and other emerging economies. Maybe this is where the future of our hobby might lie?
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Hi folks,
I justed googled around a bit. There are statistics for each and everything. In Germany people aged 14+ years answer like this:
91% do not collect stamps, coins etc at all,
4% collect these only seldomly,
another 3% occasionally and
only 2% regularly/intensive.
(see here: http://de.statista.org/statistik/diagramm/studie/30376/umfrage/sammeln-von-briefmarken-muenzen-etc.-in-der-freizeit/ )
Well, we have approx. 82 mio inhabitants in Germany, from which approx. 70.5 mio are 15 or older. This means we have approx.1.2 mio people collecting stamps, coins etc regularly/intensive.
I once heard about another poll focussing on stamp collecting but can't figure out where to look. I guess the national stamp collecting societies should know more about this. They definitely have asked such questions in so-called survey-busses (several topics are asked).
Greetings
Walter
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There is another side to this - and that is who collects what.
My impression is that US collectors ( in general)only collect US whereas European collectors usually collect at least one other country in addition to ( or in place of ) there own. This reflects the US traditional "isolationist" or "introspected" ethos ( this is not a judgemental statement so please do not get on my case ). This being so there may be ( in the US ) a perception that when talking about stamp collecting people may think "foreign stamp" collecting. I think it possible, or even probably that if one includes people who collect only US stamps there may be more collectors than appear on the statistics - especially those who perhaps collect spasmodically.
There may also be those who consider themselves unqualified to be considered " serious" collectors and who disqualify themselves as a result.
There is also the fact that here in the UK stamp collectors are often considered to be a bit odd ( and obliquely perhaps considered "deviant" with all the connotations that that can imply ) so one is very careful about whom one shares the information ( more so perhaps than the potential theft angle ).Continental Europe is perhaps a bit more broad-minded about this. It seems to me that serious philatelic study is more acceptable as a legitimate pursuit to the general public and is thus more readily admitted. In the UK stamp collecting has never really gained perception as an intellectual occupation.
Worldwide I think stamp-collecting is perceived as either mere accumulation or financial jiggery-pokery, rather than what it is - an INTERESTING hobby with many facets and directions.
All these factors I think militate against any meaningful statistics.
Malcolm
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Hi Malcolm,
I had never thought about what US collectors collect, compared to what non-US collectors collect.
There are 4 stamp collectors in my family (USA- mom, sister, my husband, and myself). All of us are WW topical collectors. Two of us have US collections. One family member who does not collect US, has a Japan collection.
I am one of the 2 who has an US collection, but I also have Israel and pre 1949 China collections; plus various classic ww and other ww having a personal appeal for me.
Anyway, for sure in my family topical collecting is primary. I wonder, is topical collecting common where you live?
Peace,
Doe
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Hail Philatelists,
No topical collecting in my house, pilgrim!
We take it straight, or not at all.
I collect U.S., China, and Germany. My wife wants nothing to do with any of these.
(snooty woman) :-)
She collects Australia, Canada, GB, and Israel Tab stamps.
We both work on a worldwide collection.
Does this mean that we are social misfits?
Bob
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Topical Collecting - or in Europe-speak thematics is becoming more popular particularly in Eastern Europe where traditionally collecting mint stamps is the norm.
There are a few really good thematic collections in Western Europe but they usually include much more than stamps - postcards, postmarks and special covers. Stamp only thematic collections unless exceptional are not really taken seriously unfortunately, as I think it is an admirable introduction to collecting in general or as a sideline to a more general interest in the subject. I am a keen gardener, and if I was not already a general collector I would certainly consider collecting Botany on stamps - but I would include postcards and magazine cuttings too and arrange by family,then genus then species - but it would be more like a botany textbook than a stamp collection
I only collect used stamps ( world wide ) and postmarks ( as an adjunct to my interest in Geography and History ). A stamp which has not seen postal duty is not a stamp to me - a mint stamp is purely a label.
Fortunately we are all different, and I am interested always to see what other people make of what I see as unpromising material. I have seen some quite imaginative collections of the most ordinary stamps - and I have been known to poach the odd idea.
It is good to specialise ( for those who like that sort of thing ) but not to blind themselves to what else is about.
malcolm
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I am also a US collector who collects primarily US, Canada, and Japan BUT I also collect most European countries pre-WWII. When missing stamps become too expensive to collect I try to find better quality issues of stamps I already own so that keeps me in the collecting mode.
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This is an interesting topic which derived into two different issues. a) is stamp collecting dying away?; b) what to collect?
From my experience, here in SOuth America (especially Brazil and Argentina) the number of stamp collectors decreases steadily. On one side, there are other in-home activities which seem to be more appealing to young people (internet surfing, games, TV, etc), on the other hand, you don't come across many letters with stamps today. I think that is a worldwide tendency and little can be done to change it... so let us enjoy our hobby as long as it lasts (or we last)!
What to collect? I personally collect about 25 countries (mainly in used condition, but don't mind to carry mint stamps if I don't get the used ones) and for most countries from the period 1900-2000. Those from before are generally too expensive... and afterwards too many and difficult to get hold of by swapping. I also have several unusual topic collections (rather accumulations): universities, bicycles, energy and telecommunications.
I only continue collections after 2000 from those countries where postage stamps continue to be used in large amounts, i.e. US, Germany and GB.
I also build my own album pages to keep my stamps. I just put them in the order and format that I like most (this is also great fun!)
Miguel
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Hi Miguel,
I appreciate your comments above and your perspective from a South American point of view. Where in Brazil do you live? I'm sorry, I'm ignorant of your address format in Brazil and couldn't work it out from the Member's information. Do you have local Stamp Clubs in the area that your live?
I'm interested in your comment about building your own album pages. What tool do you use?
Regards ... Tim.
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12:01:11am
Hey guys, I have a question:
How popular is our hobby (philately AND stamp collecting) in the US vs. Europe ?? Percentage of population wise?
I have seen this topic discussed on a forum somewhere, but I cannot find that particular thread. I'm not even sure it was on Stamporama. Anyway, there were some stats referenced, a comparison of US vs Germany, and the percentage of population in the US that collected stamps was fairly low, like 8% or 9%, and in Germany very high, in mid 20s. I have looked around, but I cannot find any credible sources for such info, just blogs and opinions. I was hoping someone here had some info...
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12:23:53am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
You are unlikely to find any firm statistics. I would have to say, based on my contacts with collectors around the world that collecting in Europe is considerably more widespread than in Canada or the U.S. I live in Vancouver, with a total metropolitan population of more than 2,000,000, but my stamp club, the largest in the city, has only 85 members in it. I would be surprised if there are more than a 1,000 collectors living here -- only .5% of the population. When a major stamp show like Vanpex can draw only a few hundred collectors -- and quite a number of those come from beyond Greater Vancouver -- then there aren't a great many collectors out there.
Bob
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01:57:03am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
here in the Netherlands the Royal Dutch society of philatelists has 34,000 members. That is not many on a population of 16 million, but these are only the organised collectors. The tip of the iceberg so to speak.
I think that a much larger percentage of the population has at one time collected stamps (or still does). It is just that a. many people have a dormant collection because they got other interests, family life etc. b. a lot of people collect stamps but do not want to admit it as stamp collecting has a very boring image.
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02:11:09am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
I would assume many people do not talk about their hobby of collecting stamps, or coins, or any other collectable unless they are in the midst of other collectors.
I know I do not broadcast around my area that I have stamps and/or coins in my home. Some creatures on this earth will think that there is a fast buck to be made if there are any valuables in a home and come visting in the middle of the night. The only persons on this island who are aware of my hobbies are my family and closest friends.
Not every stamp collector belongs to a Philatelic Society so I would assume any statistics gathered by these societies mean absolutely nothing when trying to come up with a percentage of a population who collects philatelic material.
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04:30:01am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Ahhhh, percentages. I do have fun with those.
But compareing countries cannot bring a fair percentage in an accurate figure.
I think 10 % of 300 million people is greater than 20 % of 50 million. So 20% is not a greater number of collectors, only a geater portion of the population.
If a small island ,with a population of 2 people,and one collects stamps, it would be the highest recordered percentage of the population in the hobby,at 50 % participation.
Sooooooooooo,,,,,
TOM
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05:01:58am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
absolute numbers are not very useful, I agree with that. But percentages can give information about relative popularity in a country or among a certain population, but only if the populations can be compared. If we can assume that the USA and Germany are comparable in lots of ways it would say something when 10% in the USA collected stamps (or have beards or whatever) compared to 20% in Germany. The fact that 10% of 300 million is more than 20% of 80 million does not really matter.
Small populations distort statistics, so they are normally discarded.
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06:16:37am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
this is an intriguing discussion, and one in which each contributor has added something. Jan-Simon's quoted Dutch societal participation of 34,000 is just shy of the US-located APS' 49,000 membership, which has been in steep and rapid decline for the last decade, and accelerating. There may be more than folks leaving field involved or dying members not being replaced: dues recently went up, APS politics is smelling worse and worse, and many (in my opinion) are unhappy about the society purchase. Still, the sole general philatelic society's membership rolls speak very very small volumes.
Look at SOR's membeship and you'll see the small, relatively speaking, US membership, given that it requires English and use of US currency.
Note the number of philatelic papers are declining; the absolute absence of stamp stores (long before eBay) anywhere in the US.
in multiplying APS membership by 10 (figuring there are 9 more nonmembers for each participant) and dividing by US population, I came up with 1/10 of 1 percent. I could be off by a factor of 10 and still the measure is only 1.36 percent.
I often talk stamps with others, and I almost never encounter an active collector, although many former dabblers.
The USPS and Linns both discuss collectors in an outward spiral of diminishing interest. Linns usually reports their results yearly with a well explained methodology and detailed assumptions. Maybe one of our Linns readers (I'm one, but don't save much of it beyond my own interests) could find this and report their published results.
David
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09:53:43am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Economics! I live in the US and I believe with most families having both partners working they do not have the time or energy to collect. An old timer like me it fills a void of time but I have many other activities I enjoy also. My collection is quite extensive and I plan on passing it down as an heirlom with stipulations that it NEVER be sold. However, my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids have no interest at all, which is discouraging. I agree, it's dying a slow death as a hobby here in the US .... it seems everyone wants things to move fast rather than take the time to enjoy a great hobby.
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10:21:11am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Kenneth, if your heirs are not interested in your collection, then I would suggest that you do arrange to dispose of it. I don't think of my collection as a commodity that I own, but as an assemblage of artifacts of which I am the temporary caretaker.
Locking a collection up in an estate with the provision that it never be sold is tantamount to preventing other, future collectors ever from benefitting from it, and preventing philately as a whole from benefitting from it. Collectors have to have stamps and covers to study, and some of those collectors will report on their discoveries and not only about the stamps and covers in their collections and on the history behind them.
For the same reasons, it's not a good idea to bequeath collections to museums, which rarely have the funding or the expertise to deal with collections. I recently saw a cover in a small museum which could probably have been a centrepiece in an exhibit about the participation of Chinese-Canadians in the Second World War. It was displayed in a glass case by a window; it had been faded almost to illegibility. No collector who knows anything about postal history or stamps would ever allow that to happen.
The philatelic marketplace should not be seen as a collective of grasping, unethical dealers out just to make a buck at the expense of collectors. Buying and selling collections is the only hope we have of keeping our hobby alive.
Bob
(Message edited by Bobstamp on November 12, 2008)
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10:39:06am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Part of the reasoning I have about my collection is that it is full of personal ( family ) stuff. Letters, postcards, and memorabilia of my family history is inter-twined within the collection itself. My daughter, although not into stamp collecting at all, has taken it upon herself to continue as the family historian. It was my father who started me in the hobby whereas I made it a passion. At some point in time it is always possible that one of my family members will pick it up and say: "wow, this looks like fun" ....
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02:53:08pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Since no member of my family is interested in stamps or stamp collecting I have been selling my collection over the last couple of years. I use 4 different auction sites and can say definitively that I sell more stamps in both quantity and dollar value to collectors in countries outside the USA. Which would lead me to believe that stamp collecting is more popular in countries other than ours.
Cheers to all,
Bill Martin / Baldeagle
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03:54:27pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Do not forget the dollar has been very low against many other currencies for the past few months. It makes buying in US$ very interesting for us Europeans.
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05:30:12pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
And very expensive for us Canadians! For awhile there, it was wonderful. Australia, however, is a different story. I recently bought an Australia booklet, and AU $100 came out to be CDN $85. However, my monthly disability check from the U.S. Veterans Administration is adding nicely to our condo payments. It's tax-free, too! Ahhhh, life is...OK. :-)
Bob
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10:39:18am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Living in the metro New York area, I am fortunate to be able to access a few stamp stores as well as many stamp shows of all sizes, whether they be "Mega Events", or "Metro Expos" or many dealer bourses held here in Long Island, New York which have about 10-20 dealers in attendance.
I also am fortunate enough to go to the U.N. where I buy current issues and use their stamps and facilities to post my personal mail about once a month. I did go to the the U.N. in August when they issued their Beijing Olympic stamps and souvenir sheets. For the first time in many years, I had to wait on line an hour to make my purchases!! The great bulk of their customers were oriental- I suspect Chinese- and they were buying stamps in the hundreds of dollars per purchase. There was even a Chinese television station present interviewing both Oriental and Occidental customer for this event. I have also been at the U.N. other times and noted that oriental tourists were buying stamps in droves not only to mail, but to take home to fellow collectors as well. While collecting postage stamps might be heading south in the U.S. it apparently is becoming more popular in the orient and other emerging economies. Maybe this is where the future of our hobby might lie?
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12:51:24pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Hi folks,
I justed googled around a bit. There are statistics for each and everything. In Germany people aged 14+ years answer like this:
91% do not collect stamps, coins etc at all,
4% collect these only seldomly,
another 3% occasionally and
only 2% regularly/intensive.
(see here: http://de.statista.org/statistik/diagramm/studie/30376/umfrage/sammeln-von-briefmarken-muenzen-etc.-in-der-freizeit/ )
Well, we have approx. 82 mio inhabitants in Germany, from which approx. 70.5 mio are 15 or older. This means we have approx.1.2 mio people collecting stamps, coins etc regularly/intensive.
I once heard about another poll focussing on stamp collecting but can't figure out where to look. I guess the national stamp collecting societies should know more about this. They definitely have asked such questions in so-called survey-busses (several topics are asked).
Greetings
Walter
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03:29:55pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
There is another side to this - and that is who collects what.
My impression is that US collectors ( in general)only collect US whereas European collectors usually collect at least one other country in addition to ( or in place of ) there own. This reflects the US traditional "isolationist" or "introspected" ethos ( this is not a judgemental statement so please do not get on my case ). This being so there may be ( in the US ) a perception that when talking about stamp collecting people may think "foreign stamp" collecting. I think it possible, or even probably that if one includes people who collect only US stamps there may be more collectors than appear on the statistics - especially those who perhaps collect spasmodically.
There may also be those who consider themselves unqualified to be considered " serious" collectors and who disqualify themselves as a result.
There is also the fact that here in the UK stamp collectors are often considered to be a bit odd ( and obliquely perhaps considered "deviant" with all the connotations that that can imply ) so one is very careful about whom one shares the information ( more so perhaps than the potential theft angle ).Continental Europe is perhaps a bit more broad-minded about this. It seems to me that serious philatelic study is more acceptable as a legitimate pursuit to the general public and is thus more readily admitted. In the UK stamp collecting has never really gained perception as an intellectual occupation.
Worldwide I think stamp-collecting is perceived as either mere accumulation or financial jiggery-pokery, rather than what it is - an INTERESTING hobby with many facets and directions.
All these factors I think militate against any meaningful statistics.
Malcolm
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re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Hi Malcolm,
I had never thought about what US collectors collect, compared to what non-US collectors collect.
There are 4 stamp collectors in my family (USA- mom, sister, my husband, and myself). All of us are WW topical collectors. Two of us have US collections. One family member who does not collect US, has a Japan collection.
I am one of the 2 who has an US collection, but I also have Israel and pre 1949 China collections; plus various classic ww and other ww having a personal appeal for me.
Anyway, for sure in my family topical collecting is primary. I wonder, is topical collecting common where you live?
Peace,
Doe
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05:29:49pm
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Hail Philatelists,
No topical collecting in my house, pilgrim!
We take it straight, or not at all.
I collect U.S., China, and Germany. My wife wants nothing to do with any of these.
(snooty woman) :-)
She collects Australia, Canada, GB, and Israel Tab stamps.
We both work on a worldwide collection.
Does this mean that we are social misfits?
Bob
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04:08:43am
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Topical Collecting - or in Europe-speak thematics is becoming more popular particularly in Eastern Europe where traditionally collecting mint stamps is the norm.
There are a few really good thematic collections in Western Europe but they usually include much more than stamps - postcards, postmarks and special covers. Stamp only thematic collections unless exceptional are not really taken seriously unfortunately, as I think it is an admirable introduction to collecting in general or as a sideline to a more general interest in the subject. I am a keen gardener, and if I was not already a general collector I would certainly consider collecting Botany on stamps - but I would include postcards and magazine cuttings too and arrange by family,then genus then species - but it would be more like a botany textbook than a stamp collection
I only collect used stamps ( world wide ) and postmarks ( as an adjunct to my interest in Geography and History ). A stamp which has not seen postal duty is not a stamp to me - a mint stamp is purely a label.
Fortunately we are all different, and I am interested always to see what other people make of what I see as unpromising material. I have seen some quite imaginative collections of the most ordinary stamps - and I have been known to poach the odd idea.
It is good to specialise ( for those who like that sort of thing ) but not to blind themselves to what else is about.
malcolm
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re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
I am also a US collector who collects primarily US, Canada, and Japan BUT I also collect most European countries pre-WWII. When missing stamps become too expensive to collect I try to find better quality issues of stamps I already own so that keeps me in the collecting mode.
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01:08:33pm
Approvals
re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
This is an interesting topic which derived into two different issues. a) is stamp collecting dying away?; b) what to collect?
From my experience, here in SOuth America (especially Brazil and Argentina) the number of stamp collectors decreases steadily. On one side, there are other in-home activities which seem to be more appealing to young people (internet surfing, games, TV, etc), on the other hand, you don't come across many letters with stamps today. I think that is a worldwide tendency and little can be done to change it... so let us enjoy our hobby as long as it lasts (or we last)!
What to collect? I personally collect about 25 countries (mainly in used condition, but don't mind to carry mint stamps if I don't get the used ones) and for most countries from the period 1900-2000. Those from before are generally too expensive... and afterwards too many and difficult to get hold of by swapping. I also have several unusual topic collections (rather accumulations): universities, bicycles, energy and telecommunications.
I only continue collections after 2000 from those countries where postage stamps continue to be used in large amounts, i.e. US, Germany and GB.
I also build my own album pages to keep my stamps. I just put them in the order and format that I like most (this is also great fun!)
Miguel
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re: Popularity of the Hobby in US vs. Europe
Hi Miguel,
I appreciate your comments above and your perspective from a South American point of view. Where in Brazil do you live? I'm sorry, I'm ignorant of your address format in Brazil and couldn't work it out from the Member's information. Do you have local Stamp Clubs in the area that your live?
I'm interested in your comment about building your own album pages. What tool do you use?
Regards ... Tim.
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