I started collecting stamps in 1929 when I was six years old, and continued right up to now, with the exception of the years 1943 to 1946, actually 34 months while in the Army Air Corps, WWII. Purchased many stamps from Woolworths 5 & 10. Bought from the post office a block of four with plate number of the baby zepps C18; I did not know that it should have been a block of six. About 1959, had a hunch that the $5.00 Columbian #245 might be a good investment, and scraped some money up and purchased six mnh copies. Sold one back the next day to the seller at a $50.00 profit, and made out very well with the other five. Bought Israel #1-9 tabbed mnh from Gimbels in NYC at just a few dollars over face. Always was interested in selling stamps, and used to sell them to my teachers in high school, Could really write a book about my adventures in stamps.
Richaard
My parents collected so from as early as I can recall they would sit at the kitchen table several evening a month and soak stamps off paper and mount some in their blue Scott's International. Imagine that, the whole world in one comprehensive binder.
Probably about 1953 when I was starting high school I discovered girls and the stamps were put aside till 1964 when my noticing the spaces for the Tokelau numbers 1-3 on rainy afternoon regenerated my interest.
http://stamp-collector.co.uk/MachinForum/viewtopic.php?t=489
Even during that short hiatus I set anything interesting aside such as the three cent multi color Florida Flamingo printed on the Giori press in 1957, and at the least, often stopped at the display windows of the many small stamp stores that could be found everywhere.
So I claim almost fifty years as a adult.
I created a few FDCs when i was in my early teens. I would scan the local paper and look for Barth Healey's syndicated column announcing the upcoming issues and send away for couple. I would include leters to myself in the FDCs,serving as a sort of time capsule of my emotional state. I am sure they were remarkably poignant, or as much as an introspective young boy could be. I eventually gave it away, and it is one ofthe things i truly regret, wishing i could go and revisit that long-ago boy.
Maybe 15 years later i reconnected because e office in which worked hadnenormous numbers of foreign lettersmcomingnin and beingnthrownaway. Being an opportunist, i just began again. Tat was about 30 years ago.
My collectinginterests have morphed multiple times since then,and i continuously strive to divest myself of all collecting tangents not already being saved for others. That, incidentally, is one of the great pleasures: having folders whose contents are reserved for various friends and fellow collectors.
David
Hey Kelly,
I've been an active collector for over 70+ years now. Started way back when to earn a boy scout merit badge, and have been with it ever since.Began collecting worldwide, and found myself way over my head. I learned to specialize on a few countries rather than all of them, and eventually just U.S.I've actually watched countries dissapear!
Dan C.
I actually started "hoarding" stamps in the mid 1960's, and then put it aside while the kids grew up and then left the nest, affording me some extra spendable income to rekindle my collecting interest and be able to apply myself seriously to it, which was probably in the mid to late 80's. Now that I have retired, I am very happy to have this wonderful hobby occupy my spare time.
Mike
I can't compete with you older guys. I started collecting in 1962 as an 11 year old and collected until life and work got in the way around 20, started again around 30, so claim about 31 years as an adult - plus a few as a child.
In my heart I'm an all world collector, but without the depth of pocket to make serious inroads into the number of available stamps, so have specialized bit by bit on British Commonwealth (especially, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Malta, plus any issues pre Queen Elizabeth II from other Commonwealth countries) plus, of course GB - I live in Wales, so it's my easiest country. I also have a small collection of Slania's engraved stamps - engraved stamps, to me, are the cream of the hobby and Slania has to be the best stamp engraver (though I would put in a good word for the GB 'Seahorse' engraver).
Kelly, if you ever get around to adding up all the years of experience I suspect you are going to have a huge total.
Merv
Merv,
I've gotta agree with you about the engraved stamps and Slania is one of my favorites also. Actually Sweden is the only country that I collect, after the year 2000, because I just love those engraved stamps, even though France is a big favorite also.
Mike
I guess it works out to 54+ years for me. Started when I was 12, visiting my mother's aunt in St Petersburg, FL. Started out worldwide, briefly swerved into FDC's, then US, mostly postal history, and now worldwide pre-1940. I had a few periods where it was a bit inactive, but never completely off the table. I'm trying to downsize a bit (but that's never very successful...).
Roger
I got started in 1966, at age six-- so I guess that makes 46 years. Unlike many, I never took a break during my teen or college years. My dad originally got me started-- thought it would be a good way for me to learn about world geography, history and culture.
~Peter
My grand dad gave me all his extras shortly before he died, when I was just 5 years old. For the next few years my mother gathered stamps for me from frinds and work. When I was 7 years I started sorting this big bag of stamps that had been gathered for me. Still not able to read the country names I sorted in piles of stamps which started with "poste...." or "posta....", just "post" and the last pile with letters not similar to ours. During that sorting I made my hugest blunder: I came upon a 5th category : Pakke Porto (parcel post, big stamps with a standing polar bear. I went to my mother asking what it said. For a while I considered but concluded that parcel post must mean they can not be used on letters. And as such there are not stamps. I found 8-10 of these Greenland parcel post stamps in 5 different colors and they all went into the waste basket
If we say my collecting started with this sorting of a bag of stamps it will be 41 years of collecting. First the whole world, then I narrowed it to Denmark (my country) and colonies. Because of my love of the engraved stamps I started with recess pictorial definitive stamps of British Commonwealth in 1989. Due to my fascination of Arctica and Antarctica I started collection Antarctic territories 1997 (Australian Antarctic Territory, British Antarctic Territory, Ross Dependency, Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises). The 2 latter are the ones I´ve been concentrating on since.
you threw Pakke Porto's in the waste paper basket!?!? Well, you were only very young when this happened and therefore forgiven but still: OMG!
The one outstanding difference between our similar experiences and those of youngsters today is that we could find stamps in our everyday mail, mostly domestic, but sometimes from international mail.
I remember as late as the 1980s always walking past the waste paper bins at the post office and glancing into them to see if there was anything discarded by another patron. I salvaged a few very nice stamps.
One day I was buying stamps and a fellow was picking up mail that had been held for "pickup" from the next clerk. Some of his mail bore attractive stamps that stood out from the six foot distance between clerks stations. On the way out I saw that he was in the lobby opening his mail item by item and mostly tossing stuff in the trash. So I lingered at the next table, counting my change and looking through whatever things were posted on the display wall there and then to kill time went back inside and bought some small denomination "make-up" rate stamps, keeping one eye on the lobby through the glass door.
As soon as the guy left, I was on it and before anyone else got the bright idea saved six or eight fine cancelled French commemorative stamps.
A few months ago I received a package of used envelopes from a daughter who works in an office that receives ten o more enveloped each day. I forget the number but there were less than fifty commemoratives used out of about 2,000 envelopes.
The kids today do not have the opportunity to pick-up used stamps unless they have a Liberty Bell fetish.
Well guys, so far with just these responses we're at approximately 465 years of stamp collecting experience.
Can't wait to see who else puts in their two cents. This is really cool to see how many years we can accumulate together as a group!
Kelly
I started collecting when I was 12 in 1974. My Uncle got me into collecting. I gave up about 2 years later. It was tough getting supplies back then. I would go months without getting hinges or supplements and I just kind of lost interest. I then got back into collecting in 1986 while in the Navy. Being the Postal Clerk I was lucky enough to have my own private office on the ship. The office was small, so I couldn't keep the collection on the ship. I would buy collections, kiloware and stamps on approval. I would then soak and sort by country the stamps and put them into envelopes. When the envelopes filled up, I put them in a box, when the box filled up I mailed it home to my parents. When I got out 2 years later, I didn't need to buy another stamp for about 4 years (but of course I did). So I also stopped for about 2 years in the late 90's because I had to go through a Bone Marrow Transplant for Hodgkin's Disease and just had a baby before about 3 months before that. I still read Linn's and remained a member of the APS and bought a few things but wasn't too active during that time. I would say I have been a collector for about 28 years total.
Bob
Been involved in stamps since I was eighteen when I came across my fathers 1937 Coronation Commonwealth First Day Collection. He spent alot of time sending letters to post offices with return addresses before the coronation and requested the stamps and the First Day Cancel on self addressed envelope. He even figured out what could be sent back as registered and got many of those. I fell in love with those covers and then he gave me his Germany collection...haven't looked back since.
26 years here.
Grant
I use to collect WW also, picked it from my dad in '46 after the war. my dad was not a very good collector so I took the US collection and put all my efforts into it. Later I took up Japan and Canada. Sadly I cannot get anyone in my family interested so I guess they'll sit in a drawer somewhere when I'm gone albeit they will be passed onto my son and his family. Perry
Started at age 8 by grandfather in 1976. Never looked back. Collecting or hoarding in one way shape or form since. Mostly a happy generalist but with some specialization in french colonies, Iceland, Ethiopia, British Honduras and US Revenues. Just started exhibiting several years ago and received first APS show silver at colopex this year. Love every aspect of collecting for my 36 yrs. have introduced my son to collecting. He is a 14 year old ship topical collector. Has been fun doing things with him. Will never forget first stamp ever put in album with grandpa was Iceland Scott 247 volcano. That was a good day.
Fun topic, it is amazing how much experience some folks have with collecting !
Members:
I've been a stamp collector for over sixty years and still haven't reached top speed.
My international collection, absolutely dwarfed by my stamp accumulations , is worthless because I'll never sell
it. The stamp I paid the most for, my "penny black", is my most prized stamp possession; not because of its cost, but because of what it represents - a universe that holds me spellbound.
John Derry
Love that last phrase, John
42 years this month - I received a whole boatload of supplies for my 10th birthday!
It has been a bleesing to enjoy collecting and the fellowship of many collectors since my childhood!
I was sitting here tonight thinking that the accumulated number of years all the SOR members have been collecting philatelic materials (stamps, covers, etc.) is absolutely mind-boggling. Just among those of us who actively participate in the discussion board alone, our numbers are amazing.
I've been collecting for about 30 years. It would be really neat to see how many people respond to this thread to say how many years they have been collecting.
Amongst us all here in SOR, the amount of knowledge we have accumulated about this fantastic hobby through our blunders, research and mentorship is something that makes me extremely proud to be in the presence of so much experience.
Kelly
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I started collecting stamps in 1929 when I was six years old, and continued right up to now, with the exception of the years 1943 to 1946, actually 34 months while in the Army Air Corps, WWII. Purchased many stamps from Woolworths 5 & 10. Bought from the post office a block of four with plate number of the baby zepps C18; I did not know that it should have been a block of six. About 1959, had a hunch that the $5.00 Columbian #245 might be a good investment, and scraped some money up and purchased six mnh copies. Sold one back the next day to the seller at a $50.00 profit, and made out very well with the other five. Bought Israel #1-9 tabbed mnh from Gimbels in NYC at just a few dollars over face. Always was interested in selling stamps, and used to sell them to my teachers in high school, Could really write a book about my adventures in stamps.
Richaard
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
My parents collected so from as early as I can recall they would sit at the kitchen table several evening a month and soak stamps off paper and mount some in their blue Scott's International. Imagine that, the whole world in one comprehensive binder.
Probably about 1953 when I was starting high school I discovered girls and the stamps were put aside till 1964 when my noticing the spaces for the Tokelau numbers 1-3 on rainy afternoon regenerated my interest.
http://stamp-collector.co.uk/MachinForum/viewtopic.php?t=489
Even during that short hiatus I set anything interesting aside such as the three cent multi color Florida Flamingo printed on the Giori press in 1957, and at the least, often stopped at the display windows of the many small stamp stores that could be found everywhere.
So I claim almost fifty years as a adult.
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I created a few FDCs when i was in my early teens. I would scan the local paper and look for Barth Healey's syndicated column announcing the upcoming issues and send away for couple. I would include leters to myself in the FDCs,serving as a sort of time capsule of my emotional state. I am sure they were remarkably poignant, or as much as an introspective young boy could be. I eventually gave it away, and it is one ofthe things i truly regret, wishing i could go and revisit that long-ago boy.
Maybe 15 years later i reconnected because e office in which worked hadnenormous numbers of foreign lettersmcomingnin and beingnthrownaway. Being an opportunist, i just began again. Tat was about 30 years ago.
My collectinginterests have morphed multiple times since then,and i continuously strive to divest myself of all collecting tangents not already being saved for others. That, incidentally, is one of the great pleasures: having folders whose contents are reserved for various friends and fellow collectors.
David
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Hey Kelly,
I've been an active collector for over 70+ years now. Started way back when to earn a boy scout merit badge, and have been with it ever since.Began collecting worldwide, and found myself way over my head. I learned to specialize on a few countries rather than all of them, and eventually just U.S.I've actually watched countries dissapear!
Dan C.
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I actually started "hoarding" stamps in the mid 1960's, and then put it aside while the kids grew up and then left the nest, affording me some extra spendable income to rekindle my collecting interest and be able to apply myself seriously to it, which was probably in the mid to late 80's. Now that I have retired, I am very happy to have this wonderful hobby occupy my spare time.
Mike
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I can't compete with you older guys. I started collecting in 1962 as an 11 year old and collected until life and work got in the way around 20, started again around 30, so claim about 31 years as an adult - plus a few as a child.
In my heart I'm an all world collector, but without the depth of pocket to make serious inroads into the number of available stamps, so have specialized bit by bit on British Commonwealth (especially, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Malta, plus any issues pre Queen Elizabeth II from other Commonwealth countries) plus, of course GB - I live in Wales, so it's my easiest country. I also have a small collection of Slania's engraved stamps - engraved stamps, to me, are the cream of the hobby and Slania has to be the best stamp engraver (though I would put in a good word for the GB 'Seahorse' engraver).
Kelly, if you ever get around to adding up all the years of experience I suspect you are going to have a huge total.
Merv
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Merv,
I've gotta agree with you about the engraved stamps and Slania is one of my favorites also. Actually Sweden is the only country that I collect, after the year 2000, because I just love those engraved stamps, even though France is a big favorite also.
Mike
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I guess it works out to 54+ years for me. Started when I was 12, visiting my mother's aunt in St Petersburg, FL. Started out worldwide, briefly swerved into FDC's, then US, mostly postal history, and now worldwide pre-1940. I had a few periods where it was a bit inactive, but never completely off the table. I'm trying to downsize a bit (but that's never very successful...).
Roger
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I got started in 1966, at age six-- so I guess that makes 46 years. Unlike many, I never took a break during my teen or college years. My dad originally got me started-- thought it would be a good way for me to learn about world geography, history and culture.
~Peter
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
My grand dad gave me all his extras shortly before he died, when I was just 5 years old. For the next few years my mother gathered stamps for me from frinds and work. When I was 7 years I started sorting this big bag of stamps that had been gathered for me. Still not able to read the country names I sorted in piles of stamps which started with "poste...." or "posta....", just "post" and the last pile with letters not similar to ours. During that sorting I made my hugest blunder: I came upon a 5th category : Pakke Porto (parcel post, big stamps with a standing polar bear. I went to my mother asking what it said. For a while I considered but concluded that parcel post must mean they can not be used on letters. And as such there are not stamps. I found 8-10 of these Greenland parcel post stamps in 5 different colors and they all went into the waste basket
If we say my collecting started with this sorting of a bag of stamps it will be 41 years of collecting. First the whole world, then I narrowed it to Denmark (my country) and colonies. Because of my love of the engraved stamps I started with recess pictorial definitive stamps of British Commonwealth in 1989. Due to my fascination of Arctica and Antarctica I started collection Antarctic territories 1997 (Australian Antarctic Territory, British Antarctic Territory, Ross Dependency, Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises). The 2 latter are the ones I´ve been concentrating on since.
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
you threw Pakke Porto's in the waste paper basket!?!? Well, you were only very young when this happened and therefore forgiven but still: OMG!
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
The one outstanding difference between our similar experiences and those of youngsters today is that we could find stamps in our everyday mail, mostly domestic, but sometimes from international mail.
I remember as late as the 1980s always walking past the waste paper bins at the post office and glancing into them to see if there was anything discarded by another patron. I salvaged a few very nice stamps.
One day I was buying stamps and a fellow was picking up mail that had been held for "pickup" from the next clerk. Some of his mail bore attractive stamps that stood out from the six foot distance between clerks stations. On the way out I saw that he was in the lobby opening his mail item by item and mostly tossing stuff in the trash. So I lingered at the next table, counting my change and looking through whatever things were posted on the display wall there and then to kill time went back inside and bought some small denomination "make-up" rate stamps, keeping one eye on the lobby through the glass door.
As soon as the guy left, I was on it and before anyone else got the bright idea saved six or eight fine cancelled French commemorative stamps.
A few months ago I received a package of used envelopes from a daughter who works in an office that receives ten o more enveloped each day. I forget the number but there were less than fifty commemoratives used out of about 2,000 envelopes.
The kids today do not have the opportunity to pick-up used stamps unless they have a Liberty Bell fetish.
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Well guys, so far with just these responses we're at approximately 465 years of stamp collecting experience.
Can't wait to see who else puts in their two cents. This is really cool to see how many years we can accumulate together as a group!
Kelly
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I started collecting when I was 12 in 1974. My Uncle got me into collecting. I gave up about 2 years later. It was tough getting supplies back then. I would go months without getting hinges or supplements and I just kind of lost interest. I then got back into collecting in 1986 while in the Navy. Being the Postal Clerk I was lucky enough to have my own private office on the ship. The office was small, so I couldn't keep the collection on the ship. I would buy collections, kiloware and stamps on approval. I would then soak and sort by country the stamps and put them into envelopes. When the envelopes filled up, I put them in a box, when the box filled up I mailed it home to my parents. When I got out 2 years later, I didn't need to buy another stamp for about 4 years (but of course I did). So I also stopped for about 2 years in the late 90's because I had to go through a Bone Marrow Transplant for Hodgkin's Disease and just had a baby before about 3 months before that. I still read Linn's and remained a member of the APS and bought a few things but wasn't too active during that time. I would say I have been a collector for about 28 years total.
Bob
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Been involved in stamps since I was eighteen when I came across my fathers 1937 Coronation Commonwealth First Day Collection. He spent alot of time sending letters to post offices with return addresses before the coronation and requested the stamps and the First Day Cancel on self addressed envelope. He even figured out what could be sent back as registered and got many of those. I fell in love with those covers and then he gave me his Germany collection...haven't looked back since.
26 years here.
Grant
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
I use to collect WW also, picked it from my dad in '46 after the war. my dad was not a very good collector so I took the US collection and put all my efforts into it. Later I took up Japan and Canada. Sadly I cannot get anyone in my family interested so I guess they'll sit in a drawer somewhere when I'm gone albeit they will be passed onto my son and his family. Perry
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Started at age 8 by grandfather in 1976. Never looked back. Collecting or hoarding in one way shape or form since. Mostly a happy generalist but with some specialization in french colonies, Iceland, Ethiopia, British Honduras and US Revenues. Just started exhibiting several years ago and received first APS show silver at colopex this year. Love every aspect of collecting for my 36 yrs. have introduced my son to collecting. He is a 14 year old ship topical collector. Has been fun doing things with him. Will never forget first stamp ever put in album with grandpa was Iceland Scott 247 volcano. That was a good day.
Fun topic, it is amazing how much experience some folks have with collecting !
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Members:
I've been a stamp collector for over sixty years and still haven't reached top speed.
My international collection, absolutely dwarfed by my stamp accumulations , is worthless because I'll never sell
it. The stamp I paid the most for, my "penny black", is my most prized stamp possession; not because of its cost, but because of what it represents - a universe that holds me spellbound.
John Derry
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
Love that last phrase, John
re: How many years have we been collecting - Counting the years
42 years this month - I received a whole boatload of supplies for my 10th birthday!
It has been a bleesing to enjoy collecting and the fellowship of many collectors since my childhood!