My Father Collected Stamps

Last week, I went to a stamp show and I won a silver medal. I previously posted about what I would exhibit. I also mentioned to quite a few people that I was a stamp collector and going to a stamp show, and they replied, “My father used to collect stamps!” Well, I still do!

I have noticed that hobbies such as stamp and coin collecting, and trading baseball cards seem to be dying activities with fewer people participating. At the show, a handful of young children were in a specially created youth area, but most of the attendees had gray hair – at least those who still had hair! So, the future doesn’t appear too bright for this type of collecting.

I know there are plenty of new things that occupy recreational time. Simple observation shows today’s kids at about age 8 – when I started collecting stamps – are fixated on their electronic devices, moving their fingers across a screen at a lightning pace. At their age, I traded stamps and baseball cards with my friends and even developed some basic bargaining skills!

To be specific, my focus is on First Day Covers (FDC). These are envelopes with stamps postmarked on the first day they were issued. My interest in first day covers began when I was 11. I avoid more valuable stamps and try to assemble collections that interest me. Coincidentally, these are areas that most FDC collectors aren’t interested in. An example is the 16-page exhibit I entered in the GASS stamp show, for which I received a Silver medal.

A slight digression is that most first day covers have a picture on the left side of the envelope – called a cachet – that complements the stamp with added information. An example is an FDC of a stamp for William Howard Taft, the 27th president of the U.S. and Theodore Roosevelt’s handpicked successor. However, when Taft’s term was ending, and he decided to run for a second term, Roosevelt also decided he wanted to be president again and waged a third-party campaign. This pretty much handed the election to Woodrow Wilson, who won with only 42% of the popular vote. Further, Taft became the 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921, serving until he died in 1930. This indicates that there are many opportunities for cachet illustrations.

Some people collect one FDC for each stamp from a specific country; some collect selected stamps and try to obtain as many different cachet brands as they can; and others choose a topic such as flags or bridges and try to get an FDC for every stamp that has a flag or a bridge on it. Physicians may try to get stamps featuring doctors; lawyers may want stamps associated with the legal profession, and so forth. Many books, journals, and associations exist on most collection methods. I find that starting out is pretty easy, and then branching out or getting more heavily involved leads to a building of interest and development of an expertise. If this occurs, you could write an article about what you collect or create an exhibit like mine. I write some articles but prefer exhibiting – it is more work than writing, but I find it much more enjoyable.

One of the things I specialize in is FDCs postmarked when a president is inaugurated or sworn in. I enjoy this immensely, as well as the hunt for new items to add to my collection and finding the right spot for them in my exhibit. I have exhibited my Inauguration Day covers quite a few times, including twice in the last two years, so I will probably put it aside, work on some of my other exhibits, and start a couple of new ones. It takes time to prepare a new exhibit, and acquiring new materials is getting more difficult. The hunt is a slow process…but every minute is enjoyable.

When I was at the GASS stamp show, my wife and I attended seminars on specific topics. There were about six concurrent seminars every hour the show was open, so there were plenty of opportunities to learn more about collecting. My wife attended some seminars with me to keep me company, and she said she even enjoyed some of them!

Hobbies are for enjoyment, relaxation and to keep you interested and involved in something that is not too serious or draining. I enjoy collecting and wholeheartedly recommend it. If you are interested in getting started, let me know and I’ll try to point you in the right direction. Let’s revive these traditional hobbies!

Comment: My Memoirs as a CPA book has been published and is available in Kindle and print editions at Amazon.com. Buy it, read it and enjoy it!