Archives: 2008 October

Stamp collecting is considered a fun activity for many people, both adults and children. It provides the enjoyment of collecting different types of stamps whether they may be found in ordinary binders or through received mail. For some it is an exciting hobby. Beginners are often fond of collecting as many different kinds of stamps as possible until they realize that specializing in a specific type of stamp may be more enjoyable.

There are many different kinds of information that can be learned from collecting stamps, something many collectors find particularly fun. A stamp can represent anything from places, persons, sports, historical events, cars, and more. The careful and meticulous creation and maintenance of a creation can pay off huge dividends in personal satisfaction when displaying or exhibiting the mature collection.

There is also the consideration of profit in stamp collecting. Special stamps may feature an important event or a person. The value of these special stamps can be considerable, depending on their rarity and the limited versions of the releases. This is not unlike any other commodity, where a collector can find a professional dealer who can provide the possible price value of a particular item.

Another option to profit from stamp collection is to look for collectors who show interest in the kind of stamps that the collector has. Advertising the collection in newspapers and magazines that conduct special advertisements for rare and special stamps is a good way to gauge such interest. The Internet can also assist through auction sales and online advertising, and through those tools give updated information on the value of certain stamps.

In coin collecting, the condition of a coin is everything and is the key to determining its value. A coin in mint or uncirculated condition can be worth several hundred or even a thousand times more than a coin that is in extremely poor condition. In fact, some extremely rare coins can be considered priceless and have nothing to compare to. That example seems kind of obvious is is true of almost every type of collectible such as stamps, cars, baseball cards and more. Almost all collectors create systems to determine the the condition and value of a collectible.

The most common one used for coins is the one adopted by the American Numismatic Association called the Sheldon system and numbers a coin between 1 and 70, where 70 represents a perfect specimen and 1 represents a barely identifiable coin.

The generally accepted scale of for how to grade coins from highest to lowest work something like this:

* Mint State (MS) 60–70: Uncirculated
* About/Almost Uncirculated (AU) 50, 53, 55, 58
* Extremely Fine (XF or EF) 40, 4-
* Very Fine (VF) 20, 25, 30, 35
* Fine (F) 12, 15
* Very Good (VG) 8, 10
* Good (G) 4, 6
* About Good (AG) 3
* Fair (FA, FR) 2
* Poor (PR, PO) 1

As most hobbies go, collectors of coins often have a theme around which they collect. A few popular themes include:

Country collections