Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

The specialists usually think their own way and they sometimes worry too much about one area of stamps until they forget what collecting is really about. On the other hand specialists do sometimes find out more information on one stamp or set of stamps but what happens when you finish with that research, what do you do then? I like collecting WW because if I get bored I can just work on another country and start the whole thing in motion again. I have found if I spend too much time on a country then my mind starts to question why am I collecting and I take a break and go back to stamps. I hope the elitists and specialists can stop looking down on WW collectors because they are the same as us except they just dont get why we collect. I collect for fun and relaxation and to see places I cant afford to go to.
I know I cant afford a GB#1 at the moment but maybe next year so enjoy the hobby and Merry Christmas

This has been a very interesting and informed thread. I enjoyed every minute of it! If I was ever in doubt about collecting WW, I am now convinced that I am doing what the general collecting public does! HAVE FUN

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I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

Thanks for your insights folks... I've actually had all those thoughts as I've gotten back into stamp collecting... so I've decided that while I have some particular interests (Canada, cats, royalty, religion and stamps on stamps) I'll never turn down a stamp from anywhere... so there! After all, I've got six Phoenix-type albums to fill!

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Carmen - Collecting: Canada, Cats, Religion, Royalty, Stamps on Stamps... and worldwide, quite frankly!

Good on you CGOD1. Main thing is HAVE FUN!!!

Anne

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I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

I do not see anything wrong about being a whole world collector.. I never throw away a stamp from anywhere even though i have catalogs only for Europe and i give bigger amounts of money for Albanian and now Kosovo stamps (states that i focus on). I think there is much more to stamp collecting. Stamps tell a story, give information and are beautiful pieces of art.

Greetings to all the WW Collectors, keep it up, and enjoy the beauty of stamps
Bardhi

I agree. As a world collector myself, who focuses on Central Asia and Mongolia, I find that the world collectors are looked on as lesser collectors than ones who only collect a certain country or type of stamp.

Stamp collecting was meant to be world wide not specialized.

Worldwide collecting had a Renaissance when Steiner launched his album website in my opinion. Then it became possible to get many albums at low cost. Now the only thing needed is lots of shelf space...

I'm sorry, but that is simply wrong. Stamp collecting was never 'meant' to be anything. We collect how and what we want.

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

I have to agree, even if you collect uglies!

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

At times, I've found myself obsessively trying to restrain and limit my purchases and new acquisitions only to the 2 or 3 select areas. The more I compulsively try to accomplish this in the name of turning a specialist or whatever, the more I find myself attracted to anything outside my selected areas of focus and collecting

As a stamp collector, I have observed that I just cannot help myself from appreciating any beautiful stamp or set or sheet and get lured into acquiring it. I love studying particular types of stamps or reigns or periods, occasionally even fly-speck indulgence seems appealing, but that doesn't mean I do it at the cost of the other wonderful side of stamp collecting, just yesterday, I was enticed by a thematic set, a modern issue from Azores/Portugal, and although I am in no way interested in collecting anything Portuguese (as yet), I cannot resist the thought "wow, this is a very elegantly designed set, perhaps I get a set of this."

The problem, however, lies in getting and feeling lost in the vast ocean of stamp collecting possibilities, to an extent where you feel burnt out by it all

The symptoms here are confusion as to what actually interests you if you were to pick say top 5 or 10 areas/countries/periods/themes of collecting; also, you tend to quickly lose interest in what you start collecting a few months back, finding yourself interested in something else. This leads to little start-off collections of all kinds lying with you in draws and shoe boxes and stocksheets that have come to an end and stagnation point abruptly for reasons you don't understand, and you don't know what to do about them. Sometimes, I think I shall let them be as I may tend to develop interest in them again, at other times, I feel I must dispose them off so that there's no chance of me getting back at any of it again and thus waste my time, money and energy more on what I could easily lose interest again

Stamp collecting, Philately, Specializing or whatever it is about this hobby, it's all crazy you know, and I love it all the more for it!

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

You do realise Safi, that as soon as you dispose of some parts of your collection, then something else will come along that would have fitted nicely in with every thing that you had!

Is it Murphy's law that says something like...as soon as you get rid of it you have a need for it!!

Enjoy the lot!

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I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

That is so very true! Just a few months back, as one of my collector friends was asking for the Ryukyu Islands sheets collection I had, and I eventually sold it off to him, and then I came across some more material of the same containing many of the sheets that I did not have with me earlier, and I bought them. Now, the missing part to this new acquisition is stuck with my friend

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

I guess meaningful and concentrated collecting of the whole world is a welcome pursuit. Like when I look at the Scott Classic Specialized catalogue that I have covering all-world 1840-1940, it does look like a good set of parameters to collect whole world.

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

I've always enjoyed the variety in collecting the whole world. In my case I eventually focused my effort by just collecting a single year - 1962. Perhaps I'll expand that to "the 1960s", not sure yet - the point is (and it has been many times on this thread already), you should collect what you enjoy collecting.

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Peter

We can only try our best. When everyone says you can 'never' collect the whole WW set, I'm sure that's true. I, for one, will never actively try for the modern stamps! That is a purely, money making exercise for the multitude of PO's in my opinion and for far too many countries!. Way too many stamps issued!! If they come my way? OK! I keep them (and of course then regret not getting them all!)

Another point I might mention, is that a lot of people seem to feel the same way I do about the huge quantity of stamps issued now a days! What about future stamp collectors? I think we have it relatively easy right now! But for the sake of future collectors, should we be putting aside more stamps for them? Here in Australia at least, there are quite a lot of commemorative stamps coming out over the next few months...but, if you are 'lucky' to get a stamp on an envelope, it will always be a FISH!!!

It's unfortunate but, most of the population doesn't collect stamps...I've even had cross words with my daughter about not saving the special stamps I send her on envelopes! She should know better She's learnt her lesson and now keeps the whole envelope!

My ambition...as extreme as it is...and obviously not achieveable ..is to get together as many pre-1980 stamps as possible! I'd prefer pre-1950 but hey what can I say when old collections I pick up have later years? I'm certainly not going to throw them away!

You never know what you're going to find in an old collection. I'm now in the process of rearranging my WHOLE world collection because of a purchase that had countries I never thought I was going to EVER get more stamps from! And nothing now fits in!!!

That is the fun of the chase...and WW collecting is always going to be a chase. Our examples may not be great quality but the bottom line is... we have one!! And we can always look out for a better one later!

Petercollects0, you are doing such a great job with your cover collection! I enjoy looking at that nearly every day! Are you collecting only the covers? or the stamps as well?

Obvious next question? What are you going to do at the end of 1962?

This is a prime example of WW collections...they are not limited to everything or anything! You can choose what you like and as long as you are happy collecting that...the world is your oyster!!!

Go for it WW collectors...and have fun!!!

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I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

You'd be thinking of O'Shaughnessy's Rider to Murphy's Law: "Murphy was drunk at the time, and he always an optimist anyway'.

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

Gotta enjoy that sort of feedback

Hutch, I started with the stamps and branched out to covers - you can see the stamps at:

http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=707

I have been thinking for a while about what's next - worldwide in 1962 there were less than 5,000 stamps issued. At one stage I thought about collecting the year my son was born (1999) but there were more than 150,000 stamps issued that year!

One wag I know suggested 1862 - not many stamps but hard to get them in great condition

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Peter

Grandad's year.
Hometown (Birth Town) 1 for each year.
Birthdate, 1 each year.
50th Anniversaries of "xxx".

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Check out my Finnish friend Keijo Kortelainen:
http://www.stampcollectingblog.com/

He has taken on the daunting task of collecting the whole world from day one to the present...all cancelled no less and he is SERIOUS.

-FK

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" It's getting downright re-goddamn-diculous"
-John Wayne

That maybe for the modern case. However when stamps were first issued I will bet any money that they did not collect it for the cancels but for the aspect of collecting from different countries.

It has and will always be a world wide collecting hobby with side shows like cancels and postmarks.

Thank you for the link to Keijo's site. Many interesting topics covered there.

Margaret

When I resumed collecting about ten years ago after an absence of a very long time, I resumed trying to expand a New Zealand collection. Previously I had sold a reasonably good Canadian collection. One of the most frustrating experiences as a New Zealand collector was visiting dealers and some stamp shows in eastern Canada and finding very little I could add to my collection. I've since extended my interest to several countries and am having a lot more fun - probably spending too much money (what was that other thread about wives???)... I'm not quite ready for an all world collection but, if I live long enough, who knows??? By the way, love the pictures of members' stamp rooms and collections - would like to see more of those. My array of albums looks pretty paltry compared to some I've seen on here but am working hard on it.

Now that's a very different matter. Stamp collecting has grown and diversified as stamp issues have become more prolific and diverse. It would have been a poor thing if it had never grown from those simple beginnings.

Postal history has a long and proud tradition. Sir David Masson in Lahore was collecting every piece of postal history from Jammu & Kashmir that he could in the 1890s ...

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

When stamps were first issued ... what the hell was there to specialize in from any specific country? Of course people would have collected more widely. It was by necessity, rather than a matter of choice.

Hear, hear!!

Eric, would you like to help start the campaign for the beatification of Sir David?

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

I just very well might!

Well, I would not call myself or my goals serious

I started collecting the world when I was a kid, I'm now on my mid-thirties and I still collect the world. And pretty likely I'll continue do it till I'm six feet under. If I manage to add at least 10-30 new stamps a day throughout the rest of my life, I should quite easily land up with a collection that is literally bigger than life.

It's just basic maths really... The average lifespan of Finn is 80 years. So if all goes well, I hope to collect "actively" at least 60 years, possibly even longer. This equals 21,915 days.

If I add approx. 10 stamps a day, this means my collection would be 219,150 stamps.
If I add approx. 20 stamps a day, this means my collection would be 438,300 stamps.
...
So at least on theory level, it's very much do-able to build a somewhat complete world collection. I acknowledge that I will never hit 100% completion, as it would be too expensive for any mortal. But the number of stamps that cost 200$/€ or more is actually very limited (around 10,000 stamps if Michel's Valuable stamps of the world catalog is to be trusted). So in the end, coming up with "decently complete" world collection takes nothing but a time, devotion, and some storage space.

And like said several times on this discussion, it's all about having fun with what you're doing & collecting.

-keijo-

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

I did not know that such a catalogue existed too

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

This broschure (in German) gives a pretty good picture what the catalog is alike: http://www.briefmarken.de/pdf/Wertvolle ... marken.pdf

There's also on online service to support/keep the catalog up with the latest auction prices etc.

It's mot much use "general worldwide collector", but still a nice resource to browse/read occasionally.

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

You have the required 2 properly documented and accredited miracles to present, do you??

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

Thank you, very interesting. I just saved the brochure on my desktop. Now on to 'google translate' tool and reading the brochure

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

Look into any respectable Jammu & Kashmir collection, and si monumentum quaeris, circumspice All documents, too

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'First I'll steal all the money, then I'll kill everybody, and then I'll go away', Père Ubu

kerailija,

Any idea on the number of stamps issued, to date, worldwide?

1840-1940: ~81K
1941-2000: ~412K
2001-2010: ~127K

But of course these figures relate fully to catalog used. What constitutes a major number in one catalog, may be nothing than a minor variety in another. And then there's stuff that is not listed by some (such as Ajman, Manama etc). My counts are based on Michel, likely SG and Scott are in the same ballpark (+/- 10%).

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

This gives me a target to reach for.
As you have mentioned, 100% completion is not possible. But, a very large collection is attainable.

kerailija,

What's the size of your collection?

Hmm??? I am afraid you have stretched a very long bow well past it's breaking point.

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Peter
Hawthorn - AFL Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2008.

About 72K items, and growing

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

That is AWESOME kerailija,

Is that counting every stamp? Do you just collect one example of every stamp or do you try to get mint and used of each? And then, do you count a mint and a used as one or two? What about different watermarks? Or do you not bother with any of that and just keep adding on!?!

I'm tempted to go and count my lot but I'm quite sure I'd loose count somewhere along the way

All I can say is WOW!!!!

Anne

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I am having fun collecting WW and Indian States.

Okay, I'm in... I think I have about 8-9000 stamps or so... a mixture of Mint, Used and CTO

Anyone? What are all your numbers, if known?

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Carmen - Collecting: Canada, Cats, Religion, Royalty, Stamps on Stamps... and worldwide, quite frankly!

I only collect 2 countries.

Austria & Territories: 6,550 stamps & 3,225 covers

Australia: About 26,000 stamps & 4,200 covers

So total about 32,500 stamps + 7,500 covers = 40,000

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Always on the lookout for Australian pre decimal First Day Covers.

The count is just for different major numbers I have (either postally used or CTO, mint/unused are of no interest to me).

I've got plenty of varieties, subtypes, forgeries etc. that I haven't included to counts. Likely the total count of "everything" would be around 100K (and beyond).

For example the "Italian Syracuse coin" definitives I showcased on my blog recently hog several stock book pages, but I still count them < 60 items. The rest is simply variations (different watermark types/positions, papers etc) of same stamps. Below is a sample: an ordinary looking 15 lire stamp. I'm sure most worldwide collectors have the base stamp on their albums.



So what makes this special? This particular design/type + watermark position were used only on experimental vending machines for short period of time. Likely this kind of tidbit information is not of interest for most worldwide collectors, but to me it's the "salt" of collecting the world.

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

Impressive.

How long did it take you to reach this number?

Did you always focus on the world or did you specialize in any area?

Well, I started around mid 1980s as a kid. So I've been collecting roughly 30 years.

Like most kids I did collect the world for starters. At my mid-teens I got "seduced" to specialize, and I put way too many years into collecting mostly Finland (especially definitive types of 1889 and 1917/29 - both of which I have fairly specialized collections). But ultimately I got "bored" and "annoyed" (as going any further would have required serious money), and converted back to collecting the world. And I haven't looked back ever since. Being a general world collector is simply so much more fun and relaxing (and cheap)...

Like most people of my age, I have had (and will have) a lot more in my life than just stamps. At my early 20's I did spent way more time on studying & clubbing than on stamps. Right now on my mid-30's, I'm a husband, father of four, a small business owner - and again I find I could use lot more time for playing with stamps. But I'm being optimistic that with every upcoming year, I'll manage to put a bit more time into this hobby.

Maybe I should add, that my wife's a (general worldwide) stamp collector too (though with less interest/passion to technical details). The current collection was born when we moved together and merged all our earthly possession (two poor students with few kettles, some recycled furniture etc, and a gigantic mountain of stamps) into one. At the same time we threw out (=sold) all the stuff we didn't want to focus/collect in future; essentially this was mint/unused part of our collections. This cut down the size of collection by third at the time.

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

I can't match Keijo (even though he "cheats" by collecting stamps issued after 31 December 1940), but I am a few short of 19,000 spaces filled in my Scott "Blue" International Volume One that covers 1840-1940. I say "spaces filled" as there are a couple of thousand additional stamps from that era that were put in the album by a previous collector but are either duplicates or varieties and so I don't count. My New Year's Resolution is to try to hit the 20,000 mark by the end of the year but I will probably come up short. No matter, it is the journey that's the reward.

With your wife adding to the collection the both of you can reach an even greater number.

Now, I need to convince my wife to start collecting.

For my world wide collection I have around 32,000 Stamps.

Well ladies and gents, I bow humbly to my betters... looks like I had better start buying some stamps by the truckload to keep up with you all...

That's okay though... all things in good time.

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Carmen - Collecting: Canada, Cats, Religion, Royalty, Stamps on Stamps... and worldwide, quite frankly!

A stamp a day keeps the doctor away. But a truckload..
(Can't help drooling over the thought of that )

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See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

Its a pity you were not here a couple of years ago, where Glen gave away 108,347 stamps in a competition. It may not have been a truckload, but it would have been a good start.







These were some of my duplicates.

Norm

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Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .