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Stamps are much more than postage. The stamp collectors, they are miniature works of art, treasured keepsakes and rare collectibles.
Collections can be built around subjects of interest like sports, movies, or even animals and are very easy to start. You have to look at your mail, collecting stamps can be profitable or it can be just fun. It all depends on how serious your hobby is.
The first adhesive stamp which had a photo of Queen Victoria was issued in May 1840 in the United Kingdom. It became known as “Penny Black” because it used black ink and it required a penny for one stamp.
In today’s collective market, a used Penny Black Stamp costs about £110, around $200. An unused for example, about £1600 pounds, around $3000 with prices steadily rising.
The rarest and most valuable US stamp, is the Benjamin Franklin Z grill, a 1-cent postage stamp issued in 1868 depicting Benjamin Franklin. A Z Grill is a specific pattern of tiny squares embossed over the paper and visible on the back of the stamps. The purpose of the grills was to permit the canceling ink to be absorbed into the stamp paper, thus making it impossible to wash out cancellation marks. However, they were impractical and they were soon discontinued.
Which stamps to collect?
When acquiring stamps, look for the finest possible specimens. The condition of the stamp is essential. Badly worn and mishandled stamps are not only unpleasant to the eye but they are worth next to nothing when compared to their undamaged counterparts.
Stamps are rated and conditioned from poor to superb. A stamp is considered superb if it has perfect centering, brilliant color and perfect gum, which refers to the adhesive. A stamp can also be called superb if it has been perfectly centered, fresh looking, is lightly canceled and undamaged.
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