The Challenge of Collecting Postally Used Stamps: Part 1

We all know that stamp collecting can be fun and rewarding (and rewarding in more ways than one). And, sometimes, it can be challenging too - trying to "fill a hole" in a stamp collection isn't always easy to do.

But most challenging of all is collecting stamps that have actually been used in the mail - what we call "postally used" stamps. After all, if you have enough money, you can usually find mint never hinged or mint hinged stamps for your stamp collection - that's what most dealers focus on selling, and what most dealers carry as their stock. With most stamp dealers, you'll find plenty of unused stamps and some postally used stamps - but only the expensive used stamps. You won't find inexpensive used stamps at most stamp shops, or for that matter, at most online stamp dealers' websites either.

This fact can make it difficult to fill out some "missing links" in a collection - often, it is more difficult to find an inexpensive postally used stamp than its unused counterpart. And the situation is compounded when you're trying to put together a postally used complete set of one of the large sets of definitive stamps or commemorative stamps that some countries have issued.

We'll talk about some specific examples of challenges in collecting used stamps over the next few days. In the meantime, if you're looking for specific postally used stamps or sets (or mint, unused stamps, for that matter), have a look at The Stamp People They sell everything from minimum value stamps (individually identified and priced) to kiloware and off paper stamp mixtures, to classic, vintage stamps (mint and used).