I have been doing my best this year learning about old postage stamps. The reason for that is because my Granddad had a collection and it is now my responsibility to maintain. It is amazing the amount of things that you have to know to maintain them correctly.

I really enjoyed going through the collection and marking everything off. I went throught the entire collection and recorded each stamp, it took me and my girlfriend a very long time. It is always good to have a complete record of your collection. It also helps for insurance purposes.

I was very keen to take them home and as a result I stored the old postage stamps incorrectly (for a short time). I had them in a flat position on the floor. This can damage the stamps. You should have them in a upright position. You also want them to be left in a dark place that is cool and dry. You don't want any humidity if you can help it.

Once I had the album at home I wanted to buy some stamps for it. I was keen to 'stamp' my personality on it. I started buying any stamps that I liked but I don't think that did the collection much good. I decided it would be better to do a theme and therefore make it a little more structured.

These days you can buy old postage stamps all over the place. I found that the post office has a useful website for information. There you can buy them at face value although they aren't presented very well. I have found buying them over the internet to be ok. I have found one or two bargains on Ebay. You also can go to a specialised stamp dealer or have the excitement of an auction.

I have progressed a lot in knowing about old postage stamps. I have learnt a lot and hope to learn more in the future. I want to pass the albums to my children.

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Filed under: Antiques and Collectibles

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