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MORE ABOUT PHILATELY
While Philately includes the study of both technical and topical
aspects of stamps, it can extend to much more than that. Some
concentrate their studies on the history of the postal system and
still others may study only “Cinderella” stamps, which are
basically stickers that look like stamps but aren’t. Some examples
of Cinderella stamps would be the Easter Seal stamps or Christmas
stamps.
The Philatelists who study the postal system extensively will
typically concentrate their focus on the mail system. All the
processes that mail goes through to get to its destination are
included in this study.
The history of the mail system will include all the different
forms of conveyance used over the years to move mail. For a period
of time the Pony Express was considered the quickest way to move
mail. Some collectors look for covers that actually moved with the
Pony Express mail and if one is found, it’s generally considered
pretty valuable. Other forms of transportation over the years are
trains, planes and of course trucks. Philatelists will also study
post offices, authorities who work for the postal system and
postmarks found on letters and packages.
There are thousands of books, papers and reports written on the
subject of philately. These books explain every finding and
information on the subject of stamps or the postal system. One can
find books detailing the history of the postal system and its
transportation methods. There are books that list every single
stamp that has been officially issued by the post offices over the
years. They’ll explain every stamp in detail, telling one what to
look for and what to watch for by the way of forgeries.
Philately is basically a lot of reading but one also needs to
study actual stamps. For this, there have been special tools
created just for handling these stamps. Tools from stamp tongs to
protect the integrity of the stamp from skin oils to a perforation
gauge to distinguish perforation sizes are used. Being that stamps
are so small and the details even tinier still, there is a super
strong magnifier created just for studying stamps. For the study
of watermarks or the gum on a stamp, there is a fluid especially
made to “wet” this without destroying the integrity of the ink or
gum. Some have gone even further to use colored light filters to
try and avoid touching these objects in any way. Fluoroscopes are
used to determine whether a stamp is authentic or not. The use of
ultraviolet lights is extremely helpful in examining stamps for
any possible flaws or even previous repairs.
Many people who start off collecting stamps as merely a hobby
usually find themselves getting more and more interested in the
philately side of stamps. The more they read and study on stamps
and the history of the postal system, the more it pulls them in.
The history of the postal system dates back many, many years and
there are millions of stamps available for study. There are so
many different areas in this field that one can study, it would be
hard to limit one to just a small field. The more one learns about
this, the more fascinating it becomes.
Original Article Source:
http://www.RareStamp.com |
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