Cool Crafts & Hobbies
Are You A Philatelist?
By Cynthia Kirkeby
Jul 12, 2004, 8:03pm

Are You a Philatelist?

Courtesy of the US Postal Service

Do you love to collect stamps? Then you are a philatelist, otherwise known as a stamp collector. Collecting stamps is like having a miniature museum and a history lesson, all in a space small enough to fit inside a book. There have been amazing stamps in the past, and I’m sure there will be more unusual ones in the future.

Did you know that there was once a set of stamps that were also records? You could actually put them on your record player and hear music!

Did you know that you once needed a candle to figure out how much your letter was going to cost? Learn how this was done, and learn other unusual facts about stamps.
Source: American Philatelic Society


Philatelic Activity Pages and Puzzles
Have some fun by filling in some of these activity pages for an unusual start to your stamp collection. There are also some puzzles to figure out, if you’re in the mood for a challenge.
Source: American Philatelic Society

Philatelic Glossary
Do you need to know it means to have a backstamp, a gutter, or a grill? Then this glossary should be just what you need. From adhesive to watermark, it will give you a short description of each stamp collecting term.
Source: Stamps.net

A Brief History of Stamps Through The Years
Learn where the first stamp was created, when the first pictorial stamp was created, and when the zip code system was implemented.
Source: American Philatelic Society

U.S. Philatelic Release Dates
Learn which stamps are coming out and when they will be released. If you click on the name, you’ll get a preview of how beautiful the stamp will be.
Source: U.S. Postal Service