Anyone else used to collect stamps as a kid?

[Heavyrainfall]

I’ve had a sudden flashback of being around 10/12 years old (40 years ago) and seeing an advert in a magazine or newspaper where you could send away a postal order or cheque to the royal philately society or something like that and you were sent a big bag of mixed foreign stamps, most of them still stuck on paper.

Id spend hours carefully soaking them off the paper. I’d bought a big book with squares and the little tiny greaseproof like sticky pads to stick the stamp into the book.

I had loads and loads of stamps in a few books, occasionally you’d get really lucky and there would be a penny red in the mix, I have no idea where the books are now, I expect my parents either sold them or gave them away, they didn’t care about my belongings really.

Anyone else have this weird little hobby?

Yes! My brother and I used to do exactly the same....We always wanted a certain type of stamp which we didn't manage to get, which I'm sure was a black penny, but maybe it was red...whichever was worth more.

If I presented my child with this now I'm not sure what she would think but back then it was nice soaking off the paper etc!

Yes! I still have a small collection of stamps now 😍

I was just talking about this to my mum as she collected stamps as a child in the 1950s. She had huge albums, some she sent to auction this year as couldn’t think what else to do with them. They only fetched around £100 and she said most of the people at the auction were older generation. Stamps are so pricey now I can’t imagine it being an affordable hobby for a child!

I collect stamps now as an adult! I find them so interesting. Probably would have thought it boring as a child though.
If anyone has a suggestion of how I can store them I would appreciate as I currently just have them in a drawer. I don’t want to ruin them by sticking plastic over. But I’d also like to be able to add little notes to a page to say where they came from.

Yes. I think it was quite popular in the 70s /80s and before. You could buy packs of stamps and stamp hinges to stick them on. I remember there being more Hungarian ones than other nationalities. Magyar Posta I think it was.
I remember sticking them on with my grandpa and him saying he'd probably wake in the night and shout Magyar Posta, after seeing so many of them 😀

Yes. I used to think of the stamps as miniature works of art. I also loved the exotic sounding countries. My dad used to buy me first to day covers too. I still have them somewhere in my house clutter. This would have been in the seventies so I wonder if they are actually worth more than they cost now.

@NewJobProblem have a look at getting a Stanley Gibbons album.
https://www.dauwalders.co.uk/stanley-gibbons-albums-2135-c

@Atstritchsitchfitch it was the Penny Black wasn’t it? I remember that being the coveted one but never had one!

@NewJobProblem you need stamp hinges really to stick the stamps in a book without damaging them.

yes! Interesting and educational hobby, still have my albums (although I’ve no idea what to do with them now!)

Yes! I had hundreds - all gone now, can’t remember where!

@Okiedokie123 @Hurumphh Thanks both of you for the tips!

Yes! I remember collecting them when I was quite young as my brother was into it. There was a Stamp Club at school.
We used to send off for bags of stamps and they would post an assortment. Had folders with little pockets where we used to arrange and keep them. Have no idea where they went!

Yes, me! I loved it. I can still remember some of the really colourful ones. One set had birds of paradise on but I can’t remember where they were from.

There was a great shop in Wolverhampton called Midland Educational that sold art supplies and stationary and the like. They had a little philately section where you could buy little packets of stamps. I spent a lot of time in there as a child in the 70s.

Ah Magyar Postar! Yes! Loads and loads of these ones. I used to think I was gathering a really valuable collection and the hunt for the rare Penny Red made it really exciting.
such simple times, my kids would have been really uninterested if I’d got them a bag too!

I had to go to the nearest town to buy the book and the hinges. Remember coming home on the bus absolutely desperate to get back to start putting the stamps in 🤣

I'm 42 and it used to be a thing you'd hear about but I've never actually known anyone who has collected stamps no. I never even hear about it even still being a thing today if I'm honest.

Use stock books - the stamps just slot in and you can put notes with them. I have a very large stamp collection which started when I was a little girl. I can spend hours sorting stamps and putting them in my albums. I’m afraid that unless you have something unusual (which I don’t think I do) they are virtually worthless and very difficult to sell. Of course, none of the GC are interested as they rarely see any post, let alone anything with a stamp on.

It used to be an incredibly popular hobby. Many stamps were printed, lightly postmarked without ever seeing an envelope and went straight to the collectors' market. Some of the Communist countries (like Hungary mentioned above) did a lot of this to earn some hard currency but they weren't the only ones, I remember a lot of stamps from the United Arab Emirates too.

Yes loved it. Used to get excited by triangle stamps and sets in a theme with pretty pictures like a jungle theme all with different animals. Iirc the stamp album had pages for different countries?