Welcome to the Wonderful world of the Stamp Collecting

Introduction…

Stamp collecting is the most popular hobby in the world. Yet, to some people it may seem like a waste of time, effort and money to accumulate a lot of "tiny bits of coloured paper ", put them into albums and examine them with a magnifying glass for hours.

Why then do millions collect stamps not only in their childhood but also throughout their lives, and why is the hobby of stamp collecting drawing millions to take it up?

Stamp has often been described as " the visiting cards of nations ". In many ways they reflect the history of their countries, convey the sensation of travel to faraway places, depict strange landscapes portray famous people, inform of historical events and of the progress of science and instruct about art and architecture.

How do I start collecting stamps?

It`s Simple!
Look around…. Stamps are on a lot of things.
Letters, Postcards and Packages all have stamps.
Every Country has stamps.
Ask your friends and family to save stamps from their mail.
You can start collect simply saving them all or by choosing one or two favorite subjects fit your them like art, history, sports, birds, animals etc.
Some people save stamps from one country like the UAE or other Country.
The great thing about stamp collecting is YOU! You can make the collection anything you want to be.

How do I remove stamp from envelopes?
You can save the whole envelope or you can take the stamps off.

1. Cut the corner of the envelope off close to the stamp. Be careful you don`t cut the stamp.

2. Separate out the stamps that are on colored envelopes as these might run and color the other stamps. It is best to soak each of these stamps alone.

3. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water and place the stamp in the bowl face down. The stamp will sink in a few minutes.

4. Wait a few more minutes for the stamp to become unstuck and then lift the stamp out with a pair of tongs (metal tweezers work fine) or just use your fingers.

5. Place the stamp face down on a clean paper towel and put another paper towel on top. A heavy book on the top of everything will help the stamps to dry flat ( the phone book works great )

6. Leave the stamps to dry overnight and the next morning you will have stamps for your collection.

Organise the collection:
Now it`s time to organise the collection. To protect the stamps you can simply use a notebook or you can buy a Stamp Album .. Stamps should be put on pages either with hinges (small rectangles of special gummed paper) or with mounts (little self- adhesive plastic envelopes in many sizes to fit stamps and covers). Mounts keep stamps in the condition in which you bought them. Also available are pages with strips of plastic attached to them; these are "self-mounting" pages, meaning all you have to do is slip your stamp into the plastic strip.

Stamp tongs:
Stamp tongs may look like cosmetic tweezers, but they have special tips that will not damage stamps, so be sure to buy your tongs from a stamp dealer and not in the beauty section at the drug store! . These makes it easier to handle the stamps. Using your fingers may put grease or oil on the stamps and cause them to change color.

Magnifying glass :
take a close look at the stamp. Each stamp is a tiny work of art.

Stamp catalog:
this is a book that lists all the stamps. This is a great place to identify the stamps you have. Most libraries have these books.

All these philatelic accessories and more are available in UAE philatelic bureau in Dubai in very reasonable rate.

Will it cost me too much ?
No ! begin with used stamps and with a small album. Unlike many other countries UAE philatelic bureau provide free subscription service, you have to pay only for stamps and UAE issues only a few stamps yearly.

UAE stamps

United Arab Emirates stamps stands in high standard among world stamps. The importance of UAE grows as it is emerging as a developed nation in Asia. Philatelic service in UAE is very advanced. Number of subscription members to UAE philatelic bureau is growing day by day.

Now start and the great pleasure of stamp collecting!!