International Stamp

Given the great diversity of international stamps available for collection, philatelists often narrowly focus their hobby. One of the most basic yet exhilarating ways to start an international stamp collection is to go for diversity. Try to capture at least one stamp from each of the 200 countries which has put out postage.A less common hobby is to collect international stamps from so-called ''microcountries'' or from countries which no longer exist. Stamps from countries like Prussia, the Confederate States of America, and the Soviet Union all sell well at auction. Since these nations no longer produce postage, it may be possible to collect an example from every single issuance in their histories.Another challenging way to collect is to hunt for stamps from hard-to-reach or closed-off nations. Cuban stamps (from the days following Castro's revolution), for example, fetch excellent prices. Similarly, stamps from North Korea, Iran, and Saddam Hussein's Iraq all tend to be valuable. That said, some philatelists are hesitant to do business with international traders for fear that their funds may go to financing these regimes.A less politically and logistically difficult way to collect international stamps is to seek out issuances printed in the very earliest days of the universal stamp. The Holy Grail, of course, is the Penny Black stamp, the first-ever universal stamp to enjoy public use. Stamps from New South Wales in the 1950s, however, can be worth as much as or more than the Penny Black.