Postage Stamps

Postage Stamps Related Information:

While the history of postage stamps dates back to James Chalmers in the 1830’s, there have been numerous changes throughout the years. While postage stamps are often overlooked these days, their history has been rich and can now been seen in the array of different kinds of stamps that have been issued by various organizations over the years.

It’s interesting to think about these different kinds of stamps, especially if you are getting into collecting, because this is one way to tell you the history of the stamp that you’ve acquired or are thinking about acquiring. Below is a short list of some of the different kinds of stamps that have been printed over the years. Take a few moments to browse over it and learn about some of the great changes that have occurred with time:

Charity Stamps are issued with an additional charge above the amount needed to pay postage. The extra charge is used for charitable purposes. The usage of charity stamps is entirely an option to the purchaser.

AirmailStamps are for payment of airmail service. The main stamp collecting catalogue, “Scott”, recognizes these stamps while the other three major catalogs do not give them any special status.

ATMStamps are dispensed by automatic teller machines (ATM).This is a newer way to buy postage stamps, and it has made their availability greater in the last few years. Easily accessible to the public, they can be purchased at any time of the day.

Commemorative Stamps are a limited run of stamps designed to commemorate a particular event. These are valuable for their historical aspect as well as their monetary aspect. The Olympics, for example, are a common theme.

Definitive Stamps are issued mainly for the everyday payment of postage. They often have less appealing designs than commemoratives. The same design may be used for many years. Definitive stamps are often the same basic size.

Late Fee Stamps are issued to show the payment of a fee, which allows the inclusion of a letter or package in the outgoing dispatch, even though it has been turned in after the cut-off time.

Self-Adhesive Stamps do not require licking or moisture in order to be applied to an envelope with adhesion. These are newer and are slowly becoming the standard. They are, in a certain sense, stickers.

Test Stamps are labels invalid for postage and are not usually available to the public. They are used by postal authorities on sample mail to test various sorting and canceling machines or machines that can detect the absence or presence of a stamp on an envelope.

Military Stamps are issued specifically for the use of members of a country's armed forces, usually using a special postal system. For this reason, they are a little harder to come by and more attractive for the collector.

Official Mail Stamps are issued for use solely by the government or a government agency or bureau. Like the military stamp, these are not very common to the public, and resulting from this, their desirability is greater than regular stamps.

Occupation Stamps are issued for use by either an occupying army or authorities for use by the civilian population. The historical value of these stamps is great, and these are more available than others.

As you can see, there are indeed, many different kinds of stamps that are to be identified, if you are a collector and are interested in learning from where and when your stamps are issued. It’s a good idea to learn this background when stamp collecting, because it ultimately will allow you to make smarter purchases of stamps. Another good way to figure these kinds of things out is by using a stamp catalogue, newspaper or magazine, in which all of this kind of information is readily available for the avid as well as the amateur stamp collector.