Philos - Philately - Philatelist - Philatelists

Philately = the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials; stamp collecting relating to their history and use.  The name was derived from the Greek words phil-, philo-, philo- + Greek ateleia, exemption from payment (because a postage stamp indicates prepayment of postage) -  the French terms philatéle / philatélie , which we anglicize into ‘philately’ and 'philatelist'  have become household words in the postage - stamp collecting world.

Philatelic = relating to or engaged in philately.

Philatelist = a person devoted to philately, a stamp collector.

The first stamp was issued by Great Britain in 1840 - the famous Penny Black with head of Queen Victoria.  Many countries subsequently followed in their footsteps to issue these " pre - paid postage labels ".  Shortly after the first stamps was issued, the Hobby of  Stamp Collecting was born.  The first printed The value of a stamp depends on the demand for it, condition, quantities issues (and still in existence) and rarity thereof.

By the late 1800's, there was literally 1000's of Philatelist worldwide.  The first stamp auctions also started during that time. Today, the hobby is a big industry, with literally 100's of Millions of Dollars spend every year.

The most famous stamp collection in the World, is, that owned by the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.  This collection was build over many decades, and contains all the World's stamp rarities, including the Mauritius 2d Blue & 1d Orange. King George VI was an avid collector, and many of the rarities dates back to his effort of adding to the collection.

This is also where the famous saying originated : Philately - the Hobby of Kings - the King of Hobbies

Other important public collections are displayed at the British Museum, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Stamps can be collected in many different ways :

1. Mint : collecting of stamps as issued by the post office, and subsequently bought by a collector over the counter. This can be single stamps or souvenir (miniature) sheets.

2. Used : only stamps which have actually been postally used - affixed to a postcard or letter and mailed. This was of cause the intended reason why stamps was invented.

3. On piece (cutout from envelope or postcard) - this mostly happens when a person decides to collect a stamp with the complete postmark still visible.

4. On Cover or Postcard - also referred to as Postal History. This is a very important division of philately, as lots can be learned from an intact cover.  Eg. Name of Post Office from where the stamp was send, duration of letter to reach it's destination, name of person sending the letter, recipient of the letter, transit post offices that existed.

5. On First Day Covers (FDC) - an envelope containing a new stamp issue, pre-postmarked for the day of issue.  Widely collected due to their esthetic beauty and fantastic artwork.

6. Cinderella philately - is the study of objects that look like stamps but aren't stamps. Examples include Easter Seals, propaganda labels, and so forth.

Countries vs. Topics :

Collectors of stamps can choose between collecting countries (USA, Canada, Australia, etc.) or themes, eg. Birds, Fauna, Trains, Space, etc.  Another option is souvenir (miniature) sheets.  This is a fully gummed sheet, with a stamp/s contained within.  Although valid for postage, philatelists prefer not to remove the stamp, but place the whole sheet on envelope to be franked (postmarked). These sheets are mostly specifically issued for stamp collectors.

The Future :

The Far East is fast becoming the major stamp collecting arena.  With more an more people being able to afford the Hobby in China (more than 5 million stamp collectors) - Western countries are looking at ways to attract these new philatelists.

Translations for : Philately

Nederlands (Dutch)
postzegelkunde

Français (French)
philatélie

Deutsch (German)
n. - Philatelie, Briefmarkenkunde

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. φιλοτελισμός

Italiano (Italian)
filatelia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - filatelia (f)

Русский (Russian)
филателия

Español (Spanish)
n. - filatelia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - filateli

中国话 (Simplified Chinese)
n. - 集邮, 集邮的兴趣

中國話 (Traditional Chinese)
n. - 集郵, 集郵的興趣

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 切手収集

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جمع طوابع بريديه, هوايه جمع طوابع البريد‏

עברית‬ (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בולאות, איסוף בולים‬

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