Stamp Collecting - Holograms on Stamps

Why do so many people want to collect stamps? First and foremost, it is a hobby accessible to everyone, without distinctions, and secondly, because it is very easy and inexpensive to start a stamp collection.

Stamp supplies can be purchased from your local stamp dealer store and furthermore, the hobby can be time managed to your own pace.

Stamp collecting is truly a fascinating way to have fun, to relax, and to enjoy the storytelling each postage stamp brings to the table.

A stamp being an open window on a small part of the world, the more you look at it, the more it can teach you.

Learning about the way other people from far away countries are living is a great pastime as it gives you the benefit of expanding your knowledge and open yourself to the many dimensions of the world we live in.

Be it said that it is best to collect stamps by topic or if you prefer, by subjects and this way of collecting is commonly known as thematic or topical philately.

By focusing on a limited amount of subjects, instead of collecting all countries of the world, which is impossible nowadays, you avoid the frustration of having to find elusive stamps to fill in the empty space of your stamp albums. Since you will be using loose leaf stock sheets or designing your own album pages, no more empty holes!

Is that not great? Absolutely.

The topic you choose to collect can be whatever you are most passionate about. Your profession, your favorite pets, literary or musical interest,crafts,etc. There is not much subjects that were not depicted on a postage stamp.

For example, a great idea for a topical stamp collection would be one on holograms.

Invented in 1960, holography is a method for creating two-dimensional images with a three-dimensional appearance. It has been used as a security feature on everything from credit cards, tax stamps to various merchandise.

The United States Postal Service were the first in the world, in 1989, to incorporate holograms as indicia on stamped postal envelopes, but the first regular postage stamp depicting an hologram was produced by Austria in 1988.

Undoubtedly, holographic postage stamps are great collectables and topical stamp collectors are well served in this field as nearly 100 stamps, (including Chinese New Year ) from worldwide postal administrations were issued with an hologram design. Enough to keep you busy for a while...:-)

Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Reply Coupons with holograms on them can also be added to the main checklist. When the coupons are expired, unused or used, they are often traded and collected much like postal stamps.

Digital technology applied to the postage stamps printing process brings to life such beautiful design and colorful images, that it is really difficult to resist the temptation of collecting them.

So keep your eyes open for these art-in-miniature hologram stamp gems when shopping around for your topical stamps.

A sample of some very colorful hologram stamps can be viewed at the blog.

Janice Dugas is a professional stamp collector who is actively involved in the stamp collecting community for now more than 16 years. She is the author of the online video training course Discover Topical Stamp Collecting For Fun & Profit! and shares her knowledge about the most fascinating hobby in the world on her blog dedicated to topical stamp collecting.