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Stamps Collecting

For many people, stamps collecting is just about gathering as many interesting stamps as possible, whereas others are more interested in the history, geography, and culture of the countries whose stamps they collect. Still others are attracted to stamps because of the many interesting subjects pictured on them. Almost every collector dreams of one day finding "sleeper." This is a rare or valuable stamp that is not been noticed among stamps worth little or nothing.

In 1837 Sir Rowland Hill (1795-1879), an Englishman, devised a new system for paying postal fees. In those days most countries required the person who received the letter to pay the postage. It was Sir Rowland Hill's idea that the sender of a letter should attach a stamp to show that the necessary postage had been paid. His plan was put into use, and in 1840 Great Britain issued the first postage stamp. This stamp, known as the Penny Black, showed a picture of Queen Victoria and the words "Postage" and "One Penny."

Stamps collecting began as soon as the first stamps went on sale. Since the Penny Black was the first and only stamp in existence, it was a great curiosity. Many people collected Penny Blacks as souvenirs; some even tried to gather enough stamps to cover the walls of a room.

In 1847 the United States Government issued two stamps - a 10 cent stamp bearing a portrait of George Washington and a 5 cent stamp showing a picture of Benjamin Franklin. Postage stamps had been in use in the United States for several years. The postmasters of some cities had issued their own stamps. These are known as Postmaster's Provisionals and are quite valuable today.

It was not long before other countries began to issue stamps, and collectors eagerly sought as many as they could find. In those days it was a fairly simple matter to collect all existing stamps. Now it is an entirely different matter. The countries of the world have issued so many thousands of stamps since 1840 that it would be impossible for any individual to collect every one of them.