Stamp duty on commercial leasehold

How to Collect Stamps

Many people around the world cultivate the hobby of collecting stamps. As a stamp collector you can either purchase stamps or get them from some of the free sources. As a beginner in stamp collection all you are interested in is to have a collection, but without spending much money.

When you first decide to start collecting stamps you may find that you have nothing to start with. If this is the case you can buy a pack of stamps from a hobby shop or a stamp collector to get you started. For a small price, usually around $6.00, you'll get an assortment of stamps from different countries. This is a great way to determine what types of stamps appeal to you and what area you might like to focus on.

These days another good source for getting stamps is eBay on the internet. Here you will often be able to buy large number of stamps for a very low price. Once you have a sizable collection of stamps, you will need to organize them so that the stamps are safe. This will also help you decide how and where you want to proceed with your stamp collection.

When you buy or get stamps from an original source most of the stamps will still be on the paper on which they were mailed. Once the paper backing is removed, the stamp becomes fragile and can easily be damaged. Hence it is important to be careful in the way that you move around the stamps. Therefore it is important to sort out your stamps that you purchased according to country before taking off the paper backing.

It can be a tedious process to take the paper off the stamps so make sure that you have time and won't damage the stamps with a hurried effort. Make sure that you ease the stamp off the paper instead of just pulling the stamp, so you don't make any rips in the stamp. To begin with, use a small pair of scissors to trim the paper as close to the edge of the stamp as you possible can.

To take off the paper backing from the nicely trimmed stamp take clean water in a bowl. Place the stamp with the paper backing into the water and let it soak for some time. Take care that the stamp side is facing up. You can now try to carefully remove the paper backing from the stamp.

Once you've removed the stamps from the paper you need to allow them to dry out. You want to take care when drying the stamps so that they dry slowly and gently - this reduces the folds and wrinkles that may occur on the stamp. Lay the stamps of a layer of paper toweling, making sure that none of the stamps touch or overlap. Gently lay a paper towel on top of the stamps and lightly press (be very gentle) to remove the excess water from the stamps.

The dried stamps need to be flattened. This can be done by placing these dried stamps in the pages of a large or heavy book. Else you have the option of buying a stamp drying book to dry your stamps. These dry and flattened stamps can be sorted country wise to help you locate them when ever you want to. These sorted stamps then need to be arranged in your stamp collecting book.

Fiona Whealer is the owner and operator of FW Stamps, the #1 source on the internet for information about stamps. For more articles on stamps visit: www.fwstamps.com/articles