Is a complete all-era worldwide stamp collection possible?
A friend of mine recently asked why I collect worldwide stamps from all eras as I have non-existing possibilities of building even somewhat complete collection. I told him that I collect for personal fun with no serious goals (like exhibition philately or profit seeking) attached; for me it’s just a hobby like reading a good novel…. But I dared to challenge him by saying that a complete, all-era ww collection is by no means as impossible as generally considered. And I’ve got the proofs…
How many stamps have been issued
The first piece of information I needed to know is how many different stamps have been issued since the Penny Black to date.
Keeping up with all new issues is "Mission Impossible"
A generally acknowledged piece of information is that there are over half million different stamps, and new ones come at a rate of 10-15 000/year. But to find a more precise number, one has to pick up their favourite stamp catalogue and start counting. As each catalogue has a somewhat different numbering system, the results will vary at some extend.
Luckily I’ve been building a “rough index” of stamp issuing entities for years, so I didn’t have to do all the “ugly maths” at one go. My figures are based on Michel catalogues (issued between year 2000 and 2009) and don’t include any perforation, color etc. varieties listed unless they have their own catalogue number.
And the total figure is (…drumroll, please…) 527,628 stamps… Of these about 92% are what can be dubbed as “normal stamps”, the rest are officials, postage dues, parcel stamps, military and telegraph stamps etc. special purpose issues used in postage.
The percentage of "different stamps" by area/continent
How many stamps do I have?
Most long-time collectors (me included) consider the question “How many stamps do you have?” as a completely non-trivial piece of information. But since I do keep a simple (Excel-based) records on my collections, this one is easy to answer…. Based on my records I have 51,023 different stamps, and the number increases daily.
My latest purchase -a lot of early British South African Company
This means that my worldwide collection is currently approx. 10% complete already. But I know some areas are better than others. For example my Europe collection is about 4x more complete than for example the Africa.
My stamp collection. The percentage number on each slice shows the completion level by area/continent.
Always have a goal
Now that I know the number of stamps issued as well as number of stamps I have, it’s easy to count the number of missing stamps: 527,628 - 51,023 = 476,605 stamps.
It is a HUGE number, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE to reach with time and patience (and some money of course)… Playing a devil’s advocate is easy: “just add 40-65 new stamps every day, and in 40 years time you will have a complete worldwide collection” …The best way to think a goal as big as this is to compare it to apartment mortgage. Instead of getting it done at one go, you have to work with tiny paybacks each month for decades.
And the real problem in the end are not the expensive (or even slightly better) stamps. They are always relatively easy to find from specialized dealers. The really hard part are normal “minimal catalogue value” issues that you have to digg up one by one from various sources (and usually you end up with plenty of unnecessary dupes at a same time).
What’s your take on this issue?
Keijo, You’re my man! I like your style! yes, let’s go for old-fashioned all world collecting! There’s nothing better! Like you, my collection is so much better or more complete in some areas than in others, but each and every stamp that comes my way finds a place in my all world stamp books! And that’s how it should be!
Great post Keijo!!!!
I also collect worldwide stamps. (Have about 15.000 now, also based in an Excel sheet)
I also keep goals:
- Right now, my goal is at least one stamp from each currently issuing country (only four missing at this time)
- And I prefer to focus on some areas: Argentina, Falklands, Spain, Latin America.
By no means i aim to complete the collection: If I do so, I will have no more to do after that….
To Adrian… I believe all world collecting is getting more popular these days. Internet (and younger generations involved) has made it so much alive, easier and attractive than before.
To Pablo… I’m also trying to get at least one used stamp per country/area (including “dead countries”, local issues etc). And it is GREAT FUN – especially when you find a completely new country. So far I have “only” 400+ countries/areas covered.
Yes, I have been always asking the young collectors to satisfy self thirst of stamp collecting first and then try to order a drink for the Judges! and this self thirst always seems to be never ending. Yes each collector has one’s own means of quenching his thirst, hence his own way of collecting, never collect just to please a few judges at an Exhibition. You are the best judge of your own collection (refer my last entry/article in my blog: http://mbstamps.blogspot.com)
I sometimes buy old stamps from fellow collectors and ebay. Sometimes I get a bargain – like a whole sheet. I always say to myself, keep maybe 10 pieces from the whole sheet and sell or trade to collectors.
Unfortunately, I could not get myself to tear 10 pieces from the sheet. So now I have several dozens of sheets that I refuse to divide and now I refuse to sell.
To Mansoor… I definitely agree that one should always collect for self. It’s wise to take some outside factors (like money) into account, but they should never strictly rule what/why/how a person collects.
[...] this way a complete worldwide collection of 530,000 stamps would take approx. 18,000 stockbook pages; or 562 stockbooks of 32 pages. As stockbooks cost [...]
[...] calculations I have done are based on single question- how much would storage of “complete worldwide stamp collection” (of approx. 530,000 stamps) cost? It must be noted that my figures are not absolute. Each collector will have their own [...]
Great reads, the article and the comments. I also collect world wide, but limit the era to about the first 100 years. I’ve collected this way for many years without knowing it and just recently decided to make it official. I wonder if any of you can tell me approximately how many issues there are in this era. By the way, I printed my own album pages for most countries – about 7000 pages in all.
Hi David,
and thanks for kind words
As for number of stamps between 1840-1940….My personal estimate would be somewhere around 50-60,000 stamps.
Here’s something I think many will love seeing – a video clip (by Australian Broadcasting Company) on what a complete worldwide stamp collection looks like:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/collectors/video/download.htm
Bottom of the page: Episode 29 – Eclectic Stamps
Like your website and think your numbers are accurate.I also have been collecting worldwide for the past 54 years.But since I been working on them non-stop I can claim the number of different stamps in my collection is in the area north of 250,000 different.No I never counted them but did buy a collection of 140,000 different which in review was about half of what I already have .
Hi Paul,
I can only dream what Your collection must look like. Most likely it is among the largest private worldwide collections that exist… It’s great to hear someone has managed to build something as astonishing; and apparently enjoyed very much from it.
ok……..
keijo..
you r going to make a history….
i like it…..
but money is a factor…. to me…. but try to collect …. little by little….
Hi Suhas,
and thanks. I still got a long road to go. But little by little..
I think money is a factor for every average collector – me included. But the good part is that stamp collecting doesn’t have to be expensive. So far I’ve managed get where I am with pocket money / small annual budget. And I intend to keep it that way.
I recently stumbled upon a website that may interest you. I don’t know if you have seen it before, but this gentleman’s collection sure is amazing.
http://worldstampalbum.com/main.aspx?MenuId=1
Very interesting blog topics too although they are off topic. I wish I could read Chinese.
David
Hi David,
The site is new to me too… Truly amazing achievemt and something to look for.
I was aware of Dr.Meng collection, that Amos used as the source of images for their improved Scott catalogues at the turn of the millenium. Very likely it is/was the largest worldwide collection to exist. Some (if not all) parts of it were sold last year by the Harmer’s auction.
Here is a picture of my collection….http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq358/stamp12345/paulscollection-1.jpg
Looks superb, Paul!
Seeing images such as this make the goal a very realistic one.