A variety of gifts that stamp collectors will love, great for holidays and birthdays. They are also perfect for the new collector. Many of these items can be combined to form a "portable" collecting kit as well, useful for the philatelist on the go.
1. Guide to Stamp Collecting by Janet Klug
A great book for beginners and experts alike. It serves as an excellent introduction and reference to the hobby of stamp collecting. It is loaded with full color images and detailed descriptions of important concepts, topics and items. The Guide is written in an authoritative yet readable style, and is a valuable addition to any collector's library.
2. Magnifying Glasses
Stamps are small and often have important details that need to be studied close up. This makes good magnifying lenses a necessary tool for the philatelist. There are numerous varieties of lenses for specific purposes, but good quality general purposes magnification tools can be found fairly inexpensively.3. Stamp Hinges
The stamp hinge is used to affix stamps to stamp albums. They are made of glassine, a transparent material used for safe stamp storage envelopes, with some adhesive put on them. They are a common piece of equipment and usually sold in bags of hundreds or thousands.4. Stock Book
Image Courtesy Michael Breen
Stock Books are books with cardstock pages. Each page has rows of pockets in which stamps are stored. Some collectors use them as their primary storage system, while others use them for duplicates, trading stock, other special material, or temporary storage. They are one of the highest utility tools for the collector.
5. Federal Duck Stamp
Copyright U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The United States Department of Fish and Wildlife requires the purchase of a special stamp in order to hunt waterfowl. This stamp has a new design every year, the result of a nationwide contest. The proceeds are used to support conservation and education efforts.
6. Stamp Packets and Kiloware
Hobby shops, stamp dealers, mail order and online vendors offer bundles of random stamps. Some are sold in a set number of stamps, others by the weight (kiloware). In some cases the stamps are still on the envelope, in others they have been removed. Often they are organized by a particular country or theme. These packets are a fun way to expand one's collection, especially for new collectors. They obviously offer a number of stamps, but they are also an adventure as one never knows what will be found. A random box of postal material can hold all sorts of treasures, and even a basic packet of stamps might have those issues the collector is missing.7. Color Guide
Image Courtesy Michael Breen, Guide © Stanley Gibbons
A stamp color guide is a reference tool, similar to a small paint swatch book, that enables collectors to correctly identify stamp colors. This can be very important as the same stamp image can have several different color variants, which maybe very close in shading. One variant might be a common issue, the other a prized rarity. This make this tool very important.
8. Tongs
Image Courtesy Michael Breen
Stamps are fragile things and fingers can damage them through bending as well as the oils on the finger. The basic tool that the philatelist uses to handle stamps are stamp tongs. Usually made of metal or a hard plastic, they have a flat, spatula shaped tip that is used to grab the stamps. They are essential for collecting and a spare pair is a good idea.