What is philately? Why people collect stamps?

 

Philately is the study of postage stamps, stamped envelopes, postmarks, postcards, and other materials relating to postal delivery. The term philately also denotes the collecting of these items.

The term was coined in 1864 by a Frenchman, Georges Herpin, who invented it from the Greek philos, “love” and ateleia, “that which is tax-free”; the postage stamp permitted the letter to come free of charge to the recipient, rendering it untaxed.

A stamp collector acquires and collects stamps for many different reasons. Believe it or not, stamp collecting is still considered one of the most popular pastimes throughout the world. There are approximately 20+ million stamp collectors worldwide. The process of searching, locating and buying common stamps, new stamps, old stamps, rare stamps, or any other types of stamps which are needed in order to complete a specific type of stamp collection gives the stamp collector a sense of pride, success and accomplishment.