Stamp collecting offers a low cost, relaxing approach to touring the rest of the world. Stamps come from all of the countries of the world and picture topics that are as varied as the countries themselves. As a stamp collector, and a turf grass professional, and with the help of the Internet, we are going on a tour of the world of plants, grasses and golf on stamps. Not only will we tour the stamps, but I will introduce you to ways to begin a collection, that is not only colorful by may even be educational.

If you never collected stamps before, the question arises how do I get started? You will find may choices to consider. A collector may pick a single topic or a country a world wide collection. Since the theme of this article is collecting stamps with a topic of grasses, golf and plants, I will talk about starting a topical collection.

A topical stamp collection gathers stamps with a specific subject. Some topical collectors look for stamps that are related to their profession, as we are. Some collect with an eye to the arts, wildlife, sports, Scouts, or any topic that they may be interested in. A collector may limit the collection to a specific country, continent or it may be world wide.

What does a collector need to get started? In its simplest form a collector may need nothing more than a shoe box. There are a few simple items that will make stamp collecting a little easier and enjoyable. Stamp collecting supplies are easily attainable from a number of sources. You can purchase your supplies via mail order, or from dealers at stamp shows or from a retail store. To find a local retailer, you can look in the yellow pages under hobbies or coins and stamps for the collectors.

Here is a list and description of the basic items you may find helpful to get started.

1) Stamp tongs: a tool that looks like a pair of tweezers. Tongs are used to handle the stamps so oils from your fingers do not get transferred to the stamps. They are also used to help prevent folds and creases to the stamps.

2) Stock book: a book used to hold and display your collection. The stamps are held in horizontal strips. The pages are divided by glassine paper to help prevent damage to the stamps.

3) Catalog: a stamp catalog will help you identify and value the stamps in your collection. There are thousands of stamps issued each year. Catalogs can be very big. The Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog covers the entire world in six volumes. Many public libraries have copies of this catalog in their collection. So you do not have to buy these books. The catalog lists each stamp issued by a country, it assigns a standard number to the stamp, it gives a description of the stamp, and it provides an estimated value. The standard catalog number is important to the collector. The number of the stamp helps in purchasing, selling or organizing a collection.

Now that we have covered the basic information about stamps, it is time to start to gather a collection. As I mentioned above, there are thousands of stamps issued each year. Where does a beginning collector start looking for stamps? There are several sources of information available to the collector. The first place to search is the print media. There are several news papers and magazines devoted to the hobbyist. A few of these are:

1) Linn's Stamp News is a weekly newspaper that has easy to read articles and a great advertisement section. Linn's also has monthly articles about stamp collecting basics. This a very good newspaper for beginners.

2) Scott's Stamp Monthly is a monthly newspaper that not only has easy to understand articles and a large advertisement section but also it lists the stamps that were issued the month before by country and by topic. This newspaper is published by the same people who publish The Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.

3) Mekeel's and Stamps Magazine which is a weekly newspaper that gives an over view of the hobby. Its articles are geared toward the long time Collector. From time to time it has interesting articles about topical themes.

While the print medium has remained an important resource for today's stamp collector, the Internet has taken over and surpassed print. A collector with Internet access can research and find more information about stamps in matter of minutes than reading any of these newspapers. Going on line and accessing any of the search engines, then requesting stamp sites will give you more hits then a collector can use. So how does a topical stamp collector find useful information about their topic?

The topical stamp collector can find topics-specific stamp sites by doing several things. First, you can limit your search request. Instead of requesting stamp sites, a more confining search can be done by asking for sites that either have "golf on stamps", "grass on stamps", or "sports on stamps". This will result in sites that have stamps with your specific request. The second way to increase site specific hits, is to read any of the above newspapers. In each issue they have information about stamps on the internet. These articles either have topic specific information or general stamp sites. A good general information site is the "Glassine Surfer". In his column, Michael Mills, provides information not only on stamp related sites but also about other locations that may be helpful to collectors. An example of the material that Mr. Mills presents may be found in his May column. In that issue, there was an article that includes links to birds of the world on stamps, several tips on using a scanner and a link to a site that has printable, down loadable album pages. The address of the "Glassine Surfer" is www.west.net/~stamps1/theap/glass.htm.

Let's get going and get our hands on some stamps! As with all new hobbies, I do not want to spend a lot of money to get started in case I get bored and give up. So where can I get a lot for a little. The best place is right in our own back yard. The US Postal Service issues a lot of stamps yearly, some of these may be within our topic. You can search the current issues from the Postal Service from your computer keyboard. Just set your browser to http://www.usps.com  This site is setup for both business and the collector. Click on the stamps link, and the current year's stamp program and the past several year's stamps are available to search. For 1999, the Postal Service has issued several stamps that may fall within our topic. There is a stamp honoring Frederick Law Olmsted, a famous landscape architect. There is an issue for topical flowers. These stamps mark a first for the USPS. These stamps are printed back to back instead of the regular one sided printing. Then there is a post card that shows the lawn and gardens of Mount Vernon. These stamps may be brought directly from the Postal Service on line.

One of the better sites for golf on stamps is at http://user.online.be/~gd30837/ (DEAD LINK) This site "World of golf sports on stamps and phonecards" has the stamps arranged by the country of issue. A picture and description accompany each stamp. As the site name implies, it also has an interesting collection of golf related phonecards and of golf course score cards. The stamp pictures and descriptions are downloadable and printable. This site does not have any links to other sites.

Now that we know what stamps exist, what they look like, what country issued them, and their catalog number, we can try to gather them into our collection. As I mentioned before the current issues of the USPS are easy to purchase, at their web site or at your local post office. As to the rest, where to go? This is also easy, point your browser at http://www.zillionsofstamps.com  This site has several searchable databases. You can search by country, a specific stamp or by topic. I did two topic specific searches. The first was on stamps. The search found about 15 stamps with grass as a topic. Unfortunately, a native in a grass skirt does not count. The second search was for golf on stamps. Some 125 different stamps were listed. Besides listing the stamps, there is information about the stamps. A selling price and a link to the vendor who is offering to sell the stamp is shown. By clicking on the link you are moved to the vendor's home page so you can make arrangements to purchase the stamp.These searches were successful in showing the large number of stamps related to our topic.

One last web site that must be reviewed by the beginning topical collector. The site is for the American Topical Association (ATA). The ATA is the largest philatelic society devoted to a specific phase of stamp collecting. The ATA was organized in 1949, it serves over 6000 members in some 90 different countries. The ATA is the best source of information in the topical field.  The web address of the ATA is http://home.prcn.org/~pauld/ata/ (DEAD LINK) The ATA hosts a yearly meeting. At this past year's meeting some 260 topical themes were displayed, as well as 35 dealers were in attendance . One of the winning displays was assembled by Patricia Loehr. Her theme was the "World of Golf". The ATA can be reached through their web site or by snail mail at, ATA Central Office, PO Box 50820, Albuquerque, NM 87181-0820.

The turf grass professional can use stamp collecting in several ways. First, it can offer a relaxing way to spend one's time off. Second, it can help you to meet new people and to make new friends who share a common interest. Lastly, it can help you travel to the far corners of the world from the easy chair in your den.

References

1) Schleining, Marge. 1999. Frogs in Philately. Mekeel's and Stamp Magazine Vol.184 No. 23 Whole No. 5655 June 4th, 1999

2) Collector's Workshop. 1999. Where to start if you're just starting out. Linn's Stamp News July 19th, 1999

3) Collector's Workshop. 1999 There's no limit to the ways you can collect. Linn's Stamp News August 2nd, 1999

4) Wilson,Tom. 1999. Insulin. American Philatelist Vol. 113 No.8 Whole No. 1183 August 1999

5) Sharpe, William F. 1999. 'Glassine Surfer' is a good web source. Linn's Stamp News June 7th, 1999

6) ATA Celebrates 50 years. 1999. Mekeel's and Stamps Magazine Vol. 185 No. 2 Whole No. 5660 July 9th, 1999