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Specialty Stamp Collecting
So, maybe you’ve settled on a theme or country to collect. But, you can go a step further in defining what appeals to you (if you wish to do so).
![](http://www.muircorporation.com.au/phil-philately/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/collecting_stamps_II.jpg)
Many collectors chose to specialize in a particular type of stamp – typically definitive stamps. If you want to specialize you could consider focusing your collection on:
- Definitive stamps – these are regular postage stamps issued by a country’s government for postal services (most people just call them postage stamps).
- Airmail stamps – used for airmail and typically have a higher face value than definitive stamps. They may have lower mintage quantities as well.
- Commemorative stamps – typically on sale for a limited time and might have a lower mintage than definitive stamps, they typically commemorate an event, anniversary, place or person.
- Postage due stamps – Added to an envelope whenever additional postage costs need to be paid by the receiver (the sender did not adequately cover the cost of postage). Many countries have stopped using postage due stamps so you will likely be collecting vintage stamps if you choose to focus on them. In contrast to the many thousands of definitive stamps released in the Philippines only 20 Postage Due stamps were released (see the complete set of Philippine postage due stamps).
- Semi-postal stamps – Semi-postal stamps can be an interesting area for the collector. These are definitive stamps that carry an additional charge. The face value of the stamp will usually have a value like “5c+2c” – meaning the total cost of the stamp is 7c. 5c covers postage while the additional 2c is taken as funding for a public works project, disaster relief fund, education fund, etc. It is a way for governments to fund projects.
- Revenue stamps – Revenue stamps have gained significant popularity among collectors. Early collectors ignored revenue stamps in favor of postage stamps meaning that many revenue stamps were simply discarded and not collected. Revenue stamps were affixed to legal and governmental documents as proof that payment of relevant fees had been made. Take a look at My Collection of Revenue Stamps for more information on this interesting area.
Of course a lot of collectors, myself included, are happy to collect all of the above.