The collecting of used british stamps

It has been a couple of years since my enthusiasm waned about collecting stamps. I was all fired up about the Millenium commemorative stamps and when I had enjoyed collected them all mint and then used, I got stuck knowing what to collect. At the time there was talk about special stamps being too plentiful and not particulalry special and that people were not using stamps any more. I felt disappointed about this too.

I cannot afford rare stamps but specialness or novelty seems to matter to me a good modern design too perhaps with a technical innovation—there has to be something about stamp collecting that means I will not end up with an identical collection to a many other collectors, that made any further collecting worthwhile.

It occured to me that modern used stamps may become rarer, well if not rarer much less in evidence than mint stamps. Does anyone think that there is much evidence for this in their experience.They were once considered less desirable. I wonder if things have changed.

Peter, I think that collecting used modern GB stamps is probably going to be worthwhile and, hopefully, rewarding.

It is true that most stamps issued never get a ride thru the Royal Mail system. I work as a RN so handle alot of letters and packages which are sent to the patients where I work, and true enough, most letters have the 1st or 2nd class queenie head (Machin) stamps, rarely do I see any other stamps used. Packages seem to all have printed labels, very rarely do they have stamps on them. When an interesting letter does arrive I sometimes ask if I can keep it (most envelopes get thrown away anyhow).

Recently there were some nice postmarks from the Orkney Isles, a seagull design. A couple of years back I got a letter with the Kew Garden miniture sheet stamps on it, so you will be able to collect genuinely postally used stamps if you search.

Another avenue to go down, if you want something more unique as opposed to a general collection, would be to collect postal history items. I don't really collect modern GB postal items, but there are some nice items going around; meter marks, labels or just a cover with a non Machin stamp!

Just as an aside to your main point, Peter, as I read your post I thought 'why not put together a collection of technical innovations'? Thunderbirds, the Magic ones from 2005, the medical issue I simply cannot find right now that had a eucalyptus smell and thermography and so on.

Otherwise, Alex makes some jolly good points. Perhaps collectors of modern used or modern postal history can weigh in?

Of course the normal issue. Try and find modern material used on cover as that little which has been used is normally ripped off the cover and made into used stamps. Very, very few modern stamps are used anyway and those left on cover , used in their time of issue, are very rarely found.

Overseas catalogues, such as Michel, give a price for every stamp used on cover and doing differnt jobs. Once SG joins the rest of the world the price of modern stamps on cove will escalet (and used stamps will remain at 10p).