Philately is the art of stamp collecting and the science of philatelic study and research. The joy of the stamp collecting is discovering something from those small colorful squares that move your letters from one place to another. Discovery might be in the form of finding out that you possess a rare gem, a mind-boggling puzzle, or a creative bogus. Studying them to a point of knowing what the vignette connotes, what the event commemorate, why was it issued, among others is comparable to studying the history of a country, as well as knowing its various facets. Research, though time-consuming, becomes the heart of philately.

Recently, I have discovered that one of my stamps, Liberation of UST 2p multicolored issued in 1995, contained an error in which the phrase "Interment Camp" should have been "Internment Camp". This error was recently pointed out in an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer. It isn't in the league of the Led Zeppelin error but realizing that you possess one such stamp is like finding out a nugget from an abandoned gold mine.

With the advent of list servers and usenet, the Internet has also become a venue for stamp collectors to discuss pertinent matters, ask assistance from experts or simply help one another. Subscriptions to Deja News services like rec.collecting.stamps and alt.collecting.stamps or UseNet's alt.snail-mail makes a philatelist attuned to the recent development and news about the hobby. Posting to The Stamps List or subscribing to the list itself is especially useful for the exchange of knowledge as well as exchange of stamps.

1998::: January | June | July | October | November | December

Previous Features: 1997 :  1999