Quietophone's video: 4 Postage Stamps from Poland: Churches

1984 polish philately series with old churches. There are thousands of organizations for collectors: local stamp clubs, special-interest groups, and national organizations. Most nations have a national collectors' organization, such as the American Philatelic Society in the United States. The Internet has greatly expanded the availability of information and made it easier to obtain stamps and other philatelic material. The American Topical Association (ATA) is now a part of the APS and promotes thematic collecting as well as encouraging sub-groups of numerous topics. Stamp clubs and philatelic societies can add a social aspect to stamp collecting and provide a forum where novices can meet experienced collectors. Although such organizations are often advertised in stamp magazines and online, the relatively small number of collectors - especially outside urban areas - means that a club may be difficult to set up and sustain. The Internet partially solves this problem, as the association of collectors online is not limited by geographical distance. For this reason, many highly specific stamp clubs have been established on the Web, with international membership.[8] Organizations such as the Cinderella Stamp Club (UK) retain hundreds of members interested in a specific aspect of collecting. Social organizations, such as the Lions Club and Rotary International, have also formed stamp collecting groups specific to those stamps that are issued from many countries worldwide that display the organization's logo. Stamp catalogues are the primary tool used by serious collectors to organize their collections, and for the identification and valuation of stamps. Most stamp shops have stamp catalogues available for purchase. A few catalogues are offered on-line, either free or for a fee. There are hundreds of different catalogues, most specializing in particular countries or periods. The stamp collection assembled by French-Austrian aristocrat Philipp von Ferrary (1850–1917) at the beginning of the 20th century is widely considered the most complete stamp collection ever formed (or likely to be formed). It included, for example, all of the rare stamps described above that had been issued by 1917. However, as Ferrary was an Austrian citizen, the collection was broken up and sold by the French government after the First World War, as war reparations. A close rival was Thomas Tapling (1855 – 1891), whose Tapling Collection was donated to the British Museum. Several European monarchs were keen stamp collectors, including King George V of the United Kingdom and King Carol II of Romania. King George V possessed one of the most valuable stamp collections in the world and became President of the Royal Philatelic Society. His collection was passed on to Queen Elizabeth II who, while not a serious philatelist, has a collection of British and Commonwealth first day covers which she started in 1952.[11] U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a stamp collector; he designed several American commemorative stamps during his term.[12] Late in life Ayn Rand renewed her childhood interest in stamps and became an enthusiastic collector.[13] Several entertainment and sport personalities have been known to be collectors. Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, collected stamps as a child. His childhood stamp album is in the collection of the British Postal Museum & Archive.[14] John Lennon of The Beatles was a childhood stamp collector. His stamp album is held by the National Postal Museum.[15] Former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov has amassed a huge stamp collection over the decades, led by stamps from Belgium and Belgian Congo, that has been estimated to be worth $15 million.