For postage stamp collectors, "a stamp is not just a stamp". The stamp collector often sees a mysterious place as well as an interesting culture the moment one views a stamp from a foreign country that depicts a foreign landscape.

"Postage stamp collecting" is a fascinating hobby that stimulates one's curiosity in people and places beyond one's borders.

Here are tips for the amateur postage stamp collector:

On soaking the stamps:

1. Before soaking your stamp, separate stamps that are on any colored paper, stamps having colored cancellations, particularly those with purple or red ink, stamps of very dark in color, stamps that are on poor paper quality, or those with unidentified inks that could liquefy in the basin of water and can stain other stamps. Any "unuasual" stamps should be separated and handled one by one.

2. Trim the paper of the envelope that surrounds stamp, being extra careful as not to scratch or slice the edges of the stamp.

3. When soaking the stamp, take a shallow container with lukewarm water and float in the stamps having the pictures side facing you. Make certain that there is enough room for the stamps to float not to stick to each other. Avoid soaking too many stamps all at one time.

4. Leave the stamps to float until such time that the adhesive dissolves so that the stamps easily slides off the piece of paper. Paper can rip easily so handle the stamp carefully and just allow the water to work on it.

5. Rinse off gently the stamps back in fresh clean water to so that all the adhesive is taken off.

6. Position the stamps in a manner that they are not touching each other on top of paper towels to dry, or old newspapers.

7. Leave the stamps to dry. When they should curl afterwards, place them in another dry piece of paper and place a heavy book on them.

Choosing the right album for your collection:

1. Your very first postage stamp album will be an experiment, except when you have looked at someone else's stamp album and you believe that type would also be ideal for you.

2. Listen to and take the dealers advice when buying a postage stamp album; do not be completely convinced by allegations that a certain album brand is "the best." Note that a stamp album that is made by a well known stamp album manufacturer, and is expensive, does not necessarily mean that it is "the best" and is right for you.

3. When shopping take into account all features and aspects such as the albums price, appearance and format and make a wise choice.

4. Good and efficient beginners' stamp albums are widely available and should be affordable and fully characterized so to point out where certain stamps should go and some albums can even include added information, like maps and data regarding different countries.

5. If you prefer not purchasing those premium albums due to its price, choose the quality carefully. Stamp albums with weak and delicate pages can not endure the tension of heavy stamps when your collection increases.

6. Choose an album with acid-free pages.

7. When buying a stamp album similar to most things, one needs to shop around first and examine it thoroughly before buying. Also do not be discouraged when your first album turns to be not the perfect one for your needs. You always will need a temporary place to keep your duplicates as your hobby expands.

Some popular stamps:

1. The "Treskilling Yellow Swedish" postage stamp is in fact the world's most valuable stamp. Likewise it is the world's most valuable "thing" in terms of volume, weight and density.

2. The "Penny Black" was actually the first in the world as an "official adhesive postage stamp"; released on "May 1, 1840" by the "United Kingdom"

3. The "Inverted Jenny" is a postage stamp from United States issued in 1918 whereby the airplane at designs center, accidentally was printed the wrong side up. There were only 100 inverts found, thus this made the Inverted Jenny among the "most valuable" stamps, now costing about 150,000 US dollars.

Being a postage stamp collector offers diversity in knowledge. Indeed, stamp collecting is worthwhile hobby.