Postage Stamps for Dummy Philatelists

Stamp collecting

We admit that sometimes our DotD nominees are chosen because we strenuously disagree with the way they interpret a topic. Most of the time, that means that the original appeared at the late, unlamented eHow.com¹. That's definitely the case today: we took a look at the pablum eHowian Sienna Condy coughed up in attempting to describe "Types of Postage Stamps"² for OurPastimes.com, and we thought to ourselves, "Has this woman never heard of stamp collecting?" Apparently not...

For whatever reason, Condy decided to blather about the various "types" of stamps you can buy across the counter at your local post office (not to mention the grocery store). She, of course, opened by explaining the history of stamps from the 19th century to today:

"First used in place of postage envelopes in England during the 1830s, postage stamps serve as proof of postage paid to postal services all over the globe. Although most stamps today are self-adhesive, some stamps, like those used for precanceled mail, are still stamped on the envelope using a machine or a hand stamp..."

Sienna then prattled briefly about what she determined to be the sum total of all types of stamps, breaking them down into

• Definitive Stamps: "...can be used for postage all the time."
• Commemorative Stamps: "...recognize an important event or an organization..."
• Special Stamps: "Stamps to celebrate holidays and other unique stamps..."
• Other Stamps: "...individual stamps can be purchased³ through the U.S. Postal Service for postcards, international and priority mailings. Additional postage stamps are also available to purchase through the U.S. Postal Service in a variety of nonstandard denominations."

As anyone who's ever walked through the door of a coin and stamp shop or show, Condy limited her list to what was available at her local post office on the day she wrote her post – with "research" limited to visiting USPS.com, we'll wager. Even with that, she neglected to mention the POP-printed stamps available at almost every post office today; ditto the priority mail variety.

On the other hand, Sienna could have spent a few extra minutes researching what has historically been one of the world's most popular hobbies, stamp collecting (aka philately), she might have learned that there are several additional types she did not mention. Just because she has never seen a postage-due stamp or an airmail stamp does not mean that they aren't "types." The same could be said of first-day covers; cancelled vs. mint; even blocks, rolls, and singles. Stamp collectors separate themselves into a lot of types – and Leaf Group compounded Condy's insult to the hobby by slotting what is essentially a business article in a niche that, in theory, is about hobbies. In this case, it's hard to decide who's the Dumbass of the Day, but Sienna's name is on the thing.

¹ Not really dead, just moribund: about all that's left there is stuff Leaf Group can't decide how to "niche."
² The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ourpastimes.com/types-postage-stamps-5957981.html
³ Can someone please explain to us why freelancers are so leery of the verb "to buy"?

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