Some surprising stamp collecting related news of late (maybe not to those of us in the know) includes the revelation that President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the legendary playboy with the supermodel wife, is a stamp collector. Weehelll, I guess that blows the traditional image of the bespectacled overweight geek stamp collector hiding in the library every evening with a pair of tweezers and surrounded by bits of colorful paper. The fact is, stamp collectors come from all different walks of life, in all different shapes and sizes, and with varying degrees of social skills. Yes, some of them are even married to supermodels. Hell, some of them are probably even supermodels themselves, though I’m not aware of any specifically. If anyone knows of one, let me know and that will certainly be the subject of the next post!

Stamp collecting, or philately to those of us who have been at it for a while, has been the hobby of many famous/infamous people throughout the past 160 years. Some of the more famous instances include Franklin Roosevelt, the last president of the United States to be elected more than twice, John Dupont, the heir to the Dupont family fortune and famous murderer, and Bill Gross, arguably one of the greatest investors of modern times. Now, philately can add another president to it’s roles.

So, what is the attraction that brings kings and presidents to this “hobby of kings”? It’s not just the value of the stamps, as most of them are virtually worthless, and it’s certainly not the glamor surrounding the hobby, since there literally is none, so what can it be? The common denominator amongst most stamp collectors is a keen intellect and a curiosity that leads one to want to know more than what appears on the surface of things. Stamp collectors enjoy studying the ways in which stamps are made, the way the papers on which they are printed are made, the subject matter of the stamps themselves, and even the various ways in which the stamps are used. In other words, stamp collectors, as a general rule, are smarter than the average bear! That’s why they’re able to be kings, queens, presidents, billionaires, and attractive to supermodels!

So, if you’re one of those that has been curious about stamp collecting, but haven’t taken the plunge, give it a try! Maybe you’ll be the next famous collector I’ll write about.

collecting, kings, philately, president, sarkozy, stamp