Many thousands of collectors have never purchased any stamps except as new issues. While I cannot quite understand the pleasure derived from such easy stamp collecting, it is their privilege to collect as they will. On the other hand, every one of them is missing the joy of the hunt, the thrill of the acquisition and the elation of accomplishment that are part of building a collection of earlier issues. You don’t send an order to an agency or a single dealer for a complete collection of Peruor Andorra. You cannot get all the purple stamps of the world by walking into a store and requesting them. Neither can you understand the 19th Century history of Europe quite as well as the collector who carefully and enjoyably, over a period of time, assembles a representative collection of European stamps issued during those years.

And, most surprisingly, it costs less money to collect the older stamps than the current flood of emissions. A budget that can accommodate all the new issues of the world could within a few years afford a Grand Award winning collection of an unlimited number of stamp groups. Of course it would require some study, some searching and some patience, but then the end result of having really accomplished a philatelic challenge is exhilarating enough to most of us to more than repay the extra effort.

Last but by no means least, I have yet to see a fine collection of older material that lacks a market at all times, good or bad. This cannot always be said about collections formed only on new issues.