FOUR PRODUCTS THAT MAKE GREAT COLLECTIBLES

For good reasons, building collections is a pursuit often associated with people who let their geek side show. Collecting lets people enjoy things they appreciate now that may also be valuable in the future. You can consider collecting a form of investment. Also, collecting itself can prove very satisfying and mentally rewarding. Plus, it can be fun enjoying the geeky collectibles! But with so many things to collect, which items are worth building a collection with versus just turning you into a hoarder? Here are four products that make great collectibles:

Comics 

If you love comic books, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't have a large collection. It doesn't matter if you've already read them; if you take care of your comics there is a chance you can make a profit over time on some of them. Little wonder the comics collectibles market is witnessing a massive boom. 

The most important thing is to become acquainted with the process of bagging and boarding your favorite comic volumes and issues. And if you happen to chance on a rare or valuable comic volume or collection, don't hesitate to get it appraised by a trusted professional. But if you don't know how to tell which comic collection or volume is valuable, take the time to read about the most valuable comic books. 

Action Figures 

Action figurines are another great option when it comes to collectibles.  Options range from anime figurines and Gundam models to action figures based on popular movies and games. Those that will have a nostalgic connection with people will have the greatest return down the road. Adults who played with the toys like to reconnect with their youth and have the income to reward those that have held onto action figures in mint condition. In original packaging in pristine condition is where you will score big bucks! 

Books 

Avid readers may not want to donate books to the library after reading them.  If you have a theme and keep them in good condition, books can be as collectible as comics. In terms of value, there are several examples of old books attracting very high resale value. For example, some old Harry Potter books can sell for thousands of dollars, especially the ones that come with the author's autograph. But the most important thing is to focus on books you are interested in. This way, not only will you have a collection you can indulge in, but you'll also enjoy the collecting process. 

Stamps 

Collecting stamps may sound like an old hobby since stamps aren't as commonly used as they were before. However, this hobby remains pretty golden, especially when some stamps are known to become very valuable over time. And, no! You don't have to be old to start collecting stamps. Stamps collection is a great and fun hobby you can start enjoying, regardless of age. But if you want to collect them to make money, you should limit yourself to only the authenticated stamps.

Post Office Releasing Classic Pickup Truck Stamps

I've always found classic pickup trucks to be pretty darn cool and it has been an aspiration of mine for quite awhile to restore one to cruise around in.  So when the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced a set of pickup truck stamps that they will be releasing later this year the news caught my attention.  Drawn by illustrator Chris Lyons, who has also done artwork for Road & Track, Sports Illustrated, Forbes and numerous other newspapers and magazines, these four Forever stamps, which means they will always be worth the current U.S. Postal Service's First Class Mail one-ounce rate, will be bundled together in a twenty pack that will contain five of each one.  The four pickups being featured on these stamps are a 1938 International Harvester D-2, 1948 Ford F-1, 1953 Chevrolet and a 1965 Ford F-100.

1938 International Harvester D-2 had a distinct barrel-shaped grille, and its elegant styling mirrored the look of luxury automobiles of the era. © 2016 USPS

This 1948 Ford F-1 included features like the roomy “Million Dollar Cab,” a sharp horizontal five-bar grille and a six cylinder engine. © 2016 USPS

The 1953 Chevrolet featured large windshields and provided drivers with excellent visibility, a distinctive curvy grille that bulged in the middle and a six-cylinder engine. © 2016 USPS

The 1965 Ford F-100 had a new grille that featured 18 small rectangular openings. It also featured “Twin-I-Beam” independent front suspension, greatly improving the quality of the ride. © 2016 USPS

Whether you want your mail to stand out to your recipients or are a hobbyist interested in adding these to a collection it would well be worth a trip to your local post office to pick up a bundle of these sharp looking classic pickup stamps.  My favorite is the Ford F-1 with its five-bar grille and overall old-fashioned look to a frame that isn't ritzy but would stand out and turn heads wherever it may go.  Which of these four classics is your favorite?

These pickups bring to mind that stamp collecting can be an affordable and fun hobby for children that can interest them in topics such as art, geography, history and science.  Kids can collect unique stamps issued by countries from across the world giving them insights into the various regions of our planet.  Or they can stick closer to home and collect ones that interest them issued by our own Postal Service. A few of the stamp sets being released in 2016 by the USPS that may interest and inspire children include Botanical Art, Black Heritage: Richard Allen, Celebrating Lunar New Year: Year of the Monkey, 200th Anniversary of Indiana Statehood, The Moon, Repeal of the the Stamp Act 1766, and View of Our Planets, among others.  Plus there is an impressive Star Trek collection being produced this year that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the franchise's original television show.

For those families that have an interest in having children cultivate a stamp collection, the American Philatelic Society has a Young Stamp Collectors of America (YSCA) club for youth under the age of 18.  An annual membership costs $10 for one child or families with multiple children who want to participate can purchase a household membership for $15.  Membership includes:

• YSCA eNewsletter - A colorful e-newsletter is sent quarterly filled with articles, how-to's, collecting basics, activities, stamp offers, and more.

• On-line Monthly Meetings - Chat with fellow members from many areas of the United States.

• Official Meetings - Two live meetings are held annually at American Philatelic Society stamp shows.

• YSCA Members Only Area - YSCA members can log-in and view special messages, archives of past eNewsletters, collecting tips, and more.

• Pen Pal Services - YSCA members can become friends with other members in the United States or from  around the world. Trade stamps or just write to learn more about someone else's stamp collecting interests.

• Treasure Package - New members receive a treasure package which includes a first day cover, packet of stamps, collecting information, and special offers. Each child in a household membership gets a Treasure Package.  These are only provided the first year a child joins the YSCA.

For more information about Young Stamp Collectors of America, visit  Stamps.org/YSCA

The American Philatelic Society, which is the largest nonprofit foundation of philately (study of stamps and postal history) with almost 44,000 members from 110 countries, also has FREE resources to encourage youth stamp collecting including activities, games, fun facts, and collecting tips.  Visit Stamps.org/Young-Philatelists to check out what they have to offer.

U.S. Post Office Celebrates Star Trek's 50th Anniversary With Commemorative Stamps

In 2016, Star Trek fans can have some fun with their mail by highlighting it with postage stamps that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the science fiction franchise.  These Forever Stamps are legal tender for postage or can be kept as a nice collectible item to display if you'd rather not mail them out.  Forever Stamps will always be valid to be used as the current  First Class Mail one-ounce rate no matter how many years have gone by or how much the price has risen for postage. The four stamps being issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) which honor the first airing of a Star Trek TV episode on September 8, 1966 will be comprised of illustrations inspired by important elements of the original television series. These Star Trek stamps can be purchased together as a set which includes a display panel that consists of a background of stars with the words "Space...the final frontier" imprinted on it.

The four 50th Anniversary Star Trek stamps will include:

The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia with a gold background to reference Captain Kirk's uniform.

The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background to reference Starfleet's  security and operations personnel's uniform.

The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background in reference to the fact that Captain Kirk's costume in the original Star Trek episodes was actually that color but the studio lighting made it appear to look gold on TV.

The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock's iconic hand gesture) against a blue background which is the color of uniform assigned to Starfleet's medical and science personnel.

If you are interested in real life space exploration, the USPS is also releasing a panel of 16 Forever stamps from NASA images that showcase the planets in our solar system.  The panel will feature eight new stamps with each being provided twice in the set.  Some of the images on the stamps show us the "true color" of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune as they would be seen if you have the chance to visit them firsthand on a trip through outer space.  Others will be images that use colors to represent and visualize certain features of a planet based upon imaging data.  A few of the stamps will also have images utilizing near-infrared spectrum to show things that cannot be seen by the human eye within visible light.

There will also be text on the back of the stamp pane to explain what these images reveal and identifies the spacecrafts or telescopes that obtained them.  While a release date hasn't been provided yet for the Star Trek stamps, the Views of Our Planets collection will be dedicated between May 28th and June 4 at the World Stamp Show -- NYC 2016 and should be available for purchase shortly afterward.

While astronomers don't identify it as one anymore, Pluto will always be a planet to me.  Poor Pluto being demoted from a Pluto every student in elementary school had to memorize to being defined as an orbital object.  Pluto is getting a bit of respect from the USPS this year though with the release of a four stamp souvenir sheet of stamps honoring the recent New Horizons spacecraft mission by NASA that provided us with our first glimpse of this far off place at the far end of our solar system. The USPS actually has a close connection to this particular mission.  In 2006, NASA placed a Pluto: Not Yet Explored 29-cent stamp within the New Horizons spacecraft.  As the spacecraft accomplished its mission in 2015 that stamp was along for the ride.

“The New Horizons project is proud to have such an important honor from the U.S. Postal Service,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons lead scientist from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO. “Since the early 1990s the old, ‘Pluto Not Yet Explored’ stamp served as a rallying cry for many who wanted to mount this historic mission of space exploration. Now that NASA’s New Horizons has accomplished that goal, it’s a wonderful feeling to see these new stamps join others commemorating first explorations of the planets.”

The collectible sheet will feature two brand new stamps twice.  One will be an artist's rendering of the New Horizons spacecraft and the second will show an image taken by the spacecraft of Pluto. The view of Pluto — which is color enhanced to highlight surface texture and composition — is a composite of four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI).  These  stamps will also be dedicated between May 28 and June 4 at the World Stamp Show – NYC 2016.

Astronomy buffs, stamp collectors, and Star Trek fans will all want to keep an eye out for these interesting stamps from the U.S. Postal Service.  I know I'll be picking these up for myself to add to a few other stamp sets I've collected over the years.  If you have a child who may be interested in stamp collecting as a hobby these could be the perfect ones to get them started!

For more information about stamp collecting, visit stamps.org/A-Hobby-for-Everyone

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SPIDER-MAN TEAMS UP WITH THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

I was watching March Madness basketball the other night on the television when a commercial featuring your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man popped up on the screen.  In an interesting move the United State Post Office has teamed up with the Spider-Man in a cross-promotional campaign to market their priority mail service and the upcoming movie "Amazing Spider-Man 2."  I have to give a nod to the USPS for making a nice marketing move that adds some hip to a somewhat stodgy brand and provides it with the hype of a block buster movie to break through all the advertising clutter out there.  The television commercial that kicked off this marketing campaign features some excellent visual effects showing off Spider-Man web slinging across New York to get a special delivery for the postal service to none other than the legendary Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee.  Check it out:

In addition to the television commercial, this promotional campaign will feature limited-edition Spider-Man Priority Mail Flat Rate Shipping Boxes, postal trucks in select urban markets branded with Spider-Man images, and Spider-Man postage stamps available at self-service kiosks.  Additionally, the campaign will feature comic book inspired graphic renderings  to serve as story-telling vehicles and features highlighting U.S. Postal Service employees who have been real-life super heroes in the communities they work in.  Last year, the Postal Service recognized 262 postal employees for heroic acts in the Postmaster General's "Heroes" program.  In my neighborhood, the letter carriers still deliver the mail by walking home to home, which in those types of circumstances provides a wide variety of opportunities for them to come across someone in need of assistance or notice something suspicious that could help stop a crime.  It is nice to see those that help other in need get recognized because that really is going above and beyond their job.

This marketing campaign will also include special exposure of the USPS and its logo in the upcoming "Amazing Spider-Man 2" movie.  So that's something to keep an eye out for when you see the movie knowing that is something going on behind the scenes as a brand sponsorship for the show's production.  Here's a trailer for Amazing Spider-Man 2 opening in theaters on May 2, 2014: