Stamp Collecting Merit Badge

Overview

The world’s most popular hobby, stamp collecting is enjoyed by millions throughout the world. Through this hobby. you can experience history: postage stamps are like tiny windows that introduce the people of the world to the country’s leaders, customs, history, products, and environment.

Requirements

(1) Do the following:

Resources: Stamp Collecting (video)

(a) Discuss how you can better understand people, places, institutions, history, and geography as a result of collecting stamps.

Resources: Stamp Collecting Is for Old People (Just Kidding) (video), Stamps: A World of Fun (video)

(b) Briefly describe some aspects of the history, growth, and development of the United States postal system. Tell how it is different from postal systems in other countries.

Resources: [A Chaotic History of the US Postal Service

Illustrated U.S. History (video)](https://youtu.be/aZ9j5t25CaU?si=b2xn0FgNumDoiiNU), History of US Mail - From the Beginning (video)

(2) Define topical stamp collecting. Name and describe three other types of stamp collections.

Resources: What to Collect? (website), Topical Stamp Collecting (website)
(3) Show at least ONE example of each of the following:

Resources: Beginner’s Guide to Stamp Collecting - Key Terms (video)
- (a) Perforated and imperforate stamps
  
  Resources: American Perforate and Imperforate Stamps (video), A Quick History of US Imperforate Stamps (video)
- (b) Mint and used stamps
  
  Resources: The Characteristics of Used Stamps Can Affect How You Collect (website)
- (c) Sheet, booklet, and coil stamps
  
  Resources: America’s First Airmail Coil Stamp (video)
- (d) Numbers on plate block, booklet, coil, or marginal markings
  
  Resources: First US Commemorative Stamp Booklet (video)
- (e) Overprint and surcharge
  
  Resources: Precancels, Overprints, and Occupations (video), Overprints on Stamps (video)
- (f) Metered mail
  
  Resources: What is Metered Mail? (video), Postage Meter Stamp Basics (website)
- (g) Definitive, commemorative, semipostal, and airmail stamps
  
  Resources: A Crash Course on U.S. Stamp Categories (video), A Quick History of US Definitive Stamps (video), A Quick History of US Commemorative Stamp (video), A Quick History of US Airmail Stamps (video)
- (h) Cancellation and postmark
  
  Resources: Postmarks and Cancels (video)
- (i) First day cover
  
  Resources: Collecting Stamps On Cover (video)
- (j) Postal stationery (aerogramme, stamped envelope, and postal card)
  
  Resources: 4 Helpful Stamp Collecting Tips for Beginners (video)
(4) Do the following:
- (a) Demonstrate the use of ONE standard catalog for several different stamp issues. Explain why catalog value can vary from the corresponding purchase price.
  
  Resources: What is Grading In Stamp Collecting? (video), Stamp Collecting Basics - The Scott Catalogue: More Than Just Stamp Values (Pt 1) (video), Stamp Collecting Basics - The Scott Catalogue: Reading Stamp Listings (Pt 2) (video), Scott Stamp catalog (website)
- (b) Explain the meaning of the term condition as used to describe a stamp. Show examples that illustrate the different factors that affect a stamp’s value.
  
  Resources: Stamp Collecting Basics - The Scott Catalogue (video)
(5) Demonstrate the use of at least THREE of the following stamp collector’s tools:
- (a) Stamp tongs
  
  Resources: Stamp Collecting Tools Ep3 - Top 3 Everyday Use Tools for the Philatelist (video), Stamp Collecting Tools - Talking Tongs - Best Practices & Features of Tongs for Philatelic Use (video)
- (b) Water and tray
  
  Resources: How to Soak Postage Stamps off Paper (video)
- (c) Magnifiers
  
  Resources: Stamp Collecting Tools Ep3 - Top 3 Everyday Use Tools for the Philatelist (video)
- (d) Hinges and stamp mounts
  
  Resources: How to Trim Self-Adhesive Stamps for Mounts (video)
- (e) Perforation gauge
  
  Resources: How to Use a Perforation Gauge (video)
- (f) Glassine envelopes and cover sleeves
  
  Resources: Even Stamp Collectors Need the Right Tools (video)
- (g) Watermark fluid
  
  Resources: How to Find Watermarks on Stamps (video)
(6) Do the following:

Resources: How Do You Mount Your Stamps in an Album (video)
- (a) Show a stamp album and how to mount stamps with or without hinges. Show at least ONE page that displays several stamps.
  
  Resources: How to Trim Self-Adhesive Stamps for Mounts (video)
- (b) Discuss at least THREE ways you can help to preserve stamps, covers, and albums in first-class condition.
  
  Resources: 3 Attractive Ways to Store and Display Your Stamp Collection (video)
(7) Do TWO of the following:
- (a) Design a stamp, cancellation, or cachet.
  
  Resources: Creativity in Cachets (video), Pictorial Postmarks (video), What Makes a Good Stamp Design (PDF)
- (b) Visit a post office, stamp club, or stamp show with an experienced collector. Explain what you saw and learned.
  
  Resources: Visiting a Stamp Show (video), The Great American Stamp Show 2024 Wrap Up! (video), The Great American Stamp Show 2025 (video)
- (c) Write a review of an interesting article from a stamp newspaper, magazine, book, or website (with your parent or guardian’s permission).
  
  Resources: Linn’s Stamp News (website)
- (d) Research and report on a famous stamp-related personality or the history behind a particular stamp.
  
  Resources: History through Cachets (video)
- (e) Describe the steps taken to produce a stamp. Include the methods of printing, types of paper, perforation styles, and how they are gummed.
  
  Resources: Stamp Production (video)
- (f) Prepare a two- to three-page display involving stamps. Using ingenuity, as well as clippings, drawings, etc., tell a story about the stamps , and how they relate to history, geography, or a favorite topic of yours.
  
  Resources: Have Lasting Fun: How to Create an Exhibit and Enter It Into a Show (website)
(8) Mount and show, in a purchased or homemade album, ONE of the following:

Resources: How to Make Your Own Stamp Album Pages! (video)
- (a) A collection of 250 or more different stamps from at least 15 countries
- (b) A collection of a stamp from each of 50 different countries, mounted on maps to show the location of each
- (c) A collection of 100 or more different stamps from either one country or a group of closely related countries
- (d) A collection of 75 or more different stamps on a single topic. (Some interesting topics are Scouting, birds, insects, the Olympics, sports, flowers, animals, ships, holidays, trains, famous people, space, and medicine). Stamps may be from different countries.
- (e) A collection of postal items discovered in your mail by monitoring it over a period of 30 days. Include at least five different types listed in requirement 3.

Resources

Note: This is an unofficial archive of Scouts BSA Merit Badges that was automatically extracted from the Scouting America website and may contain errors.