The Penny Black was the first British postage stamp issued in 1840 showing Queen Victoria’s profile. Stamp collectors are willing to pay up to £200 for a used Penny Black depending on the condition. The first stamps (Briefmarken) had to be cut from a sheet as they were produced without perforations. Stamp collecting is a hobby that is enjoyed by young and old alike and all that is needed is either a stamp album where stamps are mounted on the pages with hinges or a stock book with clear plastic pockets. Very rare stamps are not easy to come by as some collectors are prepared to pay huge sums of money for a particularly rare stamp. The Inverted Jenny first issued in 1918 is a United States postage stamp showing the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the middle of the stamp. Unfortunately, it was printed up-side-down making it a very rare and much sought after stamp.
Buying stamps is something we are all familiar with when sending letters and parcels and this postal system is used in countries all over the world. Nowadays postage stamps have all sorts of different designs on them as new designs are brought out for different occasions. At Christmas stamps may have a picture of Angels, Shepherds, the three Kings, the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus or Snowmen, Reindeers and Father Christmas. For people buying stamps (Briefmarkenankauf) for posting Christmas cards, this all adds to the festive activities. Different designs on stamps are sometimes to commemorate an event or anniversary such as the first man on the moon, and space shuttles. Stamps have also been printed featuring the universe and outer space as well as the Moon, Mercury and Mars. Because these are the sort of stamps that encourage people into buying stamps shops will advertise when the new stamps go on sale. For anyone interested in space and the universe these particular stamps will be bought to keep as a souvenir not to use as a stamp to post a letter.