WSC 2004, Hans C. Andersen & NUS Stamps Sheets

Personally I prefer to collect used stamps instead of unused stamps, for the simple reason that the postmarks and cancellations on the used stamps add to the fun of stamp collecting.

There are times when I do collect unused stamps, and that includes presentation packs as well as stamp sheets. Presentation packs, like used stamps, also add to the fun of stamp collecting because there are more information presented in the package. For the same reason, miniature sheets are also interesting. For large stamp sheets, the interesting information is the details of the printer..etc etc.

To illustrate the point, here's three pictures of NUS stamp sheet, World Stamp Competition 2004 sheet, and the Hans C Andersen miniature. For the NUS sheet, the details of the printer, the 5 colour proof dots..etc could be found by the side of the sheet.

For the WSC 2004 sheet, the background of the sheet featured the stamps from the mid-60s, superimposed with a merlion picture at the upper right.

For Hans C Andersen, the background has the same theme as the 4 stamps, with wordings that describe the occasion (i.e. 200th Anniversary Celebration), and that adds to the fun when one looks at these stamps.

All in all, stamps collecting is fun, not just because we are hoarding little piles of tiny papers, but because of the history and culture embedded in these papers that describe the world we lived in, often times stretching our imagination to times before our birth. Isn't that fun enough?