Stamp Club to begin youth group Dec. 12

The Sussex County Stamp Club will be celebrating its 25th year in 2014. As a way to keep the club going strong, the group is introducing a new youth club program.

The first meeting of the Sussex County Youth Stamp Club will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 12, at the Milton Public Library. The club, open to children from middle school and up, will introduce children to education in history, the arts and the world.

Stamp collecting is a universal hobby not restricted to the United States, but to the world of philately. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.

Stamp collecting is fun, educational and free. Probably the easiest way to accumulate stamps is by getting friends and relatives to save and share the stamps everyone gets in the mail. By being part of a club, members have the opportunity to trade and receive stamps from other members.

As the newly formed club meets, they will be introduced to different tools used in collecting stamps. Each young philatelist will be introduced to the terminology and the history of their own stamp collection. The library carries the Scott Identification Guide, which will come in handy as their collections expand.

The club will teach young philatelists how to identify stamps and mount them in an album, plus learn how to remove stamps from paper. Junior club members can qualify for regular membership at age 18. Junior club members may be invited to participate in joint club ventures.

For more information, contact sussexcostampclub@inbox.com.