It is rapidly becoming an end of era letter delivery service. Stamps are becoming obsolete. I still send Christmas cards to elderly family members well up in their 80s that have no idea of internet or smart phones. Its a reminder how isolated you can become in old age as technology surpasses you. I collected stamps as kid for awhile and coins. These hobbies of regardless of what is collected has a important role in preserving our social history. I still have a telegram of the passing of my grandmother in 70's. back then living on the other side of the world that was fastest means of communication for the everyday person. kids do not understand that concept today with the world at the touch of your finger tips.
in answer to the original question why does people collect stamps? Well its reflection of social history of how people communicated back then and large array of stamps produced in many countries and various limited edition collector stamps produced. And serious money can be made from finding rare stamps.
And the desire to stumble on penny black stamp. It was first issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May. The stamp features a profile of Queen Victoria. The first-ever Penny Black from the first sheet was estimated at £4-6 million (around $5.5-$8.25 million USD)
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Or perhaps the holey grail of stamp collecting.
The British Guiana 1c magenta is regarded by many philatelists as the world's most famous rare stamp. It was issued in limited numbers in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1856, and only one specimen is now known to exist. It is the only major postage stamp ever issued in the United Kingdom or British Commonwealth that is not represented in Britain's Royal Philatelic Collection.
emergency run added a small boat to the stamp, which can be seen faintly on the face of the stamp underneath the signature of postal clerk E.D Wright, distinguishing it from the official stamp run. Only one copy of this emergency print run is known to exist.
The sole surviving copy was first discovered by a young boy in 1873 who sold what would become known as the rarest stamp in the world for six shillings! The stamp quickly rose in value as collectors realized the rarity of the little octagon the boy had stumbled upon. It has since traded hands across the world many times, with shoe designer and collector Stuart Weitzman currently possessing it. The final price of $9.48M made it the most expensive single stamp sale in the world—the fourth time the British Guiana 1c Magenta has broken that record.
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Or the one belong worth about 10000 dollars USD
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Or a inverted Jenny.
The Inverted Jenny, 1918
Price: $1.35 Million
Perhaps the most famous rare US Stamp, the Inverted Jenny, with its small print run and fanciful error, has been a golden goose for philatelists for over a century. Unlike other stamps on this list, there are 100 Inverted Jennys in circulation, but the wider availability makes the stamps even more sought after. The Inverted Jenny is a misprint of a 1918 stamp featuring one of the Jenny biplanes first used by the US Post Office to carry mail. The plane on the face of the stamp was accidentally printed upside down.
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Just to name few.
British Guiana 1c Magenta 1856 $9.48 Million
Treskilling Yellow 1855 $2.6 Million
The Sicilian Error of Color 1859 $2.6 Million
Baden 9 Kreuzer Error 1851 €1.31 Million
The Inverted Jenny 1918 $1.35 Million
1c Benjamin Franklin Z Grill 1868 $935,000
3c George Washington w/ B Grill 1867 $900,000
Tiflis Stamp 1857 $700,000
24c Declaration of Independence 1869 $625,000
Hawaiian Missionaries 1851 $600,000
Crow
