• Get to Know Popular Types of Worldwide Stamps

• Understand Stamp Terms

• Find Worldwide Stamps on eBay

• Buy Worldwide Stamps With Confidence

Get to Know Popular Types of Worldwide Stamps

Get to Know Popular Types of Worldwide Stamps

Worldwide stamps can feature a multitude of subjects, including national flags, world-renowned musicians, sports superstars, animated characters, and historic events. By looking at old stamps and new stamps from different countries — past and present — you can learn a little about the language, culture, geography, and history behind each worldwide stamp.

• Historical worldwide stamps: You can collect worldwide stamps that capture moments in time or history. For example, you could find:

  • An 1877 Persian international register cover sent from Isfahan to Teheran.

  • A signed First Flight cover from Ecuador.

  • A letter written by an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate.

  • A rare 1923 letter sent from Georgia, Russia through Moscow to Germany.

  • An 1896 postcard sent by a missionary from Hong Kong to London.

  • A letter written by a woman in Switzerland in 1853.

• Worldwide stamp collections and lots: Obtain an instant worldwide stamp collecting by purchasing an existing worldwide stamp collection or lot of worldwide stamps. Look for carefully assembled collections, with everything from albums filled with valuable British stamps to early European stamps, worldwide animals, or Greek Hermes heads. You could find a hoard of Norwegian stamps or a valuable French colonies collection.

• Postal stationary: Consider collecting envelopes and postal stationery cards that span the world. You could find:

  • A mint 1915 card showing an Australian submarine (now sunk).

  • A rare 1926 King Boris money order stationery form from Bulgaria.

  • A full set of Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong pictorial postal cards.

  • Used 1891 postal cards from New South Wales with tobacco advertising.

  • A 1938 Polish postal stationery card honoring 1903 Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie.

  • A 50-year postal stationery collection showing stamps in their design.

  • A rare 1900 Boer War censored envelope from a British Officer POW.

• Worldwide stamp First Day Covers: First Day Covers, perfect for framing or display, can feature subjects ranging from the 2005 opening of Disneyland in Hong Kong to Elvis Presley. Desirable First Day Covers include 1948 Volcano sets from Iceland and 2003 International Space Station cover boards with pilot signatures. Stamp collectors create their own First Day Covers by sending an envelope prepared with adequate first-class postage (and perhaps a coordinating design on the envelope) to receive a postmark from a city where a new stamp is being issued.

• Worldwide stamp philatelic covers: Philatelic covers can be postcards or envelopes. Consider searching for:

  • Official covers posted onboard the royal yacht Britannia for its decommissioning in 1997.

  • A batch of commercial registered covers from the Bank of Bhutan.

  • Limited edition covers from the first New York to London Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race in 1969.

  • A 1938 Havana, Cuba rocket mail experimental Comete cachet.

  • A 1955 Ethiopia cover.

  • A 1936 Hindenburg zeppelin cover sent from Frankfurt to Lakehurst.

Worldwide stamps can make thoughtful gifts to mark special occasions such as births, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, and birthdays. For example, a bride-to-be may appreciate a 1981 royal wedding album while new and seasoned collectors may want to add stamps or First Day Covers featuring a favorite artist or stamp designer to their collection. History buffs will likely treasure United Nations stamps, such as a mini sheet of Declaration of Human Rights stamps issued by the UN Postal Administration or a 10th anniversary souvenir sheet. Children often enjoy worldwide stamps that match their interests, including animal stamps, sports stamps, toys stamps, or cartoon character stamps. If a recipient doesn't currently collect stamps, don't worry; many current collectors say a gift started their stamp collection.

To determine how much you should pay for worldwide stamps, search Completed Listings to find out what similar stamps sold for on eBay in the past 14 days.

Understand Stamp Terms

Understand Stamp Terms

Sellers use a variety of terms to describe worldwide stamps on eBay. Common descriptions in the Stamps category include:

• Aerophilately: "Aerophilately" refers to the practice of collecting air mail stamps and envelopes (covers) that have been sent by air mail, including those sent by airplane, balloon, and other types of aircrafts.

• Bright: The ink color on bright stamps is in good condition.

• Cachet: Cachets are designs on an envelope, usually text or illustrations relating to the subject of the stamp or event being commemorated. The envelope is known as a First Day Cover (FDC).

• Stamp coils: Coils, sold in rolls, are stamps made for use in vending or affixing machines. Coils feature perforations on two parallel sides with two straight cut sides.

• Mint: Mint stamps are in their original state of issue, unused and with full gum (if issued with gum).

• Off-centered: “Centering” describes a stamp’s position in relation to its perforations. Perforations on off-centered stamps are not equal distances from the printed area.

• Overprint: Overprint is any printing added to the face of a stamp after manufacture, usually done to make stamps suitable for a special purpose.

• Selvage: Selvage, the margin around a sheet of stamps, may include the copyright, plate number, and other markings.

• Tied stamps: Tied stamps are connected (or tied) to a cover by a postmark or cancellation.

Common abbreviations in the Stamps category include:

• COA: Certificate of Authenticity

• FDC: First Day Cover

• IMPERF: Not perforated

• LOA: Letter of Authenticity

• MH: Mint hinged

• MLH: Mint lightly hinged

• NH: Never hinged

• NR: No reserve (seller has not set a minimum price for sale)

• OG: Original gum

• PSC: Postal stationary card

• STP: Strip

• XF: Extra fine

For a list of other popular coin terms, visit the Stamps Buying Guide and eBay's Popular Items - Stamps page.

Find Worldwide Stamps on eBay

Find Worldwide Stamps on eBay

Once you know what type of worldwide stamps you need, go to the Stamps category portal, click Worldwide, and start searching for stamps on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow listings by item type. For example, the Categories list on general Worldwide Stamps listings pages contains links to First Day Covers, Philatelic Covers, Postal History, Postal Stationery, United Nations, Collections, Lots, and Other.

• Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Charles Lindbergh cover from his 1928 Goodwill tour, type "Lindbergh" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Remember to use a "+" between consecutive words in a keyword phrase. After conducting your initial search, try misspelling the name of the item you desire, trying several variations. You'll likely come across additional listings. Visit eBay's Search Commands page for more tips on searching with keywords.

• Advanced search: eBay's Advanced Search feature allows you to conduct a more precise search and gives you the option to search by seller, buyer, or store. You can also narrow results to "All of these words," "Any of these words," or "Exact phrase." Search All Categories to find stamps listed in multiple categories on eBay, including Stamps, Collectibles, and Coins.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Worldwide Stamps With Confidence

Buy Worldwide Stamps With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Sellers must adhere to a strict set of rules for selling stamps on eBay, which help protect you as a buyer. Get to know the Code of Conduct for selling stamps on eBay, developed with the American Philatelic Society, which outlines the types of stamps sellers can offer and how. If an item seems to be in violation of the Code of Conduct, or seems too good to be true, find a different seller/stamp.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.