Mystic Stamp Learning Hub

Learn more about stamp collecting, take a dive into the history of stamps, or get any questions answered.

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Learn About Stamp Collecting

Frequently Asked Questions

Stamp News

This Day in History

About Mystic Stamp Company

Videos & Booklets

Top Stories and Guides

Want to start collecting stamps? Want tips on maintaining your collection? Start here.

Learn About Stamp Collecting

  • Civil War-Era Adversity and Patriotic Covers

    The American Civil War was not only a conflict of armies but also a clash of cultures and resources. Among the most poignant and collectible artifacts from this era are adversity covers and patriotic covers.
    Read More

  • The Pan-American Inverts

    The Pan-American Inverts are among the most storied and coveted errors in US philately. They capture both the drama of early 20th-century printing and the excitement of the Pan-American Exposition of 1901.
    Read More

  • Proofs

    Proofs are stamp impressions that the printers make usually before the stamps go to press to show to postal officials for final approval of the stamp design, color, and printing quality.
    Read More

  • Canadian Beavers

    The first animal on stamps thematic, the first allegorical representation of a national identity, and one of the finest engraved stamps of the nineteenth century are all found in the first issue of Canada.
    Read More

  • Kiauchau

    Throughout the late nineteenth century Germany was as involved as any European power in the fight to carve up China for political and commercial advantage. They contracted for land by the bay of Jiaozhou (or as they spelled it, Kiauchau) in northern China in 1898.
    Read More

  • Inverted Jenny Position 63

    Position 63 from the sheet of 100 #C3a stamps purchased in 1918 by William Robey is, in my opinion, the Jenny Invert with the most tantalizing history.
    Read More

  • Officials

    Another area in which United States philately differs from nearly all the rest of the world is in our Official Stamps. In 1873 the Post Office issued a series of stamps for the various government agencies that used stamps.
    Read More

  • United States Stamps

    Because of its familiarity to most American philatelists, we tend not to appreciate just how difficult collecting United States stamps is compared to collecting the stamps of most other countries.
    Read More

  • The First United States Postage Stamp

    The issuance of postage stamps was one of the great technological and commercial innovations of the nineteenth century.
    Read More

Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question that needs to be answered? You’ll find what you’re looking for here in our FAQ.

See All Frequently Asked Questions

This Day in History

Learn about the history of US stamps with a daily snapshot of this day in US stamp history.

Browse This Day in History
  • June 13, 2025

    Final Issue of the Classic Collection
    On June 13, 2002, the USPS issued the final sheet in the Classic Collection Series. The popular series ran for 6 years and included 11 stamp sheets, including one of the most famous stamp errors of modern history.
    Read More