Stamp Collecting lets you explore history, art, and the world through tiny pieces of paper. You will learn how to handle and organize stamps and build a collection you can show off. It's a hobby that can last a lifetime.
Why it's worth it
Every stamp is a tiny window into a country: its heroes, animals, inventions, and big moments. Stamp Collecting teaches you to look closely, organize carefully, and research what you find, and it can start for free with the mail that comes to your house. Many collectors keep going for life, trading with people around the world and becoming experts on a topic they love, from trains to space to birds.
Start this week
- Ask your family to save envelopes from the mail this week, and carefully tear off the corners with stamps.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Stamp Collecting counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Pick a topic you might want to collect, like animals, sports, space, or flags.
- Ask older relatives or family friends if they have old stamps or letters they'd be willing to share or show you.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).
- Requirement 1
What stamps teach
Tips for this section: Look at a few stamps and talk about the people, places, or events they show.
Example for this section: Choose three stamps and tell the story behind each: who or what it honors, why that mattered, and what it says about the country that printed it. Add a quick fact about postal history, like how the first adhesive stamp was issued in Britain in 1840.
- Requirement 1a
Discuss how collecting stamps helps you learn about people, places, institutions, history, and geography
- Requirement 1b
Briefly describe the history, growth, and development of the U.S. postal system and how it differs from other countries' postal systems
- Requirement 2
Define topical stamp collecting, then name and describe three other kinds of stamp collections
Tip: Pick a topic you love, like animals or space, and look for stamps that match it.
For example: Explain topical collecting with your own idea, like stamps showing birds. Then define three other kinds, such as collecting by country, collecting first-day covers, and collecting plate blocks or other stamps with special markings.
- Requirement 3
Show examples of stamp types and markings
Tips for this section: Gather a few different kinds of stamps and markings from old mail, and ask your counselor what each is.
- Requirement 3a
Perforated and imperforate stamps
- Requirement 3b
Mint and used stamps
- Requirement 3c
Sheet, booklet, and coil stamps
- Requirement 3d
Numbers on a plate block, booklet, or coil, or marginal markings
- Requirement 3e
Overprint and surcharge
- Requirement 3f
Metered mail
- Requirement 3g
Definitive, commemorative, semipostal, and airmail stamps
- Requirement 3h
Cancellation and postmark
- Requirement 3i
First day cover
- Requirement 3j
Postal stationery: aerogramme, stamped envelope, and postal card
- Requirement 4
Catalogs and condition
Tips for this section: Look up a few stamps in a catalog at the library and compare how their condition affects value.
Example for this section: Look up several of your stamps in a stamp catalog at the library or with your counselor. Compare a stamp with clean edges and centered design to one with a tear or heavy cancellation, and explain why condition changes value.
- Requirement 4a
Show how to use ONE standard stamp catalog to look up several different issues, and explain why catalog value can differ from what you'd pay
- Requirement 4b
Explain what condition means for a stamp and show examples of the factors that affect a stamp's value
- Requirement 5
Use stamp collector's tools. Choose 3 of 7
Tips for this section: Practice using tongs, a magnifier, and other tools on spare stamps.
- Requirement 5a
Stamp tongs
- Requirement 5b
Water and tray
- Requirement 5c
Magnifiers
- Requirement 5d
Hinges and stamp mounts
- Requirement 5e
Perforation gauge
- Requirement 5f
Glassine envelopes and cover sleeves
- Requirement 5g
Watermark fluid
- Requirement 6
Albums and preservation
Tips for this section: Mount a few stamps carefully and keep your album in a cool, dry place.
Example for this section: Soak a used stamp off its envelope in water, dry it face down, then mount it with a hinge or a clear mount. Explain why you keep the album away from heat, sunlight, and humidity.
- Requirement 6a
Show your stamp album and demonstrate mounting stamps both with and without hinges, with at least ONE page holding several stamps
- Requirement 6b
Discuss at least THREE ways to keep stamps, covers, and albums in top condition
- Requirement 7
Stamp activities. Choose 2 of 6
Tips for this section: Try designing your own stamp or visiting a post office or stamp show.
Example for this section: Two activities could be designing a stamp for your town or troop with a drawing and a value, and visiting a stamp show, stamp club, or post office with an experienced collector, then telling your counselor what you saw and learned.
- Requirement 7a
Design a stamp, cancellation, or cachet
- Requirement 7b
With an experienced collector, visit a stamp show, stamp club, or post office, and explain what you saw and learned
- Requirement 7c
Read an interesting article in a stamp magazine, newspaper, book, or website (with a parent's or guardian's OK) and write a review of it
- Requirement 7d
Research and report on a well-known stamp personality or the story behind a specific stamp
- Requirement 7e
Describe how a stamp is produced, including printing methods, paper types, perforation styles, and gumming
- Requirement 7f
Make a two- to three-page stamp display that uses clippings, drawings, and creativity to tell a story linking the stamps to history, geography, or a topic you like
- Requirement 8
Mount and show a collection in an album (bought or homemade). Choose 1 of 5
Tips for this section: Arrange your stamps by theme in your album and practice explaining your collection.
- Requirement 8a
At least 250 different stamps from 15 or more countries
- Requirement 8b
A stamp from each of 50 countries, mounted on maps that show where each country is
- Requirement 8c
At least 100 different stamps from a single country or from several closely related countries
- Requirement 8d
75 or more different stamps on one topic, such as Scouting, birds, space, or sports (stamps may come from different countries)
- Requirement 8e
Postal items found in your mail over 30 days of watching it, including at least five different types from requirement 3
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A stamp show or stamp club meeting
Collectors and dealers bring thousands of stamps, and many clubs have free stamps or youth tables for beginners.
How: Have a parent search the national philatelic society's website for a show or club near you, and go together.
A post office
Clerks can show you current stamps, explain how mail gets cancelled, and tell you about upcoming issues.
How: Go with a parent at a quiet time, like mid-morning on a weekday, and ask if a clerk has a few minutes to talk.
Where it can lead
- Postal workerSorts, sells, and delivers mail, including handling stamps every day.
- Stamp designer or illustratorArtists create the images on new stamps, often working with postal agencies.
- Museum curator or archivistCares for and displays collections, including historic stamps and mail.
- AppraiserJudges the condition and value of collectibles for buyers, sellers, and insurers.
Ask yourself
- What topic did you choose, and what does it say about what you care about?
- Which stamp in your collection has the most interesting story?
- What was tricky about handling stamps carefully, and how did you get better at it?
- What did you learn about another country or time period that surprised you?
- How would you like your collection to grow over the next few years?
Good questions to ask your counselor or a stamp club member
- How did you start collecting, and what kept you interested?
- What's the most surprising stamp you've ever found?
- How do you decide what to collect when there are so many stamps?
- What are good, low-cost ways for a beginner to get more stamps?
- How can I tell if a stamp is rare or common?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Ask families to save stamps from mail so scouts have plenty to start with.
- Invite a member of a local stamp club to share tips and spare stamps.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- American Philatelic Society — National group for stamp collectors.
- U.S. Postal Service (opens in a new tab) — Information about new stamps and collecting.
- Local stamp club — Members often help young collectors get started.
- American Philatelic Society (opens in a new tab) — Youth programs, how to find a stamp club, and beginner guides.
- American Topical Association (opens in a new tab) — Ideas and help for collecting stamps by topic.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.