jan.18,1998dar tom,i'm vry glad to know you ar intrstd in stamps and ar starting to collct thm now.you ar asking for advic on stamp-collcting. i think first you should collct as many stamps as you can and trad th stamps you don't want with othr popl. i don't think you should collct th nvlop unlss it is unusual or it is a“first day covr”. thn you hav to dcid whthr you want to collct a crtain kind of stamp, such as stamps with a bird dsign. you'd bttr join a group. othr popl will hlp you larn mor about stamps and thy will soon trad stamps with you. hav you thought of going to stamp sals and buy whatvr you can afford? but at th bginning, you should buy usd stamps.stamp-collcting is fun and you may njoy th unusual and bautiful dsigns of stamps.good luck!lov,uncl frd