Charm of Used Stamps

Earlier this year India post released a set of 16 stamps as one miniature sheet on head gears of India. I did buy as part of my regular buys, but I wasn't too kicked about the stamps. They were too colorful, too big, too pompous for my liking.

And then during my regular visits to the flea market where I rummage through heaps of paper to find used stamps, I managed to find 15 of the 16 stamps in their used version. Suddenly I am liking this set a lot. Perhaps it is the old world charm of used stamps that catches my fancy. It is the thrill of finding used setenent stamps and blocks and even singles that tell a story of usefulness of the stamp and its contribution to getting a message across for someone. My son once said that to him collecting stamps is as lame as collecting Pokemon cards. Well buying mint stamps from the comfort of my home sure feels like that. Collecting used stamps however is whole different game in my view. So much more fun and now a days even more challenging.

50 Best Philately Accounts to Follow on Instagram

I completed a year on Instagram a few months back and it's been a fun journey sharing my collection there. I have found many other interesting philatelists on Instagram. I am compiling the list of best 50 Philately accounts to follow on Instagram. I started with preparing a list of best 25 accounts but just couldn't get myself to stop at 25.

I have tried to not include professional large philately dealers, except one, Stanley Gibbon, for tradition. I also tried to not include pure dealers or sellers though many included in the list are also selling their stamps on eBay. Mostly I tried to include accounts that are specialized (a country or a theme), have great images, have some description and detail of what they are posting, and some really interesting quirky look at stamps too.

Feel free to write your comments on this post in case there are some that I should have considered and missed.

S No.	Instagram account	Why you should follow this account
1.	give.it.laldy Give It Laldy	One of the best sources for El Salvador stamps and philatelic material (covers, envelopes etc.). Provides very useful commentary with the pics shared.
2.	stanleygibbons Stanley Gibbons	If you are a philatelist, you don’t need a reason to follow this account.
3.	empirepostss Empireposts	One of the best feeds of British empire stamps, mainly British stamps, but some colonies too.
4.	khalidmlk Khalid Malik	Some great Pakistani stamps and stamps and covers from Middle Eastern countries.
5.	tiresias1000 Tiresias	A quirky funny look at stamps of people with facial hair.
6.	letterstoursula	One of the most creative postal projects, sending letters addressed to Ursula in different parts of the world to incorrect addresses and collecting the returned mail.
7.	empirecollectables empirecollectables.com	Great collection of British covers and stamps
8.	rainydaystamps Peter	Classic stamps from all over the world, and a few post-boxes too.
9.	mintneverhinged Mint Never Hinged	One of the best collection of graphic design stamps.
10.	brazilianstamps Brazilian Stamps	As the name says, awesome and beautiful Brazilian stamps. One stamp at a time, nice clean images.
11.	ravikumar_babu Ravikumar Babu	Not a purely philately account, more a photography and philately account. Follow for detailed background information about the stamps he posts.
12.	royal_philatelic Ghasem Safari	Nice collection of Iran stamps and other postal stationery. Write mainly in Arabic, but Instagram translation feature comes handy for this.
13.	mhd1976	Great stamps and postal stationery mainly from the Middle Eastern countries.
14.	asfe1899 Asfe1899	Some unique stamps from strange lands that don’t always exist
15.	graphilately G R A P H I L A T E L Y	Graphic design stamps
16.	krebsphil Phil Krebs	Tiny little rats (I think) and a very organized stamp collection in album pages (mainly Singapore but many others too).
17.	philately_laos Eli	The best collection of Laos stamps and covers
18.	undust_the_beauty Undust the Beauty	Great collection of classic stamps
19.	dailymachin Machin Collector	How can I not include a Machin account? Sharing the colors of Machins.
20.	myphilately	Shares USA stamps and other items, typically one stamp at a time.
21.	stampscapetown stampscapetown	South African stamps, one stamp at a time
22.	crownfdc Crownfdc	Some great postal covers from Great Britain
23.	danskefrimaerker PostNord	A snapshot of Danish art, culture, nature and history through stamps from Denmark. Great quality images.
24.	lada.makar	Detailed statistical information about the stamps shared, one stamp at a time.
25.	philatelyandhistory filateliaehistoria	Covers and FDCs from Spain
26.	philategram Philategram	Encourages philatelists to use hashtag #philategram to share their pics. Curates and
27.	reptifibian_stamps liz	Interesting collection of reptile and amphibian stamps
28.	philatelicexpert PhilatelicExpert	Classic stamps, errors and forgery with detailed information about them. Very useful information about rare and expensive stamps.
29.	filateliaentreamigos Filateliaentreamigos	Interesting stamps, covers and other memorabilia from a personal collection.
30.	stamp.share	World stamps, clean images with information about the stamps.
31.	dunvr1 dunvr1	Mainly classic GB used covers (lots of Penny Reds and other classics here).
32.	tamperewanhatpostikortit Tampere in old postcards | FI	Beautiful classic used postcards with detailed historical information about them.
33.	collectoroid Alladdin	Sharing a personal collection and some interesting eBay bids.
34.	world_wide_stamps worldwidestamps	A great collection of mostly European classic stamps
35.	philatelyisfun Philately is FUN!	Great collection of world stamps, mainly older ones. Plus there’s a cat around, I mean who doesn’t like cats.
36.	punkphilatelist The Punk Philatelist	Don’t miss to read her blog posts accompanying here stamps. Lives true to her name.
37.	mad_about_stamps mad_about_stamps	Some great pics and corresponding description of the stamps. Mostly classic worldwide stamps.
38.	dustin15_collections	Some interesting postmarks from postcrossing worldwide.
39.	dapperphilatelist Brendan	Worldwide stamps, nice clean images
40.	pmacpage Poor Man's Art Collection	What an interesting way to describe stamp collecting – Poor man’s art collection. I do believe there’s art in stamps. Follow for Indian stamps.
41.	collectornerd Collectornerd	Mainly stamps but also some other collectibles like covers and bonds/share certificates. Mainly Canada and USA items.
42.	funpostmarks Mark Postington	If you thought Japanese stamps were cool wait till you see the postmarks
43.	carly_stroll Carly's Postmark Collections	Some really interesting Japanese postmarks
44.	bellamarksart Carolyn Marks	Custom First Day Covers from USA
45.	deanboswellphilately Dean Boswell	True to his bio, “Every stamp tells a story”, Dean tells you the story of every stamp he posts.
46.	hassan_alhadethi Hassan Al Hadethi	I have a feeling that Hassan hasn’t taken to Instagram completely yet. I have seen his Facebook posts, he is definitely a philatelist to follow and watch out for on IG.
47.	nurbriefmarken	Stamps from around the world with explanation.
48.	mcs70 Carolina Saheli	A personal collection of stamps
49.	dailystamps Daily Stamps 📚✉	A worldwide collection of stamps
50.	theamateurphilatelist Amateur Philatelist	For compiling this list… 😉