Did you think stamp collecting was already extinct? Do you imagine that loving stamps is a hobby only for grumpy old men? Believe me, you are mistaken! Thousands of us in Hungary still enjoy this fascinating hobby, and thousands of stamps change hands every day. We are not grumpy, either: collecting is popular among women as well, and more and more young people are discovering stamps. I created this site so that information about Hungarian stamps would be accessible to everyone and understandable even to beginners. The Bélyegbarát Facebook page had already been launched in May 2023, and its popularity exceeded everything I had imagined. It was time to take the next step. In February 2024 the Bélyegbarát website was launched, where I try to bring together all kinds of useful information about stamp collecting.
In the Knowledge Base, I continuously add explanations of the basic concepts of stamp collecting, drawing on the Monograph of Hungarian Stamps and the Stamp Encyclopaedia. Descriptions of all Hungarian watermarks are already available, and you can also read about perforations and printing processes.
In Stamp Stories you can read information connected with individual stamp issues and learn a little more about the period, the person shown on the stamp or its subject than can be seen from the stamp design alone. Authors also continue to share personal experiences connected with particular issues. Whenever we come across something interesting from the world of stamps, we share it here as well.
The Stamp Issues section is also continuously expanding. Here I present Hungarian stamps and try to bring together everything relevant to each issue in a single article. Every article is illustrated with images of the stamps.
In the Stamp Market section, I welcome introductions from dealers and auction houses. I also intend to present online marketplaces that support the buying and selling of stamps.
Under Useful Websites, I have collected the sites where you can find the most useful information about stamps and stamp collecting.
I also try to introduce Hungarian stamp designers, and stamp issues can be searched by subject as well. By clicking the tags at the beginning and end of articles, you can find other articles related to the same topic. If you get stuck, use Search and hopefully you will find what you are looking for. (Provided I have already written an article about it.)