United Kingdom and King Carol II of Romania. King George V possessed one of the most valuable stamp collections in the world and became President of the Royal Philatelic Society. His collection was passed on to Queen Elizabeth II who, while not a serious philatelist, has a collection of British and Commonwealth first day covers which she started in 1952. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a stamp collector; he designed several American commemorative stamps during his term. Late in life Ayn Rand renewed her childhood interest in stamps and became an enthusiastic collector. Several entertainment and sport personalities have been known to be collectors. Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, collected stamps as a child. His childhood stamp album is in the collection of the British Postal Museum & Archive. John Lennon of The Beatles was a childhood stamp collector. His stamp album is held by the National Postal Museum. Former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov has amassed a huge stamp collection over the decades, led by stamps from Belgium and Belgian Congo, that has been estimated to be worth $15 million. See also The WikiBooks Worldwide Stamp Catalogue References Sources Free download here. Further reading Klug, Janet. Guide to Stamp Collecting. Smithsonian/Collins. (Children's/Young Adult) Watson, James. How to start Stamp Collecting. London; Stanley Gibbons. (Adult beginner) Phillips, Stanley. Stamp Collecting: A guide to modern philately. Revised edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1983. (Adult beginner, more detailed but a little out of date) External links LearnAboutStamps.com A resource for stamp collectors Stamp Community A stamp collector forum Caring for stamps and postal history British Postal Museum & Archive Information Sheet Philatelic Dictionary English – German – French StampNews.com Provides updates on new stamp issues and stamp collecting from around the world. Stamp Story, a 1955 information film about stamp collecting. Philatelic terminology