Collectors bring thousands of pounds of stamp-filled binders and boxes to Sacramento event
Tom Kinberg’s postage stamp addiction started when he was 9 years old after his grandfather sent him a collector’s book.
It continued through high school, when many young enthusiasts lose interest. It didn’t stop even after he joined the Stockton Police Department, where he gathered evidence from crime scenes.
In the wee hours of the morning, Kinberg would wind down from late night shifts by working on his collection at home.
“It’s just my way of relaxing,” he said.
Kinberg, 62, was one of the organizers of a spring stamp show in Sacramento over the weekend that featured dealers from several states. Along with collecting stamps, Kinberg sells them at events across the country with his wife Christi.
She drives the recreational vehicle and he handles the van holding hundreds of binders and boxes of stamps, including the first ones made in the world and the United States. Both are from the 1840s.
“I find it fascinating every time I look at a collection,” said Kinberg, who lives in Oregon.
With cellphones, computers and social media now in the picture, he admits it’s harder to get young people to follow his path. But Kinberg eagerly talks about the ones he’s met across the country who, like him, are into philately, or the study and collection of stamps.
“There’s still a lot of young people,” he said.
Few people were at the event Sunday afternoon. But Ernie Teays boasted that Sacramento has a lot of stamp fans. Teays is the president of the Sacramento Philatelic Society and he said the group meets weekly.
Teays became a stamp collector in his 20s after his wife bought him an album for their anniversary. He’s now 77.
“I just like the front, the design,” Teays said.
He was looking over stamps Kinberg had for sale. He is working on his Cuba collection, and also enjoys ones made in the U.S. and that feature butterflies, among others.
Ed Dimmick, who is on the Sacramento club’s board of directors, was another dealer at the event. He said the “challenge of finding something for the collection” keeps him going. Dimmick’s love of stamps dates back to when he was 8 years old and growing up on the Oregon coast. It was a great way to escape the rain.
Last year, he said he went to 35 shows to sell stamps, including ones in Denver, Phoenix and up and down the West Coast. When the event was over Sunday, he planned to once again pack up the hundreds of binders that he brings. He estimates they weigh thousands of pounds.
Dimmick, 82, said he plans to keep going to events, “as long as I’m still enjoying it.”
The Sacramento club has a spring show planned for next month.
For Dimmick, it goes beyond just the hunt for an elusive stamp. He loves to spend time with other people who are drawn to the hobby — whether it be at another dealer event or one of the weekly Sacramento club meetings.
This story was originally published March 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM.
