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stamp dealer

stamp dealer

3.6
A person or shop that buys and sells stamps for collectors
  • noun
  • /stæmp ˈdiːlər/
translation icon : comerciante de sellos
  • The stamp dealer showed me a rare collection of vintage stamps from the 1800s.
  • visit a stamp dealer

Examples

  • Many stamp dealers attend the annual philatelic convention to buy and sell unique items.

  • But sure, there'll be stamp dealers there.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Have they got stamp dealers in Albuquerque?

    Fiction book (2000)
  • As a matter of fact, the first thing I did was go into Milwaukee and see a couple of stamp dealers.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Well, what's your plan now, Keller? "I thought I'd come home." "You're not going to visit some stamp dealers?

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The stamp dealers in town, a couple of them just work through the mails, and the one shop I went to was basically a coin dealer.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Accordingly, taking Busse with him, my father visited a stamp dealer who was also a government functionary to have his collection appraised.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, a major reference used by stamp dealers, collectors, and scholars, records stamps issued by the Soviet Union and Russia in 2008.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I learned that reputable stamp dealers often appraise collections to determine their market value.

How Professional

auction house
21 3.0
stamp dealer
3.6
shop
1.0

Surface Forms

stamp dealer singular
stamp dealers plural

Morphology

stamp + dealer

The meaning 'a person or business that buys and sells postage stamps' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'stamp' (postage stamp) with 'dealer' (seller). This noun-noun compounding pattern is regular in English and many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Stamp dealer comes from the simple, literal image of a person who deals in stamps: the word stamp is the small paper used to send a letter and dealer is someone who 'buys' and 'sells'. So, a stamp dealer is a person or business that 'buys' and 'sells' stamps, often for 'collectors'.