As the population ages, particularly in the U.S., our appetite for nostalgia just seems to keep growing stronger. Collecting vintage postcards has been growing in favor the last few years, due to a couple of factors, mainly the relatively low cost of getting into the hobby and the mystery.

Mystery?

Yes, there is a lot of mystery in vintage postcards. Consider a postcard written by an adventurer to his wife while exploring the Amazon basin. Entire novels have been written on that premise. Postcards give their collectors the chance to imagine a whole universe of circumstances based on a few words. Not to mention the historical fascination of these small windows on the world.

If you're looking for collectibles in person, the best places to find them include:

Coin and Stamp Shops - These shops often run a sideline in collectible postcards, envelopes with stamps, and First-Day Issues, which are special commemorative envelopes issued for the first day release of a new stamp. If your town has a coin and stamp shop, try them first.

Flea Markets - Postcard purveyors have long been haunting the aisles of flea markets and swap meets. Check your local paper for news of any regularly occurring flea markets, then head on over some weekend.

Collectibles Conventions and Shows - The local coin and stamp dealer will be able to clue you in to any of the big conventions and shows that are open to the public in your area. These are usually held a couple of times a year and showcase dozens of postcard dealers. You can spend hours digging through their boxes of nicely categorized vintage cards.

Estate Sales - Though not a consistently sure thing, you can always try stopping by estate sales and garage sales to see if anybody has any old postcards they want to unload. A bit hit or miss, these sales can sometimes produce some real gems.

The latest location for finding vintage collectible postcards is on the Web, of course! Here are a few sites that sell collectibles or link to other sites that sell vintage collectible postcards:

http://www.thepostcard.com/

http://www.vintagepostcards.com/

http://www.historybound.net

http://www.moodyscollectibles.com/

http://www.postcardcity.ecrater.com/

http://www.smsnoveltiques.com/

http://www.cyberattic.com/

And of course, you can always search for postcards on:

http://www.ebay.com