The answer to this question was a lot easier in the early 1960s when I first started collecting. In those years, countries like Australia and Canada were issuing less than twenty stamps a year. Mint copies were more affordable, if you really wanted them. Nowadays, as we advance into the early years of a new millennium, things have changed dramatically. Australia, for instance, has just issued over 100 separate postage stamps to commemorate the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Talk about flooding the market! It may well prove to be the straw that breaks many a camel's back, as I fancy numerous collectors of Mint Australian stamps are going to balk at the appearance of such a large stamp issue in one month, let alone one year. Besides this question of the number of stamps being issued, there is the question of intrinsic value and the question of aesthetic value. True, a Mint stamp collection can often be quite valuable in its own right (depends mainly on what country we are talking about), so you can justify the expense by saying it's an investment. Yet you will be required to invest quite a sum, and it will be more than any junior collector can afford, under normal circumstances. As for aesthetics, that is where the decision for me has become much easier over the years. A fine used copy with a clear light postmark or cancellation is far more interesting than a stamp which has come from the Post Office and never been used. In addition, I can "work on" my used collection by improving every copy as a better one with a clearer postmark comes along. A Mint collection is very much a "dead" thing: once you've got your copy, you go on to the next. Of course, having both would be nice, but today, it is far too much of a luxury for most of us.