I can relate, no one seems to have the perfect answer..new albums are very expensive, some folks use the black stock pages where they can move stamps around as they acquire them..others keep printing their own pages. When we get beyond dabbling in stamps it is not an inexpensive hobby.
Welcome to the world of the WW collector! I settled on your fourth option--Scott Internationals. Bought mine off of eBay before I really knew what I was doing, so some of the early purchases were a bit ragged. And then I bought more. And then even more. I probably have acquired over 25 used Scott albums for my 1840-1965 collection--some for the pages and some for the stamps.
These threads may help:
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=8639#60041
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=15371#115789
Over the Christmas holiday, I did a round of album maintenance in which I moved from 7 albums to 10 for the Parts I-V that cover through 1965. Glassine interleaves almost all the way through and many extra blank pages made it a bit thick at 7 volumes. Also, since the albums are used, I'll occasionally find a page that really needs replacing, or one that I was missing, and so the extra albums come in handy.
Good luck!
-Steve
Steve, agree there are some decent old Internationals on eBay and elsewhere and that may be a good option for acquiring the various International parts. I think I will call Amos Adv. and see if I can return the new pages that proved to be such a disappointment.
Stacy,
If you decide you want to continue with the Minkus Albums, I may be able to help. I purchased suppliments for some years in the '70s and '80s, back when you could still find them. I did not continue using Minkus for very long (I collect WW from the beginning to the current year) and they are just taking up space in my stamp room. I would love to send them to someone who could use them. I understand you dilemma with albums. I have been using stockbooks for quite a while, but I am now switching to Varios.
I can relate too as I think I have tried many of these same albums (although not the Minkus). I'm fortunate that I have two original volumes of Big Blue from 1985 that are on nice thick paper with nice clear stamp images.
I also have some areas that I use Steiner pages that I modify by changing the fonts and adding some additional text, photos, etc. and put the pages in page protectors.
I would opt for Steiner pages. When I look at what I have saved for my collection many of the nicest pages are old pages hand layed out and inked - truly a labor of love. People used to take pride in presentation back before the era when everything has to be instant.
Just my two cents - but it is the only option that allows for creativity and freedom to display as simple or complex as you want to in regards to varieties, used snd mint, etc.
Once I started collecting I had to decide how far I wanted to go. I bought a set of Minkus Green cloth binders. It was the biggest mistake that I have made in collecting. Do not buy Minkus! The numbering system is useless and when you decide you should switch to Scott.
You will have a great deal of difficulty transferring stamps. Minkus has a different layout than Scott also so it it does not work well with Scott catalogs. Any one living in the U.S. should have Scott as there main catalog. Unless a collector is specializing in a country or two. I finally decided to go for broke and started buying used Scott Specialty
albums for any country I could find. You'd probably do best buying used Internationals that have many stamps that will benefit your collection and at a good price. You most always can by albums with many stamps much cheaper than you can buy a new album without any stamps. If you decide you want to go further with some countries then go ahead and buy some used Scott Specialty albums. I use Steiner formats for a lot of things but would not like to print the whole world. After over 30 years of taking this seriously. I think this is the best way of taking care of storage.
"I would opt for Steiner pages. When I look at what I have saved for my collection many of the nicest pages are old pages hand layed out and inked - truly a labor of love. People used to take pride in presentation back before the era when everything has to be instant.
Just my two cents - but it is the only option that allows for creativity and freedom to display as simple or complex as you want to in regards to varieties, used snd mint, etc. "
I did not mean to confuse - Steiner pages do, I believe, offer some option to rearrange and modify, customize things. If not I believe that there are other programs out there that do allow for the box size and placement to be customized.
Back when people hand laid out pages and inked them the computer wasn't around - they would have used it if available.
Hope that clarifies - it's the option of creating a page to your liking for a set of 4 or a set of 12 the way you want it that is the important point.....
Understood, thanks for the clarification. Yes, Steiner pages allows one to customize if you are able to modify the files.
Otherwise, just using blank quadrille pages and a pen or printed labels is another good way to customize your collection.
"Once I started collecting I had to decide how far I wanted to go. I bought a set of Minkus Green cloth binders. It was the biggest mistake that I have made in collecting. Do not buy Minkus! The numbering system is useless and when you decide you should switch to Scott.
You will have a great deal of difficulty transferring stamps. Minkus has a different layout than Scott also so it it does not work well with Scott catalogs."
Words of wisdom from our friend SCB. There are certainly alternatives to the VERY EXPENSIVE volumes of worldwide albums like the Scott Internationals. Collectors spend more of your hobby money on stamps and less on the crazy expensive catalogs and albums. I do not try to keep up with the current crop of stamps being issued. So far my 2012 Scott catalogs are working for me.
As an European collector, I fully agree with SCB. I use country-catalogs and I'm in love with my old (European!) albums, that I got from (many years ago gone) fellow collectors. So, I've an old Y&T for Baltic Republics, a Philos for Germany, and also old albums for Scandinavia (up to 1950) and Netherlands.
Furhtermore, I don't like the American way of using both sides of a page. The Scott style of segregating stamps in air-mails (which Yvert also did!) and "semi-postals" (a word quite unknown to me), disturbs me.
Having said that, I found the Steiner pages a suitable and cheap way of properly displaying stamps on my private collections.
For competition, I make my own pages. But, not being wealthy and liking stamps, I prefer to put my money on stamps, rather than on another kind of paper.
Well, that's just my view!
Steiner on Lighthouse pages with Bates Numbering in Lighthouse 13 ring albums works well for me.
Regards
Richmond
"Bates Numbering"
"I found the Steiner pages a suitable and cheap way of properly displaying stamps on my private collections. "
Chris
Bates Numbering is a pdf add on (apparently used by the legal profession).
It enables me to number my Steiner pages with ISO Country Code /Steiner Year/ Page Number i.e. DEU-949-012 - (Germany - Steiner 1949 File - Page Number)
Regards
Richmond
I too have used Steiner and have found them to be, with some modification, the answer to most of my needs.
I have also used Album-Easy, which requires a bit of climbing up a bit of a learning curve. Once mastered, however, I have found that I can design all kinds of custom pages. This allows me to neatly place singles, blocks, and other multiples, including covers, all on one page. I can write text in and under each frame, in a variety of fonts and type sizes. And the results are very professional looking. Worth a look.
David
I strongly second AlbumEasy.
I didn't find the learning curve all that difficult, and now the new version has a wizard to make the process even easier. There are also many prepared albums and examples that one can copy and paste so you can easily alter them to what you want.
GREAT JOB, CLIVE !
Bates Numbering really just means there is a unique identifier for every page. The tool and now the software helps you do it automatically.
If you are looking for a U.S. album there is no reason you shouldn't get A used Scott National. There are a great many of these laying around for a new home. You can usually pick them up for $25.00 or so and they are the most preferred U.S. album out there. Most all of the top collectors use them. The only better is the Scott Platinum hingeless album which is difficult to find for any section. I went ahead and bought the 19th century platinum pages when they were still making them. For the rest of the pages as well as B.O.B. I've had around 8 different Nationals consisting of different sections to put together the whole U.S. area in 5 volumes.
"I prefer the words "less expensive" over "cheap". Album makers do not seem to realize that high fancy albums are actually a deterrent for beginning collectors. An decent inexpensive album is a fundamental aspect in encouraging collecting. Steiner's pages provide it."
The key is to print your own is that you are the master of your own destiny. You always have options rather than locked into a certain system. One key aspect is page size. I have a Mystic Heirloom (yes not the same quality as Scott) but I create my own variations using better paper. One key cost is binders. You can pay a lot for them (over 2x) if you are in a closed system.
Hi Don,
Question for you. If you are encasing the stamp in a high-quality mount does the quality of the paper matter as much since the stamp is not ever touching the paper directly? I can understand if you are using hinges, but the mounts I use encase the entire stamp.
Thanks,
Antonio
Hi Antonio!
Direct contact will accelerate acidification but is not required. Acidification also outgasses, releasing acid into the air. So, for example, storing stamp in glassine envelopes but placing them in a wooden cigar box will result in the stamps eventually toning and becoming brittle. Oxygen also helps paper acidify as well as allowing mold, rust, and foxing to occur. This is why places like the National Archives store rare documents in vaults and carriers injected with inert gases. If a hobbyist uses sheet protectors in conjunction with low grade paper, they could be creating an acidic microclimate.
I do not mean to be fear-mongering. If we careful control the surrounding environment (a cool, dry and stable storage environment; temperatures should be held at a constant 70°F with a relative humidity held between 30% and 50%) most acidification is greatly slowed.
The worst case scenario would be to use cheap paper, use sheet protectors, store the album in a poor environment, and then ignore the album for 5-10 years.
Beyond controlling the environment, good stamp stewardship demands that we take our albums out every few months, look them careful, and enjoy the stamps and covers!
Don
Thanks for your insight Don, that makes sense.
I am really all over the place when it comes to picking an album for my fast growing worldwide collection. I initially bought the Minkus Supreme pages from Amos (1840-1952) and I like the white paper and the thickness of the paper but I'm bothered by the fact that there are multiple years (mostly in the 70s and 80s) with no available supplements. My collection does go into these years so, though I prefer the classic area stamps, I would like the option of having a supplement available.
On to step two, made a few pages with Vario pages and I do like the look of the stamps against the black back round but the pages themselves are quite heavy and somewhat awkward to flip through (in an album). Verdict: not bad but let's see what else I can try.
Moving on to step 3, Steiner. I like the low subscription price. Made a few pages in 70 and 90 lb paper stock and I do like them. One of the things I do like about the Steiner pages is the abundance of descriptions of the various stamps which, to me, makes perusing the stamps in an album more enjoyable. So I thought I was done but alas...
Step four, Scott International. I have purchased a couple of old Big Blues on eBay recently and I generally like the album so I thought I would buy some pages from Amos -- Part IA. They arrived today. I have to say I am beyond disappointed with this product! I knew the paper was not going to be white but it's more like a goldenrod and, to me, it's much too dark. I've had a couple of Scott Country Albums in the past and those had paper that was much lighter in color. Besides the color, the current International pages seem quite thin compared to the Minkus pages and the pictures are quite blurry (copy after copy, I'm sure). To sum it up, when I saw the UPS man come up the walk this afternoon I was excited, now not so much.
So now, what to do, what to do. I think I'm headed back to Steiner. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery are appreciated! -Stacy
re: Album woes!
I can relate, no one seems to have the perfect answer..new albums are very expensive, some folks use the black stock pages where they can move stamps around as they acquire them..others keep printing their own pages. When we get beyond dabbling in stamps it is not an inexpensive hobby.
re: Album woes!
Welcome to the world of the WW collector! I settled on your fourth option--Scott Internationals. Bought mine off of eBay before I really knew what I was doing, so some of the early purchases were a bit ragged. And then I bought more. And then even more. I probably have acquired over 25 used Scott albums for my 1840-1965 collection--some for the pages and some for the stamps.
These threads may help:
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=8639#60041
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=15371#115789
Over the Christmas holiday, I did a round of album maintenance in which I moved from 7 albums to 10 for the Parts I-V that cover through 1965. Glassine interleaves almost all the way through and many extra blank pages made it a bit thick at 7 volumes. Also, since the albums are used, I'll occasionally find a page that really needs replacing, or one that I was missing, and so the extra albums come in handy.
Good luck!
-Steve
re: Album woes!
Steve, agree there are some decent old Internationals on eBay and elsewhere and that may be a good option for acquiring the various International parts. I think I will call Amos Adv. and see if I can return the new pages that proved to be such a disappointment.
re: Album woes!
Stacy,
If you decide you want to continue with the Minkus Albums, I may be able to help. I purchased suppliments for some years in the '70s and '80s, back when you could still find them. I did not continue using Minkus for very long (I collect WW from the beginning to the current year) and they are just taking up space in my stamp room. I would love to send them to someone who could use them. I understand you dilemma with albums. I have been using stockbooks for quite a while, but I am now switching to Varios.
re: Album woes!
I can relate too as I think I have tried many of these same albums (although not the Minkus). I'm fortunate that I have two original volumes of Big Blue from 1985 that are on nice thick paper with nice clear stamp images.
I also have some areas that I use Steiner pages that I modify by changing the fonts and adding some additional text, photos, etc. and put the pages in page protectors.
re: Album woes!
I would opt for Steiner pages. When I look at what I have saved for my collection many of the nicest pages are old pages hand layed out and inked - truly a labor of love. People used to take pride in presentation back before the era when everything has to be instant.
Just my two cents - but it is the only option that allows for creativity and freedom to display as simple or complex as you want to in regards to varieties, used snd mint, etc.
re: Album woes!
Once I started collecting I had to decide how far I wanted to go. I bought a set of Minkus Green cloth binders. It was the biggest mistake that I have made in collecting. Do not buy Minkus! The numbering system is useless and when you decide you should switch to Scott.
You will have a great deal of difficulty transferring stamps. Minkus has a different layout than Scott also so it it does not work well with Scott catalogs. Any one living in the U.S. should have Scott as there main catalog. Unless a collector is specializing in a country or two. I finally decided to go for broke and started buying used Scott Specialty
albums for any country I could find. You'd probably do best buying used Internationals that have many stamps that will benefit your collection and at a good price. You most always can by albums with many stamps much cheaper than you can buy a new album without any stamps. If you decide you want to go further with some countries then go ahead and buy some used Scott Specialty albums. I use Steiner formats for a lot of things but would not like to print the whole world. After over 30 years of taking this seriously. I think this is the best way of taking care of storage.
re: Album woes!
"I would opt for Steiner pages. When I look at what I have saved for my collection many of the nicest pages are old pages hand layed out and inked - truly a labor of love. People used to take pride in presentation back before the era when everything has to be instant.
Just my two cents - but it is the only option that allows for creativity and freedom to display as simple or complex as you want to in regards to varieties, used snd mint, etc. "
re: Album woes!
I did not mean to confuse - Steiner pages do, I believe, offer some option to rearrange and modify, customize things. If not I believe that there are other programs out there that do allow for the box size and placement to be customized.
Back when people hand laid out pages and inked them the computer wasn't around - they would have used it if available.
Hope that clarifies - it's the option of creating a page to your liking for a set of 4 or a set of 12 the way you want it that is the important point.....
re: Album woes!
Understood, thanks for the clarification. Yes, Steiner pages allows one to customize if you are able to modify the files.
Otherwise, just using blank quadrille pages and a pen or printed labels is another good way to customize your collection.
re: Album woes!
"Once I started collecting I had to decide how far I wanted to go. I bought a set of Minkus Green cloth binders. It was the biggest mistake that I have made in collecting. Do not buy Minkus! The numbering system is useless and when you decide you should switch to Scott.
You will have a great deal of difficulty transferring stamps. Minkus has a different layout than Scott also so it it does not work well with Scott catalogs."
re: Album woes!
Words of wisdom from our friend SCB. There are certainly alternatives to the VERY EXPENSIVE volumes of worldwide albums like the Scott Internationals. Collectors spend more of your hobby money on stamps and less on the crazy expensive catalogs and albums. I do not try to keep up with the current crop of stamps being issued. So far my 2012 Scott catalogs are working for me.
re: Album woes!
As an European collector, I fully agree with SCB. I use country-catalogs and I'm in love with my old (European!) albums, that I got from (many years ago gone) fellow collectors. So, I've an old Y&T for Baltic Republics, a Philos for Germany, and also old albums for Scandinavia (up to 1950) and Netherlands.
Furhtermore, I don't like the American way of using both sides of a page. The Scott style of segregating stamps in air-mails (which Yvert also did!) and "semi-postals" (a word quite unknown to me), disturbs me.
Having said that, I found the Steiner pages a suitable and cheap way of properly displaying stamps on my private collections.
For competition, I make my own pages. But, not being wealthy and liking stamps, I prefer to put my money on stamps, rather than on another kind of paper.
Well, that's just my view!
re: Album woes!
Steiner on Lighthouse pages with Bates Numbering in Lighthouse 13 ring albums works well for me.
Regards
Richmond
re: Album woes!
"Bates Numbering"
re: Album woes!
"I found the Steiner pages a suitable and cheap way of properly displaying stamps on my private collections. "
re: Album woes!
Chris
Bates Numbering is a pdf add on (apparently used by the legal profession).
It enables me to number my Steiner pages with ISO Country Code /Steiner Year/ Page Number i.e. DEU-949-012 - (Germany - Steiner 1949 File - Page Number)
Regards
Richmond
re: Album woes!
I too have used Steiner and have found them to be, with some modification, the answer to most of my needs.
I have also used Album-Easy, which requires a bit of climbing up a bit of a learning curve. Once mastered, however, I have found that I can design all kinds of custom pages. This allows me to neatly place singles, blocks, and other multiples, including covers, all on one page. I can write text in and under each frame, in a variety of fonts and type sizes. And the results are very professional looking. Worth a look.
David
re: Album woes!
I strongly second AlbumEasy.
I didn't find the learning curve all that difficult, and now the new version has a wizard to make the process even easier. There are also many prepared albums and examples that one can copy and paste so you can easily alter them to what you want.
GREAT JOB, CLIVE !
re: Album woes!
Bates Numbering really just means there is a unique identifier for every page. The tool and now the software helps you do it automatically.
re: Album woes!
If you are looking for a U.S. album there is no reason you shouldn't get A used Scott National. There are a great many of these laying around for a new home. You can usually pick them up for $25.00 or so and they are the most preferred U.S. album out there. Most all of the top collectors use them. The only better is the Scott Platinum hingeless album which is difficult to find for any section. I went ahead and bought the 19th century platinum pages when they were still making them. For the rest of the pages as well as B.O.B. I've had around 8 different Nationals consisting of different sections to put together the whole U.S. area in 5 volumes.
re: Album woes!
"I prefer the words "less expensive" over "cheap". Album makers do not seem to realize that high fancy albums are actually a deterrent for beginning collectors. An decent inexpensive album is a fundamental aspect in encouraging collecting. Steiner's pages provide it."
re: Album woes!
The key is to print your own is that you are the master of your own destiny. You always have options rather than locked into a certain system. One key aspect is page size. I have a Mystic Heirloom (yes not the same quality as Scott) but I create my own variations using better paper. One key cost is binders. You can pay a lot for them (over 2x) if you are in a closed system.
re: Album woes!
Hi Don,
Question for you. If you are encasing the stamp in a high-quality mount does the quality of the paper matter as much since the stamp is not ever touching the paper directly? I can understand if you are using hinges, but the mounts I use encase the entire stamp.
Thanks,
Antonio
re: Album woes!
Hi Antonio!
Direct contact will accelerate acidification but is not required. Acidification also outgasses, releasing acid into the air. So, for example, storing stamp in glassine envelopes but placing them in a wooden cigar box will result in the stamps eventually toning and becoming brittle. Oxygen also helps paper acidify as well as allowing mold, rust, and foxing to occur. This is why places like the National Archives store rare documents in vaults and carriers injected with inert gases. If a hobbyist uses sheet protectors in conjunction with low grade paper, they could be creating an acidic microclimate.
I do not mean to be fear-mongering. If we careful control the surrounding environment (a cool, dry and stable storage environment; temperatures should be held at a constant 70°F with a relative humidity held between 30% and 50%) most acidification is greatly slowed.
The worst case scenario would be to use cheap paper, use sheet protectors, store the album in a poor environment, and then ignore the album for 5-10 years.
Beyond controlling the environment, good stamp stewardship demands that we take our albums out every few months, look them careful, and enjoy the stamps and covers!
Don
re: Album woes!
Thanks for your insight Don, that makes sense.