Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I’ve uploaded the PDF to my web site; use this link to open it: Philatelic Tools — What stamp collectors use to safely handle and identify stamps.
(In order to see the PDF, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or similar viewing software. If the software is already installed on your computer, all you need to do is click on the link to the my slide show.)
Bob
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Great program, is this something I could use with my local club?
Thank you
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ClassicCollector said, "Great program, is this something I could use with my local club?"
Bob says, Absolutely! I would appreciate credit, not that it would markedly improve my life.
Bob
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Very slick looking presentation.
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Really nice presentation!
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seems like something that the ASP could in their 'Getting Started' tab
https://stamps.org/learn/getting-started
Moderator - link now active
(Modified by Moderator on 2021-07-31 05:56:17)
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I recently bought a Scott National album and have been transferring my U.S. collection to 1979 into it. The album that I got for Christmas when I was 9 years old is finally falling apart but contains the most valuable stamps in the collection.
My plan is to mount stamps with a CV of over 4-5.00 in mounts in the new album. I really don't know anything about mounts. I bought a guillotine for mounts at our stamp club today and would like to know what people like and dislike about the mounts out there, what is the best way to put them into an album and any preferences of one over the other.
If anyone knows, this group does! Thanks!
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Hi Joe,
I went through a similar transformation about 15 years ago. Decided that I had 'graduated' from my Minkus Worldwide album. I still use it to house my low-value stuff, like US commemmoratives. But for classic US, BOB, and the like, I made the choice to go to stockbooks - the kind with full-size pages and clear plastic strips all the way across the page that serve as pockets to hold the stamps, without hinges, of course.
Pros:
- Maximum flexibility
- 'Non-intrusive' mounting
- Broad organization possibilities
- No exhibiting 'flashiness'; e.g., distractions from the stamps themselves
Cons:
- Difficult to expand - especially in 'the middle'
- Extreme care needed to insert stamps without damaging them
- No exhibiting 'flashiness'; e.g., descriptive verbiage
The flexibility is great. You can get really creative with how you arrange stamps. Me, I don't like a lot of distraction from the stamps themselves. I arrange them logically, so I don't have to wonder about which issue is in which row.
The main frustration for me has been expansion. Say you want to get into printing varieties. Now, all, of a sudden, a few Scott numbers might take up a whole page or two. So, you gotta push everything else forward to make room. Takes all day, sometimes.
As I've gained experience, I've learned to leave PLENTY of space for expansion. A good rule of thumb for me is to allow double the space that the stamps you want to put in will take up. I keep each book narrowly specified as to content. For me, as I have specialized, the flexibility is essential. I started with the 8-page stockbooks. Then 16-page. 32-page is now my top choice. They're about 2 inches thick.
I have more than a dozen stockbooks filled now. I prefer the Leuchtturm (Lighthouse) brand. Whenever I go to bourses or swap meets, I keep my eyes peeled for good used ones. Typically, $10 is a good price for a big one.
-Paul
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A word of warning in using stockbooks!
Some stock books alter the gum on mint stamps especially stamps that are vertical. Part of the stamp overlaps the clear strip above the section that the stamp is placed in.
Part of the stamp is touching the backing board and part is on the clear strip, this results in the gum being two different shades as the gum absorbs some chemical from the backing board but not from the clear strip.
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Yup.
Not a problem for those of us collecting cancellations. Read: Used.
-Paul
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Thanks, Paul. That s definitely worth consideration. I have three really nice stock books like that that I keep WW stamps that I just think are much nicer than average. Not necessarily valuable, but very nice in appearance. I don’t know the brand, but they are well bound.
Joe
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I've used both Scott mounts and similar in style but slightly different Showguard mounts. I strongly prefer using clear mounts rather than the black background mounts as if you elect to remove stamps you are unable to see the contents of the stamp space with the black mounts and they tend to ruin the appearance of the pages of the album itself while simply leaving the clear mounts in place on the album pages leaves useful album pages which are attractive.
I tend to prefer the Scott (or identical Prinz) mounts to the Showguard mounts as they are slightly more transparent but have used both interchangeably. I have bought seven Scott hingeless albums over the years which used the Scott mounts for all stamp positions and have used them happily for almost forty years. A good source for the mounts is https://www.globalstamps.com/ in Olympia WA or your favorite local stamp dealer or https://www.amosmedia.com/ . For small quantities of mount packages I tend to purchase them at local stamp dealers or when I need enough to get free shipping purchase through the Global Stamps web site. I have purchased from them for about ten years now whenever I need six or more packages at a given time. I have, also, purchased on occasion some eBay lots when pricing was advantageous for me.
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I use HAWID clear top loading mounts on all stamps as I dislike hinges - damage (no matter brand) it does and inability to easily upgrade the stamp on page without damaging page. I have also used Scott/Prinz and Showgards split lengthwise as well. I switched to clear from black mounts because they matched hinged stamps before I went all mounts. Black mounts highlight less than perfect cutting and positioning on page.
The most common issue I know about with mounts (and hinges too) is too much moisture on the mount. You are supposed to cut the mount to length, moisten a small area on mount despite the fact that the mount has adhesive on back side, attach to page then insert stamp. Too much moisture can seep into mount and affect stamp. Many just add stamp to mount, cut to length, moisten black then apply to page. There are more risks this way but I bet done often.
Top loading mounts have a solid back while Showgards and Scott/Prinz have a split back. The risk of top loading is stamp can move a little or fall out.
I use a crafting type glue stick (not something considered traditional) rather than use gum on mount using moisture. I can apply glue to page then add mount.
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Thanks for the info!
Joe
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I prefer black mounts mainly because they make stamps "pop" from the page. While they do show sloppy cutting, it's not hard with a guillotine-type mount cutter to make perfectly square cuts.
I usually use a moist Q-tip to moisten just a small area on the gummed side of the mounts. While it's true that you can't see the image beneath the stamp if you're using an illustrated album, the only time I would remove a stamp from a mount is to scan it and return it to the album, or replace it with a better copy. I did once sell an album of Irish stamps, leaving behind the mounts for Ireland's few airmail stamps, which I wanted to keep. Albums have almost zero value in auctions, so I wasn't concerned about losing money.
Here's one of my DIY album pages:
I've tried the mounts that are split on the back (Showguard, I think), and don't like them at all because they are rarely sized for the stamps I'm working with. Uneven black borders around a stamp look really crummy to my mind, and if album pages don't look good, why bother!?
Bob
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I will add top loading mounts can be trimmed to whatever height you want as opposed to be stuck with fixed sized mounts. Clear mounts are more forgiving on size mismatch. The downside to trimming top loading mounts is that it creates slivers (1 to 2mm strips) that can get everywhere.
Sadly, HAWID is supposedly out of businnes now but I did stock up.
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Thanks for the help, everyone! Also, your Poland album page looks awesome but the story of Poland’s first armored div. at Normandy is one that I have not heard before. There are so many of these stories. And learning them is why I love stamp collecting.
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01:28:48am
On a possible negative note.
Some potential buyers do not favor either kind
of mount because it requires effort to examine
the stamps for genuineness as there are both
forgeries in the stamp market plus many owners
choose to assume that they just happen to have
the highest catalog listing variant.
An evaluator often will simply thumb through
some sample pages and make a bid based on past
experience.
If the watermark, gum type, or paper type makes
a difference a well placed hinge is the way to
go.
Remember " Tempus est pecunius " to an appraiser..
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Really nice presentation Bob! 
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A few years ago I put together a slide show for my stamp club, the British Columbia Philatelic Society, with this title screen:
I’ve uploaded the PDF to my web site; use this link to open it: Philatelic Tools — What stamp collectors use to safely handle and identify stamps.
(In order to see the PDF, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or similar viewing software. If the software is already installed on your computer, all you need to do is click on the link to the my slide show.)
Bob
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re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Great program, is this something I could use with my local club?
Thank you
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re: About useful stamp collecting tools
ClassicCollector said, "Great program, is this something I could use with my local club?"
Bob says, Absolutely! I would appreciate credit, not that it would markedly improve my life.
Bob
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re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Very slick looking presentation.
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this post
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Really nice presentation!
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
seems like something that the ASP could in their 'Getting Started' tab
https://stamps.org/learn/getting-started
Moderator - link now active
(Modified by Moderator on 2021-07-31 05:56:17)
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04:14:04pm
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
I recently bought a Scott National album and have been transferring my U.S. collection to 1979 into it. The album that I got for Christmas when I was 9 years old is finally falling apart but contains the most valuable stamps in the collection.
My plan is to mount stamps with a CV of over 4-5.00 in mounts in the new album. I really don't know anything about mounts. I bought a guillotine for mounts at our stamp club today and would like to know what people like and dislike about the mounts out there, what is the best way to put them into an album and any preferences of one over the other.
If anyone knows, this group does! Thanks!
Login to Like
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05:18:27pm
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Hi Joe,
I went through a similar transformation about 15 years ago. Decided that I had 'graduated' from my Minkus Worldwide album. I still use it to house my low-value stuff, like US commemmoratives. But for classic US, BOB, and the like, I made the choice to go to stockbooks - the kind with full-size pages and clear plastic strips all the way across the page that serve as pockets to hold the stamps, without hinges, of course.
Pros:
- Maximum flexibility
- 'Non-intrusive' mounting
- Broad organization possibilities
- No exhibiting 'flashiness'; e.g., distractions from the stamps themselves
Cons:
- Difficult to expand - especially in 'the middle'
- Extreme care needed to insert stamps without damaging them
- No exhibiting 'flashiness'; e.g., descriptive verbiage
The flexibility is great. You can get really creative with how you arrange stamps. Me, I don't like a lot of distraction from the stamps themselves. I arrange them logically, so I don't have to wonder about which issue is in which row.
The main frustration for me has been expansion. Say you want to get into printing varieties. Now, all, of a sudden, a few Scott numbers might take up a whole page or two. So, you gotta push everything else forward to make room. Takes all day, sometimes.
As I've gained experience, I've learned to leave PLENTY of space for expansion. A good rule of thumb for me is to allow double the space that the stamps you want to put in will take up. I keep each book narrowly specified as to content. For me, as I have specialized, the flexibility is essential. I started with the 8-page stockbooks. Then 16-page. 32-page is now my top choice. They're about 2 inches thick.
I have more than a dozen stockbooks filled now. I prefer the Leuchtturm (Lighthouse) brand. Whenever I go to bourses or swap meets, I keep my eyes peeled for good used ones. Typically, $10 is a good price for a big one.
-Paul
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06:36:56pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
A word of warning in using stockbooks!
Some stock books alter the gum on mint stamps especially stamps that are vertical. Part of the stamp overlaps the clear strip above the section that the stamp is placed in.
Part of the stamp is touching the backing board and part is on the clear strip, this results in the gum being two different shades as the gum absorbs some chemical from the backing board but not from the clear strip.
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06:56:55pm
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Yup.
Not a problem for those of us collecting cancellations. Read: Used.
-Paul
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09:23:38pm
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Thanks, Paul. That s definitely worth consideration. I have three really nice stock books like that that I keep WW stamps that I just think are much nicer than average. Not necessarily valuable, but very nice in appearance. I don’t know the brand, but they are well bound.
Joe
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this post
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
I've used both Scott mounts and similar in style but slightly different Showguard mounts. I strongly prefer using clear mounts rather than the black background mounts as if you elect to remove stamps you are unable to see the contents of the stamp space with the black mounts and they tend to ruin the appearance of the pages of the album itself while simply leaving the clear mounts in place on the album pages leaves useful album pages which are attractive.
I tend to prefer the Scott (or identical Prinz) mounts to the Showguard mounts as they are slightly more transparent but have used both interchangeably. I have bought seven Scott hingeless albums over the years which used the Scott mounts for all stamp positions and have used them happily for almost forty years. A good source for the mounts is https://www.globalstamps.com/ in Olympia WA or your favorite local stamp dealer or https://www.amosmedia.com/ . For small quantities of mount packages I tend to purchase them at local stamp dealers or when I need enough to get free shipping purchase through the Global Stamps web site. I have purchased from them for about ten years now whenever I need six or more packages at a given time. I have, also, purchased on occasion some eBay lots when pricing was advantageous for me.
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re: About useful stamp collecting tools
I use HAWID clear top loading mounts on all stamps as I dislike hinges - damage (no matter brand) it does and inability to easily upgrade the stamp on page without damaging page. I have also used Scott/Prinz and Showgards split lengthwise as well. I switched to clear from black mounts because they matched hinged stamps before I went all mounts. Black mounts highlight less than perfect cutting and positioning on page.
The most common issue I know about with mounts (and hinges too) is too much moisture on the mount. You are supposed to cut the mount to length, moisten a small area on mount despite the fact that the mount has adhesive on back side, attach to page then insert stamp. Too much moisture can seep into mount and affect stamp. Many just add stamp to mount, cut to length, moisten black then apply to page. There are more risks this way but I bet done often.
Top loading mounts have a solid back while Showgards and Scott/Prinz have a split back. The risk of top loading is stamp can move a little or fall out.
I use a crafting type glue stick (not something considered traditional) rather than use gum on mount using moisture. I can apply glue to page then add mount.
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07:39:07am
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Thanks for the info!
Joe
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this post
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
I prefer black mounts mainly because they make stamps "pop" from the page. While they do show sloppy cutting, it's not hard with a guillotine-type mount cutter to make perfectly square cuts.
I usually use a moist Q-tip to moisten just a small area on the gummed side of the mounts. While it's true that you can't see the image beneath the stamp if you're using an illustrated album, the only time I would remove a stamp from a mount is to scan it and return it to the album, or replace it with a better copy. I did once sell an album of Irish stamps, leaving behind the mounts for Ireland's few airmail stamps, which I wanted to keep. Albums have almost zero value in auctions, so I wasn't concerned about losing money.
Here's one of my DIY album pages:
I've tried the mounts that are split on the back (Showguard, I think), and don't like them at all because they are rarely sized for the stamps I'm working with. Uneven black borders around a stamp look really crummy to my mind, and if album pages don't look good, why bother!?
Bob
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likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
I will add top loading mounts can be trimmed to whatever height you want as opposed to be stuck with fixed sized mounts. Clear mounts are more forgiving on size mismatch. The downside to trimming top loading mounts is that it creates slivers (1 to 2mm strips) that can get everywhere.
Sadly, HAWID is supposedly out of businnes now but I did stock up.
Login to Like
this post
07:22:19am
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Thanks for the help, everyone! Also, your Poland album page looks awesome but the story of Poland’s first armored div. at Normandy is one that I have not heard before. There are so many of these stories. And learning them is why I love stamp collecting.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
08 Aug 2021
01:28:48am
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
On a possible negative note.
Some potential buyers do not favor either kind
of mount because it requires effort to examine
the stamps for genuineness as there are both
forgeries in the stamp market plus many owners
choose to assume that they just happen to have
the highest catalog listing variant.
An evaluator often will simply thumb through
some sample pages and make a bid based on past
experience.
If the watermark, gum type, or paper type makes
a difference a well placed hinge is the way to
go.
Remember " Tempus est pecunius " to an appraiser..
Login to Like
this post
re: About useful stamp collecting tools
Really nice presentation Bob!
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