Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Is the number of stamps in the thousands or tens of thousands? Are the stamps from more than one country, and if so roughly how many countries are represented? Is it a world mix?...g
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To sort, I use compartmentalized plastic trays. These are easily found at garage sales and at stores like Goodwill for very little money. Now, how to sort the different stamps will depend on how you collect and what your goals are.
Basically my first sort is by country. Then when I work on a country, I will sort by stamp, combining stamps into sets where possible. If I have a large number of stamps from a country, my second sort will probably be different. For Russia, and other countries that are good at putting year of issue on the stamps, I will sort by year. Then I will sort the years one at a time by stamp, again, combing stamps into set where appropriate. British stamps are easy to sort. Sort them first by monarch, and then by stamp/set. If you collect topicals, then sort by topic.
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I use each sorting as an opportunity to weed out damaged stamps. I hold up each stamp (or every nth stamp, where n increases with the quality of the lot) to low-angle light, front and back, to check for small stains, creases, tears, thins, or holes that may have escaped detection before. I am not infrequently surprised by slightly damaged common stamps that have worked their way into my collection and stayed there for years. Doing multiple spot-checks also helps reduce the numbers of damaged stamps that trading-partners receive....g
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I'm just finishing sorting a (to me) large lot of used worldwide. Too many countries to do it that way for me. So, I break the alphabet down into sections (e.g. A-F, G-L, etc) for the 1st round. Next I go by country. And each pass through I pull out the obviously damaged & deal with them appropriately. Then I sort each country. It is something I find extremely satisfying. Depending on the amount of stamps for a country (e.g. Great Britain) I may even do a subsort by era (Victoria, Edward, Georges, Elizabeth) before doing the catalog thing. Just how my warped mind works.
Roger
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I had to come up with something that was easy for me to use as well as easy for my kids to learn, so...
I came up with "The Sorting Table"...
There is a small piece of paper with the coutry's name on it and I have them all laid out alphabeticlly.
The table is located right next to my computer with two very helpful coutry identification websites all qued up for easy and quick reference.
Then when we have sorted out a couple hundred stamps, we transfer the respective piles to the Garbage Bag Holding Container...
where each contry has it's own bag to keep them nice, safe and flat until they are ready for the nitty, gritty Scott Catalog IDing.
It seems to be working out great because the kids and I just tore through a pile of about 150 stamps in about 15 minutes. to me that's pretty darned good as I suck at the forign stamp area of this hobby.
---Pat
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Pat,
Really like your setup. Part of what you are doing is sorting relatively small bunches at a time. And the table setup particularly intrigues me. Now if I only had a place to do that.... Of course, my other problem is that if there is a BIG PILE to sort, I can't seem to allow myself to sort some, then go back. Part of my mental computer needs reprogramming.
Roger
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Thanks all for the information. The stamps I have to sort only number in the 100's but I can incorporate some of these ideas.
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Pat, all i can say is.. You're TOO organized!! My basement tables tend to look like mini-tornadoes hit them!
Micros.. my only problem with dealing with damaged stamps that quickly.. is if its' the only version of that stamp I have.. I'd be afraid i'd throw it out too early before I realized that fact.
that's why i tend to start with countries first and foremost. and then go back through them on the second pass... but then again, I tend to like just bouncing between countries when I work with them... (I was sick and tired of seeing any more Machins for a while after going through that collection)
It takes the third pass to get rid of the too doomed for salvage
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...and with all those damaged stamps being "86'd" by so many for so many years, the values of those stamps are still not going up. There are plenty more of those stamps to go around!
I do agree with you that if I don't have the stamp, even if it's damaged, it can still get a second chance in my collection until I find a solid example of it. I give the damaged stamps that I don't need to my grandson, who is 4. I'll see if his appetite for stamps grows. If so, I'll graduate him to good material in a year or so.
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Reminds me of my daughter. She got into collecting when she came with me to the dealer and she gave her a couple of damaged stamps. She was probably about 6 at the time and she grew into quite a keen little philatelist until she outgrew it when she hit her teenage years.
As for sorting, again it depends on the nature of the mixture. If it's mixed worldwide, then I'll sort by country and put them in envelopes. For a single country, I'll usually sort by year. If I want to actually collect a country, I'll arrange them by catalogue number in a stock sheet until I get enough to mount on an album page.
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Multiple nations: I sort by country or region - it really depends on how much of what is showing up in a sort.
Single nation: I sort by denomination but am open to suggestions!
One thing is for sure... I'm getting schooled on sorting in 2012
1 - 5000 US off paper (about 600-800 sorted so far)
2 - Sorted and semi-sorted United States
3 - Semi-Sorted United States (in bags) & 6 pounds United States on paper unsorted, untouched
4 - 6 pound worldwide unsorted, untouched
5 - Two 2.6 pound worldwide sorted by country & still on paper.
6 - 700 United States FDCs and an assortment of programs, odd ball covers, postal cards, etc. Sorted by date and awaiting acquisition of 2S Vario pages & a binder
7 - Mounts on pages from Latin America collection I bought but have transferred from the ratty pages they came on to Vario pages and the mounts are being harvested for future use with US and Liechtenstein collections as those two mount.
My method is almost without fail to sit on the floor and make a big semicircle of sort piles around me. When I'm done sorting the piles get dropped into whatever I'm using as temporary storage - envelopes, ziploc baggies, small boxes, etc.
I have found keeping a few large cans (I like the size can size you find filled with coffee or whole tomatoes to work nicely) and drop the stamps into the cans and dump the cans into the bag/box/baggie when full. The can method I only use for larger sort piles.
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How does one go about sorting a vast number of stamps? I have read in the past how some people have constructed something to help. Any feedback and/or information will be greatly appreciated.
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04:55:35pm
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Is the number of stamps in the thousands or tens of thousands? Are the stamps from more than one country, and if so roughly how many countries are represented? Is it a world mix?...g
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05:01:28pm
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
To sort, I use compartmentalized plastic trays. These are easily found at garage sales and at stores like Goodwill for very little money. Now, how to sort the different stamps will depend on how you collect and what your goals are.
Basically my first sort is by country. Then when I work on a country, I will sort by stamp, combining stamps into sets where possible. If I have a large number of stamps from a country, my second sort will probably be different. For Russia, and other countries that are good at putting year of issue on the stamps, I will sort by year. Then I will sort the years one at a time by stamp, again, combing stamps into set where appropriate. British stamps are easy to sort. Sort them first by monarch, and then by stamp/set. If you collect topicals, then sort by topic.
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06:04:30pm
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
I use each sorting as an opportunity to weed out damaged stamps. I hold up each stamp (or every nth stamp, where n increases with the quality of the lot) to low-angle light, front and back, to check for small stains, creases, tears, thins, or holes that may have escaped detection before. I am not infrequently surprised by slightly damaged common stamps that have worked their way into my collection and stayed there for years. Doing multiple spot-checks also helps reduce the numbers of damaged stamps that trading-partners receive....g
Login to Like
this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
I'm just finishing sorting a (to me) large lot of used worldwide. Too many countries to do it that way for me. So, I break the alphabet down into sections (e.g. A-F, G-L, etc) for the 1st round. Next I go by country. And each pass through I pull out the obviously damaged & deal with them appropriately. Then I sort each country. It is something I find extremely satisfying. Depending on the amount of stamps for a country (e.g. Great Britain) I may even do a subsort by era (Victoria, Edward, Georges, Elizabeth) before doing the catalog thing. Just how my warped mind works.
Roger
Login to Like
this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
I had to come up with something that was easy for me to use as well as easy for my kids to learn, so...
I came up with "The Sorting Table"...
There is a small piece of paper with the coutry's name on it and I have them all laid out alphabeticlly.
The table is located right next to my computer with two very helpful coutry identification websites all qued up for easy and quick reference.
Then when we have sorted out a couple hundred stamps, we transfer the respective piles to the Garbage Bag Holding Container...
where each contry has it's own bag to keep them nice, safe and flat until they are ready for the nitty, gritty Scott Catalog IDing.
It seems to be working out great because the kids and I just tore through a pile of about 150 stamps in about 15 minutes. to me that's pretty darned good as I suck at the forign stamp area of this hobby.
---Pat
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this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Pat,
Really like your setup. Part of what you are doing is sorting relatively small bunches at a time. And the table setup particularly intrigues me. Now if I only had a place to do that.... Of course, my other problem is that if there is a BIG PILE to sort, I can't seem to allow myself to sort some, then go back. Part of my mental computer needs reprogramming.
Roger
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this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Thanks all for the information. The stamps I have to sort only number in the 100's but I can incorporate some of these ideas.
Login to Like
this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Pat, all i can say is.. You're TOO organized!! My basement tables tend to look like mini-tornadoes hit them!
Micros.. my only problem with dealing with damaged stamps that quickly.. is if its' the only version of that stamp I have.. I'd be afraid i'd throw it out too early before I realized that fact.
that's why i tend to start with countries first and foremost. and then go back through them on the second pass... but then again, I tend to like just bouncing between countries when I work with them... (I was sick and tired of seeing any more Machins for a while after going through that collection)
It takes the third pass to get rid of the too doomed for salvage
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12:49:38pm
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
...and with all those damaged stamps being "86'd" by so many for so many years, the values of those stamps are still not going up. There are plenty more of those stamps to go around!
I do agree with you that if I don't have the stamp, even if it's damaged, it can still get a second chance in my collection until I find a solid example of it. I give the damaged stamps that I don't need to my grandson, who is 4. I'll see if his appetite for stamps grows. If so, I'll graduate him to good material in a year or so.
Login to Like
this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Reminds me of my daughter. She got into collecting when she came with me to the dealer and she gave her a couple of damaged stamps. She was probably about 6 at the time and she grew into quite a keen little philatelist until she outgrew it when she hit her teenage years.
As for sorting, again it depends on the nature of the mixture. If it's mixed worldwide, then I'll sort by country and put them in envelopes. For a single country, I'll usually sort by year. If I want to actually collect a country, I'll arrange them by catalogue number in a stock sheet until I get enough to mount on an album page.
Login to Like
this post
re: How do you sort large quantities of stamps
Multiple nations: I sort by country or region - it really depends on how much of what is showing up in a sort.
Single nation: I sort by denomination but am open to suggestions!
One thing is for sure... I'm getting schooled on sorting in 2012
1 - 5000 US off paper (about 600-800 sorted so far)
2 - Sorted and semi-sorted United States
3 - Semi-Sorted United States (in bags) & 6 pounds United States on paper unsorted, untouched
4 - 6 pound worldwide unsorted, untouched
5 - Two 2.6 pound worldwide sorted by country & still on paper.
6 - 700 United States FDCs and an assortment of programs, odd ball covers, postal cards, etc. Sorted by date and awaiting acquisition of 2S Vario pages & a binder
7 - Mounts on pages from Latin America collection I bought but have transferred from the ratty pages they came on to Vario pages and the mounts are being harvested for future use with US and Liechtenstein collections as those two mount.
My method is almost without fail to sit on the floor and make a big semicircle of sort piles around me. When I'm done sorting the piles get dropped into whatever I'm using as temporary storage - envelopes, ziploc baggies, small boxes, etc.
I have found keeping a few large cans (I like the size can size you find filled with coffee or whole tomatoes to work nicely) and drop the stamps into the cans and dump the cans into the bag/box/baggie when full. The can method I only use for larger sort piles.
Login to Like
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