Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
We already have some stamps gathered in envelopes and want to organize them. How? What is the difference between stock books, albums and binders?
We are very interested in First Day Covers. How do you organize them?
How do you organize, and display in books, corner sheets of 4 stamps with the selvedge?
How do you mount stamps that are stickers and not gummed? They all seem to be stickers now.
All the books I see appear to be for single stamps, but my Dad has always loved corner sheets, so we are gravitating towards them in addition to singles from mail we receive and FDCs.
Thank you! I think that's all my questions for now.
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"I am completely brand new to stamp collecting and so are my teenagers. These are the questions we have so far."
Welcome to stamporama!
"We already have some stamps gathered in envelopes and want to organize them. How? What is the difference between stock books, albums and binders?"
Stock books have plastic strips across the page that some of the bottom of the stamp slide into. It is probably the best way for a beginner to start. In any case, a good stock book will always be handy for spares and a place to put stamps until you transfer them to a main album.
Stay away from cheap china books and buy quality. I like 'Lighthouse' brand but be prepared to pay for them. If you are serious about collecting, buy a bigger one!
'Album' is just the term for a book to put stamps into. Either a stockbook album or binder album or spring back album etc. Some albums come with printed pages and windows to slide each stamp into. I am making my own with blank pages and printing on them. When I have enough, I will find a quality binder to put them into.
"We are very interested in First Day Covers. How do you organize them?"
You can get special FDC albums with special pages to slide the covers into.
"How do you organize, and display in books, corner sheets of 4 stamps with the selvedge? "
Best done in a stockbook (bigger the better). Ones with black pages shows the stamps off better, but it is a personal preference.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lighthouse-A4-PREMIUM-Stockbook-with-64-Page-Padded-Leather-Cover-GREEN-/131746245299?hash=item1eacb02ab3:g:jwYAAOSwZjJU2Zf9
"How do you mount stamps that are stickers and not gummed? They all seem to be stickers now."
I collect used stamps so this is not a problem for me. But I do have some complete with the backing paper which I just leave. Or you can keep whole 'peel and stick' booklets. Other will be able to answer this better.
"All the books I see appear to be for single stamps, but my Dad has always loved corner sheets, so we are gravitating towards them in addition to singles from mail we receive"
Use stockbooks or design your own pages with spaces with what YOU want to collect. I have a recent post on my pages which have what I want to show in the order that I want to show it. I am not confined to commercial "One size fits all" pages. For the mint stamps you can use 'Showgard' or 'Lighthouse' mounts. My preference is the Showgard, but there are advantages to both types.
Start with the stockbook and get organised. That will give you time to think about an 'end' album. And don't worry about the stockbook being wasted, you can never have too many stockbooks. They are always handy, so get good ones (I repeat I know).
"Thank you! "
You're welcome.
" I think that's all my questions for now. "
Don't be silly, you will have plenty more and everyone will have a different answer so pick the answers that suit YOU. Everyone is doing something different for reasons known only to them. So don't be afraid to buck the trend if that suits you better.
And.. keep us informed with what you do.. and why. Be assured we are all interested!
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For blocks and larger items, Vario pages are also nice and you can rearrange them in a 3 ring binder which is more flexible than a fixed stock book.
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You may want to ready the several "Hoard" posts by lemaven. He is going through a large accumulation of stamps. His pictures of what he has and the discussion answers some of your questions, and also the discussion is right what you are looking for. You can ask questions there as well. It'll probably be a big help to you.
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Hi Andarah, and welcome to the family. The "corner sheets" as you called them are called plate blocks. They are usually collected with a block of 4 stamps with the "plate number" in the selvage in the corner. Not all printings made a nice neat 4 stamp corner so some required a larger strip to get all the numbers. Some early US stamps were collected as a block of 6 with number in the middle. There are also blocks with things other than numbers like the Zip Code tag line.
As mentioned, there are Vario pages to fit them, but if you prefer an album, most major album companies make an album for plate blocks and supplement pages to keep them up to date.
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Welcome!
First Day Covers - in fact, all covers & cards - can be stored in sleeves, which are rather like sandwich bags, but you will want to look for 'archival' materials.
In the beginning, sleeving the covers lets you safely handle & sort them, which is important if you have a great variety, and are not sure what will be albumized, or with what.
I buy mine from BCW Supplies, to wit:
BCW First Day Cover Sleeves
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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a couple of thoughts.....
if you go the album route, you might want to go to a stamp show and visit dealers... often you can buy a stamps from a country and the album is thrown in. Look for albums in good shape and where you're buying stamps you don't already have. it helps if the album is organized the way you're likely to collect (only one of a kind OR pages with multiple examples).
Many collectors subscribe to Steiner pages, which allows you to print the pages you need .
In the US, Plate Block collecting is on the decline. I mention this not to dissuade you from it but to let you know that bargains abound. Most earlier PBs can be had for face or even a discount. Here, too, you might be able to buy an album of US plate blocks for face, with album and mounts thrown in.
these are just thoughts.....
and welcome.... nice to be able to make it a family affair
David
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Thank you all so much for your thoughts! There is a lot to process here! I will definitely check out the links and other threads you mentioned as well as the companies for albums, pages, etc. I feel like I have a place to start now! My Dad comes for a visit in a month and we'd like to be able to show him what we have started 
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06:55:24pm
I am completely brand new to stamp collecting and so are my teenagers. These are the questions we have so far.
We already have some stamps gathered in envelopes and want to organize them. How? What is the difference between stock books, albums and binders?
We are very interested in First Day Covers. How do you organize them?
How do you organize, and display in books, corner sheets of 4 stamps with the selvedge?
How do you mount stamps that are stickers and not gummed? They all seem to be stickers now.
All the books I see appear to be for single stamps, but my Dad has always loved corner sheets, so we are gravitating towards them in addition to singles from mail we receive and FDCs.
Thank you! I think that's all my questions for now.
Login to Like
this post
re: Questions from a newbie
"I am completely brand new to stamp collecting and so are my teenagers. These are the questions we have so far."
Welcome to stamporama!
"We already have some stamps gathered in envelopes and want to organize them. How? What is the difference between stock books, albums and binders?"
Stock books have plastic strips across the page that some of the bottom of the stamp slide into. It is probably the best way for a beginner to start. In any case, a good stock book will always be handy for spares and a place to put stamps until you transfer them to a main album.
Stay away from cheap china books and buy quality. I like 'Lighthouse' brand but be prepared to pay for them. If you are serious about collecting, buy a bigger one!
'Album' is just the term for a book to put stamps into. Either a stockbook album or binder album or spring back album etc. Some albums come with printed pages and windows to slide each stamp into. I am making my own with blank pages and printing on them. When I have enough, I will find a quality binder to put them into.
"We are very interested in First Day Covers. How do you organize them?"
You can get special FDC albums with special pages to slide the covers into.
"How do you organize, and display in books, corner sheets of 4 stamps with the selvedge? "
Best done in a stockbook (bigger the better). Ones with black pages shows the stamps off better, but it is a personal preference.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lighthouse-A4-PREMIUM-Stockbook-with-64-Page-Padded-Leather-Cover-GREEN-/131746245299?hash=item1eacb02ab3:g:jwYAAOSwZjJU2Zf9
"How do you mount stamps that are stickers and not gummed? They all seem to be stickers now."
I collect used stamps so this is not a problem for me. But I do have some complete with the backing paper which I just leave. Or you can keep whole 'peel and stick' booklets. Other will be able to answer this better.
"All the books I see appear to be for single stamps, but my Dad has always loved corner sheets, so we are gravitating towards them in addition to singles from mail we receive"
Use stockbooks or design your own pages with spaces with what YOU want to collect. I have a recent post on my pages which have what I want to show in the order that I want to show it. I am not confined to commercial "One size fits all" pages. For the mint stamps you can use 'Showgard' or 'Lighthouse' mounts. My preference is the Showgard, but there are advantages to both types.
Start with the stockbook and get organised. That will give you time to think about an 'end' album. And don't worry about the stockbook being wasted, you can never have too many stockbooks. They are always handy, so get good ones (I repeat I know).
"Thank you! "
You're welcome.
" I think that's all my questions for now. "
Don't be silly, you will have plenty more and everyone will have a different answer so pick the answers that suit YOU. Everyone is doing something different for reasons known only to them. So don't be afraid to buck the trend if that suits you better.
And.. keep us informed with what you do.. and why. Be assured we are all interested!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Questions from a newbie
For blocks and larger items, Vario pages are also nice and you can rearrange them in a 3 ring binder which is more flexible than a fixed stock book.
Login to Like
this post
11:21:41pm
re: Questions from a newbie
You may want to ready the several "Hoard" posts by lemaven. He is going through a large accumulation of stamps. His pictures of what he has and the discussion answers some of your questions, and also the discussion is right what you are looking for. You can ask questions there as well. It'll probably be a big help to you.
Login to Like
this post
re: Questions from a newbie
Hi Andarah, and welcome to the family. The "corner sheets" as you called them are called plate blocks. They are usually collected with a block of 4 stamps with the "plate number" in the selvage in the corner. Not all printings made a nice neat 4 stamp corner so some required a larger strip to get all the numbers. Some early US stamps were collected as a block of 6 with number in the middle. There are also blocks with things other than numbers like the Zip Code tag line.
As mentioned, there are Vario pages to fit them, but if you prefer an album, most major album companies make an album for plate blocks and supplement pages to keep them up to date.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Questions from a newbie
Welcome!
First Day Covers - in fact, all covers & cards - can be stored in sleeves, which are rather like sandwich bags, but you will want to look for 'archival' materials.
In the beginning, sleeving the covers lets you safely handle & sort them, which is important if you have a great variety, and are not sure what will be albumized, or with what.
I buy mine from BCW Supplies, to wit:
BCW First Day Cover Sleeves
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
Login to Like
this post
re: Questions from a newbie
a couple of thoughts.....
if you go the album route, you might want to go to a stamp show and visit dealers... often you can buy a stamps from a country and the album is thrown in. Look for albums in good shape and where you're buying stamps you don't already have. it helps if the album is organized the way you're likely to collect (only one of a kind OR pages with multiple examples).
Many collectors subscribe to Steiner pages, which allows you to print the pages you need .
In the US, Plate Block collecting is on the decline. I mention this not to dissuade you from it but to let you know that bargains abound. Most earlier PBs can be had for face or even a discount. Here, too, you might be able to buy an album of US plate blocks for face, with album and mounts thrown in.
these are just thoughts.....
and welcome.... nice to be able to make it a family affair
David
Login to Like
this post
11:25:10am
re: Questions from a newbie
Thank you all so much for your thoughts! There is a lot to process here! I will definitely check out the links and other threads you mentioned as well as the companies for albums, pages, etc. I feel like I have a place to start now! My Dad comes for a visit in a month and we'd like to be able to show him what we have started
Login to Like
this post