1. I collect one sample of whatever I collect. I have spares but not intentional.
2. No way. I use mounts like Showgard/Scott/Prinz.
3. If you buy Mystic albums, you will need to order extra binders so there are fewer pages per binder. I have 12 Mystic binders for the pages in the 3 binders. I migrate stamps from album pages (existing or something I buy) that are hinged. You have to take care when trying to remove hinges. Improper moistening hinges (applying too much water) will make them difficult to remove.
4. You should try to separate the easy ones first by country. You need the internet or a catalog to decipher some country names. You can keep it country in an envelope. If you collect and organize by catalog numbers, you will need a catalog to identify stamps that appear the same but different.
5. No idea
6. Yes, nature heard it.
Advice: You have good questions but suggest in the future you break them up into individual posts to improve specific responses.
1. I never buy duplicates intentionally. What's the point of having identical copy of a given stamp? I do try to have both mint and used copies of stamps that I like, and if I find stamps with interesting attributes (varieties, selvedge with plate numbers, perfins, etc.) I might add those to my collection as well.
2. Hinges or mounts only, no glue stick!
4. Sort for duplicates, keeping only the best copies, then sort for countries and put the stamps from individual countries into stock pages or books.
5. Stamps on Demand? Never heard of it. Please explain, and provide a link.
Bob
1. Like Bob, I never buy duplicates intentionally (well, almost never). That said, duplicates CAN be used to form specialized collections of colors, cancels, perfins, precancels, and more.
2. fageddaboudit
6. sound is our response to waves; the sound waves exist, but absent an ear, no sound occurs.
7. Enjoy
5. ? http://www.stampsjoann.net/CVP/Netstamp/NetStamp-main.html
Computer vended postage.
The exception to the "not buying duplicates' would be if a collector wants to specialize in some particular stamp such as the 1p ship stamp of South Africa, Norway Posthorns, Washington-Franklins or, my favorite, the ubiquitous UK Machins, all of which have multiple minor varieties. But that is not for the beginner anyway.
Over time you will see fellow collectors who will talk or write enthusiastically about their specialties and display scans of some beautiful pages all of what appears to be one stamp. Probably something will catch your imagination and you might just be glad you kept those "duplicates."
Thanks everyone for the great input. I look forward to keeping my collection going.
Hello everyone,
I have been toying with stamps for about a year and have been getting some great ideas from post that I see here from everyone, however there are somethings I have questions on. Maybe this has been addressed before and I have not come across it here searching it, so forgive me if the quest has already been asked.
1. How many stamps do you keep a hold of in your personal collection? I was holding on about 10 of each stamp but now that seems like a little to many. The extras I have been putting in bags in order to get them ready to donate, but I wanted to see what max counts different people had.
2. Elmer's stick glue. Yes I have seem that some post have mentioned it before, but what I have seen is that some are non-toxic and archival so there would be nothing that would damage the stamps. Has anyone ever really tried this or is this something to really forget about?
3. I have the Mystic Stamp Books which I really like, but sometimes I think the volumes have to many pages in one binder. Then I start toying with the idea of trashing that and start printing my own pages, but then that would mean starting over and taking the stamps off the hinges. Has anyone ever done that before? That would be a waste of those albums right...
4. I have been collecting just US stamps, but sometimes I get a little bored (bare in mind that I am a bit A.D.D.) and I want to start going through some of the World Wide stamps that I have just to change it up so that I can then come back and focus a little better if not differently. Any suggestions on how I would be able sort out all the countries easily? I have two 1 gallon bags full of W.W. stamps.
5. Signing up for Stamps On Demand... good idea or bad idea?
6. If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound? hahaha...
Thanks for reading and for comments and suggestions ahead of time.
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
1. I collect one sample of whatever I collect. I have spares but not intentional.
2. No way. I use mounts like Showgard/Scott/Prinz.
3. If you buy Mystic albums, you will need to order extra binders so there are fewer pages per binder. I have 12 Mystic binders for the pages in the 3 binders. I migrate stamps from album pages (existing or something I buy) that are hinged. You have to take care when trying to remove hinges. Improper moistening hinges (applying too much water) will make them difficult to remove.
4. You should try to separate the easy ones first by country. You need the internet or a catalog to decipher some country names. You can keep it country in an envelope. If you collect and organize by catalog numbers, you will need a catalog to identify stamps that appear the same but different.
5. No idea
6. Yes, nature heard it.
Advice: You have good questions but suggest in the future you break them up into individual posts to improve specific responses.
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
1. I never buy duplicates intentionally. What's the point of having identical copy of a given stamp? I do try to have both mint and used copies of stamps that I like, and if I find stamps with interesting attributes (varieties, selvedge with plate numbers, perfins, etc.) I might add those to my collection as well.
2. Hinges or mounts only, no glue stick!
4. Sort for duplicates, keeping only the best copies, then sort for countries and put the stamps from individual countries into stock pages or books.
5. Stamps on Demand? Never heard of it. Please explain, and provide a link.
Bob
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
1. Like Bob, I never buy duplicates intentionally (well, almost never). That said, duplicates CAN be used to form specialized collections of colors, cancels, perfins, precancels, and more.
2. fageddaboudit
6. sound is our response to waves; the sound waves exist, but absent an ear, no sound occurs.
7. Enjoy
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
5. ? http://www.stampsjoann.net/CVP/Netstamp/NetStamp-main.html
Computer vended postage.
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
The exception to the "not buying duplicates' would be if a collector wants to specialize in some particular stamp such as the 1p ship stamp of South Africa, Norway Posthorns, Washington-Franklins or, my favorite, the ubiquitous UK Machins, all of which have multiple minor varieties. But that is not for the beginner anyway.
Over time you will see fellow collectors who will talk or write enthusiastically about their specialties and display scans of some beautiful pages all of what appears to be one stamp. Probably something will catch your imagination and you might just be glad you kept those "duplicates."
re: Fairly New and Still Learning
Thanks everyone for the great input. I look forward to keeping my collection going.