Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
But a neighbour gave me a large plastic bin of stamps this weekend which at first glance look half-decent (but I figure there could easily be 50-100,000). This was from her father. She gave her nephew his albums, but still had this pile of stamps that he bought/traded for then just threw together over the years and never got around to sorting.
I generally follow the edict "don't touch the same thing twice" (I know that's an incredible straight line amsd, but try to restrain yourself).
but I'm thinking to get through them within a year I'd do the following:Step 1: Organize into a few smaller containers by major category.
...Damaged or common stamps directly to my huge HSP donation bin
...Canada
...US
...Countries/topics I collect
...Countries/topics for the handful of SOR members I supply any such stamps to
...Interesting looking stamps I'll want to consider later to keep or sell
Step 2: Prioritize a secondary sort.
...Countries/topics for SOR members further sorted into envelopes to mail to them.
...Countries/topics I collect into envelopes by specific country/topic (e.g. Germany, Finland, Soccer, etc) to add to my albums or sell at a later date (but ASAP).
...Canada & US can just sit there "forever" (I will have taken out anything worth looking up in the catalogue in Step 1)
That leaves...Interesting looking stamps. Not sure whether to go directly to sorting by country/topic (which would take up a lot of table space) or use another round of general containers e.g. Asia, Africa, Topicals, Worldwide MNH, "etc x infinity" before getting more specific.
The possibilities are complex and endless, so any suggestions are gratefully accepted.
Thanks, Dave.
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03:02:31pm
Sorting is damn hard work. A few years ago a "friend" gave me a bunch of mixed Poland and Russia stamps to sort through, no where near what you have to do - probably only a few thousand stamps and only two countries. First I did a quick sort by country. Then I sorted each country by subject matter. I then sorted by series and then had to figure out which stamps I needed. It took about two weeks at about 4 hours per day. You have one Hell of a job ahead of you, best not to rush.
Note: I have to apologize to you, I still haven't sent the bunch of stamps I have for you! My secondary hobby is procrastination, why put off until tomorrow what can be put off until the next day? Sooner, or later, it shall be done!!!
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Hi
If I had a lot of several thousand German stamps I would proceed to a quick visual separation into two categories: up to 1945 and after 1945.
Up to 1945 I would choose stamps MNH, MH and with top, bottom and side edges which I would divide into :
-Reichpost ,Deutsches Reich Post,
-Inflation stamps,
- Third Reich stamps.
-Old German states: Bayern, Baden, Bergedorf, etc. (the name is on the stamps) –about 16 boxes.
-Colonies and post offices abroad: China, Marokko, Turkei, Deutsch-Neuguinea, Ostafrika, etc. (the name can be found on the overprints of the stamps or stamps issued especially for them)-about 13 boxes.
-Occupation in the First World War :Belgien,Polen,Rumanien etc (name is on overprint) about 4 boxes
-Danzig (name is on overprint or stamps)
-Saargebiet (name on overprint or stamps)
-Memel or Memelgebiet (the name is on the overprint which is on German, French and Lithuanian stamps).
If I am not mistaken I think there are already 40 boxes to be doubled for cancelled stamps.
I would choose cancellations where the date and the name of the city can be identified and of course ALL cancellations other than round.
What is left after this first sorting are easy to sort into 3 main categories DDR, Berlin West and Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
What remains (apart from the 1923-1945 obliterations) could raise identification problems (local issues, occupation stamps WWI and WWII, Allied occupation of Germany 1945-49)
This idea of sorting is based on the organization of the specialized Michel catalogue.
If you use the Scott catalogue it is not applicable.
I envy you the opportunity to have stamps in front of your eyes maybe for the first time.
Good luck and I hope you will offer in auction German stamps that I do not have yet (there are many).
George
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Dave,
you got great responses already, and far more detailed than I'd be capable of, but, here's my simplified:
Holocaust (and today's remembrance day) and any subdivisions therein (color, size, shape)
Not Holocaust, with subdivisions by topical or country.
Unless you are surrounded by tables and on a swivel chair, i can't see how you can avoid touching them multiple times even on the first passes.
Enjoy the moment
David
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Funny you should mention that David. Over the December school break I reconfigured my "office" to create a stamp section and a guitar/recording section. I now am literally...
"...surrounded by tables and on a swivel chair..."
But unfortunately - despite all the bins, boxes and envelopes available - my table real estate is totally covered already. I really do need to sweep off everything and start over I guess.
And yes, I have gotten some great feedback so a big thank-you to everyone.
Cheers, Dave.
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I like sorting big accumulations, although it sometimes can be a bit overwhelming. What I normally do depends on the kind of accumulation. If it is a mix of countries, my first run would be sorting on country.
After that (or if it is just one country) it sort of depends on the country. For countries like the Netherlands and Germany I make a split between definitives, commemoratives and semi postals, concentrating on the semi postals because these are often the most interesting / most wanted. If there are others like officials, airmails etc, they will go in a separate bin.
From there it is a combination of cherry picking and systematically sorting. Most of the time I look if there is some sort of a year indication on the stamp and either make rows of 10 piles for each decade (most of the time starting in the 1950s) or one big pile per decade.
When that's done it is often easier to put the stamps from one set with each other. It is only at this point that I take the catalogue and start putting the stamps in the correct order.
It is a lengthy process, but over the years one gets better at it. Especially the first stages I can do pretty quickly now. But however you approach it, it will always be a test of patience and endurance. I had a box of 2 kilogrammes Germany (bundespost) off paper a few years ago. I had taken out most of the semipostals and some of the more special ones and made a start sorting the rest, but I gave up. I resold the remainder for slightly more than what I bought it for in the first place (with the good ones still in it)...
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David, my first approach has always been to sort by country, for the ones I collect, and by area (say for example Spain and colonies) for those I don't collect, or for those that don't have much volume.
When an area becomes particularly large, I will break it up based on what I have found (here for example Spain, and then one or two large volume sub-area showing lots of material, and the rest).
Like you, in this first sort for a large accumulation. I try to touch the stamp once, so it helps to have a large sorting surface not cluttered by other stuff.
The resultant sorts will go in envelopes, or directly on stock cards if I plan to work on them soon, and here again, I try to order them by groups, or years.
I must say that I like the process, because it is mentally a totally different part of the brain at work, much less concentrated, or so it seems.
I also separate stamps on paper, and put them in a shoe box.
rrr..
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04:36:28pm
Some Ideas;
Years ago, I bought a quantity of the square plastic "Ziploc" sandwich containers, plus a few deeper rectangular ones. I place sorted stamps by area or country in them as I go for the first sort run through.;
1.) USA, UK, Canada,
2.) Channel Islands and Ireland
3.) Mexico and Central America, Caribbean Islands
4.) South America,
5.) Scandinavia; Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Estonia. Latvia and Lithuainia, Greenland and the Faroes.
6.) Western Europe,
7.) Eastern Europe (Iron Curtain countries.)
8.) Mediterranean Europe (Portugal to Istanbul )
9.) North Africa (Morocco to Libya)
10.) Palestine area (Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt. UAR and Saudi Arabia )
11.) Central Africa
12. ) South Africa (South of the Congo.)
13.) Middle East (Syria, Iran Iraq.)
14.) India, Ceylon, Pakistan, Bangladesh)
15.) Burma, Thailand and Indochina
16.) Chinas, Manchukuo
17.) Korea and Japan.
18.) Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavan and the "Stans"
19.) Malaya, Malaysia and Borneo
20.)New Guinea and the Philippines
21.) Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Ocean islands
23.)Misc islands
Some ideas;
Depending on the kiloware there might be special containers
for Machins , X-mas stamps, US Flags Over, Something, or Liberty
Bells, or even German inflation issues. Also one container gets any interesting stamps or sets and another for colorful stamps for my grandchildren.
If a container gets over filled, either a bigger ontainer can be used or that area broken own into specific countries.
When that is done or done enough, each container is sorted by country.
Countries with but a few stamps go into the regular six inch white envelopes, nations with more go into one or more of the many 8" envelopes salvaged from the daily incoming mails and then I can do one nation at a time.
Plastic shoeboxes hold the long envelopes by area. Special stamps are set aside on 102 cards for closer examination and mounting. Worthwhile duplicates either go into three inch wide stock binders or left on the 102 cards with a symbol marked on the left top, and a value on the right top for the days when I go to the local stamp club.
Machins are sorted by color/value and later by minor variant numbers.
The important thing is to have a plan so that when something interferes, the project can be resumed without spending half a day figuring out what was being done and where I left off.
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02:35:31pm
It's been a while since I've sorted through stamps for my personal use. Mostly I have been counting donated stamps for the Holocaust Stamps Project (along with the few volunteers I can get during this Covid disaster) - and there is very little sorting involved (other than by colour for future art-works).
But a neighbour gave me a large plastic bin of stamps this weekend which at first glance look half-decent (but I figure there could easily be 50-100,000). This was from her father. She gave her nephew his albums, but still had this pile of stamps that he bought/traded for then just threw together over the years and never got around to sorting.
I generally follow the edict "don't touch the same thing twice" (I know that's an incredible straight line amsd, but try to restrain yourself). but I'm thinking to get through them within a year I'd do the following:
Step 1: Organize into a few smaller containers by major category.
...Damaged or common stamps directly to my huge HSP donation bin
...Canada
...US
...Countries/topics I collect
...Countries/topics for the handful of SOR members I supply any such stamps to
...Interesting looking stamps I'll want to consider later to keep or sell
Step 2: Prioritize a secondary sort.
...Countries/topics for SOR members further sorted into envelopes to mail to them.
...Countries/topics I collect into envelopes by specific country/topic (e.g. Germany, Finland, Soccer, etc) to add to my albums or sell at a later date (but ASAP).
...Canada & US can just sit there "forever" (I will have taken out anything worth looking up in the catalogue in Step 1)
That leaves...Interesting looking stamps. Not sure whether to go directly to sorting by country/topic (which would take up a lot of table space) or use another round of general containers e.g. Asia, Africa, Topicals, Worldwide MNH, "etc x infinity" before getting more specific.
The possibilities are complex and endless, so any suggestions are gratefully accepted.
Thanks, Dave.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
26 Jan 2022
03:02:31pm
re: Sorting Ideas?
Sorting is damn hard work. A few years ago a "friend" gave me a bunch of mixed Poland and Russia stamps to sort through, no where near what you have to do - probably only a few thousand stamps and only two countries. First I did a quick sort by country. Then I sorted each country by subject matter. I then sorted by series and then had to figure out which stamps I needed. It took about two weeks at about 4 hours per day. You have one Hell of a job ahead of you, best not to rush.
Note: I have to apologize to you, I still haven't sent the bunch of stamps I have for you! My secondary hobby is procrastination, why put off until tomorrow what can be put off until the next day? Sooner, or later, it shall be done!!!
Login to Like
this post
07:49:23am
re: Sorting Ideas?
Hi
If I had a lot of several thousand German stamps I would proceed to a quick visual separation into two categories: up to 1945 and after 1945.
Up to 1945 I would choose stamps MNH, MH and with top, bottom and side edges which I would divide into :
-Reichpost ,Deutsches Reich Post,
-Inflation stamps,
- Third Reich stamps.
-Old German states: Bayern, Baden, Bergedorf, etc. (the name is on the stamps) –about 16 boxes.
-Colonies and post offices abroad: China, Marokko, Turkei, Deutsch-Neuguinea, Ostafrika, etc. (the name can be found on the overprints of the stamps or stamps issued especially for them)-about 13 boxes.
-Occupation in the First World War :Belgien,Polen,Rumanien etc (name is on overprint) about 4 boxes
-Danzig (name is on overprint or stamps)
-Saargebiet (name on overprint or stamps)
-Memel or Memelgebiet (the name is on the overprint which is on German, French and Lithuanian stamps).
If I am not mistaken I think there are already 40 boxes to be doubled for cancelled stamps.
I would choose cancellations where the date and the name of the city can be identified and of course ALL cancellations other than round.
What is left after this first sorting are easy to sort into 3 main categories DDR, Berlin West and Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
What remains (apart from the 1923-1945 obliterations) could raise identification problems (local issues, occupation stamps WWI and WWII, Allied occupation of Germany 1945-49)
This idea of sorting is based on the organization of the specialized Michel catalogue.
If you use the Scott catalogue it is not applicable.
I envy you the opportunity to have stamps in front of your eyes maybe for the first time.
Good luck and I hope you will offer in auction German stamps that I do not have yet (there are many).
George
Login to Like
this post
re: Sorting Ideas?
Dave,
you got great responses already, and far more detailed than I'd be capable of, but, here's my simplified:
Holocaust (and today's remembrance day) and any subdivisions therein (color, size, shape)
Not Holocaust, with subdivisions by topical or country.
Unless you are surrounded by tables and on a swivel chair, i can't see how you can avoid touching them multiple times even on the first passes.
Enjoy the moment
David
Login to Like
this post
01:40:18pm
re: Sorting Ideas?
Funny you should mention that David. Over the December school break I reconfigured my "office" to create a stamp section and a guitar/recording section. I now am literally...
"...surrounded by tables and on a swivel chair..."
But unfortunately - despite all the bins, boxes and envelopes available - my table real estate is totally covered already. I really do need to sweep off everything and start over I guess.
And yes, I have gotten some great feedback so a big thank-you to everyone.
Cheers, Dave.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: Sorting Ideas?
I like sorting big accumulations, although it sometimes can be a bit overwhelming. What I normally do depends on the kind of accumulation. If it is a mix of countries, my first run would be sorting on country.
After that (or if it is just one country) it sort of depends on the country. For countries like the Netherlands and Germany I make a split between definitives, commemoratives and semi postals, concentrating on the semi postals because these are often the most interesting / most wanted. If there are others like officials, airmails etc, they will go in a separate bin.
From there it is a combination of cherry picking and systematically sorting. Most of the time I look if there is some sort of a year indication on the stamp and either make rows of 10 piles for each decade (most of the time starting in the 1950s) or one big pile per decade.
When that's done it is often easier to put the stamps from one set with each other. It is only at this point that I take the catalogue and start putting the stamps in the correct order.
It is a lengthy process, but over the years one gets better at it. Especially the first stages I can do pretty quickly now. But however you approach it, it will always be a test of patience and endurance. I had a box of 2 kilogrammes Germany (bundespost) off paper a few years ago. I had taken out most of the semipostals and some of the more special ones and made a start sorting the rest, but I gave up. I resold the remainder for slightly more than what I bought it for in the first place (with the good ones still in it)...
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: Sorting Ideas?
David, my first approach has always been to sort by country, for the ones I collect, and by area (say for example Spain and colonies) for those I don't collect, or for those that don't have much volume.
When an area becomes particularly large, I will break it up based on what I have found (here for example Spain, and then one or two large volume sub-area showing lots of material, and the rest).
Like you, in this first sort for a large accumulation. I try to touch the stamp once, so it helps to have a large sorting surface not cluttered by other stuff.
The resultant sorts will go in envelopes, or directly on stock cards if I plan to work on them soon, and here again, I try to order them by groups, or years.
I must say that I like the process, because it is mentally a totally different part of the brain at work, much less concentrated, or so it seems.
I also separate stamps on paper, and put them in a shoe box.
rrr..
Login to Like
this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
30 Jan 2022
04:36:28pm
re: Sorting Ideas?
Some Ideas;
Years ago, I bought a quantity of the square plastic "Ziploc" sandwich containers, plus a few deeper rectangular ones. I place sorted stamps by area or country in them as I go for the first sort run through.;
1.) USA, UK, Canada,
2.) Channel Islands and Ireland
3.) Mexico and Central America, Caribbean Islands
4.) South America,
5.) Scandinavia; Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Estonia. Latvia and Lithuainia, Greenland and the Faroes.
6.) Western Europe,
7.) Eastern Europe (Iron Curtain countries.)
8.) Mediterranean Europe (Portugal to Istanbul )
9.) North Africa (Morocco to Libya)
10.) Palestine area (Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt. UAR and Saudi Arabia )
11.) Central Africa
12. ) South Africa (South of the Congo.)
13.) Middle East (Syria, Iran Iraq.)
14.) India, Ceylon, Pakistan, Bangladesh)
15.) Burma, Thailand and Indochina
16.) Chinas, Manchukuo
17.) Korea and Japan.
18.) Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavan and the "Stans"
19.) Malaya, Malaysia and Borneo
20.)New Guinea and the Philippines
21.) Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Ocean islands
23.)Misc islands
Some ideas;
Depending on the kiloware there might be special containers
for Machins , X-mas stamps, US Flags Over, Something, or Liberty
Bells, or even German inflation issues. Also one container gets any interesting stamps or sets and another for colorful stamps for my grandchildren.
If a container gets over filled, either a bigger ontainer can be used or that area broken own into specific countries.
When that is done or done enough, each container is sorted by country.
Countries with but a few stamps go into the regular six inch white envelopes, nations with more go into one or more of the many 8" envelopes salvaged from the daily incoming mails and then I can do one nation at a time.
Plastic shoeboxes hold the long envelopes by area. Special stamps are set aside on 102 cards for closer examination and mounting. Worthwhile duplicates either go into three inch wide stock binders or left on the 102 cards with a symbol marked on the left top, and a value on the right top for the days when I go to the local stamp club.
Machins are sorted by color/value and later by minor variant numbers.
The important thing is to have a plan so that when something interferes, the project can be resumed without spending half a day figuring out what was being done and where I left off.
Login to Like
this post