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Newbie asking for advice
ndgoflo
Posts: 101
in Stamps Forum
Hello everyone, I'm a new collector, and I'm looking for an album to store the stamps I've accumulated. Problem is, I don't know what I'm looking for. All of the stamp albums that I have seen at the local bookstores and hobbyshops are sealed in cellophane and I can't see what they are like inside. These are the 3-ring binder type albums. I have seen albums before that looked kinda like photo albums, that had small plastic strips that held the stamps in rows, that I liked but that was before I really took an interest in stamps and now I can't find them. Any advice is appreciated.
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This is the brand of albums I use, but I prefer blank pages because I collect by theme and not by country.
Similar products are published by many editors. Before deciding for a specific model or brand go to a stamp show - good albums may cost up to a few hundred bucks, cheap ones will cost you 20 to 50.
The plastic sleeves are the "mounts." If you are going to use a blank album you will need them (or you will need "hinges" but only for used stamps), don't forget to buy a mount cutter and . . . and . . .
There's a lot more on this issue than you imagine - how you mount your stamps is not only a showcase but an exercise of preservation of the items.
Post again if needed.
Maybe you can clear some things up for me. A hinge is basically a small piece of paper folded over and attached to both the stamp and the album page, right? So I'm guessing that it would not be good unless you are sure that is where you want to keep it so that you don't damage the stamp by removing it again and again. What exactly is a mount? And how do I use them?
I enjoy the older paper lick & stick stamps, but I have been catching myself buying sheets of modern sticker stamps. I have just been keeping them in the large glassine envelopes that the post office gives with them. Is there a more practical way of storing sheets so that they may be viewed more easily?
One last thing, do they make acrylic cases similar to airtites or cointainers for individual stamps?
Thanks for any help and I'm sorry if these are "stupid" questions, but I feel the only stupid question is the one not asked. I'm just tryig to get an idea of the basics of the hobby, as I'm a coin collector just trying to add a little variety to the collection. (Washington stamps to compliment my Quarter collection, Jefferson stamps for Nickels, so on, so forth) I just don't want to go at it in the dark.
Hinges: the problem with hinges is that they disturb the gum, and that's a big no-no any more. People seem to want mint, never-hinged stamps so the gum remains just the way it was when issued.
Mounts: they avoid the problem above by making it possible to put the stamp in an album without sticking anything directly to the gum. They are plastic sleeves, clear on the front and black (or clear) on the back, with an adhesive on the back side. You stick the mount to the album page, and the mount has a slot so you can insert the stamp (and be able to remove it when desired) into it. Mounts come in different sizes to fit single stamps, coils or panes. I don't believe they are air-tight, but it's the most popular way to store stamps.
Good link with beginner stamp info.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
worse than PVC flips for coins !
Mint stamps should never be hinged !
i dont think even nice used stamps deserve a hinge !