New Member- Trying To Learn As Much As I Can

Hello everyone!

This is the first time I've ever posted in any type of forum, so please bear with me if I make any kind of faux pas.

The reason I'm here is to learn more about stamp collecting. My grandma has been collecting stamps for years, but they're all stored in paper envelopes and there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to how they're stored. I would like to organize her stamps and display them for her, because she doesn't really have the time to do it herself. If you have any tips for an overwhelmed beginner like me, please tell them to me!

I've been researching stamp collecting a lot lately, and I think I might be on my way to becoming a full-fledged philatelist!

Welcome! You have come to the right place! You'll find the Search feature very helpful here, and the members are very, very helpful. =)

Unless an envelope is somehow special it is normal to cut the stamp out and soak it, remove it and dry it. Then you sort these stamps and use hinges to mount them in an album. If you can afford a nice hinge less album, so much the better.

Is there a reason why people remove the stamp from the envelope? How does that affect the stamp's durability? All of the resources I've found mention that I should do that, but nobody ever says why. I assume it will look much nicer, but is there any other reasoning?

My grandma didn't like the idea when I ran it by her. She's worried I'll ruin all of her stamps. Instead, she would rather I trim as much of the envelope away without ruining the perforation and simply put it in the album that way.

Hello PepitaSola, welcome!

When collecting and buying snd selling stamps there is always a value consideration to be kept in mind.

How much you value the value (1?) over the aestetic beauty or pleasure or honour a stamp or envelope (cover) can bring you is an important consideration to remember.


A stamp's or cover's value is based on many things, most of all, usually, the eye appeal, or the condition and the first impression of how it looks or strikes you visually and emotionally.

So, bearing that vagarie in mind, do not destroy something before you know something of what it's value can be, whether to yourself, your grandmother or a potential buyer.

On the other hand, many beginning collectors find that just collecting and sorting and arranging, oh, and valuing, the stamps (and / or covers0 can take up most of their available time, and thus just colelct the stamps themselves.

Knowing enough to judge a cover on value is a learned skill, understanding hand-writing, stamp value, stamp variety vales (colours, perforations (perfs), paper-type perhaps, watermarks in the paper, cancellations and postmark valuation, the actual physical condition of the paper stamp itself (rips, tewars, thins, creases all debalue) depends, I tink, on your own skill at it all and a leaning towards being detail oriented (whether money or art or appreciation of beauty in whatever form).

To simply sort through stamps, get some paper envelopes and sort by country, if worldwide or foreign, first, then by denomination or era. How the stamps seem to fit together, by design, basic colour (older ones only use limited colours), by reigning monarch or president, etc.

Glassine paper is a translucent type of paper that is used for small envelopes to store loose stamps in, search online, if buying there, for glassine. A #4 type of envelope is about 2" x 4".


For older stamps, cancels (cancellations / postmarks) are worth something, whether as noted in postage stamp catalogues or not, as marcophilatelists, like me, collect cancels, and value readable ones and rarer ones.

Note: I will copy some of this to your other thread to help other collectors reading this.