It depends. Two attached stamps, a pair, are collectable. Strips of three or more, blocks of four or six or more etc.--all these multiples can be collected. Rarely are they worth more just because they are multiples--a stamp that is worth .35 is normally considered worth 4 x .35 and no more if in a block of four.
Obviously a pair won't fit into the space designated for a single stamp on an album page, though if you keep your stamps in a stockbook or in plastic see-thru pages you have more flexibility.
So multiples usually have to go on a separate, blank or quadrilled (ruled with lines) page. People who collect lots of blocks of four or six may have a binder just for blocks or multiples.
But, especially if it's a common stamp worth very little and you do not already have a single, there's no harm in tearing the pair apart and mounting one in your "collection" and tossing the other into whatever you use for duplicates.
Now, if ít's an older and valuable stamp, then, for the most part, people will keep the pair intact.
Moreover, and this is important, if it's a coil stamp (with straight edges top and bottom or on right and left but with perforations on the other two sides), then keeping the pair as a pair is quite important. It helps (but does not guarantee) to show that the stamps are a true coil. A common single stamp can have two sides cut off to make it look like a more valuable coil stamp. Of course, one can also cut off the perforations on two sides of two stamps in a pair. But since pairs are less common, more often coil fakery is done on a single, 4-side-perforated stamp. And some coil pairs have ink lines running down the center of the perforations between the two stamps. These "line" pairs are worth more than plain coil pairs and keeping the two stamps together would be vital. But again, in most cases, you'd have to put them on a separate album page from the one designed for singles. |
Posted 08/13/2014 11:43 pm
