Where Do I Start?

Well when daddy was a little boy he collected stamps, and recently my grandparents were clearing some space in their house and came across my dads collection and asked me if I wanted it.

So I've got the collection and the only thing I know is which country they are from due to it being printed on them. Does anyone have any advise on how I should sort them? Or any other useful information about what to look for on them?

thanks for your time, Steven

Anything to help a fellow Brit ! But later because I am cooking just now. No doubt someone will get in before I return but that's the beauty of the Stamp world........

Where are you in the UK?

Londonbus1......A transplanted one

well I lived in middlesex in london until I was nearly 10 but now I've been living in northamptonshire for about 6 years.

Hi Steven,

Welcome to the SCF.

Are the stamps a world wide collection or just one country?

Steve :)

well theres lots from all over the place..
south africa, indonesia, cyprus, mongolia, poland, malta, uganda, india, portugal, spain, kenya, new zealand, usa, UK and more

Are they loose, or are they in an album?

mainly loose sorted into countries in envolopes, but there is 3 different albums with mainly empty pages but some of the pages are full.

Welcome to SCF, Steven.

You'll find lots of friendly and helpful folks here. Yours is a frequently-asked question. If you use the SEARCH link at the top of the page, you'll be able to find several different answers and suggestions for getting started.

KirkS

Yes, welcome Steven.




Is there enough space for all the loose stamps ?
Is each album page titled ?
Do you have any stamp hinges?

Do you plan to continue collecting or is this just a current interest after being given your Dad's boyhood collection ? It is a great base to start anyway.

Do you have any friends that collect?
Maybe a club near you?

Come back and ask as many questions as you like, and as Kirk said, check out the many other threads here.

We are mostly a friendly bunch.

Londonbus1....aren't we ?

2 of the albums are titled on each page, whereas the other isn't. I dont have any hinges.

Im not sure if I'm going to continue this collection I just wanted to sort it out and value it.

You are the only collectors I know of =)

maybe I should buy a new album and fill that up im just not too sure what to group together.

Steven,
As you are in England, I think Stanley Gibbons catalogue would be the best one for you to use. You should find a copy at the local library. It is a 5 volume set.
Sort your stamps into countries and then just work your way through them with the aid of the catalogue. Just keep in mind that the prices are approximate only, as the value depends on many factors,i.e. centering, missing perfs, faded colours etc.
It's a big job, but really the only ecomomical way to do it.
You will find that most of the stamps catalogue at the basic value, but you might just find a gem.
Happy hunting and we will always be here to ask questions of.

Steve

I'm not much of a reader and have never visited a library, but there's a first time for everything.