Stamp Hinges

The pre-cut mounts made for specific sizes are worth every penny you spend for them. They are convenient, uniform and look great. Cutting the strips is a pain and unless you use a cutter made for the purpose, are difficult to get to look right. A pair of scissors just doesn't "cut" it. Haha

i need 10 mounts for my gandhi stamps where can I find them. I want the best quality at a reasonable price

Spock - what size are the stamps? Can you give me the height and width in sillymeters?

There has been an ongoing argument about the use of the various types of "plastic" mounts in the German philatelic press for years. It has been proven? that some mounts can cause damage to some stamps over the years/decades even when used properly. Obviously, the manufacturers deny this. There have been lawsuits filed, scientific experiments performed, and I personally don't believe the truth has been told.

The bottom line is that for very expensive stamps you will want to take extra special precautions, but for most of us Showgard and the like will do just fine.

Here is a link to a .pdf file of a PowerPoint presentation by Roger Rhoads, Chairman of the APS Preservation and Care of Philatelic Materials Committee:

http://www.stamps.org/Newsletter/St...Plastics.pdf

i am glad you shared that with me the stamp is my avtaar stamp its basically the same size as the bob hope stamp that came out recenlt in the usa. at $200 a pop or more we are looking at 2k plus so if you think I shouldnt put in a mount then I wont but the gum is bad coz they got these stamps printed in switzerland and it does not hold good for indian weather conditions. if you tell me showgard showgard it will be but if there is something better I can spend the extra few dolalrs I am not buying too many mounts just 10 for these and a few for british indias expensive stamps. if a stamp is worth less than 100$ then I dont want to buy a mount for it.

khj, I would be very interested in your "problems that I have seen in the many collections" thread. I am starting over and would like to avoid bad habits I may still harbor. May I suggest possibly starting with the album itself. I know you must have seen some very creative ways of displaying/storing stamp collections that may not be a best practice. Thanks

Keep in mind that the primary function/advantage of mounts is for display on paper pages, NOT storage. Mounts are NOT the preferred method for storing valuable extra stamps. For storage of premium items in humid conditions, I strongly suggest considering something like Vario stockpages (manufactured by Lighthouse) or Omnia pages (Lindner). I prefer the double-sided black pages, but if you are concerned about evaluated/checking on the gum, you can get the clear single-sided pages.

Archival is a relative term for which there is no standard. It is more of a sales gimmick more than anything else. The mount is only "archival" under normal "archival" conditions. Also, remember, the stamp itself is NOT archival; it doesn't matter if the mount is truly "archival".

The problem with using mounts for "safe-keeping" in humid conditions is simple -- mounts do a good job of keeping moisture IN but do a bad job of keeping moisture OUT. It is a bad combination. My scanner can't show it and I don't have a camera, but I was going to try to post pics of various moisture damaged stamps taken out of perfectly fine mounts and explain the various causes of the moisture damage. But it's hard to explain/show without pics. Sorry.

Remember, mounts have gum on the backside! Showgard mounts are split in half at the back (as opposed to open-top mounts). In a hot humid environment, you have to be extra careful that the mount gum doesn't reflow over time. You mentioned your stamp gum gets "soft" in your environment. I imagine that is happening to the gum on the mount as well. Since the Showgard mounts are split at the back, all it takes is the slightest reflow or the slightest seepage of moisture along the back to cause a very thin line of gum damage along the middle length of the back of the stamp. Furthermore, if you accidentally trap some moisture into the pinched top/bottom of the mounts, you will get either gum damaged ends or even irreversible "gray/toning of the stamp".

I've visited high humidity locations in Asia many times, and nobody I know uses Showgard/Scott style mounts. I don't think it is an issue of availability. Many collectors I run into over there use the Vario-style stockpages (although they are usually knock-offs, not the genuine Varios). Either that, or they have a "dry room" or "climate controlled" room in which they store moisture sensitive items.

I know you've got a tough situation. Many years ago I took some mint US stamps to a high humidity location in Asia for exchange purposes. Within a few hours, the stamps were stuck fast (and I had kept them vertical and not touching other stamps!!). Ended up bringing them back to the US to use as postage. I strongly recommend getting in touch with dealers and philatelic organizations in India and seeking their advice on how best to long term store valuable stamps.

One of the reasons I prefer collecting used stamps is so I don't have to deal as much with the moisture problem.

Best wishes...

k

Also, since you have 10 copies of that stamp, I strongly recommend that you divide them into 2 or 3 groups and store them SEPARATELY. No point in keeping all your eggs in one basket. Just a thought.

i am going to cry thats how a lot of my stamps were destroyed the thin white line I thought it was toning where the mount did not protect it.

unfortunately I am it when it comes to storage here. People dont know S of storage and could care less. I have consulted with experts/curators from all over the world from the leading museums and have many gadgets here to keep the humidity down it was all working fine for the last 5 years or so but suddenly I lost 2 gandhi one day ( I did take them outside for a few seconds though ) but that got me paranoid again.

i will take your advice and not use mounts except for the gandhi stamps where my hand is forced. they wont last one day in a stockbook
without the mounts

what you have suggested is good I should split them up luckily they are not a block

thanks and I will also continue to thumb them the gandhi gum is worse than the colombus minisheets posted on the forum earlier

Hi Spock.....


Because of the weather conditions where you live your best option might be to just collect used or on cover items. Why invest in mint material that will end up damaged ?


Kim.......

If you'd like, you could send me the stamps and I'll get some decent photos, email them to you and send the stamps back.


And........I'll offer the same service to anyone here that does not have a camera.

youa re right notare I should not collect mint from 1862- to 1974 ( the gum changed after that ) but I wired with mint so I am on this thankless exercise I am not getting 2 more gadgets imported as we speak so that we dont have a repeat of the gandhi

theya re called eva dry and they can be recharged electrically some of you who are in humid environments should give it a try :)