How Do You Most Enjoy Working On Your Collection?

Welcome, Wilamay -- I'm retired, too. Sounds like you are far more organized in your stamp collecting than I am. You're inspiring me. I just brought out my childhood collection that I hadn't looked at in years. There's more there than I remembered! The best thing I can say about stamp-collecting at this point in my life is that it's something I have in common with my grand kids. Goodness knows, I don't have a lot of other things in common with them like --- oh, let's see - GameBoy - Sponge Bob - I could go on and on . . .

Judybug

Hi! All, this is Wilamay. I have been collecting stamps since I was 14 years old. I am now 68 and retired. I collect Canada, Czech. Hungary, Ireland, Poland Romania, Russia, US plate blocks, US singles,mint or used. Happy Stamping Wilamay

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Glad to hear from you Wilamay.

Just go a lot of recent Canadian on paper I've set some aside for you and as soon as I get a chance to soak them I'll send them off with some from Poland.

Dianne

My favorite time is Sunday.
No other work to be done, (honey do list)
I Listen To Pavarotti (my Favorite is) "Madam butterfly"
or "King Of The High Cs" ,
Fresh Brewed Coffee,
Life Is Good (Retired In Alberta)
DJD

DJD I was going to post something similar yesterday..turn up the stereo with Verdi (i call him Joe Green) like the Prisoners Chorus from Nabucco or the Triumphful March from Aieda and just leave me alone mit der stamps !!

I tend to listen to Johann Strauss when I am working on my stamps. Whilst working on my KGVI collection, I usually listen to wartime tunes like Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, etc.

David

For easy stamp placement in albums (no watermark or magnified study) I watch TV (sports usually).

For careful study I listen to all kinds of music. I find my lp and CD collecting goes well with stamp collecting. I listen to my new aquisitions while working on stamps.

WHich of these do I like? I do them all and I guess the variety is what keeps me interested....there certainly isn't any time to be board.

1. sorting a box of misc
2. moving stamps from another collection on pages to my collection
3. careful cleaning of old hing marks, etc. and ID by watermark, etc. -- slow but fun to find new additions
4. WW stamp ID - slow but fun at moments
5. soaking off paper
6. Mount cutting and placement
7. placement of well ID'ed stamp from glassines into album
8. printing pages and custom content to create a new album

I am retired so I can spend a couple of hours each day on my collection. I have neglected it for so long I have a lot to do. My goal for this year is to get all my stamps put in the albums. With the Olympics on, every commercial break I go to my office and mount a few stamps. With the amount of commercials I get a lot done that way.

Here is how I work on my stamp collection:
All stamps have been sorted by country I am starting with the countries in the largest envelopes first.
1. I sort the stamps by shape and put each shape in a glassine.
2. For each shape I sort by stamp and then take out the best copy for me and put the others in a glassine.
3. The stamps I keep are put in a pile one for mint and one for used, no gum, CTO etc. These are soaked.
4. The stamps going into my collection are put in stock sheets by stamp shape by set.
5. I get my album and go page by page looking at the stamp shape (I use Scott International Pages so they are preprinted). If the stamp has a year on it, it makes it a lot easier. Here is why I sort by shape. I only have to use one size of mount at a time. I can set my cutter and select the mount size needed. No time wasted in switching mount sizes.
6. When a place for the stamp is found I mount/hinge my copy. I get the glassine that has the dups for that stamp and I sort them as to keep, needs soaking or damaged. Damaged stamps get thrown away. If stamps need to be soaked because of bad gum, too many hinges etc, I put them in a separate box and that matching glassine in a separate box so it will be easy to fine after soaking. A little sticky is applied on the glassine with the Scott # and mint and used CV.
7. When I am done with that stamp shape I get the stamps that need to be soaked and put them in a glassine and the matching glassines that were put into another box are put in a larger glassine or envelop. The other glassines for that country are put into a storage box by arranged by country by catalogue no.
8. When all stamps for that country have been put into the album I start soaking the stamps that need it and put them into my stamp drying books. While they are drying I get the next country and start the sorting by stamp shape. The next day I get the dried stamps and put in the matching glassine file them and then start the process over.

I will have a CD playing during the process. It could be country, 60's rock and roll or even classical almost anything except rap or disco.

I think that just about sums up my method.

Well lately I have been spending most of the time thinning out my duplicates...and I am living a fantasy of being a stamp dealer..i go through my stock and pull stamps that appeal to me to send to other collectors...the real common I guess will be bulked out for a buck or two at the stamp club auctions..reading above I guess most of us are pretty much the same..my wife has had the olympics on pretty much exclusively..i can sort and watch or check whats happening on the internet !!

Stamping time is important to me for many reasons. Pain management wins the race. Stamping makes the long nights very much shortened. I have divided up different stamping tasks & use them depending on how fatigued I am at any given time. Stamps have that ability to stop one thinking about self. The more I do stamps the stronger the medicine seems to be. The cream on top is self esteem. Many things have been taken away but stamps have filled that spot to overflow with a positive direction.

My life revolves around family & stamping. Anyway that is what stamping basically means for me. Any time is a good time for stamping. One of those shortened nights. Keep smiling. KGV.

I like to go to my office "everything room" and just try and relax and enjoy. I think that I'm obsessive compulsive because I start one thing and end up doing something else. I really like one of your enjoying traits and that's jazz.
I feel like a piker getting rid of all my collections because of age and no one to leave it to. I'm really having a hard time finishing my last project.

Conn

Technically, I think if you were OCD, you'd start one thing and never be able to stop that one thing

collection what collection? I enjoy coming here more than I ever liked collecting stamps. strange isnt it?

I receive stamps from the auctions through the week and fill my albums in on the weekends,this can always be a surprise as I can never remember what part of the album I was working on when I brought them from the auctions (and to tell you the truth I like it that way as It's always a surprise ).

Spock were got to stop meeting like this,people are going to talk
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