A Few Pages

I'm still in the market for advice on this.
I'm slowly sorting the stamp heap on weekends and breaks, and thus far have come up with a system-
By country, then by value, then by size/orientation instead of by year. Since I haven't got a stamp referance book, sorting by size/orientation lets me tell at a glance if I've got something already in the stock book. I've been stacking duplicates for now until I can come up with a better idea. Thus far, about 80% of the US stamps are sorted- and I'm falling in love with the wide-format 3c stamps.

First three pages-




I know there are as many ways to organize stamps as there are people to organize them- this is what has worked best for me so far. (Though I'm now out of room in the existing books and have resorted to sorting other countries into envelopes in a shoe-box.)
If I'm doing anything particularly horrendous, please shout! I'd rather get told off for being a silly newbie than ruin some fun stamp by ignorance.

Hello Andere.....

Welcome to the club.

Until you have Scott catalog to find Scott numbers, you can sort your stamps any way you like.......once you have a Scott cat. it's easier to keep track of things by arranging your stamps in the order of issue.


My suggestion is that you make arrangements to acquire a set of tongs, a perf gauge and a Scott US Specialized cat.....even if it's one that a few years old at a reduced rate. As a beginner it's not likely that you would need current values, but it would have a great amount of information that you should have.


Check your email.

Welcome Andere,
your query has been a problem for stamp collectors since time began.
Your solution is novel, and it is exactly the same solution I use
today.
Stamp catalogues fail to give us a short precis of value against
design so we can organise.
It is us, who are left to do the very same thing, (which I have done) but copyright prevents us from reproducing in the public domain.
A simple database, (see below) this time sorted (and lopped for brevity) can have you date a stamp, and place it in its correct order in your stamp album in seconds.
Alas it is not in their interest to do so.

When I get a bunch of US that I want in my album
I sort into values, hit the database for the value
and bingo, you are away.
I got this idea from a collector 12 years ago, who
broadcast the Scott numbers, but he was warned to cease and desist.

However, you are having fun, that's the main thing.
Use your stock book simply as that, and continue.
When you get another blank stockbook and a catalogue (library?)
you can do each page for a year, and easily source the stamp from the way you have already accomplished.

Happy collecting.

SG2174 (1985) T1446 25c bread wagon [0m1].jpg
SG2341 (1987) T1587 25c nvi earth [missing].JPG
SG2346 (1988) T1589 25c bird pheasant [BP] [0m2].j
SG2347 (1988) T1590 25c flag and clouds [1m2].jpg
SG2352 (1988) T1593 25c flag yosemite [coil] [1m3]
SG2353 (1988) T1594 25c south carolina statehood [
SG2354 (1988) T1595 25c bird grosbeak [0m4].jpg
SG2355 (1988) T1595 25c bird saw whet owl [BP] [0m
SG2356 (1988) T1597 25c portrait ouimet golfer [mi
SG2357 (1988) T1598 25c new hampshire statehood [m
SG2359 (1988) T1600 25c virginia statehood [1].JPG
SG2360 (1988) T1601 25c love rose [0m1].jpg
SG2361 (1988) T1602 25c statehood [0m1] new york.j
SG2363 (1988) T1604 25c olympia seoul [0m1].jpg
SG2364 (1988) T1605 25c cars [missing].jpg
SG2365 (1988) T1605 25c cars [1].jpg
SG2366 (1988) T1605 25c cars [1].jpg
SG2367 (1988) T1605 25c cars [missing].jpg
SG2368 (1988) T1605 25c cars [1].jpg
SG2369 (1988) T1610 25c honeybee [1m1].jpg
SG2370 (1988) T1611 25c antarctic exp ship [missin
SG2371 (1988) T1611 25c antarctic exp ship [missin
SG2372 (1988) T1611 25c antarctic exp [missing].jp
SG2373 (1988) T1611 25c antarctic exp [1].jpg
SG2374 (1988) T1615 25c carousel animals [0m1].jpg
SG2375 (1988) T1615 25c carousel animals [0m1].jpg
SG2376 (1988) T1615 25c carousel animals [missing]

Thanks both Rod222 and Nr-notrare!

I found a set of tongs and a perforation gauge in the bottom of the stamp box, left over from a short-lived homeschool program back in the 90's. I like your list of number, year and value, Rod. Looks like a simple way to catalog everything. If I get a moment's breathing time over spring break, I'll start putting something like that together. :)

Yep, well done Andere,
Good tongs are the root tool in philately, the more you use them
you can descriminate, I have pointy tongs, quite long which
I like very much, they have a good "feel"
I am an old "Microsoft Works" user, and I can get a database
up and running in about 5 mouse clicks, I think it would be good advice to get
an easy entry level database rather than anything sophisticated that has a long learning curve.
Cheers

Thanks very much nr-notrare for the information and stamps!
I poured over it as much as I could during finals week, and then managed to leave it on campus over break. :P
I'll bring it home with me on weekends during spring, or take my stamps to campus as time permits. :)
Hopefully spring quarter will grant me a little more time per week to escape- this past month definitely has not.