Total Novice Seeking Expert Guidance

Hello everyone,

I am completely new to the world of philately, having recently inherited a stamp collection from my late father. While I unfortunately know next to nothing about stamp collecting, I am eager to learn and preserve his legacy.

His collection covers a wide range of Southern African regions, but I know that the Cape of Good Hope was an area of particular interest and passion for him. Because of this sentimental connection, I have decided to focus my energy here. My goal is to properly identify, organize, and mount these specific stamps into albums to honor his memory.

Among his materials, I have found a significant number of triangular stamps. Most of these are currently unidentified, and frankly, I am entirely out of my depth trying to distinguish between the different issues, printings, and subtle variations.

This is where I am humbly asking for your help. Over the coming days and weeks, I plan to post clear images of these triangular stamps in this thread. I would be incredibly grateful if the resident experts and specialists here could help me identify exactly what I have.

Since I am a complete beginner, please bear with me if I ask basic questions! Any advice on how to properly handle, scan, and describe these stamps for you all would also be highly appreciated.

Thank you all in advance for your time, patience, and expertise. I look forward to learning from this community!

Hi Elke, welcome to the SCF family!!

Hello, Elke. Welcome to this Community Family! I became involved in this group when I reconnected with my interest in stamp collecting. So a few years, like you I was looking for advice, input and guidance. I am positive you will find support from many thoughtful and generous collectors who will share their knowledge.

That said, in order to better appreciate your dad's collection I suggest you acquaint yourself with basic stamp collecting terms. Does your father's collection include any stamp catalogues? It is imperative for you to access the catalogues which cover the stamps for each country in your inherited collection. These catalogues provide immensely important detailed descriptions, including photos, to help identify specific stamps. Catalogues are published annually with updated content to provide collectors with a sense of the current market values for specific collectable stamps and other postal materials. Wishing you good hunting as you familiarize yourself to a very rewarding hobby!

Find some general help on the internet about stamp handling. You need a pair of stamp tongs, Maybe you have one? Not tweezers. Do not handle stamps with your fingers if you can avoid it. Some of those triangles may be quite valuable.
Take your time Be very gentle with your stamps. You may have days and weeks of fun ahead!

For a really wonderful blog on world wide stamp collecting, see Jim Jackson's "Big Blue" blog http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/

See his scholarly section on those triangles!

Welcome

Welcome!

You might want to look for a local philatelic society that specialises in early issues of the Cape Colony. They may help you identify those triangles.

Welcome to the forum! Removing stamps from cover, definitely do a little research on it. Videos, start with one, etc. you can tear the stamp if too eager! It can be quite enjoyable and you might find you like the covers as is because more of the history could be tied to them. Such as, who it was going to! I started in us stamps and now I'm going worldwide. So much to learn, enjoy it and if you get stuck ask here! Great community!

Check the language they speak where you live. Most of the world calls them tweezers and not tongs.

Welcome.

You'll have better luck starting a new topic under the world classic section, with a title such as, "Help me I.D. Cape Triangles." One nice scan of the stamp without too much background, and a scan of the back. I would try one stamp first, and see how it goes. Multiple stamps in one post can get to be a mess.

Whether you call them tongs or tweezers, the important characteristic is that the inner surfaces of the tips are smooth, not ribbed or otherwise textured. (We're talking about the part that touches the stamps.) If they feel like the jaws of a pair of pliers, you don't want to use them for stamps.

Hello..... do watch three or four of the many videos about inheriting a stamp collection. As far as I know, the best stamp catalog with information about the South Africa region would be one of the Stanley Gibbon's South Africa catalogs.... depending on where you live, there may be a stamp club / Philatelic Society who'd have members who'd be happy to assist you with learning about the collection you've inherited