World Largest -Biggest Stamp Collection

Agree --Rogdcam ,the value is in the entertainment provided .

It is getting normal to see another collector somewhere in the world doing the same thing that I though was my own idea . Then seeing they are doing the same thing .

Here is a example from the Kellher monthly magazine. I started using the white three ring binders to keep my Steiner pages in ,plus I cut down a 15 volume Scott International and punched three holes to fit those pages into a 3 ring white binder to match my Steiner pages all on my bookcases . Here is someone in the photo doing the same .

He stores those binders in a good grabbing height too! I use quite a bit of white three ring binders myself. The bigger question is... did he count all those stamps?

Landoquakes --- A lot of those who are working on building those huge collections , find it a waste of time . Because they are adding thousands per year and feel until they slow down they are wasting effort better to be building than counting every few years .
My last count was 5 years ago and maybe in 5 years give it another count . I believe the stamp auction firms just go on a feeling and a visual scan thru after many years of experience to come up with a number .

The problem that comes into play is not including highly specialised collections , they are always pulled out and sold separately, there was a collection sold by Kelleher a few years ago where there was 30 or 40 highly expanded country collections way beyond just filling spaces but well researched studies as part of this persons collection buy never left with the bulk of one worldwide collection it was over the 300,000 mark if you include those into a number of that person's collection .

Once you have that initial count, it isn't too bad to keep track thereafter. I just have a sheet in front of each binder with the number of stamps in it and just add to that. I do know a guy with 200K+ that recounts from SCRATCH every two years. I hear you though it would be tricky mashing two large collections together. Someday a person will look though my binders and wonder what n/c means (not counted because it is somewhere else!)

I think it was here that I read that some people keep track of how many stamps they add to their collection based on how many packages of hinges they go through, thus updating the count every 2000 stamps. That only works if you are mainly adding rather than replacing, but it is probably easier to tally and count the pile of duplicates at the end of the day rather than remembering how many stamps you added.

I can think of better ways to spend my time than re-counting the entire collection, although there is some pleasure to review some countries you maybe haven't looked at in a while. Plus they say it is good hygiene to fan through the pages of old books at least once a year to air them out to make sure nothing is growing in there. I have some old albums I haven't checked in a long time. I should heed that advice.

I keep an inventory in StampManage software and since I scan all my pages, I can get a good count on stamps and album pages. This does add a little overhead than just filling holes,

angore that's a whole 'nother level. From what I see at stamp shows, people with lists in hand (laptops too) probably have a good idea what they have.

If you have consistent binders or albums. Let say you have 100 of them. Take random set of 10, For example at random, binder 20, 54, 5,76, 87,32, 89,3,42,34. Count the exact number for each and then avg them. Then you can multiply that average by ten to get an estimate.

Maybe.. The problem for world collectors is that some countries have a plethora of issues... The R's get rather pudgy. These binders were grouped by Scott Catalog circa 2016.
Harris A-B 1,695
Harris C-F 1,583
Harris G-I 1,764
Harris J-N 1,708
Harris O-So 2,710
Harris 6 Sl-Z 1,740

I have to use software like stamp manage since I collect worldwide. I have purchased too many stamps I did not need. I tried spreadsheets but spent too much time entering data although I have detailed excel files for US and Great Britain.

"people with list in hand at stamp shows " I can understand that . I and other people will spend time with their own album and make up a list of missing stamps because I think many of us will work on a specific country or group of countries and make that list . We all focus a month or a year developing certain parts of our collection and look over and make a list of needed items .That makes it more organized than a shotgun approach to worldwide collecting .

I sometimes take photos of some of my stamp pages and search for the stamps I'm missing. Quick and kind of works in a pinch at shows.

I think we all have those spaces in our album that seems to be forever blank and no sign that the correct stamp does exist .

I have a list of stamps that once every few months I search ebay for them . When I find one ,that day is a victory for stamp collecting .

landoquakes

The end of your 3/6/26 post about use of n/c made me smile.

If someone got a page of yours and a page of mine, both of us using n/c, they really would get confused!!

I use N/C for a slightly different reason...not counted, because too severe a fault to count as being part of collection. It is kept usually because too hard to get to just toss it, so kept as a space filler.

I also use an 'R' to tell me it's a stamp with a small fault that needs to be replaced and NG for a stamp with no gum.

I thought I was only one using little symbols to aide me when I am merging a new purchase.