Crystal Mounts

What size mounts do I need for plate blocks (4 stamps)?

We're going to need a lot more info on that one, Len.

What stamps? What country?

You can often find the size of a single stamp, then double it in each dimension. Or just take a ruler and measure the blocks (in millimeters) and add a couple mm in both dimensions.

KirkS

The easiest method is to carefully measure your plate blocks and use the guide at the following link to determine the appropriate size mount to use:

https://goscf.com/t/7201

http://www.showgard.com/Sizeguides/...%20gauge.pdf

Also, I hope you're not referring to "Crystal Mounts" by brand name as many have found their products sub-standard for long term storage of stamps and over time these "Crystal Mounts" could eventually damage your stamps.

The following companies make archivally safe mounts.

Hawid
Scott
Prinz
Showgard

There may be others I am not familiar with but I would advise fielding any other company name here first before buying so that we can advise whether they are good for stamps.

Your subject says Crystal Mounts. DO NOT ever use Crystal Mounts. If you have old ones lying around, immediately toss them out, call a priest to perform an exorcism, and go to church for 7 days straight.

Then go buy some show guard or Scott mounts.

Thanks to you all. I was referring to US stmps. I have only used mounts once and they were Crystal mounts. Fortuhnately, I had not mounted many stamps yet. Based on your input, I have tossed the few mounts I had left and will get a brand you have recommended. Then go to church!

What's wrong with Crystal mounts. I prefer them you can see both sides of the stamp without distrubing the stamp. The look clean and crisp. I have been using them for years and years and everything I have mounted thus far looks great.
Nick

Crystal mounts have been known to shrink, warp and destroy stamps.

See this thread:

https://goscf.com/t/3228

And this one:

https://goscf.com/t/10107&SearchTer...ystal,mounts

ShowGuard/Schaufix and Scott/Prinz make clear split-back mounts.

If the pics on that second page don't scare a serious collector, nothing will! Never had any Crystal Mounts, never want any.

I had some back in the day. The glue strip went completely yellow on me over time, but it didn't make it into the mount and discolor the stamps, thank God.

I have a collection of plate blocks in crystal mounts... As soon as I get home from vacation they get put in glassines until I make new album pages... None of mine had yellowed yet, but a few had shrunk, mashing the middle perforations together. Well, I now have a pile of airmail plate blocks like that that will be used for postage...

My entire collection is in Showguard Crystal Mounts and has been been for at least 15 years when I first decided to mount everything in mounts. I have seen them split but never yellow or shrink. I am really surpised if these examples of damage are from Showguard crystal mounts. I have some very expensive stamps in those mounts that have been there for years. This made me go back and check them and they are as pristine as the day I mounted them. Maybe not all crystal mounts are created equally. Instead of crystal mounts maybe I should just call them clear mounts from Showguard.
Nick

Nick,

Vidiforms calls them CLEAR Showgard mounts so you can't go wrong using that description.

These are the Crystal Mounts refered to above -- they were (still are?) made by H.E. Harris. My father used them in his collection and the mounting tape on every one of them had discolored but fortunately none of the stamps they held were damaged.

Steve

Fortunately, the Crystal Mounts are no longer made -- but can still be had on ebay and other auction and secondary sale sites.

The previous post showed the front of the package. Here's an image of the back of the package:



In particular, note what proved to be outright lies:

"...will not shrink, warp, discolor or deteriorate" ...and... "completely non-injurious to stamps".

What's really amazing is that the HE Harris & Co. never got sued over those false claims. I guess since the marketing of these items was through discount stores and was directed toward beginner collectors (and kids) who had stamps of minimal value in the first place, most didn't lose very much because of using this type of mount, so the HE Harris & Co. got away with it. (I don't think they'd be so lucky today.)

Guess what? I just found an old "Crystal Mount" amongst my supplies. It's from the 1970s and well before they used adhesive mounting, this had been a gummed strip that you were supposed to moisten to affix to an album. Note how warped and yellowed and deteriorated the mount is today (and that's without any stamps ever having been put into it!

Funny. When I started collecting again two years ago (seems like a lifetime) I started with some Crystal Mounts I had left over in my old collection.
Guess I'll have to be redoing some pages again. *sigh*