Palo Or Mystic Heirloom (Hinge-Less)

Hey guys. I found this forums after recently getting back into stamp collecting, and this site came up on Google after many searches on albums so I figured let me post as well.

This question is regarding my US stamp collection. I currently house my collection in a Scott National Specialty Series, but ever since I purchased it I never liked the fact that 1) its a 2 post binder and 2) it just won't lie flat down and holding the book open to put in mounts became a PITA. But back when I got it my choice was pretty much between a Minuteman Album, a cheap Mystic album, or the Scott National.

I've always wanted a hinge-less album, but back 15yrs ago when I put my collecting on hold, prices for such albums were super expensive. Through the help of this forum and the many reviews on different albums, I see Mystic now has a hinge-less album at a fairly affordable price. I was never a fan of Mystic because to me it seemed like all their supplies were cheap and made only to hold you over until you upgraded to something better. I did see their video, and the detailed pictures some posted, but I'm still on the edge. Another concern for me is what if the mounts that they use in their hinge-less albums become what Crystal Mounts have turned out to be, and in X amount of years my stamps would become damaged?

Now I also looked at Palo albums, simply because they look very luxurious and I don't think I'd have to worry about their quality. I did not find a lot of threads on Palo albums on this forum, or anywhere else on the web, so I'm wondering if anyone that has one can chime in. I don't plan on getting the color pages, they do offer an option for B&W. With Palo however, what's holding me up is the fact that the pages from 1940+ may not be worth their price since the stamps themselves aren't worth much more than their face value, if that. If I do decide to go the Palo way, I would most likely go with their 1847-1940 and 1941-1980 pages since most of my collection ends at 1980 anyway and I have no interest in collecting US stamps after that year.

Another option that I was throwing around in my head but not sure if it's a good idea, was to keep my 2 post Scott National pages, but cut out the part that has the 2 post holes and then re-punching the page with a 3 hole puncher and getting a fancy binder off Amazon.

Looking forward to your thoughts on the matter.
CF

I don't think the Scott album is a standard album/page size so it may be difficult finding a binder
unless it's specific to Scott. I believe the pages are non-standard ( ie they are not 8.5 x 11 )

Hope i'm right about this!

Thanks for the reply, softpro. That option is really my last option because I really am ready to move into the hinge-less album stage for my US collection.

CF

The Scott pages are not standard size pages, but they will fit in a standard size binder if you punch them for a three ring binder. They just come pretty close to the edge of the binder. All the new supplements are punched for 2 post and 3 ring. Scott also makes 3 ring binders. The Scott page size is 10"x11 1/2". I believe that size will fit into a standard binder. The pages will just be closer to the edge of the binder.

If you buy a new supplement, then you'll have a guide on how to punch the holes.

Any thoughts on the Palo and Mystic concerns I have?

CF

Well, I would not be concerned about the mounts damaging the stamps. These days all mounts are pretty much made of the same material. Mystic albums are nice, because they give you descriptions of the stamps and the people on them.

My only concern with Mystic is their choice of page layout. A lot of se-tenants are laid out in strips of four instead of blocks of 4. And other se-tenants are mounted as individual stamps. I have the standard Mystic album, and I have been modifying pages in it to make se-tenants mount the way God intended. If you look through this running thread I have, you can see the pages I needed to modify to get my stamps to lay the way I want them to:

https://goscf.com/t/25883

Palo albums are very nice looking, though they are pricey. Someone on this forum figured out that Palo albums are basically Steiner pages (http://www.stampalbums.com) with a fancier border and images added. I emailed William Steiner and he told me that Palo has a license for this.

I, personally, can't stomach the Palo price tag. I'd rather spend the money on stamps than on albums. But everyone is different.

Would you happen to know if the Mystic pages fit in any other 3 ring binder? I'm not a big fan of green binders and that may be a less expensive route to go than Palo. (Not a fan of how Mystic stamps their cover pages with their company contact info though)

CF

Mystic pages are the standard 8 1/2 x 11 and will fit any normal binder.

Here are the binders of my Mystic setup - not the hingless but the same pages. Made my own labels cause the 3 binder setup doesn't work for expansion very well

Thanks Mike, I'll have to see if I can find binders with sleeves on ebay that fit my needs and I may just go that route.

CF

Edit: I found a thread with a link to your website that shows scanned in images of your pages. Is that the layout that came from Mystic?

Yes, that's the stamp layout. All the images are cropped inside the border. Stamps are only on one side and the opposing side has the descriptions.

The only pages that aren't scanned are the ones I don't have stamps on. I'm gonna need to add those to my site at some point. The site really helps me with looking for upgrades and filling missing spots. Sure is a lot easier rolling a mouse wheel and clicking than going through 5 binders :)

Welcome to SCF!

This topic is what brought me to SCF originally.

Please take a look at the US album review thread. Palo albums are not covered, but nearly everything else is.

Brian

https://goscf.com/t/17127

Hi Brian, thanks for the link, it's one of the many that I read. I wish the Scott Platinum was still around I'd for sure have gone that route. Not a fan of Schaubek because I want top loading hinge-less mounts.

Mike, their pages look nice, but I'm having an issue with their layout and how they break up sets to be on multiple pages. Are their pages a decent stock weight? Something of at least 80lb quality paper? Do you have a scan of the side with descriptions, say a side talking about Columbians or the Trans-Mississippi set?

Thanks.
CF

It's a damn shame White Ace doesn't make hingeless albums. I love White Ace pages.

So, I split my Mystic Heirloom album Volume I into 2 binders. and made some labels for the spine:



The binders are naked binders from nakedbinder.com

Glad it was helpful! It took about a year, but I finally managed to purchase a full set of Platinum albums off ebay.

If you decide on the Palo albums, I'd love to see a review. Word is they are simple, yet very well made. However, it's the little things that matter to me the most. The type of mounts, the layout, and adequately covering all major issues are important to me. The latter is why I no longer use Lighthouse for my US collection (my favorite album maker). KaBe and Davo also leave out key US issues.

Brian