Start Organizing

So I have literally 30 to 50 books of stamps that I just retrieved from my old house and they belonged to my grandfather. They are from all over the world and there's no discernible pattern to how they are placed and its just staggering. I got a lot of time on my hands now that I'm out of school and got a job so any idea on how I might start rearranging something like this. They are somewhat organized by country or theme sometimes but overall it just feels overwhelming. Also what is the easiest way to tell if something is of value?

These are very general over all criteria to which there are exceptions. Mint stamps are usually more valuable than used stamps. Older mint stamps are usually more valuable than newer mint stamps. Mint stamps with a higher face value are usually more valuable than mint stamps with a lower face value. Again, these are very general criteria to which there are exceptions and these exceptions are usually very valuable rare varieties of stamps which go against these general criteria. The best thing to do is get a catalog to familiarize yourself with the stamps and their values.

First off, enjoy them.

The best thing to do is go see if your local library has a stamp catalog. They will have a photo of the stamp and the information, including a general idea of what a stamp is valued at. There will most likely be stamps that are worth something, and stamps that are not going to be worth a lot on their own. Just take it one book at a time so you are not overwhelmed.

I would probably organize them by country, and probably arrange the countries in alphabetical order. Sounds pretty vanilla I know, but that's how the catalogue is going to be organized, so it will be convenient at least if you are trying to determine the value.

When I started collecting (2nd time around) worldwide and had 6 albums of stamps to remove and sort, I found that glassine envelopes worked very well. I bought a pack of 100 3x5, thinking I would never use all those. Well, I ended up getting a second pack, and now will likely get a third pretty soon. My initial sort was by country, by time period (1840-1940, 1940-1950, 1950-1955). Also, I use a miscellaneous envelope for each letter or group of alpha letters to hold stamps from countries where I have few samples.

Along with this, a copy of Linn's Stamp Finder ($10) has been a great help, and as I only collect WW thru 1955, I found a set of Scotts 1955 edition catalog (2 vol) for about $30 on ebay. Once you get the hang of it, they are invaluable!