Impressions Of Davo & Now On The Fence For Next Album

I'll start with some background: As I posted a few months ago, I've been back in the hobby for less than a year now, and basically starting from scratch. For USA I'm collecting both used and MNH. I bought a $39 Mystic American Heirloom set that I hinge my low value used stamps in. My greater focus though has been in the MNH or nicer used issues when I can't afford MNH (e.g. higher value Colombian, Pan-Am, etc. ).

In building my collection quickly I bought several collection lots on ebay auctions. In doing this I acquired a couple of GBE Bolaffi hingeless albums, and a couple of White Ace albums. These albums only covered 1930 onward, so I still needed something for 1847-1930. I considered ordering the American Heirloom Hingeless vol. 1 for around $100, but since I already owned the cheaper set I decided to try a different brand. I found a new Davo USA vol 1 (1847-1945) on ebay for only $134, so I thought I'd give it a try. They usually get high remarks.

Now this isn't a grip against Davo, it really is a nice album, and I think for $134 it was a super deal. But comparing it to the other older albums I have has made me take notice of a few things, good and bad. The Davo paper is very nice, heavy, and feels good in your fingers. The binder looks and feel luxurious, and has a nice matching slipcase. The Davo doesn't lie flat like the WA and GBE do, not a deal breaker for me, but something to note.

I love the descriptions and history that is printed on the White Ace pages. The Davo doesn't include any of this, in fact the descriptions in the Davo are somewhat lacking. Its normally just the year, face value, color and perf. The GBE has Scott numbers, which I have found very helpful. In fact the GBE not only has Scott #'s, but Stanley Gibbons, Michel and one called YT (I'm unfamiliar with it). The Davo is missing quite a few illustrations, but does have some. The GBE doesn't have any illustrations, something I really like about the White Ace pages (and Mystic). Too bad the White Ace pages aren't hingeless. I know I can mount my own hinges, but having that already done is appealing to me me.

After noting all the benefits and drawbacks of each of the albums I've tried, the thing that really put me on the fence for my next album was that the Davo doesn't even include space for certain issues! For example Scott# 597-607 1923-29 Regular Issue Coils aren't even included. These aren't super scarce, obscure variants. Since I've just started putting my stamps in the album, I'm not sure what else might be missing. I'd at least like an album that has all the major Scott #'s.

When I bought the Davo my though was that slowly over time I'd buy another and another until I had a complete set through year 1999. I am a person who takes pride in having a matched set, but I can take time getting there. The GBE binders are in OK condition and the pages are clean, but the slipcases are falling apart. The one White Ace binder I have is in great condition, but doesn't have a slipcase. I also have some White Ace pages in a cheap office type 3-ring binder.

So I'm ready to buy another album, but as I said I'm now on the fence about continuing with Davo. The Davo USA vol 2 (1945-1969) is only $113 (incl. s&h) on ebay! Its a heck of a deal and I do still love the look and feel of the Davo. Or maybe switch to Mystic Hingeless? They seem to have all the features I value; hingeless, Scott #'s, illustrations, descriptions and historical commentary, lie-flat design. But since the purpose of getting a new album was to eventually move my collection into a matching set, I'd either have to replace the Davo, or just live with a mismatched set. Do I stick with Davo? I know there are others too, (Schaubek, Lighthouse, etc.) but they are so much more expensive.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm tempted to just stick with Davo and deal with the fact that it may be incomplete. But then again....

Suggestions, anyone? Advice? Am I just being picky for wanting a matched set? If I do decide to switch, will I recover anything by selling my new-ish Davo?

Sorry for such a long winded post. If you made it this far, thanks!

Gavin

Are the coils you referenced the only missing issues? Maybe there is a page missing from your album. You could try to contact Davo or the ebay seller. I like Davo quality, but you are right, they are pretty sterile in terms of text, but that's not much different than Scott National, which I use, so it doesn't bother me.

I don't think it is crazy to want a matched set of albums for a particular country. That's how I do it, but I admit I have different albums for different countries (e.g., Scott National for US, Davo for Switzerland, my own design in Lighthouse binders for Hungary).

Hi,
I too came back into the hobby two years ago. I first started with USA (1840-1970). I did a lot of research and finally got the Scotts National set. I got them a piece at a time, so the price didn't hurt so badly. Most of my stamps are mint, but all are attached with Scott mounts. I guess in the end, the cost of the regular album plus mounts is close to the hingeless album. All that being said, I am extremely happy with them and would certainly buy them again if I had to do it over.

For worldwide, I ended up with the Scotts International (Big Blue) Parts 1, 2, 3, and working on 4. For my situation these work out just fine, especially if one remembers that collecting the world's stamps is a super major endeavor.

I quickly went through the Davo album with my Scott Specialized and it looks like it's missing SC# 3, 4, 316-8 (coils), and 348-56 (coils). Since its unlikely I'll own those any time soon, its really no big deal. I still haven't taken the time for a thorough inspection SC# by SC#. Aside from 3 & 4, perhaps its just the coils that are missing? What really got to me was the fact that I just bought a MNH set of 597-606 (the ones mentioned in my previous post), and now I don't have a nice hinged album page to put them in. I may try to make my own page for them, but the size of the Davo paper will require a wide format printer, which I don't own. Luckily I know someone who does.

I actually really, really like this album a lot, even though it has some faults. I am leaning toward sticking with Davo and picking up vol. 2 soon. I wish there was a dealer where I could go put my grubby hands all over a Mystic though. There is a stamp show next weekend in my city, and I know that folks there will have a variety of albums I'm sure they'll let me look at, but at the last show 6 months ago no one had the Mystic Hingless American Heirloom.

Are there any SCF'ers who could post pics of theirs? Or can someone point me to some links? A google search doesn't seem to be turning up much other than what Mystic has on their site.

One thing worth noting is that you are comparing apples to oranges. Davo is European, and hence it will not follow Scott numbering /order scheme (but Michel should be pretty close).

Scott #3-4... In European catalogues (Michel,YT) these are just footnotes not worthy of a major/minor number.
Coils... Check the regular issues. In European catalogues, coils are usually appointed as minor number of regular issues.

-k-

Any album will be missing some items. This is inevitable as there is no conformity in what is considered "canon". If you want an album that suits your needs 100%, you will need to make it yourself.
I like Davo (have a few albums for Great Britain, Netherlands and South Africa), but I still have additional stamps in stockbooks.

Fimpster,
As I wrote earlier, I'm familiar with your situation.

While I firmly believe I "did it right" for my USA collection (using Scott Nationals), I have questioned my going to the Scott's International "Big Blues" for the worldwide collecting. But now, I am pretty well satisfied that I did the right thing - for me.

- Recognizing that collecting "worldwide" is a huge proposition, representative albums like the Scotts work out very well. However, one will have to add sheets to house those stamps not included on the Scott's pages.

- The various Scott albums, binders, blank pages, etc., are available on ebay or various online stores. For the long term collector, this is a major factor.

- In my opinion, the most viable alternative for worldwide (not just certain countries) is printing your own from sources such as Steiner.

What it all comes down to is how serious you are about committing the time, energy, and money into the hobby - and of course if it is a "passing fancy" or a life long endeavor........

Whatever the answers........ ENJOY !!

It is true that a few coil issues are missing with the Davo albums. They do however make blank pages that with clear mounts match the rest of the albums. I also like the descriptions and notes with White Ace albums and the heavy card stock. Be aware that White Ace will take up a lot of shelf space because of this. This previous post should give you some ideas on other albums pro and cons.

Album Reviews
https://goscf.com/t/17127&whichpage...davo%2Calbum

Thanks everyone, and @1775mac I have read that previous thread about 5 times now. In fact your review had some influence on me getting the Davo. After re-reading I realized you even mention it missing some of the coils. Oops.

Oh well, I was a little put off when I wrote my original post, but having spent so much time with the album in the last couple of days I am over that issue. I'll order some blank Davo pages and see if I can print a page for my SC597-606's, and I plan to order the Davo USA vol 2 next week. Overall, I really do love this album.

So does anyone have any of the later Davo USA albums covering 1970's to 2000? Can anyone comment on how they handle se-tenants? Thanks!

Just in case anyone is keeping track, I've found another major Scott # missing from the Davo. Its the airmail 5c violet winged globe Scott C12 or C16. There is a space for one or the other but not both. :(

I think this might be because Davo normally follows Michel, and Michel has not consigned a major catalogue number to this different printing. C12 is Mi. # 321C and C16 is Mi. # 321A.
You will find that many perforation varieties etc. are not included in Davo albums. At least I know this to be true for the Netherlands.

Ah-ha, this makes sense!

I have the Davo hingeless album for the earliest US stamps as well. I don't see where it has spaces for ANY of the coils of that period. I also wanted an album that had Scott numbers and would ideally lie flat. I finally decided that what I needed was the corresponding Schaubek album which I finally acquired via an ebay auction. It's a really nice album, and I'm afraid to use it. The stamps are placed in the mount from behind, and the mount is split horizontally. Now I've looked at it and I see the potential for damaging a stamp while transferring and I don't even want to go there. I have some fairly valuable stamps and I don't want to chance it, so like you, I've so far stuck with the Davo album. I have a 50 year old Scott National album that I got when I was 12 that I still keep my post 1930 material in as the cost of the album would make the album almost as costly as the stamps it contains for later issues. I've thought of buying an old Scott's Platinum album, but not sure how their mounts are set up either. Making my own album is not an option or even using a regular Scott's National as even with a guillotine I'm not very "crafty" and my pages look sloppy.

Fimpster, To answer your question about the complete US Davo collection I am of no help, but I have just purchased the complete set of 5 Canadian Davo. Reasons I did are generally due to the cost of the Davo compared to the other hingeless brands out there. I got a good deal on a complete set at one time otherwise I would have bought one at a time.
Further to the quality, I had a supplier here in the US send me samples and prices of ALL the hingeless brands available. Yes some did look somewhat nicer,also some show the back of the stamp which is a nice feature but all were at least twice the price of the Davo set or even 3 times. Most have faults or omissions of some kind.

For me I would rather save the money for the important stuff (stamps). My Davo set looks and feels great in the hand and on the shelf. I wish it had more detail and color. If White Ace made a hingeless album it would be my first choice but mounting hingeless mounts in 5 albums would take longer than I have on the planet..lol.

I am amazed and pleased with the amount of folks who are getting back in the hobby after many years away, myself included. That might answer why we have so much activity on ebay and other auction sites. It seems to be driving up prices.

Davo is not perfect but dollar for dollar it is the best bang for your bucks. Now if money is no object look to another brand or hire someone to mount them in a white ace book.
Davo has all the souvenir sheets some booklets and also places for strips and blocks. So you will get a repeat of some stamps but a great looking album.

I have all five albums filled except for 4 stamps on page one (of course) all mint mostly NH except for page one..lol
Sorry for the long post..hope it is helpful.

Living in the USA, and collecting same, the Scott's Nationals seems to me to be THE way to go. Albums, pages, binders, sleaves, and supplements are always available, and you can add sections as you get the funds. Yes, this is what I've done, and I can only say that I have found NO downside to using them.

I have the complete Davo for my Canadian collection and I am very pleased with them. I also picked up the first three volumes of Davo USA, with volume 2 and 3 almost filled mint never hinged, all for $350. Finally I have an extra set of volume 1 and 2 for Canada I also picked up cheap at an auction. I like Davo. Simple and clean. I like that there is little or no writing on the pages. I don't like the high price for annual sets but I imagine all of the hingeless have similar prices. I also don't like the lack of Provinces in the Canadian album. Other than that, no complaints.