Stamp Albums Vs Vario Sheets

ClassicalStamps,

I'll try to take pictures and post them this weekend.

Thanks,

Jackie

I use Scott stock sheets instead of Vario for my plate blocks, and use blank Scott national pages and mounts to keep my earlier blocks of 4 and oddities in a empty Scott national 3 ring album My main collection is in a Scott national also but it's a post type. 3 rings are much easier to customize

Prominent Americans Issue, Page 2

Row 1:
1395 - 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Deep Claret, Booklet Single, Tagged, Dull Gum
1402 - 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Deep Claret, Coil, Tagged
1286 - 10¢ Andrew Jackson, Lilac, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1286A - 12¢ Henry Ford, Black, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1287 - 13¢ John F. Kennedy, Brown, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1397 - 14¢ Fiorello LaGuardia, Gray Brown, Sheet, Tagged
1288 - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type I Sheet, Tagged
Row 2:
1288B - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type I Booklet Single, Tagged
1288d - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type II Sheet, Tagged
1305E - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type I Coil, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1305E - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type I Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1305Ei - 15¢ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Magenta, Type II Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1398 - 16¢ Ernie Pyle, Brown, Sheet, Tagged
1399 - 18¢ Elizabeth Blackwell, Violet, Sheet, Tagged
Row 3:
1289 - 20¢ George C. Marshall, Deep Olive, Sheet, Untagged, Shiny Gum
1289a - 20¢ George C. Marshall, Deep Olive, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1289b - 20¢ George C. Marshall, Black Olive, Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
1400 - 21¢ Amadeo Giannini, Green, Sheet, Tagged
1290 - 25¢ Fredrick Douglass, Rose Lake, Sheet, Untagged
1290a - 25¢ Fredrick Douglass, Rose Lake, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1290a - 25¢ Fredrick Douglass, Rose Lake, Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
Row 4:
1290b - 25¢ Fredrick Douglass, Magenta, Sheet, Tagged
1291 - 30¢ John Dewey, Red Lilac, Sheet, Untagged
1291a - 30¢ John Dewey, Red Lilac, Sheet, Tagged
1292 - 40¢ Thomas Paine, Blue Black, Sheet, Untagged
1292a - 40¢ Thomas Paine, Blue Black, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1292a - 40¢ Thomas Paine, Blue Black, Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
1293 - 50¢ Lucy Stone, Rose Magenta, Sheet, Untagged
Row 5:
1293a - 50¢ Lucy Stone, Rose Magenta, Sheet, Tagged
1294 - $1 Eugene O'Neill, Dull Purple, Sheet, Untagged
1294a - $1 Eugene O'Neill, Dull Purple, Sheet, Tagged
1305C - $1 Eugene O'Neill, Dull Purple, Coil, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1305C - $1 Eugene O'Neill, Dull Purple, Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1295 - $5 John Bassett Moore, Gray Black, Sheet, Untagged
1295a - $5 John Bassett Moore, Gray Black, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum

I'm not the best at picture taking but I finally got around to fulfilling ClassicStamps request.



Prominent Americans Issue, Page 1

Row 1:
1278 - 1¢ Thomas Jefferson, Green, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1278a - 1¢ Thomas Jefferson, Green, Booklet Single, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1278a - 1¢ Thomas Jefferson, Green, Booklet Single, Tagged, Dull Gum
1299 - 1¢ Thomas Jefferson, Green, Coil, Tagged
1279 - 1¼¢ Albert Gallatin, Light Green, Sheet, Untagged
1280 - 2¢ Frank Lloyd Wright, Dark Blue Gray, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1280a - 2¢ Frank Lloyd Wright, Dark Blue Gray, Booklet Single, Tagged, Shiny Gum
Row 2:
1280c - 2¢ Frank Lloyd Wright, Dark Blue Gray, Booklet Single, Tagged, Dull Gum
1280d - 2¢ Frank Lloyd Wright, Dark Blue Gray, Sheet, Untagged, Shiny Gum
1281 - 3¢ Francis Parkman, Violet, Sheet, Tagged,
1297 - 3¢ Francis Parkman, Violet, Coil, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1297 - 3¢ Francis Parkman, Violet, Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1282 - 4¢ Abraham Lincoln, Black, Sheet, Tagged
1282a - 4¢ Abraham Lincoln, Black, Shett, Untagged
Row 3:
1303 - 4¢ Abraham Lincoln, Black, Coil, Tagged
1283 - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Unshaven"), Sheet, Untagged
1283a - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Unshaven"), Sheet, Tagged
1283B - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Clean Shaven"), Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1283B - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Clean Shaven"), Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
1283Be - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Clean Shaven"), Sheet, Untagged, Dull Gum
1304 - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Unshaven"), Coil - Tagged, Shiny Gum
Row 4:
1304 - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Unshaven") Coil - Tagged, Dull Gum
1304c - 5¢ George Washington, Blue ("Shaven"), Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1284 - 6¢ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gray Brown, Type I Sheet, Untagged
1284a - 6¢ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gray Brown, Type I Sheet, Tagged
1284b - 6¢ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gray Brown, Type I Booklet Single, Tagged
1298 - 6¢ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gray Brown, Type I Coil, Tagged
1305 - 6¢ Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gray Brown, Type II Coil, Tagged
Row 5:
1393 - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1393 - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
1393a - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Booklet Single, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1393a - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Booklet Single, Tagged, Dull Gum
1401 - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Coil, Tagged, Shiny Gum
1401 - 6¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dark Blue Gray, Coil, Tagged, Dull Gum
1393D - 7¢ Benjamin Franklin, Bright Blue, Sheet, Tagged, Shiny Gum
Row 6:
1393D - 7¢ Benjamin Franklin, Bright Blue, Sheet, Tagged, Dull Gum
1393Df - 7¢ Benjamin Franklin, Bright Blue, Sheet, Untagged
1285 - 8¢ Albert Einstein, Violet, Sheet, Tagged
1285a - 8¢ Albert Einstein, Violet, Sheet, Untagged
1394 - 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Black, Red & Blue Gray, Sheet, Tagged
1394a - 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Black, Red & Blue Gray, Sheet, Untagged
1395 - 8¢ Dwight D. Eisenhower, Deep Claret, Booklet Single, Tagged, Shiny Gum

Don't know how I did it but I posted this backwards, Instead of starting with Guide Sheet 1, I started with Guide Sheet 2, sorry.

Here's the cover page.

Prominent Americans Issue: (1968 – 1978)

A set of definitive stamps issued between 1965 and 1974. It superseded the Liberty series of 1954.
The stamps appeared one by one from 1965 on, and the basic designs had all been issued by 1968; tagged versions made their first appearances gradually through 1973, and a booklet version of the 15c was issued in response to a first-class rate change.

It focuses on political figures. This was the first U. S. omnibus definitive series in which Benjamin Franklin did not appear at or near the beginning: on the ½¢ or 1¢ stamp. The series included figures from all walks of life, each depicted in a different style by a different designer, presumably in a quest for wide diversity. That portraits of two women appear in the series (Elizabeth Blackwell and Lucy Stone) represented a small but significant step toward gender equality in U. S. Stamp history: no previous definitive set had included more than one prominent female (Martha Washington).

The 5¢ Washington was originally excessively shaded around the lower part of the face, so much so that it has come to be known as the "dirty face" or "unshaven" Washington. Originally appearing in February 1966, it was superseded by a lightened version "shaven" in November 1967.

The $1 Eugene O'Neill stamp was notable for its repeated use by Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who habitually used them on his mail bombs.

* en.wikipedia.org
** www.wordiq.com


Thank you,

Jackie

I think the best thing I read here was the freedom to use whatever method works for you. That being said my last stock page purchase was the vario pages. They do look very cool, which is why I bought them. My problem is that I can't settle my mind on a method to arrange the stamps on the pages! This brings me to my infatuation with album pages. I have scoured the internet for free album pages for the countries I have piles of. I use a lot of 8.5 x 11 binders, so I don't mind the page size. As I progress through each album, I enter the information about each stamp into my Stamp manage database. My US stamps are in an old Liberty album up to 1985. I have downloaded the free pages available for the subsequent years.
For storage I have a bunch of plastic sectioned containers I got from michaels crafts, manilla stock books, vario stock pages, shoe boxes, and plastic containers, or whatever else will hold them. I have some in a cookie tin.
But then Im a whatever works kinda guy with a half dozen or OCD issues.
:)

Jackie, thank you for taking the time to show your collection :-)
Very nice and organized approach

Like others, I use Vario sheets for staging and then mount in either my Mystic Heirloom album or on my own custom pages. Since I am a huge fan of descriptions, I prefer albums that offer that. I would have bought a Scott National album if it included descriptions.

I like the vario examples..particularly for variants side by side and movability for a new addition. personally I use the Mystic Heirloom for my mint stamps and the Harris Liberty for Used. U.S. anyway. as it is I put my variants close to their counterparts. it doesn't look as neat overall compared to the vario, but I can see my needed stamps to fill the holes easier. Also the Heirloom has Scott numbers in it and I added those to my Harris pages along with the variant designators.

Mystic has spaces for some of the sheets/sheetlets, but the Harris pages have places for most configurations, as well as gutter pair spots for the Farleys

Chewie I too collect U.S. Mint stamps. I use the Mystic Heirloom for my stamps. I put any used in my album until I can replace it with a Mint copy. Therefore all I have to do is look in my album,Mystic Catalog or on a Spreadsheet and I can tell if I have a copy used or not and If I need a Mint copy. I also use the free catalogs Mystic sends out to mark my collection. I color code the catalog numbers with Felt Tip Markers. Yellow used, Red Mint, Blue Plate Block. I just draw a line thru or under the Scott Numbers. A glance and I see what I have or what I need. No mark obviously means no stamp.

Like minds. I use the mystic catalog for a few reasons. usually a good quick color example of the stamp in question with some details written on them..and for a high dollar catalog value....sorta the "funny Papers" of the stamp world. where else would one be able to buy a used new issue at over mint price and mint new issue at double post office counter price. in any case, I love the albums, just not their stamp pricing.

After some thought, believe I'm going to use White Ace album pages for my mint U.S. commemorative year sets with Varios for the full panes and definitive stamps. I haven't found any album pages I like for my definitive stamps.

Jackie

Though I have several Vario pages waiting to house stamps, I seem to gravitate to the manila stack pages for storage and staging. I may however decide to use the vario pages for Series runs like Americana, transportation, and the different Americans series.

I have been using the Scott National Postage Stamp Album since 1952. At times there are spaces for reprints, other times not. I just mount the reprints on one of the supplement pages. Besides obtaining the regular Scott National yearly supplements, I get the Comprehensive PNC, Postal Stationery and Postal Card supplements and some blank pages - that usually takes care of most of my needs. The National supplements do have pages for select samll panes each year and offer a supplement for all small panes. For years, Scott would keep a given definitive series together and update it each year or two when needed, however it seems they have stopped doing this and decided to just add a definitive series stamp to the pages of that years supplement, breaking up the series, causing me to have to purchase 2 singles of a series - one for the supplement page and one to add to my made-up series page so I can see them altogether in one place such as the Great American and Distinguished Americans series.
I enjoy the look and feel of the Scott National pages.

My collections focus on (1) US airmail, and (2) US regular issues with an aviation theme. I started off using Vario pages for everything. I recently created an album (in two Linder binders) using the White Ace album pages for airmails. I probably did this in a somewhat unique fashion. White Ace has a set of pages for individual stamps, and another set for plate blocks. I used both, interleaving them. Plus, on the back side of the album pages opposite the plate blocks I mounted FDC's corresponding to each plate block (or booklet pane or line pair as appropriate). The resulting album contains singles for every US airmail except C15 (one of these days!), plate blocks (and booklet panes and line pairs) for all except C1-C6 and the Zepps, and FDC's for every issue from C10 onward (again, Zepps excluded). The White Ace airmail pages don't cover booklet panes, so I used some black airmail pages for those. So in one album (filling two binders), I have single issues, plate blocks, booklet panes, coil pairs (actually all line pairs) and covers.

I still have yet another collection of airmail plate blocks and covers on Vario pages, and all the aviation themed regular issues are in binders using Vario pages. The lack of descriptive info mentioned by others is a relevant concern. I do have souvenir pages for as many issues as I can (considering availability and cost), and have thought of creating info pages from images of the stamps and data as described in Scott's Specialized Catalogue. I am about 25% through a project in which I am scanning the images and data from the Scott's Specialized Catalogue to create a custom catalog covering just the stamps I collect. With just 150 airmail issues, and less than 40 regular issues, my collection is highly focused. Yet it fills the two Linder binders mentioned above, and another six 3" D-Ring binder with Vario sheets. The latter include both plate blocks and covers, and I have a few hundred covers still to organize and put in binders. I continue to acquire plate blocks of the stamps I collect, when I can get a good deal on them. But mostly my acquisitions now focus on covers for the stamps in my collection.

As someone else noted, collecting allows us freedom to create and arrange our collections as we wish. That is part of the fun, in which the collection becomes an expression of our individual interests and creativity. Album pages have a place in this, but I doubt that many limit themselves to just commercial album pages as that limits one to the creative expression of the one (or ones) who designed the albums.

Basil