Storing Large Used World Wide Collections

I own an 1840-1940 Junior Album and a 1975 Senior Statesman. Recently I purchased a 2010 Harris 2 Volume album. The pages are half illustrated and have extra blank spaces for my duplicates. I lived in Spain and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s and 1990s and discovered the joy of international WW collecting through other collectors. I'm similar to TheArtfulHinger and Rascal as far as soaking stamps and putting them in albums. I recently purchased some clear mounts for the first time for some mint stamps. I'm in the process of visiting stamp shows this year to complete some WW sets; the debate is always do you buy the single stamps you need, or do you buy a complete set? Preparing taxes during this time of year limits my hobby time. I've enjoyed this article and the different storing methods, even though it's taken me a week to read this thread.

soccerfan, I still have some of the most fun soaking a bunch of stamps and putting them in the albums or the pages one at a time. Thank goodness most countries still have soakable stamps. It is probably easier to find complete sets than single stamps from a set. However, if you collect used you may have a wait awhile and build those sets one at a time.

landoquakes, it depends on the stamp dealer when selling sets. Usually the dealer will not break up a set, especially if a single stamp is only selling at $0.20. However, if a stamp sells at $1.00 or more, the dealer may be willing to sell it separately.

I mount all my stamps with hinges on Steiner pages, held in 3 ring binders. I only print the pages I need to keep the size down. I try to work on a stock page at a time...look them up in the catalog and make some notes, then put them in the album. I use mounts for anything with a CV over $2, though I do find myself putting the mint stuff aside in favor of mounting used with hinges. I've got a few specialty collections as well that I mount on Steiner blank pages. Works for me...I'm having fun.

Thank you for resurrecting this thread amccleaf1. What year do you collect to? The hardest part for me is keeping track of the last 30 years. Big Blue pages are too expensive, too many Steiner pages, Harris has not enough coverage. Lots of Souvenir sheets make for bulky storage.

I'm continuing my process of transferring my collection to Vario stocksheets in Lighthouse Classic albums. So far I am really pleased with the Vario solution. However I have come to a point where I have to realize the stamps are shifting a bit on the Vario pages. A lot of others have reported this concern as well, but until now it has not bothered me much. Yesterday while I was flipping a Vario-page, the page was slightly bent causing some pockets to open up a bit, and a few stamps shifted significantly while I was watching.
Ok, any storage solution comes with a 'prize to pay' - there's always a compromise one way or another.

AMCCLEAF1, I am on the same page with you (pardon the pun). Steiner pages and the 3 ring binders are just so dang convenient. For many countries, I print the same page on front and back - I mount unused on the front side and hinge the used on the back side. No need for multiple albums and I can tell at a glance what I have unused vs used. The stock sheets are great for some things, but can get very expensive if you are housing an entire collection in them...and I have also experienced the stamps coming out of the pages for various reasons. But still use them mainly for sorting and storage. The bad thing about stamp collecting (as my wife can attest to), is where do you draw the line on collecting?! Hi, my name is Greg...and I am a PHILATEHOLIC.

I'm hoping to reach 8-9,000 additions for this year. Meaning I'll need to purchase another factory box of stockbooks soon. And maybe reserve another shelf for stamps. And...

-k-

Exactly - both these two issues mentioned are great subjects for their own threads.

(...and my wife has given me a similar diagnosis years ago...)

@keijo - too bad it's a bit 'rough ride' to drive from Finland to Norway and back. I am in the process of making 120 x 64 pgs stock albums redundant - you could have had them for free.

landoquakes, thanks for jumping in on this thread after my comment. I came here from another thread and felt like picking up the discussion. Like I said, I only print the pages I have stamps for, so it keeps the count/size down. I collect everything up to what was issued yesterday. For recent US, I use a product called Bestine to get the stamps off the backing paper, then I scrape off the extra adhesive with an old used gift card. Then I use a small cheap hobby paintbrush to put on a little talcum powder and another to brush off the excess. Voila! Ready to mount. I do generally leave my duplicates on paper.

Blaamand, the shifting was the primary reason I moved away from Vario pages. I've had stamps completely fall out at times.

tgswanner, Steiner pages and 3 ring binders are working for me. I have 8 binders of countries A-Z, 2 binders of US, 1 of US BOB, one for precancels and perfins, and one for Belgian Parcel Post cancellations. That last will probably get to 2 volumes soon. I draw the line at stamps generally; it must be a postage stamp or imprinted postal paper. I collect postcards, but generally only used ones with a stamp. I avoid cinderellas, CTOs and non-Scott listed (mostly). And recently, I started collecting Mailers Postmark Permit machine cancels. I find all this fascinating and will never run out of interesting material!

Hmm... I can imagine the talk it would generate with customs officials, LOL.

Re, shifting stamps... Not a perfect world with stockbooks neither (as Blaamand likely knows). Keeping 3D stamps in their place is pretty much a mission impossible as they are simply 'too heavy and too thick' for the strips to hold them tightly. Have been thinking of trying sports/trading card album pages for their storage.

-k-

Are you only printing the pages that you have stamps for? Otherwise, you would have A LOT more than 8 binders...

Hey Chris....I think that's the great thing about Steiner pages...you can print whichever ones you need and/or want. I did print all of the Belgium pages and they are in 2 2" binders - one for regular postage and one for BOB. By the way, I have seen some of your pages on other threads.....they look great!

Perhaps you might experiment with the idea I proposed a few months ago. Find acid/chemical free plastic material you can cut to size, probably something pretty thin. Insert these strips into the slots behind the stamps to see if the additional thickness keeps the stamps from shifting. The strips would also buffer the printed labels you use if the labels are placed behind these inserts (e.g. the inserts go between the stamps and the labels).

I have not as yet made the time to experiment with this on my own.