List Of Countries

I just counted mine

230

Stephanie; I didn't go looking for all these countries they just landed here. I have two photo boxes in which I place an envelope for each country as I find them in alphabetical order. As I sort I place the stamps in the appropriate envelope. Once the envelope is too full I transfer the stamps to small boxes that I label with the countries name. I still keep that envelope in the box to keep track of the countries I have.

This has worked very well for me and I love when I discover a new country; whether it existed in the past or still exist now.

I sort the stamps by scott number (the ones I have catalogues for) once I have enough to make it worth while and them place them in order in stock books . This usually takes me about a week. I don't panick to get them all done at once I figure once I have lots of time on my hands like Bob and Phil() I'll have plenty of time to catch up.

Dianne

Oh stop ! You are too organized for me..i was in the service too,,the last days I didnt even make my bunk..they knew I was leaving !!

Well, Dianne, I don't mean to "one-up" you but I have a cigar box!

Seriously, that's a good idea. Janet Klug has an article in the May issue of Scott Stamp Monthly about how to organize a collection. It's only about a page and a half, but has some points in common with your system.

Of course, there is no one perfect system, but I think a common element of every system has to be diligence. If one gets too "behind" on managing a collection, an enjoyable hobby can deteriorate into a chore.

Just my $0.02 --- KirkS

Dianne, I knew you would be great at organizing your stamps after seeing your space! I really like your system, I may adopt it for myself.

I am glad so many people answered, you all have such different viewpoints, it makes for great learning. Instead of just learing from my mistakes/sucesses, I can learn from yours too.

I do want to use albums, I am also a scrapbooker, and I have some ideas about making my own albums. Plus I have tons(I mean TONS)of scrapbooking stuff thats acid-free, archival quality. You guys would be shocked at my "scrappin" room,lol! It looks like a small scrapbook store,lol!

I like the ideas of using a D-ring type album, and adding pages as I go. The only thing I haven't decided on is whether to sort by countries or by Scott's numbers. Finding and adding history and information to the pages sounds awesome to me, and thats one of the main attractions to collecting for me.

PS. I just bought a full collection of Scotts!!

I just completed a quick count of dead countries using "Where in the World"
stamp atlas I got 629 plus current 195 add one more for the UN = 825.

There you are, the proof if ever it were needed.
The number of countries is diminishing as we speak !!

So the list I posted yesterday is quite realistic........in the future, we will have even less countries to collect, but new ones.
Those who collect Empire stamps will be able to do so again....if they are around to see it that is !!

<--- That's me bowing to the new Empire !

Londonbus1.....Wonder if they'll issue Cinderellas?

Wow, Dianne! You are super organized--my little corner of stamps
is till crying out for more space and organization--but right now the family scrap book stuff is every where competing for attention with the US Mystic Albums!
Gussyboy1

Stephanie

I think most would agree that you may want to organize by country and then by scott's number. But then of course it's your collecting and the ultimate decision on what will work best for you is really for you to decide.

Dianne