What's Best British Commonwealth Album & Catalog Approach?

Thanks for all your helpful insights! It's a big decision to invest in a large set of albums and I have been pulled in several directions.
Thoughts shared here by everyone have helped me concentrate on my priorities.




Climber Steve, your insight cracked me up big time, me being a huge baseball fan. I'm still high from my Mets playing out-of-their-minds between August 1st and November.

Indeed, I do plan to take that fork in the road. Just arm wrestling with my various preferences.





chris, thank you! I have not looked at Steiner's layout (because I haven't wanted to print 8.5" X 11" stock) and did not realize it looks similar to Palo. Nice to know this!

Right at this moment,I am pretty sure I'm going to go with Scott Specialty albums for most of the Commonwealth, and treat myself to the Palo hingeless for Great Britain. While I like the symmetry of an entire collection in a single matching album set, Scott appears to have the only preprinted fairly complete global British Commonwealth set I can afford colonies, protectorates, et al. And recently I've purchased stamps in Specialty albums for both British America and Australia.

Once I made those album purchases, I also bid on and won 4 empty Specialty albums. So...looks like I'll purchase Specialty pages for the Commonwealth -- and treat myself to the Palo album for GB.

Unless I change my mind again!

Scott Specialty albums are very nice indeed, and I think if I were to focus on a more defined area (like BC), I would probably shell out the money for a nice album set!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Dan - sounds like you made a good decision. Just a few points from someone that already owns both Palo, Scott, SG, and Steiner pages/albums.....

If I could, I would house my entire collection in Palo albums - unfortunately the cost, as you are finding is too high

The Palo and Steiner albums are not identical, but very close. It's obvious they started with the Steiner templates, but made some changes that includes adding space between stamps so it's not simply a "Steiner" page printed on larger paper. Also, sets are combined or split differently between the two albums. Palo albums have more space and can combine some sets into single pages that takes 2 "Steiner" pages when using 8x11 paper.

The SG Albums are confusing - even when you have a printed catalog. I visited their store in London this year, and I'm still confused how their album sets align. I do have some single country SG albums and slowly moved away from them. I like some of their blank albums, but have not really found any of the SG albums that I'm satisfied with.

The Scott albums are consistently good in both quality and coverage unless you decide to follow SG catalog numbers.

Finally, Palo states that the binders can hold approximately 100 pages - I would recommend closer to 75 pages per binder. At 100 pages, the album becomes difficult to use.

Hope this helps,
Paul

Following up on PK's comments re: Palo albums, I totally agree that one should limit each binder to no more than 75 pages. Anything more than that and the binder/slipcase combination becomes unwieldy.

Also, if any Palo page has an incorrect verbal description, a damaged mount or an incorrectly sized stamp box, they will send you corrected pages free of charge. Their customer service is very friendly and responsive.

pk-short and Neeskens13,
I appreciate your added observations.

Not long ago I had assumed that the SG albums would of course be the best for a Commonwealth collection. And some folks also feel that's the case. But then I received a used SG BC cataloge and the numbers don't match up to the album pages on lots I have considered buying.

WHAT the____?? Seems in their wisdom, the SG folks have published multiple catalogues and use different stamp numbering systems in each. So collectors must match their SG albums with the correct SG catalog, or the catalog is useless! You can not make this stuff up! So am I shocked to hear in this thread that the SG HQ is not up to snuff? No. Not really.

Over the past 11 months I have now researched publishers of stamp albums for both US classics and British Commonwealth classics. One of my take aways is that Palo has by far the most stunning and informative product website in the industry. From the excellent design and product photos, to the most detailed descriptions of what you get for your money...Palo is hands down the ultimate website for stamp collector albums, pages and tools.

Amos, SAFE, Mystic and Gibbons are in comparison, poorly created with little concern for the customer.

Because of my admiration for the Palo products, I will treat myself to the Palo hingeless Great Britain album. Maybe one day I'll go all-in on Palo (if I hit the New York Lotto!).

Dan

Once you have the Scott pages and the Palo, and you've put a few of your new acquisitions in,, could you post a few scans of pages with stamps, please (preferably not of herds of Aussie kangaroos or boatloads of Canadian admirals!).

Geoff

Geoff:

Funny you should mention Admirals -- whenever I see your name in one of your posts, a vision of George V with his regal facial hair immediately pops into my mind!

Cheers!!

For whatever its worth, I collect British Colonial issues in addition to US and I find the SG New Imperial set of two albums to be quite adequate and complete for covering these issues.

Neeskens

No facial hair (aside from unsightly stubble) for 30 years +, and it was never regal!

Geoff

jmdregs, If I could get the Imperial album set as a ring binder set up I might have gone in that direction. Seems the twin albums are one of the few choices that cover the Empire in so few albums.
Folks have indicated that the Imperial albums are supposed to be available soon in ring binder format. But when I asked Gibbons Customer Service, they flatly don't have any idea re: availability.

Dan

The Empire collection in two SG Ideals that I provided a link to went for £55,000. I don't think either of us won it ...

Geoff

Geoff, thank you for asking me;
I will surely post some of my better looking Commonwealth items on Scott Specialty pages as soon as my albums arrive. I have not yet ordered the Palo album for Great Britain since I'm still awaiting delivery of a nice older GB album purchased from English dealer on ebay.

I tend to love most the older classic stamp designs, although many of the more recent KGVI colonial pictorials are gorgeous too.

Can't wait for my Scott albums to arrive!

I bought from a local dealer in New Orleans only to find that some of the items would have to be ordered from Amos by them, then packed and shipped to me. Still, I was pissed about the whole Amos website debacle and wanted to give my business to a dealer who now knows my name. Patiently I wait...

RE: Posting new album pages when ready...
Looks like my largest British Commonwealth groups will be for Canada, New Zealand and India.
I'm just sorting out the lots recently purchased.

In the meantime, would anyone else care to post some tasty British Commonwealth pages??

dcaraz1949,

I'm not a specialist in British Commonwealth and use my thick page blue Scott International volume 1 for a representative WW collection including US. However, in areas I especially like, such as early British line engraved issues (Scott #1-4), a single album space each is just not enough for me so I add additional pages showing various cancellations, items on piece, blocks, etc., sort of like a mini-exhibit page. My concept is to focus my collecting on items that I enjoy looking at.

In response to your challenge, posted an example of what I think is a "tasty British Commonwealth page" (hopefully this came through alright).

Best Regards,

InforaPenny

GeoffHa, some time ago you described Stanley Gibbons' The New Imperial Album.






Today's USPS delivery included my recent purchase of an old Vol.1 IDEAL Album for British Empire from 1840 to mid-1936. The red fast bound book came with a nice collection of older stamps. Unfortunately, the pages are much like the old Scott's American Album for US Stamps which also used cheaper thinner light-weight paper stock. Also, my old IDEAL has stamps on both sides of each page.

Looking forward to moving these stamps into their new Scott Specialty albums; and eventually the Great Britain into a yet-to-be-purchased Palo hingeless.