Big Blue Giddy Madness

Thank you, everyone, for your comments about the Brown and the Blue! I love learning about philately!

Am I correct in assuming that WW collectors generally acquire used stamps and place them in their WW albums with hinges? From where do you folks get your classical-era stamps, for the most part? How costly are typical classical-era used stamps? Is collecting them a rich person's hobby?

Anyone here collect the KGVI era Commonwealth stamps? That area might be limited enough and affordable enough to attempt. I saw that Stanley Gibbons has a KGVI album. Anyone have it? Opinions?

For the most part, I've gotten my worldwide stamps from dealers at stamp shows and bourses and from the APS Stamp Store. Occasionally, I'll pick up something from ebay.

Congrats! Getting a new album is certainly a highlight for most collectors. Somehow, getting a new stockbook or pack of Vario pages doesn't have the same thrill. I've begun using Vario pages more and more and getting a new pack of pages is about like filling up at the gas station. Getting a new album like Big Blue is like getting a whole new car.

Had to check when I got home yesterday. I have a Volume 1 from 1947, and a Volume 1 and 2 from 1956. The later are in better condition overall. The previous owners had them as children, and they didn't fill too many spaces in any of them. I did notice, unfortunately, that the owner of the 1956 volumes hinged a great many mint stamps. That was a bit painful to find out. Some nice looking stamps, too, from the 20's and 30's, it appears....U.S. and other countries. Some maybe earlier. The U.S. stamps may end up in my use-for-postage box.

Paul: Most common "classic" stamps may be old but they are still, relatively speaking, inexpensive. So no, you do not need to be a millionaire. I don't think that many people still use hinges, even on used stamps. Look into plastic Mounts, can be bought in strips and cut to size for individual stamps, or in standard sizes. If you are not interested in All of the world's stamps, then maybe a Commonwealth album would be better, so banish all thought of Big Brown or Blue. There are also Steiner pages as an option if you care for some DIY, or a more specialized area.

Many of us still hinge mint and used stamps. Paying for a mount that costs more than the stamp doesn't make much sense to me. And older printed albums look much more attractive if the stamps are hinged.

Gibbons offers hingeless and standard versions of its KG VI album - six volumes excluding Indian States. I have a previous, four-volume version and you can also find earlier, single-volume fast-bound editions. Palo offers a KG VI album - there's a previous thread discussing these.

paul78703,

I collect KGVI and chose that era because it comprises 25 percent of the globe and covers only a 15 year time period. Specifically, I collect mint hinged and use Dennison's vintage hinges. Like Geoff, I like the appearance of hinged mounted stamps. Certainly different from my USA MNH blacked backed Showgard-mounted stamps.

Jsck Kelley

With some exceptions Big Blue equals hinges. The pages cannot handle many mounts and the cost would not warrant it.

I love the perfect Big Blue part 1 I picked up from a local stamp shop (now closed). I have my serious US in a Scott platinum and any serious WW in Scott Specialty albums. Some days I just want to hinge some stamps to an album and not worry about values, condition, mounts etc. So when I'm finished going through another treasure hunt auction lot, any extra (usually lower value) classic era stamps go into the Big Blue. Doing so really takes me back to my childhood collecting days!

Oops, my mistake, I figured most considered it anathema these days to be hinging any stamps, no matter how common, particularly unused. I may have to reconsider and use them for a side project or two that are off my chosen path.

I was never very good at using hinges -- too clumsy? -- so I do not use them, but I still like the look of the old-style albums (e.g., Big Blue). If I ever go into WW collecting, I would "collect to the album," but, most likely, I would put the stamps into Vario or Hagner pages.

Paul,

If you don't use hinges, how are you going to mount your stamps?

(By the way, I have the Palo KGVI albums, but sometimes I think I should have gone with the SG set.)

Jack Kelley

Big Blue for Canada and mirrored Vario Page

One solution to the Big Blue vs Vario choice is to do both.

Check out guest blogger Ron Olin's solution to combining album pages and Varios...

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.co...-period.html

What Jkjblue said.

Jim's picture shows why collecting to Big Blue, but in parallel stocksheets wouldn't quite work. The lay-out is just about acceptable on the album page, but Big Blue's lack of attention to aesthetics is brought home on the stocksheet.