Do You Use Vario Pages - And How Do You Organize Your Stamps On Them?

Blaamand - Do you use the Vario Grande binders with the sheets? If so, how many pages can you get into a binder?

I have been using Mint Sheet albums (25 sheets) for some sheets (protective sleeves for others) and it costs around $1.20 for each sheets (so 60 cents per sheet) to store.

Looking on ebay, from my favorite dealer, the sheets run 90 cents each and the binder is $37.00 so 100 pages/binder so a binder/pages with 100 sheets is around $100 or 0.50 per sheet. This looks like a better deal if my math is right.

@angore - yes, I'm using Grande Classic Signum binders. The nominal capacity according Lighthouse is 60 sheets, however I've loaded my Austria binder to full capacity at 82 sheets (equals 164 pages!). Naturally it also depends on the amount of stamps on each page, a more sparsely populated album could even have a few sheets more - or vice verca.

Costwise - I got a favorable deal at Nordfrim when buying bulk. Each Signum binder at 22 Euro - and 3 Euro per packet of 5 sheets. So totals 70 Euro ($ 81) for the binder with 80 sheets (160 pages), equals about $0.50 per page. So the Vario solution is actually cost efficient also even when comparing to stockbooks with black pages, which cost about the same per page. And keep in mind that choosing the normal (and more economical) Vario Grande Classic binder (not the 'Signum' version) would knock the price down to $0.45 per page.
Many have the idea that stockbooks are much cheaper than Varios, but it is not much difference when comparing black pages with black pages. (Stockbooks with white pages are cheaper)

btw - don't know if anybody else are using the Signum version of the Vario Classic? It's fabulous because the obstacle many are facing about getting decent labels on the spine is already accommodated for in an elegant fashion Makes it very easy to print out your own custom made label for IDing each binder.

DJC- never met a French Colonies definitive I didn't like! Question- for listings of shades, are you using Yvert or Michel?

...or Maury?

Shermae I use Maury.

I use Maury too and the nice color charts for French stamps from Brinette.......and Blaamand has a copy......

Yes Renden, however with a correction - now I have 2 copies
Both the scanned digital version (that you were so helpful to make and sent to me) - and the proper booklet version (which I forgot back home )

Thanks DJC- I will have to find a used copy of Maury. For some Fr. Dom-Tom I see both paper and shade varieties that are quite remarkable so I'd like to sort them sometime.

Blaamand- Have you ever calculated the "displayable" area of the Grande pages vs. the regular Vario pages and then compared the results to the cost ratio between the 2 types of sheets? What did you find?

For the Grande's, do you use a Vario-branded binder and dust case, or...?

@shermae
yes, I did the maths - and the special offer I got from Nordrim favored the Grande version in terms of cost/stamp, but only by a small fraction. My reasoning for choosing Grande was that this was the only size Lighthouse offered the 'Signum'edition (with a slot on the back pine for a inserting a folder-label) - and also that the increased size would make it even more flexible for housing large souvenir sheets, covers etc.

Yes, the Grande pages can be properly housed in a Lighthouse Classic Grande binder complete with matching dust case, http://www.nordfrim.com/ringbinder-...ipcase-black

Don't forget that Grande binders, when full, are pretty heavy. Jon, muscles rippling after multiple climbs up to the crow's nest, wouldn't notice, of course.

Aside from the France catalogue, the Maury catalogues can be hard to find. I suspect limited print runs and limited distribution. And the volumes for the various areas only seem to emerge once every several years, like an exotic orchid.

I find that neither Maury nor Yvert pays much attention to shades, eg on the post-WWII engraved issues from the colonies, whereas my sense is that they can be quite distinct.

- unfortunately it's been a few years since I been up, haven't been on a tall ship for 15 years....

GeoffHa is right - the shear weight of the Grande should be considered. The Grande Giant is even heavier tough - must be an athlete to work with them!

Maury will not show you the various shades and that explains our 2nd reference booklet from Bernard Brinette, another Frenchman, who presents a work of art (375 shades from 1849 to 1876) in his presentation of various shades of early stamps.

I agree with GeoffHa. I prefer the vario F (I think that's what they are) because they don't get too heavy lugging on and off the shelf. The drawback as mentioned is there is no sleeve on the binder to insert an album name.

I don't know about the colonies yet, but for mainland France I think Maury has quite extensive listings of shades, at least for the classics, e.g.



In my new set-up for the Bordeaux series, the number of shades and varieties in Maury caused me to expand from 1 stock page (following Scott classical) to no less than 4 stuffed Grande pages, following Maury! I've listed 122 different Bordeaux-stamps in my inventory (even then I have excluded several rare varieties) - and my Scott catalog lists only 36 stamps. So Maury is quite extensive - as said, at least for mainland France

Thanks for the info about the Vario pages. I've always felt that most album pages are too small with too few spaces so the larger capacity is tempting. I'd have to get past giving up on the 9 binders I already have plus the big box of new pages I haven't yet used. Money I could spend on stamps.

I find a lot of shades on French Colonies from the definitive sets issued approx 1910 to 1940. Doesn't sound like Maury covers these printings...