Just A Bit Overwhelmed.

Hello All,

I have asked a question on this forum before and everyone was so nice and accommodating!

I have a problem...but really more of an interesting challenge.

I know this question is extremely common in this forum, but I'm feeling completely overwhelmed at the moment. In the past week or so I have discovered my Grandmother's and Great Aunt's collections of stamps from their entire lifetimes. Thousands, possibly tens of thousands of stamps of any kind you can think of. Definitives, comemmoratives, revenue, air mail, postage due, special delivery, ALL OVER the world, with and without covers, used and unused, albums, from as early as the 19th century. You name it, it's probably in there!

I want to study the collection and possibly expand on it, but I have a couple of questions about basic organization. I have done some basic study over the past week or so and I have some basic supplies (Scott catalogue, perf. counter, tongs, envelopes.)

Here are my preliminary questions:
1. Should I use hinges or mounts in albums? This seems to be an easily accessible way to organize stamps, but I'm afraid of damaging anything. Many of them are currently either loose or in vellum envelopes.
2. Are international stamps from countries that don't exist anymore worth more than countries that do? I have many of both.
3. Does anyone know of a good resource to differentiate color? This is very confusing for me.

Most of all...Is there a preferred method for overall organization? As I said, I'm a newbie at this and there are sooo many stamps. I would really love it if there was one simple way I could organize them.

I may very well spend the rest of my life studying this collection, so I will likely have more questions. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!
Jane

Jane,



Mounts are always preferable, esp. for mint gummed stamps, but it comes down to a personal preference.

My personal mantra for any beginner, is mainly 2 things, skills that will last a lifetime, and prevents future headaches.

1. The purchase, use, and skill of using sharp, pointy nose tweezers, tongs
will seem a bit wieldy at first, but once mastered, they will become your best friends.

2. The ability to hinge correctly.

You should be able to (when you graduate as a master hinger)
. Pick up a set of hinges with the pointy nose pliers,
bend a set of 5-10 hinges in half to get rid of the curl.
apply just the faintest of moisture to the small leaf, and place near the top of the stamp, well away from the perfs.
Apply a small amount of moisture to the large leaf, and mount on a page.

Proof of success:

When the hinge is dry (next day) you should be able to lift the stamp off the page, with the tweezers, with nary a mark on the stamp.
If the hinge grabs the stamp, error, start again.

Getting the hinge with the lightest of tackiness is the trick, a skill that will last as long as your interest in the hobby.

Adhere incorrectly and the stamps will be ruined, resulting in "thins" or needing to be re-soaked.

Practice on common stamps with gum, if you can get the hinge to lift off with just a shadow of the hinge leaf in the gum, you are a master hinger.

Good Luck.

Hi Jane,

For point 2, not necessarily. The Australian states for example had their own stamps, in use until 1913. Many of the later issues can be purchased cheaply.

For point 3, Stanley Gibbons have a product called a "colour key". Studying shades of a certain colour is a challenge. For example, a stamp may be faded or discoloured.

For guidance, I would separate the covers from everything else. Don't soak the stamps off - many stamps are worth much more on the cover than not. I confess my bias, I am an avid postal history collector.

For organization of the stamps, alphabetical is a logical way of course but you could look at grouping early stamp issuing places that later amalgamated into a new entity eg: German/Italian/Australian states, Canadian/South African colonies etc.

Hope this helps and please ask any questions!

Bobby

Example.......1 page of 6 I think.

Gibbons's current offering is in a different format - bear in mind that it's primarily designed for use with Gibbons catalogues, so may not entirely read across to Scott.

Personally, I consider that used stamps in particular look much better when hinged (as do mint ones, but Rod has outlined some of the practical advanatges of using mounts). Bear in mind that most stamps have little or no monetary value, so mounts can be an expensive indulgence.

Try to put some stamps into albums as you go along - endless sorting can be a tiring experience!

I would say the most straightforward method of initially organizing a large accumulation of stamps is alphabetically by country (whether current or "dead"). If you are putting stamps in albums (not stockbooks) use hinges for used stamps. As far as color is concerned, this is a problematic question for even the most experienced collector, and often comes down to individual perception, so don't be discouraged. In going through a large collection such as you describe you will develop an eye.

One thing to remember is patience. Having a large collection given to you, and not knowing anything about it can indeed be overwhelming. Most of us who have been collecting for a fair number of years did not start with a large collection. We started with small numbers of stamps, learning along the way, and continuously adding to the collection. There is really no need to let yourself get overwhelmed. Collecting stamps is a lifetime journey, whether you start as a youngster or an adult. The process of learning about what you have is basically the same. My advice would be to work with small batches of stamps, maybe 1 country at a time. just don't let the overall quantity get you flustered. It will all start to make sense in time.

For the record, I have been collecting for 45 years and still don't have everything organized. It's a continuing process.

It sounds like you are on a good path however....basic tools, basic techniques. These will take you far.

Couple of more points.

1. Almost everyone on this forum has a box or two or ten that is yet to be organized. It is an ongoing process so take your time. Pick an organized book or envelope and just look through them. Write down what you think is in each box/album/bag.
2. Using stockbooks or stock pages is a useful way to organize your stamps between sorting them into glassine envelopes and putting them into an album. Stockbooks can also be useful for organizing duplicate stamps that you have. Some people don't use them much and others use them for everything.
3. Read this forum and ask questions.
4. Stampsmarter web site is awesome.
5. Have fun.
6. Try not to buy any more stamps until you get to a happy place with what you already have.

Hello Jane and welcome to the Family!

As with any massive undertaking, you need to take it one step at a time. The first step is to learn how to handle stamps, then add and remove them from a page.

The point made by rod222 is absolutely essential, in that you need to learn to use a pair of stamp tongs (or tweezers, as the British call them). These are not the same tweezers you get at the drug store, but are a tool used by stamp collectors to keep from handling these wonderful pieces of paper with our fingers as much as possible.

The reason you don't want to handle the stamps is that our skin secretes oils which are transferred to the paper, and will, in the long run, damage the stamps. You also have less control with your fingers than you will with the tongs, as you become more adept at using them.

To start, if you have any U.S. used stamps from the 1940's and 1950's, this would be what I used to learn on. These stamps - with only one exception, the $5.00 black Hamilton from the Liberty Series, are all inexpensive and plentiful. Use these stamps to practice with the tongs. If something gets damaged, there is no loss. Also, use these to practice hinging them to pages and then a day or so later, removing them from the page. Knowing how to do both of these skills will allow you to begin mounting stamps in an album of your choosing and removing them safely from an older album/page.

My experience with removing stamps from a page shows the following to be the best procedure.

1. Lay the page flat. You don't want it curled when removing stamps.
2. Take the stamp tongs and slide one side under the stamp and try very, very gently to lift the stamp just a little. This tells you how the stamp is attached.
3. If the stamp will not lift or you cannot get the one side of the tong under the stamp - STOP. It is stuck to the page and will require more work to remove it.
4. If the stamp lifts easily from the point you have the stamp lifted, slowly slide the tongs up from the first edge you have lifted. If you run into any resistance, stop because something is hold the stamp in place. If when you look under the slightly raised edge, what has stopped your forward motion is a hinge, good - that's what you want. If it is the stamp itself stuck, STOP See note 3.
5. To remove the stamp, put pressure on the point where the hinge is folded, cutting it loose from the page. You will have a hinge remnant on the stamp. The stamp will now be free of the page.

There are many different types of hinges. Some were very user friendly in that they would easily come off a stamp while others would not. I never try to pull a hinge off a used stamp. Instead, unless it is a stamp with fugitive ink (There are not many of those), I give the stamp a soak in distilled water. This will dissolve the gum from the hinge, allowing it to fall off. This "bath" also will remove surface dirt and help tighten the paper when it dries.

To dry a stamp which has been soaked, place it carefully on a paper towel and place another paper towel on top. Place this under a book for 24 hours. When you remove the stamp from the paper towel the next day, it will be flat and clean, free of hinges and ready to be mounted.

It's best to work with a small quantity of stamps at a time, until you get used to working with them. Again, to start, use the U.S. commemoratives I mentioned earlier as they are plentiful.

Hope this helps!

Personally I find the colour charts of very little use. When I bought the Stanley Gibbons swatch I was told by the dealer who sold it that it was of limited use and he was right. I imagine a Stanley Gibbons swatch with a Scott catalogue would be a liability.
Enjoy your collecting.

Don't worry about colors at first - that is a more advanced topic.

Countries that no longer exist are known as dead countries. They aren't automatically worth more.

You might want to start with a stock book before locking yourself into an album and hinges or mounts.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone! I spent all evening tonight organizing a box of loose stamps into glassine envelopes by country. I found it pretty enjoyable. My tong use is improving.

However, I do have two stamps that I'm having trouble with identifying the country of origin. Maybe you could save me some time if you recognize them.

Japan. Scott #513 and #580.

Jane - try Japan, from a series of definitives available for a long period during the 1950s. Regular contents of stamp mixes when I was little.

Be aware Japan can be tricky at first.........

Stamp collecting is like eating a pie . Trying to take it all in at one time will make you sick ,but a small slice each day makes for a enjoyable experience .