Mounting Stamps

wentzr: Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but ... I think the problem is that Dennison is no longer in business. And when they left, their "secret hinge formula" left with them.
For more info, go to the following link ...
http://stamps.org/userfiles/file/AP...Talk0615.pdf

Wentzr,

I collect US on Mystic pages and use mounts for all the stamps. I have for some time and my pages are almost full.

I find a page of neatly mounted stamps (I keep a 2.5mm border around each stamp) attractive. That's a matter of personal opinion.

I agree that using mounts can increase the bulk and the "bulge" of an album unless fewer pages are used per album. It's really surprising. My US to 1990 is split into 6 separate albums. No bulge.

Not reducing the number of pages per album can also potentially create problems if the bulky albums are stuffed into a shelf or a slipcase. From some of the collections I've seen, this has potentially the same effect as keeping an album on its side. Changes in humidity, temperature etc. can wreak havoc with mounted mint stamps. I know how nasty humid Illinois summers can get.

Dan

My Mystic collection is in many binders. My 1990 to date stamps are in 8 binders. Fewer pages per binder means wear and tear on pages. Self-adhesives and mini-sheets are the real culprits for creating that stuffed look.

I always used clear Avery reinforcement labels (ring protectors) on the front side of the page with good results.

Wentz,
You are quite correct. Album pages with mounts are thick, and the albums do bulge. As several people have said, one has to use more binders. This is a minor expense, but it does take up space. However, even with hinges, if you get enough stamps in an album, it will bulge.

Someone on this forum once said that the hinges of the '50s were so much better than ours are today is that they were made of an animal product that it is no longer legal to use. Might be.

Don

I'm guilty of occasionally overstuffing binders myself, but predominantly with binders just housing common used stamps, mounted with hinges, and then usually just for relatively short periods until I get another binder. The better parts of my collection (those valuable enough to justify the use of mounts) are purposely housed in smaller (Vario F) binders and decidedly understuffed. The main reasons to put a stamp in a mount are to preserve the gum and provide maximum protection for the stamp overall. Putting it in a mount and then cramming it into an overstuffed binder could defeat the entire purpose, as too much pressure over time will likely disturb the gum, or worse, particularly on split-back mounts. This is less of an issue with drop-in (Hawid-style) mounts.

I generally use hinges. I've always thought it looked really odd to see a page mounted with (used) hinged stamps mixed with (mint) stamps in black mounts. Why doesn't the collector use clear-back mounts which would blend much more nicely with the hinged stamps? Or just hinge them all, of course.

About 20 years ago I came across an empty Minkus Comprehensive Worldwide Album and made it a goal to fill the thing (shows stamps up to 1957). The original album was 3" wide. I'd say now I'm over 75% complete and, because of the bulge factor, the same 704 pages (two sided) are now housed in three 3" and one 2" minkus 2 post binders which takes up over a foot of shelf space.

I have a goofy mounting strategy ... anything that catalogs under $1 gets a hinge, between $1 and $10 get a clear hawid mount, and over $10 gets a black background mount. I've explained this all to my wife in case I get hit by a bus some some day but her eyes just glaze over.

I like it canyoneer.

Perhaps you could scan some pages or take some pics, and show it off here? (Probably start a new thread so not off-topic.)

To keep this post on topic, I use clear Scott (Prinz) split-back mounts for the 47,000+ stamps in my "Deep Blue" ( Steiner WW 1840-1940; 1840-1952 British Commonwealth), and mostly hinges (Dennison) for the Minkus Supreme Global pages through 1965.

Why so many binders, angore? With today's ridiculous USPS issues, I still manage to get five years of stamps into my Mystic binders. 1990 to 2014 equals five binders. All are full with Showgard mounts.

Jack Kelley

Jack, I do not like crowded binders.

I understand, angore. I wish the USPS would stop issuing so many stamps. It was so much nicer back in the USPO days.

Jack

There are a lot of issues and not just in US. The switch to self-adhesives has taken a lot of the fun out of it. I could complain about so many different mini-sheet sizes as well. These actions work against collecting affordably in traditional stamp album.

I'm moving stamps from pages I bought on an auction and wanted to share insight from the experience:

I suggest if you use mounts avoid
1) rotating mounts 90 degrees to save money because you don't have the correct size mounts handy.

2) But if you insist on doing this be aware of what you're doing to the stamp in the mount if you hinge across the slit in the back of the mount to mount your mounts to your pages.

I use mostly only 2 sizes of clear open tops mounts, I place the stamp at the end of the strip, cut vertically the strip 6 mm at the side of the stamp , rotate and cut another 6mm on the top. So I don't need to carry 100 sizes.

If I order unitrade as exemple up to 33mm they are the same price and then up to 55mm the same price too ( $2 more than the 33mm and less )

So I don't lost money at all cutting the top