Hello There Fellow Philatelists

Hi there,

I am a bit new here (I believe I made a post or 2 a few months back but I am here to stay now).
I am taking a little break from my world coin collection (coming over from that forum) and I am investigating the world of postage stamps.
For the last 3 days (including today) I have been sorting this 1LB+ bag of stamps mostly from the us, 160+ FDC's, and nearly 50 postcards, and a few miscellaneous things.
I will be storing my new stamps in my vario 8 slot stockpages (they get dusty easily ) that I got nearly 5 months ago, I but that lot for just over $30 and I should be getting a cheap Stanley Gibbons 1980 world catalog on Saturday.

I am pretty much starting my philatelic journey about now,wish me luck!

It sure looks like you're on your way. Have fun with this. Oh wait, you already are!

Are stamps a completely new thing or did you collect as a kid?

Have fun Mr. Lucky and ask lots of questions as necessary. This forum is chock full of people that are chock full of knowledge.

@hy-brasil

Well, yes and no. You see I am getting into it for the first time pretty much, but I am also a "kid", I am a teenager, but not a very stereotypical one at that!

@rogdcam

If your curious, my "Mr. Lucky"ish username came my dad using some variation of Eric The Red Viking (We are gingers) and He, the viking had a son, Leif Ericson who was called (I think) Leif the lucky, so I swap his name out for my name (shortened), giving me JoeTheLucky. (you probably din't intend for this but whatever)

Cool story Joe. We won't hold your youth against you if you don't hold our fossilized selves against some of us.

Lol,

When did the collecting bug bite you?
I guess I have the time to have a rockin collection!

I started collecting stamps when I was about twelve in the year 1970 more or less. I had walking pneumonia and was out of school for six months sick as a dog and stamps were perfect for me. At that time there were several stamp shops in my city, the approvals business was booming and stamp albums of all types could be had in bookstores. I have to admit that I have not collected continually. Girls, school, work, cash flow and life in general tends to set a meandering course for many of us. But the bug was always there. Sometimes it was just a touch away and other times it was very distant but it was always there. For me collecting is a place of refuge. This forum is a great place to mix with and learn from other people. I can be a curmudgeon as can others but in the end we share a common interest if not the same politics etc.. The internet brought a whole new world to stamp collecting both good and bad....a topic for another time.

Welcome!

Dale

Cool story bro!

Seriously.(I just wanted to throw that in)

I think you will find 8 bangers too small. It's nice to have some overlap for security, and some stamps are twice as big as others. I use 2 through 7. They get dusty and pick up a bit of static too for sure. They suit lazy people like me who don't create, mount or hinge in a typical day. Have fun with your colourful new hobby.

Yeah I'd prefer getting 6 or 7 slot, but I wasn't sure exactly what kinda bois I would encounter. They are expensive though, I did consider albums, but I couldn't get my self to use hinges and mounts are even more expensive and you got to buy or print the pages using precious ink, but I think I may do that for all the mostly 1950's+ USA stamps, any good PDF recommendations?

Glassine interleaves would be nice but they are really only in books, where you'd have to be moving the philatelic specimens all the time or have alot of ugly empty space. I just like to have the Liberty and Freedom do lay them out as I please, but I'll check out albums, though I still could be considered lazy using a pre-planned template

Edit: I'd have to print out nearly 400 pages for what I want, costing many much bucks, ima stick with the creative route,Stockbooks/pages!

Welcome, Joe!

I've been using Vario pages for my topicals for over 20 years. I love having the freedom to shift things around. My topical collections are heavy on covers, postcards, etc., so I use a LOT of 2C and 2S Vario pages, but for stamps I usually go with 5S. Smaller slots would seriously limit my ability to have taller stamps shifting around in the mix.

Yes, Vario pages do have an unfortunate tendency to attract dust. You can minimize that problem by keeping your binders in slipcases or storing them in boxes or cabinets where dust can't get in.

And yes, they're expensive. Be sure to shop around. I've found good deals on ebay for 25-page "professional packs" of sizes that I use a lot.

Joe,

Collecting for the enjoyment of collecting, whatever that might be, is the name of the game. Don't hesitate to ask questions especially if you need basic information and especially more advanced sources of information for any possible topic. You should be able to find folks on this board a little further along on their collecting journey glad to share experiences. Russ

@erilaz

Do you use typical school binders or super souped-up binders with included slipcases that keep out soup spills? Found any good deals for less than $0.75 a pop?

Rodg: "collecting as a place of refuge,": what a great line and oh so true. As I explain to my wife, when I am dealing with my collections, talking to other collectors, researching, I suspect my blood pressure is 20 points lower. Whereas non collectors don't understand at all, collectors understand each other instinctively and this understanding transcends whether the collectors are collecting at the same level or not.

"collectors understand each other instinctively"

Do you mean that philatelists always know what their fellow collectors are talking about?
I don't think I'm understanding.