Where To Even Begin.

Hello, all.

Looking for advice on what the best accelerant is to use to completely incinerate a stamp collection.

Just kidding, but some of the responses to other posts make me want to quit before I even begin. lol

Joking aside, I received a "stamp collection" that belonged to my grandmother. The organization of this collection is that of two medium-sized boxes, filled to the brim with odds and ends and miscellaneous items.

In doing a few hours of research on these forums and watching YouTube videos, I feel that I know no more than I did before I began researching. It appears to me that what to collect, how to display, and how to arrange stamps is extremely subjective.

I have many stamps that are unused in sheets and books. I also have about as many stamps that are cancelled and still attached to envelopes.

I have no intention of ever parting with this collection and would like to organize it and put it into protective sleeves that I can then put into binders and let family and friends enjoy the collection. Since I don't plan to part with the collection, I'm not overly concerned about its value. HOWEVER…this doesn't necessarily mean that I want to ignorantly damage something that, indeed, could have some value.

So, as a general rule, is it fairly safe to say that I need to have individual stamps put into sleeve pages? e. g. stamps carefully removed from envelopes?

Many of the items that I have contain a cancelled stamp and the portion of the envelope that shows where and when the stamp was cancelled. Is there any value to keeping the portion of the envelope that shows where and when the stamp was cancelled? I've personally enjoyed seeing where and when some of the mail went through, but realize that in this form it is not very conducive to being neatly put it into a sleeve and into a binder.

Do most collectors organize by genre? By face value? By age?

I also have many unused "first day of issue" envelopes (from a few different eras). Are these suitable to be sleeved and put into binders?

I'm sure I will generate more questions, as I've just barely scratched the surface, but I'm just purely trying to figure out where to even begin. I don't want to do too much sorting without knowing what I should be focusing on, which will likely save a ton of time, and effort, given the magnitude of the collection.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome aboard itsanss

Could you please provide some photos of the collection as it currently is?

Sometimes these heirlooms can lose their charm by extensive rearranging.

Whatever you do, please do not remove stamps from envelopes, at least until we can help you assess what you have.

Yup. Philately is a very broad hobby. Some collect only used stamps, some only certain countries or topics, some only mail that's been in plane crashes. If it involves the mail, then someone, somewhere collects it. And how one chooses to display is entirely up to the collector.


No, this is not safe to say. First, I don't know exactly what you mean by "sleeve pages," and second, used stamps are generally more interesting if still on cover or at the very least cut from the envelope including the entire cancel. This depends on context, however: a stamp on cover (that's the term) sent from Chicago to Topeka in 1977 likely has no interest, but an 1872 letter from Paris to London would be quite valuable.


Most collectors organize chronologically by country, which is the simplest and most obvious (logical) way, and it's how 99.99% of stamp catalogs are organized. Things may change a bit for thematic or other specialist collectors (people that collect only stamps with birds or trains on them, or letters sent by World War II POWs, for example).
My suggestion would be: go slow. Create a separate pile (I speak metaphorically) for each country. Within each country, separate stamps from envelopes from post cards. Spend a few bucks on Amazon for a stamp stock book to store the stamps. Hit up your library for the relevant volumes of the Scott Stamp Catalog (assuming you're in the US), or stampworld.com to help you get an idea of what you have. Organization is the difference between collecting and accumulating (which is itself perhaps a few short steps from hoarding), and is how you unlock value (economic, philatelic, nostalgic) from what you have.

Thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I certainly didn't want to do much without some sort of guidance or consultation. I at least know enough about collecting in general that sometimes the collector can ruin the collection. lol

I have attached a link with some somewhat random pictures of the collection. I have, kind of, created three piles - individual stamps, sheets/rolls/books of stamps, and envelopes/post cards with stamps on them (both cancelled/uncancelled).

Thanks!


https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...?usp=sharing

You have a great start for a collection of modern US.

You may want to organize them chronologically. To do that you will need a Scott's catalog, likely available at your public library.

The sleeves you show don't look like anything I am familiar with. I would recommend not using them. Something similar, but designed for stamps, are Vario pages (that's the brand name).

The modern (1990's and newer) stamps on cover - In the past I would have said they can be soaked off but am now hesitant to recommend that. So few stamps are now used for mailing that the ones you have could be part of future postal history.

Your First Day covers don't have a cachet (image on left half of envelope related to the stamp subject) so those could be soaked off. You should be aware that a lot of today's stamps are self-adhesive and don't soak off easily, or at all. So leave those on the envelope.

First the link works which is information for others. It does take sometime to open.




You have a "modern" start to a US Collection. Do NOT remove stamps from envelopes now. Do NOT break apart joined stamps. DO get a cheap copy of a Scott US Specialized Catalog a few years old or go to you library and check out a recent edition. An international volume 1 (or 1A) will work as well. The catalog will help you understand the time period covered here as well as what type of goodies you have from a philatelic point. Importantly it will also allow you to learn what is considered "the correct" way to save connected stamps with multiple designs.

Then you want to decide how to hold the items. On traditional album pages, stock books, plastic sheets of the vario, showguard or other which come with various numbers of pockets.

DO NOT use a photo mount album, the waxy strips of "hold'em" will damage the stamp.

Once you have gotten this far you can then begin to make choices about the used stamps on envelopes.

Lastly do not be alarmed by folks who reply here suggesting this is a cheap nothing collection. Folks do that here, especially folks who buy stamps over $100 or just from the 19th Century plus the folks who don't but wish they did. You are engaged in step two of building a "family collection" for you and your family. Me, some of my most important covers are financially worthless First Day Covers my father collected. It is from them I understand every address I ever lived at during the years I was too young to remember. That is no mentioning the same address trail for my father before I was born.

They are for holding strips of film negatives from when cameras used film.

That said, google lighthouse publications (USA) and you can find examples of the various types of methods to store stamps. What is shown there is the basic foundation of what they and others can provide. If you are going to purchase from them, be advise they have a 20% off sale from about every Thanksgiving through the DrMLKJr. Holiday weekend.

Edit to add missing "n."

They sort of look like negative sleeves, except why are they black? Can't see the images when laying it on a light table. I have a very thick ring binder holding film negatives but they are clear sheets.

Oh my gosh, I'm excited just thinking about going through your boxes of stuff! Don't get discouraged, it will take time (and you may make mistakes - as I have) but you can find good folks to help you out.

One thing right of the bat to realize, as you have with your comment about subjectivity, is that there is a big diversity of views on what the "best" way to do things is. Whether to use an album, or a stock book, or stock pages in a three-ring binder; which brand or manufacturer; etc., etc.

In addition to my own collection, I have my grandfather's collection. I've spent a fair bit of time on one or another plan of attack that I found outlined on here and then changed my mind and went in another direction based on a different take I read somewhere else. And I'm still sort of experimenting. But - the more I get into it, the more I'm learning what my own particular "best" way is. I think the trial and error, as frustrating as that is, is a necessary part of getting to that point.

So, for example, it looks like you have a lot of material still in the original USPS packaging. There probably is an argument for keeping those intact and maybe displaying them in protective sleeves in an album.

The guidance above to protect what you have and not to do any damage is good. It also is a good idea to find a catalog, although that too can put you into a conundrum of a bunch of choices among unfamiliar options. You might look for a used Scott's U.S. Catalog on ebay. I don't think it's worth it to buy the latest/new one, so I got one from the early 2000's for not much money. The prices aren't current but that's not something I'm really concerned. And it still gives me a good idea of the relative values.

Do you live near a good-sized city? There may be a stamp club where you will have access to other collectors who can help you learn. Also, the American Philatelic Society (APS) has various tutorials and instructive videos in their library which I've found very helpful. You'll have to join to get access to some of that material, but I think it's worth it.

Good luck!

There are various discussions here about keeping material in post office packaging, which wasn't designed for long-term storage.

Only one binder?

I can think of reasons to use black, which as you note prevents easy viewing at home which can have some advantages at home .




I clarified your post Geoffha just in case itsanss does go read them.

I wonder if the OP was trying for an interesting name, had he not used the "n" it could have been read as It's a SS (Souvenir Sheet).

The 1990s are getting farther and farther away, isn't it? Funny to me that things from the 90s are now considered old! lol




What about trimming the envelope to only contain the cancellation stamp? Not really pictured, but I have MANY pieces of envelope that only contain the cancellation stamp and the postage stamp. They sure take up far less physical space than keeping the entire envelope. Just curious…




I did manage to get a Scotts American Stamp Album from the library. I've had this collection for years but with a recent visit to the neighboring town's library sale, where I picked up a Scotts album for 25 cents, thus re-igniting my interest in my grandmother's collection. I added a picture of the album to my Google Drive. It appears to have pages, and supplemental pages, that cover years from 1847 to 1973. But I'm not quite convinced that it's totally comprehensive yet.




I appreciate this. This is precisely why I opened my original post with a bit of a joke about destroying this particular collection. I'm aware that this is 99.99% likely to be a worthless collection. I've seen many posts on this site that are quick to tell people that [in so many ways]. So I wanted to beat someone to the punch by saying I wanted to incinerate this collection. Hehe

I think stamp collecting is cool, but, no offense to anyone, I wouldn't pay $100 for a stamp unless it were a coil of stamps one mile long that I intended to use to mail off my bills each month with. Lol To each their own…




They're, indeed, stamp collecting sheets. I uploaded additional pictures to my Google Drive to help clarify.




Yes, thank you for that. I have a currency collection as well as a matchbook cover collection – both of which are in 3-ring binders. So, for cohesiveness, I'd kind of like to have the stamp collection similarly displayed compared to my other collections.

Thanks!!!


https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...p=share_link


P.S. My handle, "itsanss," represents, "It's an SS." I have a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and in my younger days I was extremely particular about the "Super Sport" part. So it's a handle that I've used for many years and I continue that tradition!

itsanss, you may want to think about getting some of the stamp collecting tools of the trade such as stamp tongs and a perferation gauge.

Hey Itsa,

Your grandmother may have chosen those particular stamps for any combination of reasons: she liked the subject matter; she thought that some of them might have value; she liked the idea of getting newly issued stamps as they came out just for the sake of it; for mailing letters; wanted to start an actual stamp collection but didn't have the chance to get it organized.

Whatever the reasons, it's clear that you appreciate that she appreciated them, the time she put into collecting them all, etc.

I'm not convinced that organizing them will do anything to enhance yours or family members' enjoyment of them. But of course only you can answer that question. Thinking it might be more fun for other family members to open a box and sort through what she collected more than seeing them all organized more formally. Just a thought...

Now I'm going to focus on something specific you mentioned — not wanting to spend a ton of time sorting through them all. I think it's safe to say that all of those 37¢ self-adhesive stamps might as well be used for postage. Birthday cards. The property tax bill. Etc.

In fact, there are many stamp dealers who buy "bulk postage" at a discount over face value. That might be an option for you to cull the collection down to a more manageable size.

I'll offer just one additional bit of admonishment: When handing envelopes, "easy on the death grip buddy!"

Near? Yes. Close enough to join a club? No. Haha Great idea, though. I'd love to have someone in the flesh, hands on, help me make sense of it all. lol




I think I will! After watching some videos on YouTube, I think some proper tools would be a worthwhile investment.




Thank you! I'd like to think that this is a way to somewhat honor a person's legacy and also have some fun and enjoyment at the same time.




I selfishly want to be the one to go through everything and sort it in a way that I see fit. Hehehe Honestly, I truly think that my family would get more enjoyment out of being able to see a displayed collection. I'm just about the only visionary/explorative/treasure-hunter type. Like Mainer, I see boxes of stuff and I get excited as hell thinking about going through them. Most of the rest of the family sees it as unnecessary work or a trash heap. lol




It's really not my not wanting to spend a ton of time sorting through the stuff; I truly don't mind the time commitment. What I don't want is to sort through it all with a certain line of thinking, only to decide later that I want to go a different direction. So I really just want to formulate a plan (that's logical, reasonable, and doesn't destroy potential collection value) and then move forward and stick with it. Basically go through it once or twice and be done with it, versus go through it 100 times and still have no semblance of organization. lol




Sorry! I got excited. Lol Actually, there was about a 20mph wind and I was trying to get a good picture. Had the door open in that room and that particular room had the best lighting at the time. I'll try to not let it happen again! Haha

Thanks

itsanss,

Enjoy having fun with stamps! That is the name of this game. Wonderful you are carrying on your grandmother's collection. You are the next steward of a family treasure you can pass on to future generations. Its value as a family heirloom will always surpass it monetary value.

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.

My personal bias is a used stamp loses the story of its journey in the postal service when it is removed from the cover it transported to its destination. Collecting postal history adds a whole new aspect to your journey in our hobby.

Wishing you many enjoyable future days in our hobby. Russ