Minkus Supreme Global Albums (The Big Red Thread)

Looking at that Minkus France page, its problem is that it loses any sense of the issue cycle, and, more importantly, mixes stamps from two different issuing regimes - Pétain's and the Republic.

John- good point about Harris... I think I do use Harris interleaves.

I'm trying to get a handle on the difference between the Minkus Supreme Global and the Minkus Master Global. I picked up Vol 1 of the Supreme (I can't remember where---may have come with a box lot from a local dealer). I'm now focusing on stamps issued up to 1940. I assume the Master Global has spaces for stamps not in the Supreme---and maybe for the missing stamps in the Scott International. But it's difficult to know what I'm buying in the way of albums or pages. Trying to differentiate between the appearance of the pages---many ebay album sellers don't know what they've got. How does one know if someone slipped pages from Supreme into Master binders?

It can be tricky. First step is to look at the copyright on the page in the front. The Supremes evolved over time. There was a 2 volume to start in the 1950s, then a three volume in the mid-60s. then finally a six volume in the 70s. There were subtle changes to each edition and coverage. In general, the Master had less coverage than the Supreme since it was meant to be a single volume. Probably the best coverage for the Master would be the earliest edition. The Master first came out in 1951 and the first Supreme in 1954. It would be very common to mix up pages in either binder, even the smaller Comprehensive albums. They all used the same supplements. If you are looking for pre 1940, check out some of the countries you are familiar with and see if they include the highest values or not. Pre 1900 will not have as complete coverage in a Master or Supreme compared to a specialized album. Not sure if any of this helps, but they would make a good pre 40 album if you need images for stamps like I do.

Complicating the matter, some of the pages in the Supreme are identical to pages from the Master. With the Master being released first, they took a few shortcuts when designing the Supreme a couple years later and used pages from the Master. Without having both albums in front of you to compare, it's not possible to tell.

Dale

This past year, I made the leap from my long-standing Minkus Supreme Global Binders (11 volumes) to Bindertek binders (with slipcases). This moved my collection from 11 stuffed Minkus two-post binders to 22 Bindertek three-ring binders. Yes, I had to use a heavy-duty hole puncher to punch appropriate holes in my Minkus pages, but it was worth it.

My albums are now lighter to handle, they lie flat, and adding, for example, a glassine interleave is no longer a drama of pulling out the posts, removing pages, and then struggling to get those darn posts back in place.

They also look spiffy as heck!

I am very happy with the move -- it was costly -- but not as much as you think. If you buy the binders/slipcases in packs of seven, the total cost is $235, so for me, the process of switching cost me about $700 for binders AND slipcases. My collection is now both beautifully housed and easy to use.

JIDEL ---- Nice set up ,looks good .

Very nice, jldel!

Well done!

Nice that the pages lie flat. My Scott Internationals certainly do not lie flat. Especially the Subway Vintage. Thicker paper I guess.

jldel, very nice job and clever. But if you don't show us the pages open inside those binders, I'm not going to believe you. So there! Please.

For literally generations, Scott only ever sold its pages punched for their own proprietary binders, Specialty, International and so on . . . until in recent years. They finally began also three-hole punching their Specialty pages as well as selling their own three-hole binders. So you could put the Specialty separate countries pages in either their green two-post or their green three-ring binder. So why not do that to their International pages, as well? And since they also now publish the Minkus albums (oh, irony of ironies!) maybe punch those pages for three holes, too. Thus saving hard-working collectors like lldel all that hole-punching trouble!

Scott/Amos could also sell their own smaller (narrower) three-ring International and three-ring Minkus Global binders. How cool would that be?

Jldel, Did you have to cut the pages down to fit them? I really like the look. What year did your Supremes go to?

I bought the two sections of Part 1 of the Supreme last year via NOLA Stamp Shop. They are punched for both three ring and two post binders. I would assume the other parts are also sold new this way.

I'm most interested in the world through 1973 (year I was born), so I might pick up a couple more parts this year. Getting the pages through Part 5 would cover me, although I'm not sure I'll be able to get them all this year. Hopefully Amos doesn't go belly up any time soon.

Dale

To Drew M: I'm on the road right now, but next week I will try to upload some photos of the pages inside one of the binders

To landoquakes: I did not have to cut down the pages; they fit just right. Also, the slipcases keep the pages from sagging. My Supremes go from 1840 to 1986.

And yes, they absolutely, positively should sell three-ring Minkus Global binders -- it would be much easier than hole-punching thousands of pages. Holy aching wrist, Batman!

Regarding Binders: If you are interested in doing something similar, take a look at this Bindertek link -- https://www.bindertek.com/one-touch...e-pack-of-7/ and then click on the striped color option (or whatever color option you like). You can buy one binder to try it out, but ordering packs of seven saves a ton of money.

For hole-punching: I used an Office Depot Deluxe 3-Hole Heavy-Duty Punch, which you can order from Walmart or Staples for about $30-35. (Also: definitely do a test run on a few extra or blank pages first, to make sure you are punching the holes in the right place.)