Organising Late Grandfather's Stamp Collection And Would Like Some Thoughts/Advice

Hi All

I've recently found my grandpa's stamp collection and it is mind bendingly insane (hundreds of thousands. Spent weeks just
organising the not yet organised ones by originating country).

I've just begun moving all the pre decimal Australian stamps into a new folder [pics below] apologies they aren't amazing.

What I'd like to know, and I'm aware to some degree this may be a personal preference but also pretty sure there will be a best practice as well. I've been grouping all the same ones together, but I wanted to ask if I should be organising them into sets (or as much of a set as there might be) or is the way I'm doing it equally as logical?

For example I've put all the kangaroos together - understanding the top row is not in the same ballpark as the orange below it.


I've then grouped alk the other Australian animals together, but this doesn't seem like the best way to do it but I don't know what would be better?






I've then got some broken up by Australian states/places. So there's NSW and Canberra. Then Vic, SA and NT.




Then QLD (some that aren't actually state based just say qld on them and two which might actually be from the country(?) "Gold coast") and WA



Then TAS and some commonwealth/centenary ones. And finally some Antarctica ones.
I am very much hoping I put the right images in the correct place, forgive me if not!
As well as the above question, I'm also just super curious if anyone See's anything above and beyond the standard interesting simply because of their age and what not?


And many thanks in advance, I know I'm overdoing the photo's and they aren't amazing quality

The usual practice is to store in sets - you can overlap the stamps to save space, especially as these seem to be common stamps.

Gold Coast - now Ghana - is in West Africa.

Presuming you have no plans to create a more formal album(s) from this, then you're on the right track. Put multiples together, and singles of an obvious set together. The next step would be to label them (likely with SG numbers, or ACSC/Brusden White), and if you're really ambitious, to order the multiples by color variation, known print errors, etc if you detect them. You may also wish to separate by condition, ie MNH/UMM from MH/MM from postally used.

The diversity of philately is simply huge Nobody can collect everything. I would recommed that you concentrate on the areas which you find most interesting. Collect what YOU enjoy.
These areas will likely differ somewhat from your grandfather's. After all, he probaby liked different cars and music too.

Don't feel guilt about branching out and leaving unsorted material unsorted. Many collectors buy a box of stuff for a few items and set the rest aside.

For economy, I would certainly not sort 100,000's of duplicate stamps into black stock pages. The cost of the pages will far exceed the value of the stamps and take a lot of time. For several of my interests, I have the "collection" in nice pages like these and the duplicates in manilla pages - both for space and economy.

Your method is sound tho I suggest it will take up a lot of room trying to display every duplicate. I like Mr. Becker's recco of holding one of the stamps in a nice stock page and the rest somewhere else, with manilla stock pages or just glassine envelopes in an index card file. So if you intend to eventually get into varieties of half-pence kangaroo stamps (if such a thing even exists) you can, but until then you'll enjoy a smaller and simpler main collection.

Aren't those orange stamps on the first page depicting a wallaroo?

Some fun to be had with those: https://goscf.com/t/86403&whichpage=1#801146

You are doing it right.

Hi DazednConfused,

You have an interesting time ahead.

The advice given by those who have responded is all good.

I might add my tuppence worth, if I may?

1. Get a decent catalogue (as classic_paper says);
2. From the catalogue, organise them by date of issue and the set to which they belong;
3. Separate out the decimals from the pre-decimals;
Broad classes should be: a) Pre-Federation - States and Territories;
b) Post- Federation (1901) comprising: i) King George V; ii) King George VI; iii) Queen Elizabeth II; iv) King Charles III.
The Pre-decimal/decimal split occurred during the reign of QEII - so that is the natural break.
5. Select the three (3) best examples of each stamp as the basis for your main collection;
6. Put them into a good quality album (acid free leaved stock-books with inter-leaved glassine separators are best). Avoid the cheap fat Chinese thick paged monstrosities like the plague. They destroy your stamps quicker than you'd ever imagine.

All the best.

Black Swan

If I could just add a PS for my above post, please.

There is, of course, the Federation period that sits between 1901 and 1913. After Federation (1901) the States and Territories of Australia continued to issue their stamps on the behalf of the Federation (The Commonwealth of Australia).

The Federal Government (The Commonwealth) didn't issue its first stamp until 1913 - some 12 years after Federation. That was the 1d red Roo (or perhaps the 1/2d green Roo).

That Federation period is a distinct and important period in Australia philately.

Why did it occur? Apparently, the States and Territories were to be compensated from Federal funding for the loss of revenue they derived from their postal services (each state/territory had its own postal service) when the Commonwealth took over the service at a national level.

The compensation was to be determined on the basis of the revenue derived by the states over that 12 year period of time, and presumably, the Federal Government audited that amount, as the states were not to be trusted when it came to getting their sticky fingers into Federal funding. (They still aren't!).