There are many methods of storing stamps. And collectors have their own preferred methods. Of all these methods of storage there is no one single correct or wrong way of storage. Having said that, there are pluses and minuses to each storage method and some may be more economical than others.
Following are the various storage methods most of us know of.
· Stock Books
· Stock Sheets in Binders
· Printed Stamp Albums
· Stock cards
· Self made Stamp sheets
Some important pointers on stamps storage which I have learnt through my own experience and also through reading interesting articles on the topic:
1) Stamps, covers, albums and stock books should be stored in an area where humidity and temperature levels are moderate.
2) Albums and stock books should not be stuffed with stamps or pages. This is especially true in case of sheets, printed stamp pages stored in binders. When pages are packed tight with stamps, the adhesive has an even greater chance of sticking to the page.
3) Albums and stock books should be stored upright.
When an album lies flat on its side, the weight of the pages on top puts a lot of pressure onto the bottom pages. Storing the album upright distributes that weight evenly and reduces the pressure on both the stamps and the album binder.
Almost all of my stamps are stored in either stock books or stock sheets. I store them upright in a book shelf dedicated entirely to my stamps and covers collection. I have part of my GB collection stored in a printed stamp album using stamp hinges. However I plan to sooner or later unmount them off the hinges and store them in stock books.
Following is a picture of my cover collection and as of now I have stored them in these boxes you see, one for each continent. And my collection is slowly but steadily growing. No covers from the antartic territories yet hence no seventh box in there. I intend to have atleast one cover addressed to me from each of the countries so the goal is to have atleast 197.
Well the empty rack in between is for stamp catalogues I wish to have and ofcourse more stock books. Sometime soon the six volume set of SOTW by Stanley Gibbons will fill the empty space.
Do feel free to add your thoughts, comments or suggestions
NOTE: Please click on the images for a larger view / closer look.
This is fascinating Vivan - just the kind of article I like. I am always struggling with storing and organising my postcards and stamps. How do you deal with humidity? We have high humidity here in Kwa-Zulu Natal and sometimes my stamps stick together. Perhaps you could tell us some techniques for getting stamps off envelopes. I would be happy to send you some covers. Also your blog is very wide which makes it difficult to see all parts at once. Thanks for following me ^_^
ReplyDeletehi there again jocelyn. sorry im replying this late. just been busy with relatives and guests at home. well the only way to deal with humidity is to have an air conditioned room. whats the humidity like where you live? i will definitely and surely do a post on soaking stamps. the reason the blog is wide is to have large images fit within the posts window. oh yes please go ahead and send me some covers. we must do some exchanges.
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