beginner stamp collector, Rhode Island, USA

[widmerpoolmycat]

Hi all--

I am a beginner stamp collector returning to the hobby after 30+ years.  (I was a member of my elementary school's Benjamin Franklin Stamp Club way back in 1984.  I still have the certificate to prove it!)  Recently, I've dug out my old album and an even older family collection, and I've started having fun again.  What a great hobby this is.

Today I spent a little time organizing my used US stamps from the 1980s.  I have a nearly empty Harris Liberty album, and I figure I can have a lot of fun hinging in the common stamps.  That's my plan for now--play and learn.  It might be that I figure out some mint and/or topical areas later.  And maybe even some non-US countries to collect?  It's early days for me.

I expect to ask a lot of questions about the albums I got from my mother's family.  The regular US stamps were mostly removed before I got the albums--in the 50s and 60s, my grandmother needed any money she could get--but there are a lot of older international stamps.  (There's also two albums of precancels.) I don't think that I have a lot of high value material, but it sure is historically interesting!  I've attached a couple of pictures below to give a sense for what is there.   

Ted the Talking Stamp collector advertises this forum as friendly.  (What a great YouTube show he has!  Thanks for it.)  I hope that's true for beginners as well as experienced collectors.  I'm guessing that it is--   

Looking forward to learning from all of you--

Widmer

[widmerpoolmycat]

I tried uploading some images, but I couldn't quite get the interface to work. Any tips?

Widmer

[I.M. DeBear]

widmerpoolmycat, It's not very hard, actually. I'm chronically lo-tech, and I picked it up pretty quick, with the kind assistance of kacyds, and khj. I just lit them up, so one or both will pop in soon to help you.

[I.M. DeBear]

I could show you how I do it, but my skills here are very basic, just enough to be able. Those two guys are experts on all of the ins-and-outs, and can advise intelligently on what may be best for you. On the other hand, if basic functionality works for you, light me up.

[khj]

Welcome widmerpoolmycat!

If you are going to use SeeMyStamps, set up an account at SMS first. After you upload pics to SMS, you can copy the image URL to your post.

You are not required to use SMS. You can use any image host that you are already using if you would like.

The advantage of SMS is that I'm also an admin there, so I can also look under the hood over there in case there are image hosting issues.

I'll be out/in running errands for the next couple of hours, but will check in when I can.

[widmerpoolmycat]

Hmm! Like this?

My album:

seemystamps.com/image/4AO6t
seemystamps.com/image/4AySj

An older family album:

seemystamps.com/image/4AcAr
seemystamps.com/image/4Dm3B

The oldest family album:


seemystamps.com/image/4DKsD

[khj]

widmerpoolmycat, almost.

On SMS, instead of choosing "Image Link", choose "Image URL".

Then back on Stamp Bears, while typing your post, click on the square "Insert Image" icon/button in your post editing window, paste in the Image URL, click on rounded rectangle "Insert Image" button.

I have taken the liberty of editing your post above to change one of the pictures. In your post, you can click on the "Edit" button and view in BBCode mode to see what I did and the difference between the simple links you posted and getting the pictures to show directly.

[widmerpoolmycat]

Got it! Thanks so much for your assistance.

My album:




An older family album:




The oldest family album:

[khj]

Looks great, widmerpoolmycat!

Actually, some of your German stamps have decent value catalog wise, although some of the stamps are a bid degraded/beatup.

It's definitely a nice start if you want to go into Germany as a country collection!

[I.M. DeBear]

[widmerpoolmycat]

Hey! Thanks for looking! I chose German Empire kind of randomly, but what I can do is pull together all of my German stamps and see what that looks like. (Is there a place here on Stamp Bears that I can post the result of those labors?)

One bigger question raised for me by the condition of the stamps, for me, is conservation. That oldest album is quite brown in the pages, and I am guessing that it's nothing like "acid free." I'm attached to the album as a historical collection, but I don't want to leave rare/good stamps in that book if I should be giving them a safer and more stable home. (It's not like the albuim hasn't already been raided.) Is anybody willing to offer advice about how to make the decision to "stabilize" certain stamps in a collection like this? All of them?

Again, thanks for the look--

Widmer

[khj]

Unlike historical documents, there's really nothing you can do to "stabilize" a stamp other than put it in a climate controlled environment. Stamps were not printed on archival paper nor with archival ink nor was archival gum used. You can't undo the raw material. Trying to undo/neutralize all those factors is next to impossible, and can get really really expensive.

Stamps that have "foxing" or "rust", you should isolate until you can determine whether just paper acidity issue, staining, or active mildew/mold infection. Usually, acidity/staining you can simply keep it in a mount.

Album page "browning", it's not worth trying to "preserve". I would remove the stamps and start using a new album, and store the old album elsewhere as a "memento". Yes, it basically happens due to either humidity, heat, paper acidity, or combination of those factors.

I know a big deal is made over acid-free paper. But remember, the great majority of stamps were not printed on acid-free paper. Also, the less acidic your paper, the more prone to mildew/mold infections.

I have some very old albums that are still in pretty good condition even though the pages are not acid-free. I attribute that to a combination of proper storage/environment by previous owner(s). There's a very noticeable difference in albums published with extremely high quality specialty paper (some of those old Y&T albums are to die for).

[khj]

May 31, 2023 14:01:56 GMT -5 widmerpoolmycat said:

I chose German Empire kind of randomly, but what I can do is pull together all of my German stamps and see what that looks like. (Is there a place here on Stamp Bears that I can post the result of those labors?)

Yes, you create your own new thread in the Regional Stamp Discussions Forum and post/discuss there. If you put it in the Member Collections Board, it will only be viewable by members actively signed in, not others simply surfing/searching the internet. All the other boards in that forum, are viewable by the general public and search engines that follow protocol.

For Germany, there's a actually a Germany Sub-board under the Stamps of Europe Board.

[crazyquilter]

widmerpoolmycat, Nice to see you get so involved and ask questions.

[widmerpoolmycat]

I’m afraid mostly what I have is questions at this point! Lots to learn—

W

[I.M. DeBear]

widmerpoolmycat, There's a lot of knowledge stashed around here, and more importantly, plenty of ppl willing to share it.

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed. If in terms of ten years, plant trees. If in terms of a hundred years, teach.
(Confucius)

[stampie78]

Jun 2, 2023 6:59:24 GMT -5 widmerpoolmycat said:

I’m afraid mostly what I have is questions at this point! Lots to learn—

W

Great place to be if you have questions. Someone will be able to give you an answer or at least tell you where to find it.

I have picked up lots of tips since I have been here.

Welcome to stampbears.

[stampie78]

widmerpoolmycat, just reading through your posts. You mentioned you had a HE Harris album but very few stamps in it.

Here's the deal.

When you reach fifty (50) posts on stampbears, just message me with your address and I will send you a bunch of US stamps to go in that album.

No catches, no costs to you, just your address. You will not get any spam from my either.

Ask the administrators, I am quite sure they will vouch for me.  I have done this before a few times. (givesways)

All the best in your new collecting hobby.

Also when you reach 50 posts you are eligible to participate in my "giveaways"

Have fun and happy stamping.

[widmerpoolmycat]

I guess I’ve got some posting to do! Thanks for the welcome and the generous offers—

W

[ferthalangur (aka Rob)]

Welcome to Stamp Bears widmerpoolmycat !

I am late to the party as usual.

Stamp Bears is a great place to ask questions, post pictures from your collection, and interact with other collectors. Everyone here is very friendly and helpful and it's a fun place to visit / hang out to talk about stamps.

Rob