The Stamp that makes it...

[Admin Bear]

i do not recall if i have ever asked this before..

what does a stamp have to have in order to make it into your collection?

let me elaborate a little...

i may be working on my US collection and have 2-400 (yes two through as many as four hundred) copies of a particular stamp that i need in my album. in order to make it into my album the stamp should be used, either a clear postmark or if its a heavy one it does not completely block out the image (unless the stamp is very old then i dont mind heavy cancels), and no tears ect... i do not get over the top about centering, but i would like the design to be well printed (not blurred).. when we get into colors i want it to be clearly the color listed (if i can see it!!) being color blind on the red spectrum however prevents me from seeing shade variations so i do not get concerned with this.

if the little art wonder meets my criteria (and or my mood at times) it makes its way into the album via a well secured hinge.

How does a stamp make it into your collection?

[dcstamps]

Jun 5, 2014 7:28:31 GMT -5 Admin Bear said:

i do not recall if i have ever asked this before..

what does a stamp have to have in order to make it into your collection?

let me elaborate a little...

i may be working on my US collection and have 2-400 (yes two through as many as four hundred) copies of a particular stamp that i need in my album. in order to make it into my album the stamp should be used, either a clear postmark or if its a heavy one it does not completely block out the image (unless the stamp is very old then i dont mind heavy cancels), and no tears ect... i do not get over the top about centering, but i would like the design to be well printed (not blurred).. when we get into colors i want it to be clearly the color listed (if i can see it!!) being color blind on the red spectrum however prevents me from seeing shade variations so i do not get concerned with this.

if the little art wonder meets my criteria (and or my mood at times) it makes its way into the album via a well secured hinge.

How does a stamp make it into your collection?

Interesting question.

Unfortunately my answer is rather mundane.

For a stamp to make it into my collection it has to:

1. Be a Dead Country according to my collecting definition (of course)

2. Fill a hole (I even use damaged stamps as a temporary space filler until I can find a replacement)

3. Tell a story.  Sometimes I include multiples of the same stamp if it has a nice cancel, and helps tell the story of that particular stamp or dead country.

If the stamp doesn't fit any of these, I keep it aside for trading, or potentially selling.

Michael

[khj]

That's easy. Somebody just has to send it me. I'll make sure it has a nice home, even if I already have 99 copies of it already.

[Admin Bear]

[khj]

Uh, actually I was serious. But I should clarify. Everything will go into my accumulation. To make it into my stamp "collection" of all different, it just has to be different in some way other than different type of cancel (except for numbered Maltese Cross, which I do collect by numbers).

[Admin Bear]

i will have to remember that when i get done with my US material..

once i get my back side in gear i will let you know and we can work something out.

[khj]

I've set up "guidelines" for myself in the past, but I'm nowhere as disciplined as Michael. Which explains why his dead country collection looks so much better than anything I've got.

[Craig]

If I've got a space for it in my country albums, in it goes, regardless of condition (I note it on my inventory matrix sheet).. If I don't collect the country, and if it's a certain topical, it goes into my Vario binders. If it still doesn't fit either category, I make a page for it.

Desired condition: MNH or LH for my unused collections; well-centered (at least F-VF), no damages, light cancel (corner CDS preferred).

Everything else is dealt with appropriately ... Mount in sales book, or approval cards in boxes ... My used U.S. goes in a bin.

Wait ... I gave too much info there at the end.

[JanetC]

I prefer mint in my collection but if all I have is used and more than 1:
No tears or bent corners.
I do not like postmarks covering the picture so the less postmark, the better. If all I have are covering pic then the cancel which is the clearest.

If I only have 1 it goes in the collection no matter what condition it is in until a better one comes along. Hey, beggars can't be choosers.

[kacyds]

Most of what I collect is used stamps. If I have multiple copies of the same stamp, I look for one that is not damaged, has a cancellation that is not covering most of the image and one that hasnt been cancelled by a marker monkey (or pen cancelled).

If I only have one copy, I will mount a mint, damaged, or heavy cancelled stamp in my album. If a better copy comes my way later, then I will switch it out.

[Perfs14]

Mine is an exclusion parameter rather than inclusion: foxed stamps go in the bin.

I have not had valuable stamps that were foxed, I am not sure how strong my resolve would be in that situation

[Butterfly]

I must admit -- I'm pretty picky about which stamps I will keep for display.

I adhere to the never less than 50 percent rule.

This one just barely made it.    wheew!

[km41566]

I usually try to get the best used copy of a stamp as possible. No folds, tears, heavy cancellations, stains, foxing, etc. However, I am more accepting of a little damage on older, more expensive stamps or if it is a stamp from a country that does not come up that often.