Excellent video as usual. Ran up against a similar problem after completing my Queen Elizabeth II Great Britain collection. Decided to start another collection based on Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps 1840-1970. A huge undertaking especially as albums would be expensive. Solved the problem by purchasing two CDs of print your own album pages containing some 2500 plus Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II ready made pages. Printing them on heavy acid free A4 pages, adding clear mounts for the stamps and inserting the pages in clear four ring pouches which are again acid free and can be put in binders. Very flexible system as you only have to print the pages that interest you and can add additional pages as required. Perhaps not the way you want to do it but worth considering. Should you want to go down this route let me know and will be happy to email you some pictures and the suppliers details.

Hello. Sir, I sent you a message on KZbin about the stamp collection and you said to send me an email. I sent an email but you haven't replied yet. please answer

Hello . We sent you an email about the stamp collection that you said, please check it

I have a dream to put my entire worldwide collection in a system of albums or binders. I haven't started because I'm not sure how I want to do it. I have many many thousands of worldwide stamps from many countries. I'd like to discuss further with you to get some advice. Are you interested in helping me?

I recently bought a Scott 1840-1940 album (empty). I plan on putting used stamps into it using hinges! In contrast I have a hinge-less USA collection.

My great grandmother had tons of friends and relatives save their postage stamps from their mail for years-and my mom is sorting it and found your channel.We love it,your enthusiasm is so pleasant!

June one's is to be preserved, it is a complete era and a nice album. I would put the most valuable pages under clear mounts, hinges traces on page would be hidden by stamps. I would keep less valuable pages as it, they will mostly be full, stamps wills survive and it shows the example of what to do for high class collecting. It speaks about the old school way to do it. But it is my opinion! Dismantle Robert's album, it is too much 'hordic' and it will be better in separate albums, it would give lot of pleasure (and time!) to do. It would give you time to convert June's best pages properly and extend her journey! Make it yours!

You asked what I think and I will tell you. What seems to be exciting for you is terrifying for me. I cannot imagine myself removing those stamps and putting then back together on another medium. For me I am done with overthinking of the acidfree paper or anything else. If I were you I would mount the ones I have on top of the others already in the album. That looks like a pretry good album. If you don’t care much about it send it to me I would be happy to build on it. I believe the measures you can take or how far would you go depends on what gives you that spark. For me it would be more on some other type of stamps - where my heart lays- and also man! I am thinking how do you find the time? I am 42 and have a 6 year old daughter - whom I try every means to build an interest so that I can still be with her and spend time on the hobby. But there is so much work out of this mindset. May be you don’t sleep ?? And how can you shoot video, edit and upload and go through comments and everything??? Unimaginable 😮. I am pretry dead after my 8-5 work and my daughter jumping all over me until 9/10.. the house work waits on the side 😅 I stopped even unpacking after holidays 🤪 cannot take more work anymore - somebody please help! The only thing keeps my sanity is checking this videos or mails for stamps…

ya, i agree, i cannot tell you how many stamps i soaked out of old albums. best luck on removal!

The previous owner was a good guardian of that heritage, the baton passed to you and need to preserve best you can.

This is so useful. I have exactly this problem. I purchased a partially filled commonwealth album with the intension of adding my stamps to this album. The prospect of hinging my stamps has put me off this idea. I think I will print up a commonwealth album and combine all my stamps in this one new album. Thanks for this discussion it has been really helpful.

ill be here watching and learning..

Keep one part of your collection as hinged…simply those that are not of great value - but of stuff you want to keep…then out of the better quality stuff, build your own system. You’ve got solid ideas and it will be “your’s”. One day, someone is going to take your collection apart anyway and then make it their own…and find the same joy in the sifting process. So enjoy your time with them and make it yours! 🤗😎

It is your collection and you can do whatever you want and whatever brings you joy. However, disagree with a few of the comments. Hinges on used stamps do not damage the stamps. Hinges on already hinged mint stamps do not damage the stamps. Hinges on MNH stamps does disturb the gum which does lower their value, agreed. The SG album is printed on high quality paper and would have browned in the last 50 years - it doesn't appear to have done so. It is a beautiful album and collection - If it were mine, I would simply fill the holes with nice used copies or mint hinged copies using hinges. There is an art to using good hinges that securely attaches the stamps to the album but minimizes the moisture used and extent of hinge that is actually sticking to the stamp. There is also an idea that collections like these are archival artifacts, and to preserve and extend them involves using methods and materials that are consistent with how the album was used during the original collector's lifetime. Finally, the idea that there is a "modern" way to collecting is an idea sold by the makers of contemporary supplies, who would love to have all collectors spend thousands on albums and mounts. I have seen so many collectors get caught up in this - it is worth it if your collection is small, specialized and expensive. It is not worth it if the collection is large and not particularly valuable. I have tens of thousands of worldwide stamps - I will continue to use hinges unless I have a particularly expensive stamp (i.e. over $5-10 retail). If someone wanted to collect a classic world collection, using something like Vario sheets would definitely be doable. If you are collecting world through the current era, you will quickly run out of space and funds for supplies. I have also seen different era's "modern supplies" like crystal mounts completely destroy collections.

I normally use black Showgards. But, I would add mint stamps to that collection with clear mounts. I have no issue with hinging used stamps.

I can completely relate to the feeling of being "burnt out" while collecting a specific topic. Personally I was a British Commonwealth collector up to the early '60's. Eventually I got tired of staring at the same royalties so I decided to "augment" my collection to be able to look at some other motifs. I decided to go Worldwide 1840-1919 mint ("new" as you like to call it) and purchased the two editions of the re-issued Scott Brown Worldwide pages for those years. I'm having a blast alternating between my British Commonwealth and the Worldwide collection. It keeps my collecting feeling fresh and exciting. For the Worldwide album I use clear mounts, but not for the stamps, individually, unless the printed spot in the album shows separation from other stamps. I put a strip along the whole "series" keep filling up the empty spaces as I encounter the stamps. A word of caution; make sure that you're clear with which era you want to collect. 1840-1919 by itself includes close to 2,000 pages of stamps. Collecting Worldwide can become overwhelming quite fast. I look forward to follow your journey and see what you decide. You have a truly great and inspiring channel. Keep collecting.

I wouldn't do anything as it could cause worse trouble than just leaving it as it is. The George VI album is attractive as it is, leave it be. Hopefully no one ever even considers doing this to FDR's collection in the Smithsonian; it would RUIN it!

Love yr enthusiasm! Am fully retired && can spend as much time as i want stamping..

Actually, in the 70s hinge-less mounting was quite common and already preferred for mounting mint stamps. Today, using hinges on mint stamps of any value is completely taboo. ;-) There is a technique for removing hinges from the gum of mint stamps. I use a Q-tip, water, patience and some surgeon's steady hand but leaves the gum intact, albeit disturbed.

Here’s what I would do-keep the album and every time you add a stamp, remount the whole page with black mounts. They will protect the stamps from any minor acid worry. Actually, what I would do is make my own albums for these stamps.

There is a special ph test pen that you can get which lets you know how acidic paper is. Make a mark in an inconspicuous place in the album and the mark will change color to indicate the acidity that is in the paper. That being said, some stamps are very acidic themselves. For instance, I have had copies of Azerbaijan 1-10 which had caused a discoloration in the album. Stamp collecting gives you great freedom in what to do with your stamps; how that they should be arranged. I would suggest that if you place unused, hinged stamps in a mount, make a notation under the stamps that they are hinged. I have purchased collections where everything was in mounts, only to find that unused stamps that I thought were never hinged were hinged.

Mr. Silk: I think you are making the right decision not hingeing stamps into that album (whether they're already hinged or not), and deciding to preserve June's KGVI stamps better than her album does. It is the right move, heartbreaking as it may be to disassemble her beautiful collection.

you could take out the stamps put mounts in the old album and then put the stamps back in??

A super project. That collection is just superb!!

I'd pull the stamps out and place them in a manner that best serves your collection and their longevity. There's no way I'd ever hinge a stamp now under any circumstances. Some good stuff in there and that area is absolutely brilliant.

At this time, my premier collecting ( maps on stamps ) are going into Vario pages. Any used stamp or stamp that has been hinged is going into albums (not the traditional albums with pictures of many stamps - more like blank pages and including stamps I like) using some old, "70's" era Dennison hinges. Any truly valuable stamps, which I don't have very many of, are going into a quality mount. Focus is getting more important as I seem to be accumulating many WW stamps that I honestly have no interest in saving / adding to collections. When I get an old album, I remove the stamps. A few are added to my collection, many go into the "give 'em away" pile. While "June's" King George VI album looks like a nice, good condition album, as you noted, the paper is going to eventually damage the stamps. Best to rehome 'em. As many have said, "Collect what ya want, how you want," and have fun with it ! Just to toss this into the mix, what about your Space stamps??? ;-)

Focus your collection is good advice if that is what you wish to do. Having a more general, worldwide collection is good advice if that is what you wish to do. Basically, do what works for you. I get a little….miffed(?) when I am told I HAVE to specialize. Enjoy the hobby, whatever that means for you😉. In terms of the Stanley Gibbons album, I guess I am of a different mindset. It is a gorgeous album and I would leave it as is and build/add to it.

I have been struggling with the same dilemma with my Grandfather's Canada collection. It is hinged, but wonderful but it needs to be taken apart and redone properly. I just keep putting it off.

Oh, and avoid Crystal Mount, assuming you can still even find that garbage 😂

Ohhhh boy could I write a book here! 🙂 I have also recently "brickwalled" when it comes to hinges. I am also doing a major reorg/declutter of my massive holdings. ("Holdings?" Cue Alf "HA!" 😂) I will always love a good stamp album as I know you will. Regarding these two, your thought process is perfect. You're just at that bridge... 🤔 A few years ago, my father gave me his enormous boyhood album, which was printed in 1938. It was one of the pieces that founded and solidified my interest. It was the first time since childhood that I teared up in front of my dad 🥹 I will always leave this priceless treasure intact! I also have an old Russian album that a friend gave me several years ago. There's no emotional or other real attachment (except that she is one of my dearest friends). I also have about ten 4-inch binders to take apart but that was my own doing. I will be taking those apart and arranging them in Lighthouse stock pages. The duplicates will be arranged in glassine-lined stock books as I love that look. Finally, I have noticed a big difference in quality on hinges. The older ones usually peel off more easily and leave less damage. I like the stock book/ page idea because you can arrange things any way you like. And (as long as PVC is avoided, of course 👃), there's no risk of chemical reactions/damage. Have fun and keep us posted!

Good luck my friend! I will keep my fingers crossed for your success! Best regards! 🤩

Currently Germany for me is like collecting multiple countries, but I’m sure I’ll hit a snag somewhere lol. Maybe then I’ll do something with my random worldwide stamps, or bring more order into my future planned (old) Latin America focused collection. I want to try my hand at creating a custom album sometime even if I enjoy my Lindner one a lot currently.

Ooh if you do decide to pull the stamps for a different album that you make yourself might be cool for us to see the planning/doing or it in a video.

Hmm I’m thinking of what I would do... the album looks indeed to be in really great condition, possibly acid free? (Maybe a test is warranted)I see a few options to consider (haven’t watched the rest of the video yet): Put all new stamps you have in modern hinges and leave the rest of the stamps of the album as is. Downside: might not look cohesive. Don’t put these mint stamps you just bought in, put in used versions of that stamp with hinges. That way, if it’s necessary you can remove those hinges from the stamps without damaging any gum. Pro: the album will look cohesive Downsides: the stamps have a higher chance of being damaged in the future. Also I recently removed some older British stamps from an album, should’ve researched probably, but anyways one bled quite badly when removing the hinge (not all) not sure if these are the same or not. Another option would be to remove all stamps from the album and put them back in with hingeless mounts instead. For the MH ones remove as much of the hinge as you like with whatever method (just leaving it on, removing the gum and hinge, cutting it off with a knife or shortening it with scissors etc.) and place them in the mounts too. The last option would be to take out the stamps and move them somewhere different, something I would in this case (since the albums still so nice) only do if I have a nicer album with many other stamps in it already waiting. That way I wouldn’t have my collection in two separate albums. Otherwise I would in this case (surprisingly for my tendencies to destroy albums not mine so far lol) probably use the album myself, but just the option to replace the hinges with mounts. Curious to hear what you’ll be doing! :)

you are absolutely right my friend. awesome collections.

Don't hinge!!!...damage the stamps more...just my views...

What would I do if I were you? June's collection IS now your collection, as it stands. No matter how it's housed. I might be weird, but I view old albums themselves as collectible. Old album designs are cool. I would carefully remount the stamps in June's album in a modern clear mount as to not disturb the original look of her collection. The process would be fun for me. Put on some good music, pour a nice Scotch, and have at it. That would protect the stamps from your concerns with the acidic paper. I would continue to build upon her work by adding my new KGVI stamps to her album using the same clear mounts. I would also write a brief notation in the front of the book (probably in pencil) of my name, the date I acquired the collection, and what work I did to the album...kinda like a watchmaker does when he services a watch or clock.

First, I’m a worldwide collector for the reasons you mentioned. Tired with a country? I just move to the next country! I collect mainly with Lighthouse Vario stock pages. Some countries have one binder. Some have more (I think Germany has sprouted to five!) I dislike fooling with mounts and seldom use them. I do have a Canada and a US album that I hinge into…more for nostalgia than anything else. I pull stamps from albums I buy all the time. And know that, someday in the future, another collector will do this with my binders. It’s your collection and you should do what brings you joy! (And just let us tag along for the ride!)

Keep it as a stand-alone single -reign. The paper will not alter in your lifetime. Add hinged issues for a wonderful collection that will not get totally lost in a massive worldwide collection that will have an infinite number of unoccupied space. ...and who knows what kind of a mess you'll have when removing hinges. PLEASE, from a guy who broke up a KG collection for resale and wished he hadn't.

The Stanley Gibbons King George VI album was definitely a big philatelic bargain because the former owner invested a huge amount of $$ (or British Pounds) to fill these pages. As a result, you got tons of key and semi key- vlues in this album. I assume that this album would have made a much better result on ebay Germany or another European platform. Anyway, well deserved, keep it up, and just try to fill more of these pages ! Greets from GER, U. P.S. My recommendation would be to use transparent mounts for your mint never hinged additions.

You're missing the obvious. The beauty of mint stamps is that they still have the original gum on them. Just lick em and stick em!!! Jokes aside, completing the album with mounts would not make it look weird at all. Quite the opposite, it will highlight her collection and keep it distinguished from your contribution. As far as the paper being acidic... well... not much to do about that. Make sure it's actually not acid-free, seeing that it lasted this long with no yellowing. Otherwise, yeah... you may have to spend a few weekends transferring it all to new pages.

First off, it's up to you. I worry about folks implying so strongly that the only unused stamps worth collecting are never hinged and the only used stamps worth collecting are postally used and rejecting CTO. I feel rather strongly that stamps will never boom like they did 50, 60, 100 years ago. That $20 set you buy today won't go up 2x inflation in your lifetime, whether hinged, not hinged, etc etc. Will you ever be able to sell it for a real / significant profit? Unlikely. So enjoy it! Buy it for a price that suits its condition and enjoy it. Language certainly impacts one's view of things. You say a 100 year old stamp is 'new', I say 'unused'. You say hinged, unused stamps are 'damaged', I say they might have a mark on the back. Some say used stamps with a catalogue number on the back are damaged, others say album pages with catalogue numbers penciled on are damaged. Damaged is an awfully strong word for these things. Less desirable? Depends on the stamp and the buyer. I wouldn't pay a premium for a mnh stamp and then hinge it. Then again, I wouldn't buy a mnh stamp for that album. I would take the money I save by not buying mnh and buy a pack of the good old Dennison hinges. Those permanent bound albums will bulge much more with thick mounts. You risk doing more damage to the album binding by filling it up with mounts than damage to the stamps from a good hinge. And album quality varied even back in the days when crystal mount were destroying the first wave of mnh stamps. Yes, the kids albums yellowed, but not all. It's worth testing the paper. Your album is as lovely as the stamps in it. One last thought - you might look at this as a chance to learn a new skill - proper hinging. Can you place new stamps in that album with the skill and dexterity of the original owner? (heck, can you place clear mounts with her skill? She did a great job!) In the end, do what you like, for sure. And share where your boindaries are. Every collector has a different take on this which varies across age ranges and experience levels. So keep speaking your truth, while acknowledging there is no single truth to this "debate" . 😊

I will just add one more thing to my previous comment: because you made that beautiful video of June's album, page by page, which I for one will watch again and again, you will always have June's album with you, even after you dismantle it and absorb it into your own collection. So it will live on.

Wow. Big topic. I've read other people's comments here. Also, as I have gotten to know some dealers through my stamp club, I have heard their perspectives on stamp preservation and valuation (opinions vary, because most dealers are also collectors). Then there's my own stamp journey, which continues to evolve. My admittedly limited understanding thus far leads me to say that ultimately you have to be true to your own inclinations, which are informed by how you think about value. If "value" to you encompasses not only beauty (again, personal -- cancelled or uncancelled or both), but also the most pristine stamp quality you can afford, then it makes sense to care about preservation. To the point: I love June's album. It is a work of beauty in and of itself due to both quality of content and the care she took in mounting. But. We all know that hinging is sub-optimum, and today's hinges are inferior. If you have the money to spend on high quality hingeless albums, or on mounts, I say go for it. However, having myself just bought a 100-plus-year-old British album and removed and temporarily rehoused all the stamps into stock sheets, I will testify that it is a mammoth and exhausting and fiddly job, and stamps will be damaged, no matter how careful you are. You know that, I'm sure. But this feels like a turning point in your stamp journey, and frankly it opens up new horizons, so kudos to you for not being afraid to make big changes, and I will enjoy watching as the path unfolds.

Looks to me like you have an issue with a very very fine album cover (and the life of its original collector), but in contrast to I-don't-know-what-kind-of-amazing-content, and its preservation. Plus the issue of life in the present, in our time (together with preserving for the future). One factor does appear that the album makers don't seem to have made a bad job of things from more than 50 years ago. Getting down to the nitty-gritty it seems to me that removal of the stamps for a bright new contemporary setting does mean throwing the album in the bin or allowing someone else to purchase it and start from the start, in 2024, rather than 1968 with 1968 know-how. King George remains a moving figure for me personally, so it is gratifying to encounter careful attention with respect to related matters! I am sincerely,

That is a great idea to complete the album. I remember seeing it in the original video and thinking that it was a beautiful album. Here is my philosophy on hinges vs mounts. I collect worldwide mint only up through 1969. If a stamp is already hinged I rehinge it. Putting a second hinge is not going to devalue it more. As for mint never hinged, I think that if a stamp that is 50-70 years old or more and is still valued under $5 then that most likely will continue to be its value for a long time and the difference between hinged and never hinged is not enough to justify the cost and hassle of a mount. Any MNH stamp that is Cat Value over $5 I mount. Since I only collect older stamps most over $5 stamps that I find are already hinged so that situation does not come up that often. The only exception that I make is my US collection which goes up through 1999 and I am trying to get as much MNH as possible and I do mount all of those, even the 25c stamps. As for acidic pages, I would look at the back of stamps. The album is over 50 years old, If the stamps have not been damaged by now then what are the chances of them being damaged in the next 20 years? I do not know that answer but it is a consideration. Is it possible to take the pages out, copy them on acid free paper and rebind the album? That certainly would be more expensive but it would insure the integrity of the album and answer all your doubts. I would not do that for Robert's album but June's album is a nicer album. The advantages of being a worldwide collector is that I can go to a stamp show and there is always something for me to buy. I have some friends who have much more narrowly defined collections that I meet up with near the end of a show and show off what we purchased. One will say I purchased these 5 stamps, another will say I purchased these 3 stamps. I will pull my finds out and say I purchased these 200 stamps. They grumble and say that that they hate worldwide colectors. Lol!

Seeing all those hinged mint stamps, I was wondering about their value. I come out of German philately, and here hinged mint stamps a usually worth only a fraction of the mnh value. I personally think that stamps, even used ones, should nowadays put into mounts unless they are put into stock books (although I even place the more expensive ones into mounts before I put them into my stock books). What’s your approach going to be? Make up your own pages? And with that worldwide approach, how do you decide which stamps to include? Or are you going to focus on a period of time? I am quite curious how this is going to develop. Best regards!

Clear mounts wouldn't clash as much in that album and black mounts would. Anyway a while back I bought an almost complete collection of Pitcairn Island stamps in an album perfectly mounted but with hinges. My plan was to transfer all of them to black mounts but soon after I lost the urge. I really don't want to spend $1000 on mounts.

As for hinges --- depends on the degree of hinging and how aggressively they were affixed. Yes old hinges diminish value BUT there may be some where that is what you could only afford. If possible it would be great to remove the hinges and put them in mounts if you could do it under the guidance of a professional but as you note doing on your own your risk further damaging the stamp. The album is definitely a keeper as old Stanley Gibbons stamp albums have their own intrinsic value and the stamps are in beautiful condition aside from the hinging. Keep it and may it would be a great gift for a young collector in a few decades and the worth of the stamps will have increased.

Philately is personal. That album was to June and your collection is to you. I don’t care what happens to mine after I go. It’s up to the recipient. I have a 1968 minkus worldwide album from my youth which I will continue to hinge stamps into (with 1968 dennisons)., buy blank pages for etc. but my adult collection will be housed differently. Mainly due to the completely different focuses (and values). And you are so right about the market. If someone thinks stamp collecting is dead try to buy topnotch quality at a decent price. Ha ha. Do as you like. We will watch.