A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Stamps Ep. 2 -- A Cautionary Tale

Join me on my stamp collecting journey, as I hunt for rare and unique collectibles, and share the tips and tricks learned along the way.
My goal is for you to learn from my mistakes, and to enjoy my adventures too.
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And join in the conversation below!
#stampcollecting #stamps #philately #collectingtips #collections

[@fenrik8178]

Apparently from what I understand, as soon as those sheets between the pages turn yellow it actually does the opposite and you should either take them out or transfer the stamps to a new stockbook. (Transferring your stamps to somewhere new after a couple of years is good policy anyways.) Right now I'm trying out a stockbook with clear interleaves, though those do tend to be more expensive.

[@zabchan]

Not only am I learning about stockbooks, I'm getting asmr tingles from the page turning!

[@ericbond5276]

I'm all for stock books.

[@davidcolombier5673]

Hi. I collect stamps since 1972 (age 8). After 3 different collections: the first time was in Paris where I spent my first 16 years of my life. The 2nd time, I was in Los Angeles from 1980-1992 and the 3rd time was in Israel from 1992-2021. I am back in France (2023) with my 3rd collection + other stamps I got here. You guessed it: I love stamps. David

[@Thefarm-r2t]

Thank you ❤

[@chrissahar2014]

The challenge for collectors though is having the time to put information into the album about each stamp. I started strong but have faltered but also decided that some stamp need not any identification - generally US commemorative stamps since the late 1990's always have the date and are quite distinct. Many world stamps are easily identifiable if you pay attention to year and denomination. Note this is for what I call ultra-modern stamps, those issued since about 1980 or 1990 onward. But ideally yea everything shoudl be identified and I hope to get to that soon.

[@silkontheweb]

Absolutely... I'll be sharing how I do it down the road a bit, but mostly focus areas and really nice stamps I find because it is time consuming... but, I really like looking up the information and identifying stamps... such a fun part of the hobby.

[@davidcolombier5673]

Today I collect Stamps of China and Hong-Kong. I have other countries too. David

[@silkontheweb]

I love the design on Hong Kong's stamps... beautiful...

[@terrybunting8685]

I agree, foxing will always spread over time. I recently found out that the swordfish stamp that you showed has been discovered to have a previously unlisted perforation variation . Thanks for another great video.

[@silkontheweb]

That's so cool... I've been too general, I think, because I've been fascinated by so much in stamp collecting. Working on focusing so I can learn the different variations

[@terrybunting8685]

There is so many variations, and new discoveries are being found constantly. I only found out about this stamp by chance. An auctioneer at county Philatelic Auctions uk had written an article on their information section. I constantly view their sales list to discover stamp variations. I love your videos , keep up the good work. Terry, Devon uk

[@silkontheweb]

Thank you so much for the encouragement! Means a lot to me... and, well, had a particularly long day at the office today... your note has really lifted my spirits. Many thanks

[@Robertbrown08049]

I use stockbooks only for stamps not pictured in my album and yes I put little pieces of paper with the Scott number next to them.

[@HenkeV368]

stamps with nice cancells is just beautiful, they tell something else

[@BESTLOADOUTS]

This is my new favourite stamp channel 🥳

[@fareast_de]

Very nice quality collection of NZ stamps in chronological order, thanks for sharing. Concerning the basement smell, there´s only one solution for this problem: get the stamps out of this stock book, throw the book away and put the stamps into an empty box of washing powder for a while. Greets from GER, U.

[@silkontheweb]

Agreed... and done!

[@silkontheweb]

Thanks for mentioning the absorbent material btw... great advice...

[@fenrik8178]

Yeah... I hate it when it's not clear on the pictures and listing that the book has foxing or mold. I remember being fairly dissapointed one time with a purchase on Catawiki due to that. Lots of stamps that I couldn't put into my collection. The thing I usually do to make stamps lose the smell is place them on a tray in a room woth good airflow (but not that much sunlight) and just keeping it like that for a week or two. When it comes to my own collection I always make sure to regularly flip through it, to air the stamps. (At least once every month)

[@silkontheweb]

Absolutely... thankfully these were okay a few days later... just makes me sad for the collection overall, but glad to have a chance to at least save the stamps.

[@jeffmitchell1003]

Those early NZ stamps have a huge variety of perforations, paper types and watermarks. I've recently started specialising in them and they are fascinating. If you choose to go deeper with them I'd strongly recommend trying to get a hold of the Campbell Paterson Catalogue of NZ Stamps and the first four volumes of The Postage Stamps of New Zealand. They are expensive but worth their weight in penny blacks if you want to specialise in NZ stamps.

[@silkontheweb]

That's great advice, thanks for sharing! Not sure yet what I'll do with these.... (they're in stock cards, now).... when I picked it up I thought I might put together a little New Zealand collection, I've since started others and am really trying to focus my collecting. Definitely beautiful and interesting stamps tho

[@rogerturner1881]

would be a good video to find out when the stockbook came into being and who did the 1st one. You should see my NZ collection .

[@GreatStampAdventure]

Thank you Silk for another great video. I like your beginner series. You explain and give information of different aspects of stamp collecting so well. I am a beginner stamp collector, and various stamp collectors with experience advised me that I should start of my albums as stock books, until I have a more "settled" collection to which I don't add so much anymore. Thanks again!

[@kiwis0uth]

Thanks for the show. I'm a NZer and I would give my eye teeth for a couple of those early Queen Vic full faces. I have had a couple of albums dated back to the 1920's and sadly after taking the stamps out, disposed of the albums. The earliest stamps were 1870's, latest were late 1920s. World stamp and nothing worth a great deal but fascinating nonetheless. I now mainly used stock books but stock cards look like the way to go. Cost about $60NZ for 100, depending on size. Keep up the good work.

[@silkontheweb]

So glad you enjoyed it! I think those early Queen Victoria stamps are so cool... would love to collect them more, but boy are they pricey... happy collecting!

[@davidkeeley8473]

Thanks for the great video. I'm currently transferring my grandmothers pre-1930's collection to a stockbook, or two. I'm facing the same dilemma, how to label and identify stamps so the next person (grandson perhaps) knows what is there. Have you done that video yet? Just curious. I can go back with slips of paper, but there has to be a better presentation. Thanks for sharing.

[@silkontheweb]

Check out my "My Collection of Canada Stamps" video... best presentation of my system, I think. It ought to resonate with younger collectors too, who are used to baseball and Pokémon cards...

[@davidkeeley8473]

will do. Thanks

[@davidkeeley8473]

ok, I think I'm on the right track. I'm using stock cards with all the information I can find. I think that works. Thank you again for your time and energy putting together these videos. They really do help. Much appreciated.

[@abijahdixon2771]

Thanks for the video, I always see the videos too late😂😂

[@jyang8828]

Great video. Russia stamp collection video? Thanks!

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

Stock books have another great advantage if you intend to sell your collection. Unless your album is high-grade and new, a dealer or a buyer will NEVER buy the album from you as part of the sale. In other words, they are virtually useless in re-sale and do not add to a collection's value. If you try to ask for a premium based on the album, a dealer will tell you to please take the stamps out and keep the album. Since really high quality albums are very expensive and only really hold value to the original owner, I choose to save the money for more very good stamps. I always know myself which stamps in my collection are the highest quality and most valuable.