Should I Use Stamp Mounts or Stamp Hinges For My Stamp Collection? Part 4 of 4 Parts.

Some people - especially older stamp collectors and those who collect used stamps - prefer the old-style gummed stamp hinges that until the 1950s or 1960s were just about the only thing available for mounting stamps.

Other people would never even consider using hinges in their stamp collections.

Each mounting method has its good points and its bad points. This post will discuss the disadvantages of using stamp hinges.

Disadvantages of Stamp Hinges:

• As a general rule, stamp hinges should not be used with mint (unused) stamps, as doing so will damage the stamps' gum and reduce their value accordingly. Because of this, stamp mounts are more appropriate for mint, unused stamps.
  

• Stamps can usually be removed from a stamp fairly easily, at least with high-quality hinges. But please take care when removing a stamp hinge from a stamp, otherwise there is at least some risk of creating a hinge remnant, thin or even a tear in the stamp.

• Hinged stamps sometimes get tangled up with each other when leafing through a stamp album that has double-sided pages with stamps on both sides. And stamps sometimes fall off or pull away from their hinges. Either way, there is a serious risk of one or more stamps being damaged.
  

Should I Use Stamp Mounts or Stamp Hinges For My Stamp Collection? Part 3 of 4 Parts.

Some people - especially older stamp collectors and those who collect used stamps - prefer the old-style gummed stamp hinges that until the 1950s or 1960s were just about the only thing available for mounting stamps.

Other people would never even consider using hinges in their stamp collections.

Each mounting method has its good points and its bad points. This post will discuss the advantages of using stamp hinges.

Advantages of Stamp Hinges:

• Stamp hinges are very inexpensive when compared to the cost of stamp mounts. A pack of pre-cut stamp mounts will cost at least $3 at most stamp shops and will usually only contain 25 or so mounts. In contrast, a pack of stamp hinges will only cost $5 or $6 but typically contains 1,000 hinges.

• Stamps can usually be removed from a stamp fairly easily, at least with high-quality hinges. But please take care when removing a stamp hinge from a stamp, otherwise there is at least some risk of creating a thin or even a tear in the stamp. And because they're usually easy to remove, stamps can readily be moved to a different location on an album page without damaging the album page either. Although stamps mounted in stamp mounts can be very easily removed or relocated, the mounts themselves can be difficult to remove from an album page without causing damage to the page. This can make it very difficult to re-orient / change the layout of stamps on a given page.

• Stamp hinges are great for beginners, for those working with a limited budget, or for those who collect postally used stamps, since there's no gum to be damaged.
  

Part 4 - the disadvantages of stamp hinges - will be posted tomorrow.

Should I Use Stamp Mounts or Stamp Hinges For My Stamp Collection? Part 2 of 4 Parts.

Some people - especially older stamp collectors and those who collect used stamps - prefer the old-style gummed stamp hinges that until the 1950s or 1960s were just about the only thing available for mounting stamps.

Other people would never even consider using hinges in their stamp collections.

Each mounting method has its good points and its bad points. This post will discuss the disadvantages of using stamp mounts.

Disadvantages of Stamp Mounts:

• Stamp mounts are very expensive when compared to the cost of stamp hinges. A pack of pre-cut stamp mounts will cost at least $3 at most stamp shops and will usually only contain 25 or so mounts. In contrast, a pack of stamp hinges will only cost $5 or $6 but typically contains 1,000 hinges.
• Although stamps mounted in stamp mounts can be very easily removed or relocated, the mounts themselves can be difficult to remove from an album page without causing damage to the page. This can make it very difficult to re-orient / change the layout of stamps on a given page.
• If too much moisture is used when attaching a stamp mount to a page, some of the moisture can seep through the slit (where the stamp is inserted) and damage the gum on the back of the stamp, devaluing it significantly if it was previously mint never hinged.

Part 3 - the advantages of stamp hinges - will be posted tomorrow.

Should I Use Stamp Mounts or Stamp Hinges For My Stamp Collection? Part 1 of 4 Parts.

Some people - especially older stamp collectors and those who collect used stamps - prefer the old-style gummed stamp hinges that until the 1950s or 1960s were just about the only thing available for mounting stamps.

Other people would never even consider using hinges in their stamp collections.

Each mounting method has its good points and its bad points. This post will discuss the advantages of using stamp mounts.

Advantages of Stamp Mounts:

• unlike hinges, a properly used stamp mount will leave no mark on the stamp. This preserves the "mint never hinged" condition of unused, unmounted stamps. Hinging a previously mint never hinged stamp can significantly and adversely affect its value. Thus, using stamp mounts instead of hinges can preserve the value of your unused stamps.
• stamp mounts, unlike hinges, can help protect your stamps. When stamp mounts are used, the stamps are enclosed in a protective plastic-like layer. The stamps are much less likely to fall off the page or get tangled up with each other
• if a collector acquires a "better" copy of a stamp that he or she already has, it's very easy to do a switch and replace: simply slip the stamp to be replaced out of the mount (leaving the mount in place on the album page) and slip the new stamp right in. No muss, no fuss, and no damage to either of the stamps.
• stamp mounts are available in dozens and dozens of different sizes, and can be purchased in strips to be cut to size as needed (a bit less expensive) or in pre-cut sizes (very convenient and time-saving). The larger sizes allow a collector to place large items such as souvenir sheets or stamp panes into an album without having to use multiple hinges.

Part 2 - the disadvantages of stamp mounts - will be posted tomorrow.