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.