Stamp Collection Organization - Do's and Don'ts

The manner in which you organize the stamps in your collection is entirely up to you, but here are some things the typical stamp collector should do ... and not do.

DO:

Keep your stamps in a safe and secure location. They may be in a stamp album or on stock pages, but keep them away from large swings in temperature or humidity. A house that's maintained in a temperature- and humidity-controlled way (heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer) should be adequate to protect most stamps from these dangers.

DON'T:

Store your stamps in a place where they are easily damaged. This means don't just toss loose stamps (or even gently place them) into a box. After all, stamps are small pieces of paper, and as such, they are very fragile. They bend (crease) and tear very easily. Even stamps that are still affixed to the paper they were mailed on are somewhat fragile, with corners or perforations being fairly easily damaged. Also, don't store stamps in glassine envelopes for very long - move them into your stamp album as soon as you can. Glassines are not acid-free and are not intended for long-term stamp storage - leaving stamps inside them for too long can cause damage.



More stamp collecting "do's and don'ts are coming!