Stamp Collecting Tools

Stamp Collecting Tools Related Information:

Stamp collecting is a fun hobby for some and a money-making profession for others. In all cases, perhaps the most important thing is the way that stamps are preserved. You see, the value of stamps is determined not only by they rarity (how hard it is to find them), but also by the condition (how well they have been preserved). For this reason, it is really important to keep your stamps in good condition. There are a number of collecting tools that can help you do this. Most collectors say that the best way to start out is to slowly build your collecting. Generally, there is more of a cost when you are first starting up and building up the needed tools, than later on in your collecting. Below is a list of different stamp collecting tools that can help you enjoy stamps:

Stamp Albums enable you to keep your stamps safe, while at the same time allowing you to organize your collection and to display your stamps in an attractive manner. The highest quality albums should contain plenty of space for your stamps and have strong binding with thick pages made from good quality acid-free paper.

Stamp Hinges are small, folded, rectangular pieces of glassine or paper coated with gum. One end of the hinge is moistened and gummed onto the back of a stamp, and the other end is gummed onto the album page. This firmly holds the stamp on the page. Stamp hinges are very inexpensive, as you can buy about 1000 hinges for only a few dollars.

Stamp Mounts hold stamps onto the album page without disturbing or damaging the original gum on the back of a stamp. The front of a stamp mount is clear plastic and has "sleeves" where a stamp is inserted. The back of a stamp mount is coated with gum and affixed to the album page. These are more expensive, but useful for anyone with a great quantity of stamps.

Stamp Tongs look like tweezers and are specially designed for picking up and handling stamps. Always handle stamps with tongs (particularly expensive stamps) because handling stamps with your fingers may cause a crease or stain. Tongs are made of either stainless steel or plastic.

Stamp Catalogs will help you to identify a stamp and will also give you a rough indication of its current value. Many catalogs also give helpful reference information on the stamps covered in the catalog.

A Magnifying Glass is useful in order to closely examine the inscription and design features of a stamp as well as its condition. In particular, a magnifying glass will enable you to spot small creases, tears or printing errors on a stamp.

Glassine Envelopes are thin translucent envelopes that are available in a variety of sizes and are useful for sorting and storing stamps prior to placing them in an album. They are also useful for mailing stamps to someone else.

Perforations are the series of tiny holes between blocks of stamps in a sheet or booklet that make the separation of the individual stamps easy. A perforation gauge measures the number of holes per 2cm length of the perforations. Since two stamps which look alike and are of the same issue may have a different perforation "count", a perforation gauge is useful in distinguishing between (and hence identifying) each stamp.

Watermark Detector enables you to view the hidden embossed or imprinted pattern that was made on the paper when a stamp was printed. Not all stamps have watermarks but some stamps which look identical may have different watermarks.

Stamp Newspapers/Magazines enhance your knowledge of the stamp collecting hobby. You may wish to subscribe to one or more of the many “philatelic” newspapers and magazines available.

As you can see, there are indeed many different tools for stamp collecting. And of course, all of these tools are not needed to start up a collection. They are, however, useful and helpful to collectors that are concerned with the quality and preservation of their stamps. And again, it’s a good idea to start out with the essentials and then move on from there. Having tongs for example, is not an extravagance, but rather a necessity for keeping stamps in good condition. There are many other sites online that can help you learn more about stamps collecting. Enjoy the wealth of information they have to offer you.