So I'm going through the collection I inherited and just trying to wrap my head around the scope of the collection. Most of the stamps are making their way from unsorted plastic bins to glassine envelopes or Vario S pages.
As I go along I trying to look up the issue date and Scott number—if I can find it easily. I was going to hold off on variations for the moment, like 114a or 114b for a later date. I've been using a label maker to print out a sticker to go on the front of the glassine envelopes.
This led me to ponder..."what does everyone else do to sort through their collection? Maybe there's information I'll need that I'm leaving out."
Anyway, do you think I'm heading in an okay direction or should I make an adjustment to my process (while it's still early)?
What you have there is more than just a stamp. Although the envelope is torn in half, part of the name and address are still visible. Sometimes the envelope (or cover) is more valuable than the stamp itself, so keep everything intact, especially the older stuff.
Your plan sounds reasonable. Once you get everything sorted then you can work on specific screening. What you show is likely 114, but when you get all of the pictorial issues sorted out you can check them for valuable oddities like no grill or fancy cancels that are valuable. It will be easier to do them all together once you finish your initial sort.
Sounds like you have a good plan!
Lars
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"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."
I would use "114?" when I did not know if the major catalog number (the integer) was correct or not, and I would use "114_" if I knew that, some day, I would want to determine whether/not the stamp was of a minor variety, eg, "114a" or "114b".
Glad to see that you are making progress.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
I would suggest you place the label at the top left corner, for easier identification access. It's a bummer having to lift every glassine, in a box, while looking for some specific stamp number. Also, if you intend to keep re-using glassines, it would also be better to use something besides a glue-on label. I put my information on a piece of paper, inside the glassine for easy removal.
Mike
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"It's been three years now, since I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet..."
