Storage for worldwide stamp collection (pt7) – Summary
Reason I did write this series was personal need to find out detailed information about the cost structure (and other benefits/downsides) of each storage alternative for my personal stamp collection. I admit, the results of this comparison did bring up some interesting surprises.
As I personally collect on a somewhat limited budget (few hundred Euro’s per year), I prefer to spend my money wisely when it comes to accessories and stamps.
The calculations I have done are based on single question- how much would storage of “complete worldwide stamp collection” (of approx. 530,000 stamps) cost? It must be noted that my figures are not absolute. Each collector will have their own preferences on how tight/loose stamps should be placed, what kind of quality paper to use etc; these all will affect on costs… But IMHO the numbers I have do give a good and valid comparison point if using “average” archival quality products/solutions for storage.
- Stock books: from 5,400€ upwards
- Blank stamp album pages: from 6,300€ upwards
- Stock pages: from €7,400 upwards
- Commercial stamp albums / album pages: from 10,000€ upwards
- DIY stamp album pages: from 12,800€ upwards
- Stock cards (approval cards): from €23,700 upwards
Or same data in visual format:
Comparison of costs involved to stamp collection storage methods
Another criterion I put weight on my “research” was ease of use and archivability… Stock books, cards and pages do shine in all metrics: you just need to put stamps inside the strips found on page/card and focus on collecting. It couldn’t be any simpler… Stamp hinges and mounts used in stamp album pages are IMO good for small scale use, but half million items is IMO simply too much “challenge” for them.
Based on these results, I’m pretty sure my collection will be housed in traditional (white-page) stockbooks even in upcoming years. If I didn’t have to worry about the budget, then I would very likely convert to stock pages (and binders). But almost threefold cost difference compared to stock pages is IMO simply too much for minor enhancements in usability.
You mention 530.000 stamps in a WW collection up to date. Do you know aproximately how many new stamps are issued per year currently? That would complete this great series of post and make it easier to keep it up to date.
My first estimate is 250 “countries” issuing stamps with an average of 50 stamps per year, giving about 12.000 new stamps, but I’m not sure that 50 is a good average…
Hi Pablo,
What I have in my personal records is the number of sets issued each year (as well as the total number of main types for each country). For the last 10 years this number has been pretty constantly approx. 3500 sets/year with exceptions of “millenium years” with nearly 4,000 sets/year issue rate.
But…I know Michel Rundschau and Linns Stamp Magazine publish annually number of new stamps for previous year… The latest comparison I found quickly from my archives contained number of new stamps in 1999: 16,107 stamps (14,745 singles and 1,362 sheets/blocks).
I’d say that the number of new stamps per year is currently around 14-15,000 stamps/year.
-keijo-
Very interesting and informative series of articles. Thanks.
Thank you, a little short but not bad, my estimation then.
I find your premise a catch 22. You state that you want to house a complete world wide collection in a budgeted storage system. Very, very, few people in the world over a hundred years period time have had the resources to develop a complete, worlwide stamp collection. And if you had that kind of financial resources to complete that kind of collection, the cost of housing the collection would be moot.
Joel
Hi Joel,
I agree that 100% complete is out of my (and most likely everyone’s) reach; some stamps are simply too scarce and/or valuable for common low budget collector like me. But for example a 99% (or even some tenths higher) complete collection is IMO within most collectors reach as the number of truly pricey stamps is very limited.
One thing I have on my side is time. I (and my wife) have been collecting for over 20 years. And if nothing suprising happens, I’ll be collecting hopefully for the next 50 upcoming years. It’s only about a question of getting approx. 10,000 new additions each year, or 30 stamps a day . And since most of this will be very low budget stuff, it won’t cost too much… I admit, I expect that the longer one will get with achieving the goal, the harder it will change.
As for housing the collection… 562 stock books required for storege will take some serious space (like a separate wall or possibly even a room). But same can be said about any hobby – be it bodybuilding or tuning up old cars
And above all, I’m not taking any pressures on achieving the goal.
best,
-keijo-
Keijo-
Interesting premise…but, acquiring 10,000 stamps per year puts a person 5,000 behind every year, based on new issues of 15,000 per year…or was there a point I missed about limiting it to postally-used or classic-era issues? I took from the up-to-date reference that it would keep going with newer issues.
Here is an idea I’ve started moving toward. I’m sure it will need continual tweaking. Use high-quality stock pages. Load them up by country, scan them at a good resolution, and pull them back out and put them into something for long-term, cheap storage (glassines, perhaps?). Keep a stock page per country in binders with your favorites, or the more valuable issues, or whatever criteria you select. When you fill Bulgaria’s page, it is easy enough to add a new stock page behind it and keep going.
There are an awful lot of issues that I am happy to have, but I don’t need to see them very often.
Thanks for your site.
CJ
Hi CJ,
you’re right… With pace of 10,000 stamps/year I will fall behind constantly. That said… I’m also a firm believer of “what goes up comes down too” statement. Postal services (as well as collecting) are in a rapid change and the next decades will bring up winds of change.
And spot on… I do have a “kind-of” limitations on what I collect. I try to narrow down to years 1840-2008 (or even more precisely to pre 2000AD era stamps), but it’s not a strict guideline.
-keijo-
Here’s something I think many will love seeing – a video clip (by Australian Broadcasting Company) on what a complete worldwide stamp collection looks like:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/collectors/video/download.htm
Bottom of the page: Episode 29 – Eclectic Stamps
Just a note, that this entry has been updated (on part of stock page costs) due to error in original calculations.
Hello Keijo,
Regarding World collections:
I use plain paper pages (Pale Blue) which I print myself and fix the stamps in “Hawid” mounts.
Two issues not yet addressed here:
1/ You must add the expense of updating world Catalogues. I find this difficult.
2/ What to do with all the duplicates that will arrive with that “treasure” you have been seeking.
Cheers
Steve.
Hi Steve,
the topic of article series was storage of stamp collection, so I did exclude the cost of catalogues as well as other non-storage related accessories intentionally.
But if going into topic, the cost of catalogs is a tricky thing to estimate as it’s very personal. Some collectors feel the need to update catalogues every 1-2 years whilst others (like me) get a new edition only when the previous one physically falls apart. And the decision between new vs. used volumes can make a huge difference.
As for duplicates, either selling, exchanging or donating them is the way forwards. And the faster the better… One of the lessons I’ve learned is that if you let duplicates accumulate, then you are out of space and control in no time.