|
|
|---|---|
Drying book: |
|
| A good investment for the used stamp collector. When stamps are soaked off of their paper backing, a drying book offers a clean flat place to dry. | |
| Glassines: | |
| Translucent, thin, paper envelopes used to hold stamps. They are made of a special material that prevents stamps from adhering to them. Many collectors use glassines to keep their stamps sorted, clean, and undamaged until they can later place them into albums. | |
| Mounts: | |
| Preferred way to place valuable stamps into an album. Mounts are plastic strips or tubes with adhesive on the backside. Stamps never come into contact with the adhesive, as they do with hinges, thus their original gum remains intact. | |
| Perforation gauge (aka odontometer): | |
| Help measure the number of perforation holes in a two centimeter space along the edge of a postage stamp. Often times, the only way to tell the difference between two seemingly identical issues is with a perforation gauge. | |
| Stamp albums: | |
| A variety of stamp albums are available for the beginning collector, as well as, the most advanced philatelist. Personal preference is the key in choosing the best album for your collection. | |
| Stamp catalogs and price guides: | |
| Illustrated lists of stamps, arranged by year, that give a current market value for a given stamp issue. Catalogs are great for identifying postage stamps, because many list color and design variations, watermarks, perforation sizes, printing types, and other factual information for each stamp issue. | |
| Stamp hinges: | |
| Small gummed pieces of glassine that are used to mount stamps into albums. Because they adhere to the backside of your stamps, it is best to use hinges only for less valuable used issues. | |
| Stamp tongs: | |
| Small light weight tweezer-like instruments used in the handling of postage stamps. Without tongs, stamps could become soiled, creased, or damaged during everyday handling. A good quality pair of tongs should be thin enough to pick up a stamp from a flat surface, and have polished round ends to avoid damaging the stamp. | |
| Watermark detection fluid: | |
| Makes invisible markings, impressed into stamp paper during manufacture, visible. |
|