I think it has a good deal to do with the value of the stamps themselves. The difference in resale value will diminish significantly if you hinge a MNH stamp. Obviously this relative downward change on stamp valued at 5 cents is a much smaller absolute number than similar downward change on a stamp valued at $50.
I suppose there is also the "disservice" you'd be doing to future generations of collectors as a result of hinging the collection, by depriving them of just that many MNH stamps.
Value isn't a huge consideration for me. I do not usually go out of my way to seek (and pay for) MNH examples. It is more a matter of preservation. Hinges can cause damage to the gum and to the stamp itself. Over all mounts provide the option of least possible damage.
Maybe, stock sheets/pages would also fit the bill and would allow for re-ordering without having to remove mounts or hinges from a page.
As a rule if a MNH stamp has the minimum CV (currently 25 cents) I will not waste a mount on it and have no qualms about hinging it- especially if it's an older issue. Anything above minimum CV I will mount. Also, lower values of a set that may have the minimum CV, I will mount so the entire set is still MNH.
I'm with "The Stoker" on this.
My "investments" are my stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
Stamps are not an investment so much as an opportunity to learn about different cultures, history, politics, etc...to appreciate the beauty of the art...and to share this with my family and friends, walking them through albums and spinning stories.
Especially low/minimum CV. Isn't the "picture" worth more than the "frame"?
So why agonize over it? I'm happy to keep a nice-looking MH copy hinged to a page in my album to show my people, and give someone else (e.g. a fellow SoR member) a more pristine MNH version. The cost of a mount doesn't justify it (for me, at least) unless it is a more valuable stamp (e.g. I even mount Used if they are CV > $5).
Dave.
If it is Mint, I put it in a mount. Yes, I have stamps that are not as valuable as the cost of the mount. I had been putting many used ones in mounts too thinking I may replace it with a mint one later.
I like mounts regardless of value of the stamp. I'd prefer not to spit on a work of art no matter how common. Plus, unless clear mounts are used, a mixture of hinged and mounted stamps on the same page look ugly.
I agree hinging a mint stamp is like damaging something. I sometimes feel guilty tossing some stamps in the trash that cannot be used.
I prefer visual uniformity in my album. All stamps get mounted the same way with black mounts.
"I sometimes feel guilty tossing some stamps in the trash that cannot be used."
I agree;
".... I prefer visual uniformity in my album. ...."
So I use hinges, mint, used or otherwise.
"So I use hinges, mint, used or otherwise."
If you are mounting what we should consider as "premium" stamps, mounts, properly sized might be justified. Otherwise traditional hinges work well.
Future buyers will always find reasons to devalue their offer. Some will complain about hinges and disturbed gum. At the next opportunity to make an offer for MNH mounted stamps they will often complain that mounts might conceal defects and are more difficult to check so a 20% - 30% deduction is made.
Essentially "You can't win."
Linn's reports that there are now some 700,000 different catalog listings and I am quite sure that some 90%++ are common enough to not justify the added expense and physical effort to be in mounts.
I'd love to know how many stamps can be mounted from a pack of crystalline mounts on the average. Let's say the common size for classic US Commemoratives. (At 45mm x 30mm per stamp, or 22mm x 15mm for definitives. )
My Machin mounts that I purchase as an 100 strip bundle (215mm length) work out to just over 2.3 cents Canadian per mount.
Probably a fair comparison figure for most mount sizes.
I have not factored in postage as I usually combine order with stamps or other items but would not make a huge difference in price.
Edited to correct decimal point placing.
"If you are mounting what we should consider as "premium" stamps, mounts, properly sized might be justified. Otherwise traditional hinges work well."
I can understand the world wide collector's dilemma here. Were I a WW collector I would certainly not use mounts on every stamp. I'd probably go to hinges and mounts if stock books were not easy enough.
"I can understand the world wide collector's dilemma here. Were I a WW collector I would certainly not use mounts on every stamp. "
Just want to see what everyone thinks. I have "thousands" of hinges. I have a new collection to mount. They are all mnh stamps. Is it really wrong to still use hinges for mint stamps? Just looking for some advise.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I think it has a good deal to do with the value of the stamps themselves. The difference in resale value will diminish significantly if you hinge a MNH stamp. Obviously this relative downward change on stamp valued at 5 cents is a much smaller absolute number than similar downward change on a stamp valued at $50.
I suppose there is also the "disservice" you'd be doing to future generations of collectors as a result of hinging the collection, by depriving them of just that many MNH stamps.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
Value isn't a huge consideration for me. I do not usually go out of my way to seek (and pay for) MNH examples. It is more a matter of preservation. Hinges can cause damage to the gum and to the stamp itself. Over all mounts provide the option of least possible damage.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
Maybe, stock sheets/pages would also fit the bill and would allow for re-ordering without having to remove mounts or hinges from a page.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
As a rule if a MNH stamp has the minimum CV (currently 25 cents) I will not waste a mount on it and have no qualms about hinging it- especially if it's an older issue. Anything above minimum CV I will mount. Also, lower values of a set that may have the minimum CV, I will mount so the entire set is still MNH.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I'm with "The Stoker" on this.
My "investments" are my stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
Stamps are not an investment so much as an opportunity to learn about different cultures, history, politics, etc...to appreciate the beauty of the art...and to share this with my family and friends, walking them through albums and spinning stories.
Especially low/minimum CV. Isn't the "picture" worth more than the "frame"?
So why agonize over it? I'm happy to keep a nice-looking MH copy hinged to a page in my album to show my people, and give someone else (e.g. a fellow SoR member) a more pristine MNH version. The cost of a mount doesn't justify it (for me, at least) unless it is a more valuable stamp (e.g. I even mount Used if they are CV > $5).
Dave.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
If it is Mint, I put it in a mount. Yes, I have stamps that are not as valuable as the cost of the mount. I had been putting many used ones in mounts too thinking I may replace it with a mint one later.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I like mounts regardless of value of the stamp. I'd prefer not to spit on a work of art no matter how common. Plus, unless clear mounts are used, a mixture of hinged and mounted stamps on the same page look ugly.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I agree hinging a mint stamp is like damaging something. I sometimes feel guilty tossing some stamps in the trash that cannot be used.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I prefer visual uniformity in my album. All stamps get mounted the same way with black mounts.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
"I sometimes feel guilty tossing some stamps in the trash that cannot be used."
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I agree;
".... I prefer visual uniformity in my album. ...."
So I use hinges, mint, used or otherwise.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
"So I use hinges, mint, used or otherwise."
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
If you are mounting what we should consider as "premium" stamps, mounts, properly sized might be justified. Otherwise traditional hinges work well.
Future buyers will always find reasons to devalue their offer. Some will complain about hinges and disturbed gum. At the next opportunity to make an offer for MNH mounted stamps they will often complain that mounts might conceal defects and are more difficult to check so a 20% - 30% deduction is made.
Essentially "You can't win."
Linn's reports that there are now some 700,000 different catalog listings and I am quite sure that some 90%++ are common enough to not justify the added expense and physical effort to be in mounts.
I'd love to know how many stamps can be mounted from a pack of crystalline mounts on the average. Let's say the common size for classic US Commemoratives. (At 45mm x 30mm per stamp, or 22mm x 15mm for definitives. )
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
My Machin mounts that I purchase as an 100 strip bundle (215mm length) work out to just over 2.3 cents Canadian per mount.
Probably a fair comparison figure for most mount sizes.
I have not factored in postage as I usually combine order with stamps or other items but would not make a huge difference in price.
Edited to correct decimal point placing.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
"If you are mounting what we should consider as "premium" stamps, mounts, properly sized might be justified. Otherwise traditional hinges work well."
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
I can understand the world wide collector's dilemma here. Were I a WW collector I would certainly not use mounts on every stamp. I'd probably go to hinges and mounts if stock books were not easy enough.
re: Mounts or Hinges? for mint stamps.
"I can understand the world wide collector's dilemma here. Were I a WW collector I would certainly not use mounts on every stamp. "