Album Review: United States Albums

Haha, no such thing as a consensus when it comes to binders/pages on this forum. There is too much room along all these continua of preference:

Free<—————->Expensive
Content<—————->Presentation
Common<—————->Flyspeck
Archaic pages<—————->Modern pages
Their mounts<—————->Your mounts
Their organization<—————->Your organization
Other stuff

I say this without prejudice or judgement: we have members that will gladly spend $500 on a specimen, but are loathe to spend $5 on a binder; others want a single example of a certain issue, other chase every perf, color, paper, and error variety.

A number of other threads deal with print-your-own, using a print shop, etc. the Search button is your friend.

I'm quite content with the 2-post Scott Minuteman that I've used since I was a kid. I've had to expand into additional binders over the years, of course (and would require even more, if I hadn't called it quits with new issues in 2005). In cases where I've wanted to include something that wasn't on one of the printed pages (e.g., foreign stamps from joint issues), it's been easy enough to insert a blank page.

Same thing happened to me. But it's easy to understand, since everyone may have different preferences. The Harris Liberty now is punched for 2-post or 3-ring. That doesn't help if there are many stamps already mounted. Personally, if that were the case, I would try punching the pages to accept 3-Ring.

I settled on the Mystic Heirloom, for these basic reasons:
- It was a good value. (Although Mystic's stamps are expensive.)
- The stamp stories.
- Scott numbers included.
Cons:
- The pages could be heavier.
- The Scott numbers are hidden once the stamp is mounted.
- The binders (even the deluxe Heirloom binder) could be better.

Apstuszak on this forum has some great information on various paper. That's how I found out about Southworth Ivory Wove 32lb 100% Cotton, (RD18ICF). A very heavy paper that matches the color of the Mystic pages. This is great paper for doing custom pages, etc. I use mounts, and although the Mystic paper is a little thin, I haven't had a problem with it yet.
I believe this long thread has some of that information.

I was considering the Scott National, which I guess is the gold standard. It's a beautiful album, but costly. And if I remember correctly, does not have the stamp stories, which I really like. I decided to go with an album I liked, but which wasn't so expensive, so I would be able to get other supplies, not to mention stamps.

I don't know how cost prohibitive this would be. Scott Minuteman pages are bigger than 8 ½ x 11, so they're going to cost you quite a bit just for the oversize paper alone. I really like the Scott Minuteman. But the paper is VERY thin. I think it's 20 lb at best.

Mystic claims their paper is 70 lb. It probably is 70 lb. But 70 lb on some scale besides what use in the US for paper measurement. The "pound" indicator scale is different for paper vs coverstock vs cardstock. A much better scale is the metric gsm scale, which stands for "grams per square meter." GSM is the same regardless of paper type. Whether it's paper, cardstock, coverstock, or cardboard, everything has the same gsm value.

Something else you might want to consider is sheet protectors. This will only work with the Mystic Heirloom because sheet protectors are made for 8½x11 pages.

I think the best value is to buy the Mystic Heirloom pages without the binders for $42.95

https://www.mysticstamp.com/Product...s/GS705/USA/

And now a shameless plug.

Mystic has a habit of forcing you to break up setenants, and has missed a few Scott major catalog numbers. I have fixed that problem for everything through 2001. I have a whole mess of pages you can print out that are drop-in replacements for the Mystic Heirloom pages. Check my signature.

Yes those setenant pages are very nice. As you said once about the military working dogs, "the dogs stay together." Love it.

Since you mentioned Scott numbers being hidden when the stamps are mounted. Even the famous Scott National album hides the catalog numbers once the pages are mounted.

And if you're using the Scott Minuteman, I strongly recommend you reinforce the holes so they don't rip. I used these:

1. Clear reinforcement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Y9UN5G





C-line also makes reinforcement strips hat go over the whole edge of the page. But those are only 11" long and a Minuteman page is 12 1/2" inches long.

Me? I use Mystic Heirloom. "Going Postal" may have interest in the Minuteman info. I think that was part of my calculus in choosing Mystic. Both hide the Scott numbers, but only one has the stamp stories. And, it was way cheaper.
However, I'm intrigued by that hole reinforcement gadget. I do get some hole tears with the Mystic pages. I may try those. I've used the peel-and-stick kind…

Interesting hole reinforcer product.

Thanks for your thoughts Apastuszak, and I really like that page reinforcement. If I end up going with the Heirloom or the Minuteman I'm sure it will come in handy. Maybe it's because I'm new here, but I don't know where to find the link you mentioned to your edited pages.

Like Baker, I do like the stories and the Scott numbers on the pages. I'm also OK with not seeing the numbers once a stamp is mounted - makes it easy to figure out with a quick glance just what I'm missing on a page or a decade. I only plan to collect up to 2007 or whenever the self adhesive stamps arrived, so removing and redistributing some pages from the albums would probably help?

Now I need to start reading into the topics relating to tracking my collection, and find or create another topic for Finland albums.

This place has been a fountain of knowledge, and I need to keep drinking from it.

Another option for Mystic is to use the c-line page reinforcement strips:



My website is https://www.stamphacks.com

Hi,

I just joined here, I can't believe how many different albums there are and how much information is in this thread. My six year old showed some interest in stamps with the Christmas Cards so I got out my collection from when I was a kid, which is sadly stored in a self stick photo album.

I'd like an album with descriptions/ stories in them as hopefully I can use it as a teaching tool with my kids. Find a stamp they like and then read them the story.

So my main questions are which have the better descriptions? Mystic, Scott Minuteman, or White Ace? Or is there something else I should consider?

I learned in this thread that the hingeless Mystic paper is thicker than the regular heirloom. Are the hingeless pages available separate without the binders like the regular heirloom? Are the stamp descriptions different between the two?

My favorite look is the White Ace but I definitely can't afford those. It looks like I could try to piece together a set on ebay but it would take a long time and probably cost more than I think in the long run.

I think my best plan is to buy the pages from Mystic for $45. I can high speed scan them and then print out replacements for any that fail on better quality paper. I'm leaning towards buying $35 Scott Album covers to put them in.

My vote?: Mystic Heirloom. I don't have the hingeless, I forget whether those have the stories too. If I recall, Scott does not have the stories. And I wanted the stories, and the Heirloom was much cheaper.

About the stamps mounted in a self-stick photo album: Ouch! Although some astute collectors here look askance at this, I have been successful in my limited attempts to use "Pure Citrus" to release PSA stamps from paper. (Spraying the back of the paper, wait a few seconds, lift stamp off, use a credit card or similar to squeegee the remaining gum off the stamp's back.) It makes me wonder whether this technique could be used to remove the stamps from the photo album. Unless the stamp was truly valuable, I would try that, since to me, those stuck-down stamps are all but ruined anyway. I might give it test run on a really inexpensive stamp. If the stamp was special, I'd leave it, perhaps until I could show it to a true expert. Just brainstorming.

Thanks, 10 year old me was smart enough to cut black pieces of paper to put behind each stamp, So they come right out. They're not really worth anything, just what I could put together from yard sales, Mystic grab bags, etc.

The Scott Minuteman has descriptions for commemorative stamps only.

The White Ace has descriptions for everything and is a very expensive album. It's gorgeous, but has a unique collecting style.

The Mystic Heirloom has a description for every stamp and is reasonably priced. Much cheaper than either of the other two options. You can also just buy the Heirloom pages and bring your own binders. Mystic supplements are nice too. They come with a cool cover page telling you all about the stamps in that year's supplement.

Exactly. And the "bring your own binder" : There is a lot to be said for that. I opted for some of the Mystic premium binder and slipcase, and it looks great, but the quality could be better. From all the info I've read here, and research, it seems clear that usually, a better binder can be purchased independently of any stamp dealer, or stamp supply company. I just like the way they look.