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To hinge or not to hinge: that is the question. Many years ago when I started to collect stamps at age 10, I bought packets of stamps at the five and dime store. For a quarter you bought a whole envelope full of worldwide stamps. Stamps were off paper, some were mint, most used.

I never thought about "never hinged stamps," as I hinged everything. It didn't make much difference to me because I knew I didn't have anything of value. That was during the years of the Great Depression and I had very little money to spend on stamps. I used to buy approvals from dealers like Harris and a few others that were popular at that time.

A stamp with a glassine hinge attached.

Up until then I never read any stamp newspapers, attended stamp meetings, or ever heard of the "never hinged" craze. That changed when I was about 25 years old. I soon discovered that never hinged stamps (those in pristine, post office fresh condition) cost almost twice as much as hinged, but it never mattered to me. If I had a choice, I would always buy used or mint hinged, preferring used stamps, trying to avoid canceled to order stamps.

Since I collected worldwide stamps up to 1960 (and still do), if I acquired any stamps that managed not to be hinged over a period of about 30-40 years then I used a Showgard mount. This is a brand name, and several other companies make them. These are best described as clear plastic foil with a black or clear backing. They're split in the back half-way with glue on the reverse allowing you to put the stamps in and attach the mount to an album page.

I'd suggest that you use these mounts for never-hinged stamps with a value of a dollar or more. This protects the stamp and its value as a never-hinged item. Hinging them instead is still OK, but when it comes time to sell a collection or trade material, values will be lower, especially for more valuable items.  Remember, the choice is yours! 

A stamp in a split-back mount.

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