How to Collect Mint Never Hinged Stamps

Find local stamp dealers by typing "philately store" plus the name of your area into your computer's search engine. When you go along to the store, make it clear that you're interested in unmounted examples only, so that the dealer can point you in the right direction. Most of his stock will already be sealed inside cardboard and glassine mounts, so you won't be able to examine them directly, but he should have made a notation regarding condition on the price label. It may be that the dealer won't class a stamp as mint unless it's also unmounted, but check before buying anything.

Locate appropriate stamps on Internet auction sites by using the search times "mint" and "unmounted" -- you can also try abbreviations such as "U/M" -- within the philately category. Only bid on lots that clearly use the word "unmounted" in their online description. If you receive stamps with gum residue on them, you can always enter into a dispute with the vendor and get your money back.

Buy brand-new, mint, unmounted stamps directly from the post offices of different countries for a guarantee of quality. Locate their websites by typing the term "philatelic bureau" into your search engine. Most post offices will send stamps to you directly once you have paid by credit card.

House your new collection in a stockbook, which like an album, except that each page has a number of transparent glassine strips behind which you can tuck your stamps. Or, you can place each stamp in its own individual cardboard-backed glassine mount and fix these in an album in the traditional way, using photograph corners. Either of these options will maintain your stamps in "never hinged" condition. Both stockbooks and mounts are available from online philatelic accessories stores.