Specialty Albums

Most collectors collect in albums and most of the albums used are preprinted specialty albums. There are several main publishers of albums. The largest American publisher is Scott and American albums are also published by Minkus, White Ace, and Mystic. Three German album manufacturers make a broad group of specialty albums. They are Lighthouse, Schaubeck and Safe and rounding out the world’s major album producers is the Dutch company Davo. The various album companies produce different quality products and are aimed to different markets. The Mystic Heirloom album for United States stamps has become a very popular album and is well printed and represents good value. The top of the market for United States albums is Lighthouse, especially their hingeless specialty series which is well laid out and on beautiful paper. The downside is price. A complete set of the Lighthouse US specialty albums runs over $1000 just for the albums. A very good compromise is the Scott specialty US album. This is the oldest US preprinted album and still is in many ways the best, well laid out and with a rich comfortable feel but at an affordable price. Collections in Scott specialty albums not only look better, but because of the album’s enduring popularity actually bring more to the seller when they’re sold, making the additional cost of a Scott Specialty album a cost that is recouped in the end.