A small piece of gummed paper used to attach a stamp to an album page. The hinge is folded in the middle. You lick the hinge on one side and attach it to the back of the stamp. Next you lick the hinge on the other side and press the stamp onto the album. From the perspective of inheriting a collection, hinges are very, very bad things! A hinge greatly detracts from the value of a mint stamp. It usually does not detract at all from the value of a used stamp; however, removing the hinge may damage the stamp, and this will detract from the value.
In the above definitions, I mentioned that stamp hinges are very bad. Why then do so many people use them? Before the 1960s, there were only five ways to mount stamps in an album. 1) Cellophane tape. This was usually a disaster as the tape turned brown or the glue was absorbed into the stamp. 2) On a mint stamp, licking the stamp and pasting it into the album. This ruined the gum. It also made the stamp more or less impossible to remove from the album. You basically had to cut the album page and then soak it in water to remove the stamp. 3) On a mint stamp, licking a corner of the stamp and pasting it into the album. This is the same problem as #2 except on a smaller scale. 4) Make a small “envelope” out of a glassine, put the stamp in the envelope and mount that in the album. This was very time consuming and not all that attractive. 5) Use a stamp hinge. Choice #4 would have been the best choice for preserving the stamp’s value. The hinge, however, was the most accepted way to mount stamps in an album. It is not now.
Hinged stamps
Around 1960, stamp mounts came along. There have been many types of mounts over the years as companies struggled to perfect the technology. Some of the earlier mounts actually reacted chemically with the stamps and damaged them. The technology has been perfected and newer mounts are definitely the preferred way to mount stamps. The new mounts protect the stamps and leave both sides undamaged.
Some collectors still choose to use hinges on low-value used stamps. This is because hinges are cheaper than stamp mounts and can be easier to use. If you are going to continue collecting, I personally urge you to move away from hinges as soon as possible. Collectors are becoming more picky about the stamps they buy. MNH is what they want. If you must use hinges, do not use them on mint stamps—ever!
One of the other things to realize about hinges is this: many new collectors (especially children) are given packets of used stamps along with small albums. They also receive hinges to mount the stamps in the album. This is very inexpensive and very effective. It is also a habit that needs to be broken when the collector moves into collecting mint stamps or more valuable used stamps.
