Saturday, December 3, 2011

Soaking Stamps?

I have a bit of a beginner question. I have a number of cardboard boxes that were sent to me via USPS that have stamps that I'm interested in. What is the best method to remove them from the cardboard? I remember soaking stamps off envelopes as a kid but I can't recall how to safely remove them without damaging the stamps or improperly drying them. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
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5 comments:

  1. DorothyDecember 5, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    Jason - this is just the kind of question that probably seems like a no-brainer to the seasoned collector who is deeply engaged in advanced philatelic pursuits! Just what we want to discuss here, though. I've been told that modern self-adhesives do not respond well to soaking and overheard a number of conversations about what to do. The only answer I have the technical creds to give is DON'T - just trim neatly around the stamp giving a little margin beyond the perforations and save that way. Hopefully, someone else has better advice!??

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  2. Jason YoungbloodDecember 7, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    Can anyone tell me about when modern self-adhesives took over so I can know which ones not to soak? Or is there an easy way to identify which ones are self-adhesive vs lick-and-stick?

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  3. DorothyDecember 7, 2011 at 9:29 PM

    a quick Google search gives this great resource:
    http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/abbey/an/an23/an23-6/an23-605.html

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  4. Don SchillingDecember 9, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    Here's an article that appeared in the The American Philatelist that tells you how to get self adhesives off paper...
    http://www.rpsc.org/video/soakaps.pdf

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  5. DorothyDecember 9, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    Don - that's a great article - thanks! Have there been any long-term unintended effects on stamps that were removed this way?

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