Hi everyone. I recently re-started my stamp collecting after putting my collection away for many years. I am now re-discovering my collection, and I have even purchased various stamps through StampoRama’s approval books and through Ebay. So basically, the fun has started once again!
Since I had my collection shelved for many years, I have to do some catching up. I'm in Canada so naturally Canadian stamps are one of my interests. During the time when I wasn't officially collecting, I still purchased the odd stamp series from the post office. These stamps were just placed in a box with the intention to sort and display them some time in the future. I'm now at that point where I'm pulling these stamps out.
I also want to start purchasing new stamps on a regular basis from the post office, and to purchase many of the stamps I missed.
I personally like displaying my stamps in nice stock books but I also like to display various stamp series using self-created pages and stamp mounts. I don’t use hinges but I'm sure the use of hinges would have the same problem that I see exists with every way of displaying newer stamps: How does one collect, and more importantly, display ‘self-adhesive’ stamps?
I find it quite baffling how stamp collectors would deal with self-adhesives. I can leave the stamps in the booklets and display the entire booklet, but that’s not really for me. I suppose the stamp could be removed from the carrier paper and the glue somehow removed, but that could damage the stamp, plus I don’t believe that the stamp would still be considered ‘Mint’ any more.
What does everyone do when it comes to ‘self-adhesives’ for mint stamps? Actually, how do you deal with used ‘self-adhesives’ that are on the envelope. Any tricks of the trade that you wish to share?
My way, and there are others, is to place the mint stamp plus backing paper into a mount. Trying to remove the backing paper will probably cause you to much work and likely end with a damaged stamp.
For used items I cut as close as possible around the stamp and mount in the same way.
Booklets, not that I collect them, would merely go into Vario style pages within an album.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 05 Mar 2017 02:13:27pm
re: A ‘Sticky’ Question…
" .... How does one collect, and more importantly, display ‘self-adhesive’ stamps? ...."
First off I use them. Next I remove them from envelope paper using a short soak in Isoprophenol, clear supermarket rubbing alcohol. For details use our nifty search function as this has been discussed in older threads ad nausium.
Once in a while there comes an issue, US or otherwise, that seems totally resistant to being coaxed from paper.
  1 Member likes this post. Login to Like.
".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
And, just in case this is relevant, note that Scott values unused self-adhesive singles as remaining on their original backing paper, so that if there is any interest in retaining their best value for later disposal, leaving a self-adhesive undisturbed on trimmed but original backing paper is preferable.
Login to Like this post
"You gotta put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone. (Hoots the Owl -- Sesame Street)"
I've been buying sheets of new commemoratives for mailing and saving one or more of these for my collection. As you can see above, I have cut these clean and straight on my rotary cutting board. Some of these stamps have a row of just perforations left behind when you use them (see Jimi Hendrix and Lydia Mendoza) while others (see Janis and Maya) do not. I use the stamps around the stamp I intend to keep and cut the backing paper wide.
I haven't messed with any of these used. Don't think I'm going to bother.
  1 Member likes this post. Login to Like.
Please Note: Postings that were loaded from the old Discussion Board cannot be edited.