Has anybody tried to soak them off from paper? DO they come off with the small circles in the holes, or do they separate? Would it be acceptable to put them in the albums with the "windows"?
Ok! Dudes & dudesses. gonna put the Stampaholic's method of soaking on the auction at $.01. it's actually free but I don't think I can get sales price of 0 on there and I can't send it to here. Anyway check it out. works 99.99% of the time.
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" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
1. use methanol to saturate item ... 2-3x allowing 3 mins before attempting paper removal
2. with stamp face down on glass, carefully peel back the back paper - do not use tongs on stamp try to keep stamp flat on glass with a finger as lifted
3. be careful near the security cuts
4. clear any debris before placing on clear cellophane or a stamp mount - let dry ; cut to shape
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 11 Jul 2014 12:51:54pm
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
" .... I thought they come with 4 semi-circles, not complete circles?. ..."
Yes, the security cuts are more like two pair of horseshoes, each pair set to resemble an interrupted oval. However some issues also have a gap in the cuts at the top and bottom of the arch.
Supposedly, the ovals will detach if someone attempts to remove the stamp from the envelope paper. That is a joke on Royal Mail
I soak the stamp for a few minutes in isoprophenol (Rubbing Alcohol available in most supermarkets inexpensively ) in a salvaged, short stubby jar that has a wide cap. Then I lay the stamp to be processed on a small black piece of marble that was once the base of a lamp.
Then using the #908 fine tip tongs, I carefully work the top of the stamp loose and then down one side. The tongs can be slipped under the security cuts from the side at the center of the horseshoes where the cut is interrupted towards the middle of the stamp. Depending on how long the soaking lasted it is surprising how quickly and easily the process takes.
Once the technique is mastered it is very simple an occasional stamp might be damaged.
I do not know how many thousand stamps with the security cuts I have separated from the paper but the number would be substantial. It is simple, inexpensive, fast and almost errorless.
Of course, the cap must be kept on the jar as much a possible and there should be good ventilation.
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".... 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. .... "
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