Postage Stamp collecting

How do you take care of stamps

The first commandment for dealing with stamps is cleanliness. Avoid touching stamps with your fingers. Buy a pair of good quality stamp tongs and don’t use the tweezers from your tool box. Add to this a good magnifying glass.

Used stamps that you have received affixed to letters or postcards should be carefully soaked off their backing. First cut the stamps from the envelopes, taking care not to damage the perforation. Place the cuttings in a bowl with lukewarm water. Do not soak too many stamps at one time. Once the stamp has separated from it’s backing, remove carefully with tongs and place in a second dish for rinsing. Next, let the water drip off and place the stamp in a drying book. Weigh the book down for one or two days and the stamps will be dry and flat and ready for your album.

You should save appaeling old letters or nicely cancelled cut sqares. They together with postal stationery and other ephemera, give your collection that personal touch.

Stamps in pairs, strips or different sized blocks should be kept together in a separate album. Mint stamps are separated by first folding them along the perforation from front to back and then reversing the motion. They can then be torn apart exactly and cleanly.