Collecting Tip: Use Other Hobbies' Supplies

That's good @1775mac!

To everyone: be sure to read up on safe operation of UV lights in your stamp collection, especially short wave UV. You can damage your eyes and skin if they are used improperly.

This was something that my brother, sister and I had stumbled on as children. We had been given one of those Magic Lanterns. Anyone remember them? They were basically a magnifying toy for kids. You could put newsprint, pictures, really anything that was flat and it would project it back out on a wall in a larger view. You could adjust the lens on it to bring the picture in clearer. My grandmother used it one night to look at some stamps she was trying to identify and we never got it back...lol I have a magnifying lens, but sometimes I wish I could find a Magic Lantern again. BTW, I think that it also worked with colored objects as well.

Donna

Has anybody tried one of those UV lights used for drying finger-nail polish?

I picked one up for a buck at a 2nd hand shop and it shows up tagging on Canadian stamps.

Therefore is won't work with many other countries like the US and UK.

I've only used it a couple of times and not on any stamp considered valuable in case it would cause some damage.

In any case, a quick flash of a stamp under UV probably won't cause much harm.

Leaving a stamp in UV light for a few minutes or hours may prove risky....but, leaving a stamp in any light for great lengths of time can cause damage.

@Donna, great story!

For magnification, I have no idea where I'd be these days without my flatbed scanner. Probably "not collecting Penny Reds" is the right answer. :^)