Rust On Modern Self Adhesive Stamps?

I can not recall ever seeing
rust on a modern self adhesive stamp.
On gummed stamps I have opened bundles from
the 90's that have been full of rust
but not on self adhesives.

Has anybody seen rust on the
modern day self adhesives stamps?

Always Happy Stamping. KGV.

When perforated stamps are torn apart
the teeth have microscopic minute paper hairs that trap
superfine dust and moisture that is a perfect place
for algae (rust) to start growing. (they also like munching on the sugars in gum)

Diecut stamps have quite the opposite, compressed edges
where the die cuts through the paper, together with a
new form of paper, and differing gum (some feel like plastic after soaking)
hence the results you are finding.

No doubt introduce enough humidity and youll have your rust eventually.

It has been said in many past threads that no one really knows what a self adhesive stamp will look like in 20, 50, 100 years from now, as there is no real history as to how long a self adhesive stamp will last (at least in "mint" form) and when the adhesive will start to disintegrate or discolor.

Here in the US, the first self adhesive stamps from the mid-1970's were notorious for discoloration until the post office got their quality control up to proper standards. Now in the 21st century, our US Postal Service is promoting "Go Green" initiatives, including the use of biodegradable paper, and I have yet to see anyone address the long-term integrity of the paper now being used for current issue postage stamp and whether the biodegradable paper will endure into the next century.

Perhaps the use of the biodegradable word is just a publicity ploy as all paper made of plant fiber is biodegradable when it comes down to it.

I am more concerned about the inks used in cancellations, whether they will last the test of time.

The way they are discovering bacteria in space that eat plastics and metals and I found some on a plastic container left at home in the sink after my stay of months in the hospital one time, one wonders if anything is not biodegradable after sufficient time. It just depends on which bio-system one is degrading to.

Spray on cancels are hard pressed to stand the "test of today", never mind the "test of time" as they are barely readable, even when freshly applied.

The USPS meters are yet another story, as I have some ink jet applied meters that have the date and denomination and bar code faded out nearly completely, so they won't stand much of a "test of time". I recall reading somewhere that +/- 10 years is the expected lifespan for such items, so if you want to save them for the future, get your scanner ready today!

Then you have to update your storage media every four years or so or print them out and hope that the ink in your printer lasts. Or that paper doesn't yellow and biodegrade.

Maybe this encasing in plastic is not such a bad idea after all. Do they sell kits for home use? A do it yourself slabbing kit?

But it is fun isn't it?

Thanks to all for your info.
What to do with mint stamps I want to collect in a very rust friendly environment?

For a little while I dreamed of keeping some mint self adhesives.
But it is just a dream.
I will get these personalised stamps cancelled and take the gum of them and just keep collecting used stamps.

Always Happy Stamping. KGV

They found bacteria in space that can eat plastics and metal?? News to me?

Hmmm, thank you for questioning my overly enthusiastic answer. I think I combined news articles I have read with some science fiction and came up with something that possibly could be.

Popular Science: Bacteria survive in space
http://www.popsci.com/technology/ar...exterior-iss

Micro-organism that consume plastic
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/resea...eats-plastic

Discovery dot come More adventures with plastic eating bacteria
http://news.discovery.com/tech/more...acteria.html

Metal eating bacteria found on Titanic
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/1...-on-titanic/

"A do it yourself slabbing kit?"

Puzzler,
Great sense of humor!
It's just crazy enough to be the future of stamp collecting.

I was taught when I studied microbiology at the University of Washington (a long, long time ago), that bacteria could live on soap and distilled water. Pseudomonas species are the hardiest ones. I assume that just about everything that can be touched has something living on it or in it.

Now if only we could figure out a safe way to sterilize our stamps!

...actually they are fungi (algae can only live in water and exposed to light as they are true plants and must photosynthesize or on land in a symbiotic relationship as in lichens)

The problem of foxing in archived paper materials has been investigated off and on for about sixty years. Most researches seem to agree that, although the onset of foxing maybe caused by a number of factors, either acting singly or in concert, all will eventually involve some form of fungal infection.

Biologists estimate that there are around 1.5 million species of fungi – they are to be found in every nook and cranny of our environment. Only about 5% of these have been formally classified, and there are about 100 species that have been recognised as having the ability and/or the inclination to 'digest' cellulose and cellulose containing materials like paper. Hence, given time they will munch on paper whether on sheet or peel&stick stamps, I would expect.

In sheet stamps they have the added attraction of dextrin based adhesives - candyfloss to fungi!



:)

You don't have to go all the way out there. There are bacteria in the deep ocean floor that love munching on iron (one of the reasons that the Titanic will slowly disappear) and there are other (but similar in an anaerobic way) bacteria that munch on rock, live in saturated salt, live in sulfuric acid and can survive temperatures close to boiling point and pressures that would crush us.

Let's face the Earth belongs to the bacteria...we are just a way for them to get around more easily! aaaaachoooo!

In horticulture fungi and bacteria are a real problem.
Standard procedure is to spray them with a rotation of 3 totally different fungicides as they build up an immunity to one very quickly.
In a place where the cold shuts down plant growth a dose of lime and sulphur on most plants helps a lot in controlling many pests and diseases.
Next for destroying fungi is to drench the plant with clothes washing water it works really well.
So my question is does dish washing liquid attack the fungi on stamps. I know it will not remove the stain from rust.
The best and only way to beat rust is to keep all your stamps in a temperature less than 18c or 62f and 65% humidity.

Marine mud has no oxygen in it and stinks of sulphur.
But in this environment wood is preserved for 1000s of years.
Our stamps are made of wood are they not? lol.

I just love all this good info. Makes me feel like I have some control over my environment. I know the little guys (microorganisms of all types) really have the control and are just allowing me to blunder about in the world while they go about doing their thing.

Reading a science fiction (oh really?) book speculating about phages which are microorganisms that use or attack other microorganisms, or in the book, change things to adapt quickly to changing environments. The book is dissolving in front of my eyes as I am reading it, lol.

Sounds a bit to me like what happened when bunny rabbits were released in Australia. You fix one problem and you create another.

Then there is the nano-sized chemical miniature machines that are designed or programmed to change the molecular structure of atoms so they change into a different element, thus fixing a problem. Like an oil spill or pollution. We do like to think we control things, don't we?