Is It OK To Soak These Older Stamps?

I'm working through a collection which contains some older issues. Some of these are pre Civil War. The image below shows two pages of the album. The vast majority are canceled and hinged. Is it safe to soak these older stamps to remove the hinges? Will the colors bleed or anything? What about hand cancels like the revenue stamps in the upper left hand corner? Will they wash out? Perhaps I should just trim the hinges on the really old issues and call it good?

Yes it is, but I wouldn't let the multiples hit the water, you could end up with singles!

Use a cool water/salt wash followed by a rinse soak in cold distilled water. Don't bother with the pen cancelled ones though, they will fade for sure.

Have a Good One,

Skilo54

This one could be very unique. I bet some of the U.S. collectors will help you find out about it.



Have a Good One,

Skilo54

Oh, neat! Thanks for pointing out that cancellation. I hadn't even noticed it. It's on a very common stamp issued during the Civil War. Wonder if the unique cancellation has something to do with that.

is that 2 10cent Columbians up there?! wow!

Timeout? Explain please. What is the salt water thing? I've only read a little here and there and have yet to get my stamps wet at all. To say I've been scared at the thought is an understatement.

I thought tepid water, a drop of dish soap, Keep the colors separate, and after they've been in long enough to float, a second bath to rinse.

I wasn't sure about the salt thing either but didn't ask. I've never used salt or dish soap. Just lukewarm water and time.

And yes, that is a pair of 10 cent Columbus from the 1893 series. The perforations on the far right have torn but the rest are in tact. These pages are from my great uncle's first album from when he was a kid. The notebook was manufactured in 1931 when he would have been about 10 years old.

So far, even the civil war era stamps have held up fine while soaking. The one I had the most trouble with was, ironically, bleeding from the much newer red 2 cent Lincoln. It's now quite a few shades lighter. It's kind of unfortunate as it was an uncanceled stamp affixed to paper. I figured that since it didn't have any gum on it, there was no harm in soaking the paper off. It's no longer the bright maraschino cherry red that it was.

The other thing that I've noticed while soaking is how different the paper looks between some of the stamps in the Banknotes series. Once whetted, the differences in paper color become very apparent. I wonder if this is a reliable way to differentiate between the different companies that printed those series? Perhaps the same color differences can be noticed with watermark fluid? Someday I'm going to learn how to tell those different issues apart!

I would start a new thread in the classic US forum and ask about that cancellation. Scott lists a small premium for the color cancellation, but the fancy cancel could make this stamp worth considerably more. It will be worth your time trying to identify it, imo

As for soaking, it's a good question. US stamps are quite durable and are almost always ok to soak. However, this is not necessarily true for all countries as some used fugitive inks that are water-based, or certain kinds of gum that contains sulfuric acid that can re-activate with water. It's always a good idea to ask!

Brian

edit:

I also wanted to point out the early precancels on the #283 (10c orange-brown) and 3c purple. Both are desirable for those cancellations.

Very interesting to see how many precancels he had in such a "small" collection.

What are the pencil numbers? Did someone try pricing them at some point?

xquercus, are you talking about that 4¢ stamp numbered "60" on the ruled sheet on left hand side in the center? The one that faded I mean? I believe it's Jackson on that stamp- SC#215 Scott cat value listed as Unused: $240.00 Used: $22.50 That one shouldn't have given you any trouble? Sometimes real hot water will have that effect so be mindful of temperature. I love some most of those stamps you have up there. Great collection you have! Congrats.

XQUERCUS:
"The other thing that I've noticed while soaking is how different the paper looks between some of the stamps in the Banknotes series. Once whetted, the differences in paper color become very apparent. I wonder if this is a reliable way to differentiate between the different companies that printed those series? Perhaps the same color differences can be noticed with watermark fluid? Someday I'm going to learn how to tell those different issues apart!"

Actually I believe you can as I just read a post in the last day or so on here bout that very topic. WT1 or Russ posted it. You should browse around to find it until I can remember what that post was about for you. -Jay

ILS... used 10c columbians are cheap.

Agreed, but multiples are uncommon ... especially used multiples.

Soak them in warm water... don't mix COLORS...
soak them FACE UP, the hinge should fall off on it's own, if not, give it a wiggle after about 5 minutes in water and hinge should come off, take it out, put it on paper towel to remove excess water then in the drying book.
I have soaked almost every example of stamps you have with no issues.

Oh, and having a MINT stamp stuck to paper is worse then a mint stamp with a hinge.

I would sweat the paper off and have disturbed OG then leave the paper on.

rileysan.. can't tell if they are attached form the image.