How Do You Prepare Unused Self Adhesive Stamps ?

Hi!
I collect US stamps, all unused, mostly mint "no hinge". I use Scott mounts and set them in Scott National albums.

I'm not quite sure what the preferred way is to cut out self adhesive stamps for mounting - particularly how much background should be retained.

What do you do ???

Thanks,
Mobilman44

Hi mobilman. I don't collect new stamps, so self adhesive aren't a problem, but I do collect cinderellas and recent Christmas seals (at least here in Canada) are self adhesive.
A search on this forum found a couple of threads that recommended peeling the self adhesive stamps off their backing, dipping lightly in talcum powder and then brushing off the excess. This seems to neutralize the gum, and it makes them smell nice too!.
Give it a try and see how it works for you. I thought it worked a treat. Good luck.

(Hand up) - I have a question about the talcum powder method? The talc that remains, does it bugger up the mount? Because it is pressure sensitive if it goes under pressure (like in a closed album) won't it still adhere or won't it matter in the mount?

Will the talc affect future value?

Many recent self-adhesive stamps have information printed on the backing. Wouldn't peeling the backing off affect the value of the stamps?

I think this thread is running along two different trains of thought.

The original post related to unused self adhesive stamps. If in this way one is talking about "mint" self adhesive stamps (post office fresh), then the best way to mount them would be to separate them individually, as most are scored on the backing paper material for easy separation. Of course, there are some earlier issues that didn't consider this, and still some other "souvenir sheet" issues that don't provide the scoring on the backing paper. In those cases, I would cut around the stamp leaving a small margin so as to be certain not to damage the stamp being retained for your collection. Likewise, coil stamps that are spaced on backing paper are typically not separated and one must also cut them apart for collecting purposes. Many stamp mounts now accommodate the slightly larger width and height sizes for self adhesive stamps so as not to have any damage occur to them when stored in an album.

The second train of thought suggested by the earlier posts in the use of talcum powder, etc., is likely intended to be the best way to clip and store used stamps or stamps that have already been attached to an envelope for postal use, whether or not they received a cancellation or postmark.

Since the Scott catalog now recognizes that values are shown for used self adhesive stamps which may be retained "on or off piece", the preferential way to collect them becomes a matter of personal taste. Personally, I would rather collect them on piece or cut closely around the backing paper, so as not to risk damaging the stamp in attempting to remove it. On the other hand, there are those who are adamant about collecting stamps only if they are off-paper, in which case there are many techniques that have been shown to be effective in removing the stamps, including those recited above.

The only other concern I would point out is that today's modern self adhesive stamps are designed to hold more strongly to the paper envelope as time goes on, so if you have an idea you want to remove them from the paper backing it is best to do so as soon as possible, as those specimens in long term storage may prove difficult or impossible to remove later on.

Thank you wt1 (and other posters)for the response. I will continue to cut around the stamps and place in a slightly larger mount. May I add, that while the self adhesive stamp has been a great thing from a consumer point of view, they are just not as much fun (to me) from a collector point of view.

Thank you!

I just made it easy and stopped collecting new U.S. issues back in 1993, before the self-adhesive junk really started getting made. I only have a few issues, going back to the 1970s, to deal with.