Long Time Off Again On Again Collector

I've been collecting stamps since I was a youngster about 65 years ago or so. I have what I consider a rather extensive collection, but my collection is not trying to get something to get rich on or see how much I can get. I don't like to spend too much time on just stamps as I have a life outside this hobby. I do however, like to acquire different types of stamps (not necessarily varieties) as this requires more time than I am willing to devote. I enjoy filling the holes on my albums and learning about the stories surrounding the issuance of the stamps. I've got a bazillion what I call duplicate stamps, but am not in the market for selling. I am sure that if I devoted more time to the hobby, I could find many variations of the stamps I have, especially in the older ones. I have either bought, or printed my own albums, and fill them with type stamps. I have some sheets that I've bought over the years that I like to look at and which don't fit in any album. Not only do I collect stamps, but also world coins and paper money. Again, I like to look at them and learn the stories behind each one. I find that coins, paper money and stamp collecting are excellent ways of learning about countries and their culture, besides, they are often pretty to look at.

The right argument for collecting - which is not to make that huge discovery or eventually sell it all for $000.

Thanks for your thoughts. I probably should have mentioned that I am disappointed with the U.S. stamps, however, because the self adhesive stamps pose a problem in themselves. The backing makes them doubly as thick and distorts the various albums, or severely limits the amount of pages that one can insert into an album. Also, when mounting them, they require a slightly larger mount than just the stamp itself. I have discovered (thanks to the internet), a couple of ways of separating the self adhesive stamp from an envelope, when its been used (cancelled), that doesn't seem to affect of harm the stamp itself, so, until the US Postal Service starts making stamps for collectors again (not the special issue ones just to make money, but the ones for everyday use, including commemoratives), I am devoting most of my efforts to the used U.S. Stamps, and am concentrating more of my time on my German collection. Seems to me that the postal service could save process time and money by going back to the water based adhesive rather than the self adhesive which requires additional paper for the backing. If anyone knows why they switched, I'd like to know??? I'd also like to know anyone else's thoughts on the self stick stamps.

Welcome !

I think the USPS switched to make it harder for people to soak unfranked stamps and re-use them. I would have preferred they just find a way to frank them properly!

Anyway, I'd love to hear your methods for getting the Used off the envelopes -- I collect UK and US used (and US precancels), and I've been stymied for a couple of years now on the modern issues -- more so with the US than the UK, but it's heading that way in UK also now.

If you have a way of ensuring they aren't sticky when you are done .... would you (or anyone else) please share?

Hi Jan, I ran across an article in the American Philatelist/October 2010 beginning on page 910-913. This outlined an interesting way of removing the used self adhesive stamps from envelopes with no damage to the stamp. They talk about a chemical (its a rubber glue solvent) called Bestine. I haven't received my order for this chemical, so can't attest to its effectiveness. I will be receiving it in the next few days, and will try it out on some junk stamps. However, the article goes on to talk about using an (believe it or not) air freshener called pure citrus orange. I found a can of it at my local hardware store, and promptly tried it out. I have had mixed success with it. It seems to work best on stamps affixed to normal type paper envelopes, and I was successful in removing some stamps with no damage to the stamp. After removing the stamps from the envelopes, I used some plain talcum powder on the back to take care of any residual adhesive. This worked well, except on stamps that were attached to heavier paper backing such as cardboard. I was not successful in getting stamps off this type of material without damaging the stamp. So, I'll use this method on the simple, normal type of envelope and on nothing else. A side note is that the stamp will smell nice for a short while until the air freshener order wears off at which time it has no odor. Once I receive my Bestine, I'll try removing the stamps that are affixed to heavier backing and see if I can have better success with it!. Hope this helps you out. I am glad I discovered this process, because it will allow me to save many self adhesive stamps to my albums without all the negatives of having the backing affixed to the stamp. My advise is to try ANY method you come up with on stamps that you do not value or intend to save.

Well, my Bestine arrived, and I find that it is no better or worse than the air freshener. I might add, though, that not only is removing a franked stamp from a heavy paper/cardboard package next to impossible without damaging the stamp, but I also have found that many of the stamps I have been playing with are actually affixed using glue. This leads me to believe that some people are removing the stamps and reusing. This method will not work with any stamp that has been affixed using any other adhesive than the self stick adhesive that's originally on the stamp. Another comment I must make is that using this method of removing stamps is really time consuming, especially if you have more than a couple of stamps. The Bestine is a rubber glue solvent and the Pure Citrus Orange Air Freshener acts the same as a rubber glue solvent. I have found several commercial stores that use the air freshener to remove sales stickers from shelves, which has a similar adhesive to the US Postage Stamp.

Just to clarify terminology, a stamp can't be franked. Franking means putting a stamp or words on an envelope or a folded letter sheet, something that pays the postage or obviates the need for postage. To frank comes from francus, meaning free. So the president or congressman could frank a letter by his signature or other statement; the rest of us frank letters by putting stamps on them. And the term is usually restricted to non-stamp means of "freeing" the letter--by writing or signing one's name, not by using stamps. Technically one could say that the stamp franks the letter, frees the letter but practically, the term is used only for non-stamp "freeing."

I think the word you are looking for is "cancelled stamp". Unless by "franked stamp" you mean a stamp that has been affixed to a letter in order to frank or free the letter. But then it's the letter that was franked, not the stamp.

I doubt that there's widespread reuse of self-adhesive stamps. It's too much bother to get them off the envelope after the first use and it's hard to get them off undamaged, as you have discovered on both counts. From what I've read, some self-adhesives are simply harder to get off than others are.

Some people just trim closely around the edges and collect them on paper. For myself, I just don't bother collecting past the advent of self-adhesives.

Hieronymus, thanks for the English lesson. I may have used the term, franking, loosely, but your comment indicates that you understood my meaning. In any case, the topic of my comment was a reply to Jan, and others who might not know about removing "cancelled" self adhesive stamps from envelopes. I prefer removing the "cancelled" stamp from the paper it has been affixed to because it is less cumbersome to deal with when placing it in my album. I intend to continue to collect "cancelled" U.S. stamps, but have decided not to pursue the "mint" stamps, as I believe anything done to the reverse of the self stick stamp to neutralize the adhesive renders the stamp less than pristine "mint".

Now, to add to my process of saving "cancelled" stamps, I prefer the Pure Citrus Orange Air Freshener over the Bestine, because the air freshener does not dissipate as quickly as the bestine, and allows more time to gently work with the stamp. The talc powder works just fine in neutralizing the residue adhesive that remains after the stamp has been removed. As I become more adept at this process, I have discovered that it is not often readily discernable which stamps are self adhesive and which are not, that's why I always check my Scott's just to make sure. In any case, especially in cases of mixed stamps on the envelope, I always use the Orange air freshener first in removal of the stamp, this does not damage the non self adhesive stamp which can then be removed by soaking. The only time I have really run into a problem is when someone has reused a stamp and has attached it with glue. Neither of these methods will remove said stamp, and it is virtually impossible to remove the stamp without damaging it. As one becomes more experienced in this method, it becomes relatively simple. Granted, it is not as fast as in the past when a group of stamps could be soaked at one time. This method requires each envelope to be individually dealt with, which is, of course, more time consuming.

There is one issue I have with this method that I have not resolved in my own mind, and would welcome any comments as to the use of talc powder on these stamps. I have no long term experience, and do not know what the long term effect the talc has. I don't know what the stamp community thinks of stamps handled in this manner, and whether removing the envelope paper from the stamp in some way detracts from its value (it has no impact on the visual aesthetics of the stamp). I suppose that only time will tell if the talc will continue to neutralize the adhesive, but I currently have no reason to believe it will change.