Removing Stamps From Postcards

I have a few stamps on postcards that I would like to remove, preferably without having to cut up the postcards. What would you suggest is the best way to do this - is steaming them off a realistic option?

Can't say...as a philatelist I collect postcards with the stamp and postmark intact..i would not damage one to remove the stamp ...

Hi James....

I agree with Philb.......a postcard with stamp & cancel is worth more than the stamp by itself.....with the stamp removed the postcard has very little value.

I would leave them as is and hunt for the stamps as singles.

I will also concur, post cards are worth then the stamp 99% of the time.
Be aware the postmarks add value as well. You are more likely to find a rare postmark & valuable postmark before you'd find a valuable stamp.

Mike

The postcards I have in mind are not worth anything; they were sent by a friend when they went on holiday to Malta a few years ago. I just want to get the stamps off them to add to my Maltese collection.

Sorry - I should have made it clear at first that the postcards are by no means collectors' pieces or whatever.

james......


They are yours.....you are free to do as you choose.....but, whether you see value to the cards or not, they are collectible with postage.

Well thanks for your answers guys. I would still prefer to remove the stamps from the postcards (I'm more interested in having a nice stamp collection than a valuable one); can I steam them off without damaging them?

They are your stamps...do it

Steaming might work, but it has risk of damaging the stamp.

Personally I have placed the corner of the card (with stamp) on hot water for few minutes. Once the stamp is off, then I dry the card quickly (using a towel) and put it under heavy pressure for few days... It's not perfect, but works better than any "scissors required" method ;)

-keijo-

I'm with keijo on this one if you want to keep the post cards after removing the stamps. If not, then I'd just take the scissors to them and soak the stamps like you would any other material on paper.

Thanks for your advice; I'll try your technique keijo and hope it works!

Rather than steam, you might try folding a piece of paper towel into a few layers, and making it just large enough to cover the stamps. Dampen that, don't soak it, and give it a bit of time to work. Once the stamps are free, you can soak them to remove the rest of the glue and use another piece of moist paper towel to wipe the excess glue from the card. You can than place the cards under pressure as scb suggested, until they thoroughly dry.

Don't know if Malta has gone self-adhesive, but for self adhesives the fastest way of getting them off is with lighter fluid, aka Ronsonol.

Thanks modern_who. I'll try that. I don't think that these particular Maltese stamps are self-adhesive, but I'd never have thought of lighter fluid!

As someone who receives postcards from traveling friends and relatives, I'm glad that james204 brought up this topic! :)