Stamp Preservation And Care - Use It Or Lose It

Hi, I recently decided to get a little bit more serious and be more active about doing something about my favorite pet peeve ... stamp preservation and care, or the lack thereof.

I am slowly transferring content from an old web site of mine to a new a blog/comment type format that will be more with the social media times.

http://www.stampsareart.com/]

The basic design of my site is done, so I have decided to let it go live.

However, by the time I am finished transferring all the content of my old site, StampsAreArt will be have much more information, which I hope to actively disseminate via social media to educate and put a fire under many of you that are either unaware or deliberately ignoring the damage you may be inflicting on your stamps by improperly exposing them to light, paper, plastic and humidity, which I refer to as the 4P's (P)hotons, (P)aper, (P)lastic, (P)reciptiation.

Many of you old timers may get in a tizzy because of some of my observations about use of plastic, UV light, and watermarking fluids, but my goal is to light a fire under the philatelic community, not to put one out. In the process, hopefully there can be a useful discussion that will prevent any newcomers that may want to join us from repeating our mistakes.

You can use the RSS, twitter and facebook icons to sign up and receive updates when I post new content.

M.W.

StampsAreArt, Greetings:

The consensus seems to be that we are running-out of collectors faster than we are running-out of collectibles.

That having been said, I wish you the best of luck with the upgrade!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

What do you think about removing gum from mint stamps to prevent deterioration over time?

MHH OG can be a hazard.

And who knows what the new adhesives on SA stamps will do.

As to causing damage to your stamps, gum will do it, look at some of the gum wrinkles that early issue Scotts exhibit. As to newer issues, only time will tell what the gum will do in a hundred years. But that begs the question, would trying to remove the gum cause more harm than the gum itself. Which begs another question, the reduction in value your stamp(s) will be slapped with, will it be worth it to you? Even when wrinkled, the wrinkled version of a stamp will probably command a premium. I for one think that if you keep your stamps aways from light, humidity, and plastic, the gum should outlast you by a "couple" of years.

Tale Of Two Threads

In the watermarking & PSA adhesive removal threads, we accept Ronsonol (lighter fluid).

In the archiving threads, those same petroleum distillates send shivers up/down/along spines.

Reminds me of when JFK sent McGeorge Bundy (if memory serves) and Gen Maxwell Taylor to Vietnam. The civilian guy came back recommending a full-court military press. The military guy came back saying 'stay out of it, way out of it'. The Commander-in-Chief asked: "Did you two guys visit the same country?"

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I just 'Bookmarked' your site to peruse later. It looks like a good source for information and hope to visit frequently in my efforts to learn more about safeguarding my collection materials.

I will be visiting your site as well. Most of my stamps are not in an album nor on pages. The majority of most of my most valued ones are on Vario and other similar brand sheets. But about 3 years ago I noticed that almost all of these have the clear parts considerably yellowed. I'm not sure at this moment if the Vario or other brands are the ones that have yellowed. Or if all of the 2 or 3 brands that I have are yellowed. I only bought brands that came highly recommended by professionals so I am quite disappointed.

Very interesting and educational website, StampsAreArt!