Stamp Mounts

That is what I thought they looked like. My first post.It seems like many, many years ago I saw a package. I also have a package similar only completely closed and you cut to size and slide the stamp in and they seal themselves. They are called Marlate Mounts. The package says they come in five sizes but three sizes will mount all your stamps. There is also a size for #10 envelopes and souvenir sheets.. There must be about 20 mounts in the package I have. It says they are for singles.

Hi TinMan

I break down collections for a friend's stamp store. When I come across a PM mount I have to assume the page it is on is pretty much ruined. I try to remove the mount from the page by sliding a spade tip tong under the mount hoping to pop it off. It is easy to get the tip under the mount as there is no adhesive on the sides or bottom because of the clear film being folded over. If successful, I then try to lift the top flap as that is the one that is usually not attached very well. Then, with the spade tip tong it is pretty easy to "cut" the mount open and remove the stamp. This works over 90% of the time since the mounts are so old that the "stickiness" has dried out and the mount can be popped off. I would not use an Exacto knife in fear of cutting the stamp.

Note: The tongs may get "sticky" so use a little watermark or lighter fluid to remove any residual gum.

Jerry B

Jerry how can you tell which is the top flap. I took the mounts off the old album pages and it had discolored the pages real bad. I put them in the mounts in my new to me album but used School glue sticks since the mounts stickiness was gone. It must have dried up.

Taken from another recent ebay "NOS" sale:

Hi TinMan

With the stamp right side up, the top flap is at the top

All kidding aside, if you notice, the factory folded flaps are folded over rather well while the "user" folded flap is not as flat. In either case one should be able to get the tongs under a flap at any corner. Once there one can "cut" the flap thereby opening the mount. Inserting the tongs into the mount, being careful of the stamp, run the tongs along an edge thus cutting the mount "cover".

If you have stamps in PM mounts, I suggest you get the stamp(s) out of the mount and not re-use the mount.

As an aside. These mounts were available "for mint stamps" and everybody was buying them until problems with them became noticeable. By that time, Hawid and Showgard mounts came on the scene and spelled the death knell to PM mounts. The PM mount sizes were geared toward US stamps only but were used for foreign stamps also.

Looking at the Marlate ad, cutting a mount, with a stamp in it, with scissors is scary to say the least. This is the first time I have seen these mounts.

For reference on using Showgard or Hawid mounts see:
https://goscf.com/t/17131

Jerry B

Thanks Jerry! Duh...I must have been tired. Anyway I've already transferred the stamps from the old album pages into my album using the glue stick. What I thought is. I would just leave them alone until the first one falls off the page. If it happens? Then I would try to take it apart. If they all stay in my album I'll just leave well enough alone. What do you think?

Chuck
IE: TinMan

Thanks wt1 yes this is the exact odd ball package of Marlate Mounts that I have. I don't know where they came from? I sure am not going to use the Marlate Mounts. But I did keep them. I must have because I have a package of them. I may play with a no/low value used stamp just to experiment.

The sight of one of those mounts brings back nightmares of clearing an entire album full of them. Not something I want to relive any time soon.

Hi

TinMan:
If you have already re-mounted a pile of them then leave those alone. I suggest you not use any others as I have seen damage to stamps from those mounts. However,if the glue from the glue stick allows you to pop them off the page without any damage, then I suggest replacing them at your leisure. Otherwise leave them alone. Just my opinion.

Mike:
Wasn't that fun

I also had to replace an album full of them. The first few I sealed and then "wised up" and left the top open. The closed mounts made one an expert in opening them. Fortunately I did not lose an expensive album. I have always used blank quadrille pages so all I lost was a few dollars worth of paper. The closed ones I popped off the page as best as possible before opening and the others I just cut the top film off to remove the stamp.

Jerry B

Jerry Like I said I think I will leave them alone in my album as long as they don't pop off the page. I've never had any Showguard or Mystic Mounts pop off the page. They do make the page a thin if you try to remove them after they are glue sticked on. I know that from experience. That is primarily why I made the decision I did to Leave them alone. Thanks Jerry and everyone for your help. .

Now for another Mount that some of you have never experienced I'm sure. You couldn't buy the mounts but you bought the stamps and they came already pre-mounted in a clear plastic.They were stamps with a Cancel on what looked like an envelope not the stamp. The stamp is Still MINT. There is a brief description of the stamp and they came from the Postal Commemorative Society. An organization that didn't last but rivaled the APS. The description is that they are "hermetically" sealed for protection. I have seven 1939 and about ten 1942,43. The description I downloaded says they were produced into the 1970's.

I took one,I Cut one out of the mount only because I had two the same and it was a real pain cutting it out of the mount putting it mildly. I had to use a hobby knife to cut it out. Tough plastic let me tell you.


The Stamp is mounted

The PM mounts image brought back some bad memories of removing lots of stamps by very carefully cutting one edge of the acetate and removing the stamps with sharp-tipped tongs. Over time, the acetate mounts, or the self-adhesive material on them would shrink, causing the enclosed stamp to buckle, or wrinkle slightly. Fortunately, the PM mounts did their major damage in the other direction - on the album pages by bleeding their gum into the pages. In my experience, very little damage was done to the stamps. I may have just been lucky, by not leaving the stamps in the mounts long enough for them to be irreversibly hurt. It was just a major nuisance. For me, Crystal Mounts were "the bottom of the barrel" because they did much more harm to the stamps.

Absolutely. These mounts being described are an utter abomination and their creators should be arrested and imprisoned. OK, I'm joking about the imprisonment, but I have to admit that it would be a fitting punishment.

These are a nightmare like no other. In my experience, they also damage the stamps, even if removed safely, by drying out the gum. Automatically devalues a purchase when I see them before buying.

Not quite like no other. Several years ago, I acquired a home-made album as part of a large auction lot. The original German owner, probably in the 1940s, had obsessively enclosed each stamp in cellophane, then secured the covering at the back with stamp-edging. Over time, this had produced an interesting corrugated effect. Fortunately, Crystal Mounts seem not to have had widespread currency here.

Reviving this old thread regarding PM mounts. I came across this thread and hesitated to join and respond simply because it is an old thread but I had to. These mounts are getting a bad rap. I started collecting stamps back in 1968. While the collection isn't tremendous I have approximately 400 stamps, every one of them in mint condition, dating back to the 1920's. Every last one of these is in a PM mount. In fact, when these mounts were discontinued in the mid 70's, I stopped collecting stamps because there were no other mounts available that came close to PM. When I read this thread I dug out my album to check on the stamps condition. They are perfectly fine. Still fresh and vibrant. PM mounts do not ruin stamps, the way they are used may. Every one of my stamps are still in perfect condition 50 years later. The problem with most people using these mounts is they fold the open flap over onto the glued area not allowing the stamp to breathe and giving no access to the stamp. Knuckleheads. If that open flap is left open the stamp can breathe, stays protected and allows access to the stamp. Just leave the damn flap open. I haven't been involved with this hobby for a while now but when I was, PM are by far the best mounts I've ever used. If you can still find old stock of these mounts jump on it. Use them correctly and you won't regret it.