When to soak a stamp?

Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan

On Dec 27, 10:25 am, "Smith" wrote:
Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan

You can soak anytime you like.
Trim stamps leaving a margin of the backing.
Soak them in warm water for at least twenty minutes. S
Lick and stick stamps should slide off the backing paper. The self
adhesieve stamps are a bit more difficult and may need some to be
peeled off. Practice is trhe best teacher. Lay the stamps you have
soaked off on several layers of newspaper and cover with several more
sheets of paper. Put a book on top to make them flat. Ley dry at least
24 hours. Some self adhesieves are best not soaked, they tend to self
destruct when soaked.

Ralphael, the OLD one

Be careful what you soak!

Stamps printed with fugitive inks are easily ruined by soaking.


"Smith" wrote in message
ps.com...
Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan

Never soak stamps!
The stamps are more valuable on cover !
Happy 2007
Hans

MK3 wrote:
Be careful what you soak!

Stamps printed with fugitive inks are easily ruined by soaking.


"Smith" wrote in message
ps.com...

Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan

On 27 Dec 2006 13:51:59 -0800, "Ralphael1" wrote:



On Dec 27, 10:25 am, "Smith" wrote:
Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan

You can soak anytime you like.
Trim stamps leaving a margin of the backing.
Soak them in warm water for at least twenty minutes. S
Lick and stick stamps should slide off the backing paper. The self
adhesieve stamps are a bit more difficult and may need some to be
peeled off. Practice is trhe best teacher. Lay the stamps you have
soaked off on several layers of newspaper and cover with several more
sheets of paper. Put a book on top to make them flat. Ley dry at least
24 hours. Some self adhesieves are best not soaked, they tend to self
destruct when soaked.

The Old One speaketh the truth... Another hint is to separate
envelope papers. Separate white from manila, red, blue, etc.

Soak the white papered stamps by themselves or they may take on the
ink from the paper of the colored letters. Manila may seem innocuous,
but they have left impressions on stamps.

Further, when soaking colored paper envelopes, soak them upside down,
so the envelope paper rises to the surface. This will tend to not
stain the stamps as much as if the paper was underneath. Works pretty
good, but don't soak a lot of them at the same time. Do only a few in
the same water.

"Smith" wrote in message
ps.com...
Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp
heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan


Some of the phosphor inks used to tag stamps for electronic sorting
are soluble in water and may contaminate non-phosphor ones in the same
soaking bowl, giving false impressions of allover phosphor. Beware!

Some self-adhesives are beggars to soak off. (GB stamps are an
exception as they have a double layer of gum, one of them soluble.) If
unsure, it may be better to cut cleanly around the stamps and leave
them on piece.

Douglas

Snip

Stamps can be removed with products such as stamplift or a sweatbox
which don't have the same potential to do damage as soaking in water.

If you really must soak them in water then you should be careful about
mixing items on coloured paper or airmail envelopes as many envelopes
are not colour fast and will cause stamps to go pink, blue or whatever
from transfer. It is a little like throwing a new red tshirt or new jeans
into
a washing machine with a white shirt, result is usually that the shirt is no
longer white.

If you soak stamps on coloured paper either do it in a huge bowl or have
fresh water running into it to dilute the effects of water colouration and
transfer
and keep any potential from staining to a minimum.

If the stamps are old or have value then they ought to be left on piece or
cover as that will add to their value.

hvschaik wrote:
Never soak stamps!
The stamps are more valuable on cover !
Happy 2007
Hans

A few stamps are more valuable on cover; most are not.
Never say "never"

Also, be careful about using newsprint when drying the stamps. Often the
newsprint will be transferred to one side or the other of your stamp.

Bill

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:12:54 -0800, Bill Sharpe
wrote:

hvschaik wrote:
Never soak stamps!
The stamps are more valuable on cover !
Happy 2007
Hans

A few stamps are more valuable on cover; most are not.
Never say "never"

Right! Further, some covers can be reduced to "corners" and keep the
stamp on piece, all depending on the cancellation. So, keeping
inexpensive stamps on piece with a Circular Date Stamp (CDS) or Sock
on the Nose (SON) cancel may be worth keeping just for the cancel
alone.

Keeping piles and piles of commercial covers will eventually take up
entire rooms.

Also, be careful about using newsprint when drying the stamps. Often the
newsprint will be transferred to one side or the other of your stamp.

I'm of the same thinking, because of the way the print transfers to
the floor for my cat purposes.

I use white blotter paper and make sure there's nothing on it, like
stuck down bits and other junk when drying a new batch of stamps.

The traditional way of saving stamps is to display them in an album or stock
book. To do so, they must be removed from the cover. On the other hand,
many collect covers, especially if they have special cancellations or are on
a keeper postcard.

Tony

"Douglas Myall" wrote in message
...

"Smith" wrote in message
ps.com...
Season's Greetings from Canada.

I just unwrapped stamp tweezers, reference books and am in stamp
heaven
and now have a new question.

After sorting through previous postings I could not find * why* or
*when* to soak a stamp. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Susan


Some of the phosphor inks used to tag stamps for electronic sorting
are soluble in water and may contaminate non-phosphor ones in the same
soaking bowl, giving false impressions of allover phosphor. Beware!

Some self-adhesives are beggars to soak off. (GB stamps are an
exception as they have a double layer of gum, one of them soluble.) If
unsure, it may be better to cut cleanly around the stamps and leave
them on piece.

Douglas




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