Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Today, the parts of the stamps that saw less exposure to air , being pressed on the glassine strips, have the gum keep its light color. The parts that were not so lucky have darkened quite a bit. I saw this phenomenon on Indonesian stamps from other sources.
If I decide to soak the collection, there will be no worries of future impact of air/moisture to the gum. However, the stamps are sometimes worth 10-20 times more as mint.
What would you do in this situation?
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I bought a collection of Monaco stamps 2 years ago and all the larger stamps looked like yours. I threw these away. Still got a lot of good used stamps out of it so the disappointment was not that great.
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If the stamps cannot be returned to the seller for being faulty, I would just put them in my album and look at the printed sides only. 
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Opa, I often soak similar looking stamps in water with a few drops of dish washing fluid.
The dark gum comes off and the backs get much lighter and uniform in color. Definitely not a reason to toss the stamps.
I am just trying to determine if this is what I should do, or just leave them the way they are. After all I see no mistake made in storing them. 50 years is 50 years and nothing looks the same after that long a time.
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A clear ammonia wash will do a better job.
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Food for thought…
In my opinion it is unwise to wash stamps with dishwashing liquid or ammonia, both will permanently alter a stamp.
Ammonia is commonly used by those seeking to commit fraud in washing off older manuscript cancels. Experts look for, and know how to detect, ammonia washed stamps and will automatically assume a removed cancel if found.
Most dishwashing liquids contain chemical brighteners (dishes need to look clean and bright) which change the stamp’s chemistry. Using dishwashing soap to soak a stamp will cause it to glow like a firefly under a UV lamp. In other words, you permanently ruin the ability to ever determine the original tagging on the stamp. While your collecting interests might not include tagging varieties, others might.
I understand that the stamps shown in this thread do not have manuscript cancels and were not originally issued tagged. My concern is that folks read these kinds of threads and then apply the recommendations to other stamps in their collection. As such I always only recommend washing stamps with clear, fresh, cool water.
As for these stamps, I agree with Smauggie; leave them the way they are. If you want stamps with better gum then use these for now and eventually replace them when stamps that appeal to you come around.
Don
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Thank you for posting that, Dan.
I had not been aware that the traces would be so readily detected, let alone make that much trouble.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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The fact is that mint stamps will inevitably degrade ( much faster than used ones ) as the gum is basically designed as a one-time use product ( and usually more or less immediately after it's application).Also older organic gums often actively damage the paper of the stamps. Modern synthetic gums such as PVA with dextrin added are much better in this respect.
I have heard it said that some museum reference collections have had the stamps blast frozen so that the gum comes off through shattering. Of course they don't have to worry about the financial implications of unmounted mint stamps without gum!
"Original gum" on pre WW2 stamps is often anything but ( regumming was done in industrial quantities ), and given the destructive properties of early hingeless albums, I would be very wary of any non-hinged "mint" stamps in pristine condition from before say 1960 ( perhaps someone else can give a more accurate date ).
I only collect used, but if I collected unused, my approach would be that if the gum is in any way damaged already, I would be tempted to remove it totally (unless it was a really valuable stamp).
Malcolm,
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Approvals
I acquired a collection of mint Indonesia, which has been stored on stock cards for God knows how long (could be 48 years:-) )
Today, the parts of the stamps that saw less exposure to air , being pressed on the glassine strips, have the gum keep its light color. The parts that were not so lucky have darkened quite a bit. I saw this phenomenon on Indonesian stamps from other sources.
If I decide to soak the collection, there will be no worries of future impact of air/moisture to the gum. However, the stamps are sometimes worth 10-20 times more as mint.
What would you do in this situation?
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this post
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
I bought a collection of Monaco stamps 2 years ago and all the larger stamps looked like yours. I threw these away. Still got a lot of good used stamps out of it so the disappointment was not that great.
Login to Like
this post
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
If the stamps cannot be returned to the seller for being faulty, I would just put them in my album and look at the printed sides only.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
Opa, I often soak similar looking stamps in water with a few drops of dish washing fluid.
The dark gum comes off and the backs get much lighter and uniform in color. Definitely not a reason to toss the stamps.
I am just trying to determine if this is what I should do, or just leave them the way they are. After all I see no mistake made in storing them. 50 years is 50 years and nothing looks the same after that long a time.
Login to Like
this post
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
A clear ammonia wash will do a better job.
Login to Like
this post
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
Food for thought…
In my opinion it is unwise to wash stamps with dishwashing liquid or ammonia, both will permanently alter a stamp.
Ammonia is commonly used by those seeking to commit fraud in washing off older manuscript cancels. Experts look for, and know how to detect, ammonia washed stamps and will automatically assume a removed cancel if found.
Most dishwashing liquids contain chemical brighteners (dishes need to look clean and bright) which change the stamp’s chemistry. Using dishwashing soap to soak a stamp will cause it to glow like a firefly under a UV lamp. In other words, you permanently ruin the ability to ever determine the original tagging on the stamp. While your collecting interests might not include tagging varieties, others might.
I understand that the stamps shown in this thread do not have manuscript cancels and were not originally issued tagged. My concern is that folks read these kinds of threads and then apply the recommendations to other stamps in their collection. As such I always only recommend washing stamps with clear, fresh, cool water.
As for these stamps, I agree with Smauggie; leave them the way they are. If you want stamps with better gum then use these for now and eventually replace them when stamps that appeal to you come around.
Don
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re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
Thank you for posting that, Dan.
I had not been aware that the traces would be so readily detected, let alone make that much trouble.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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06:20:43am
re: Philatelic woes with mint Indonesian stamps
The fact is that mint stamps will inevitably degrade ( much faster than used ones ) as the gum is basically designed as a one-time use product ( and usually more or less immediately after it's application).Also older organic gums often actively damage the paper of the stamps. Modern synthetic gums such as PVA with dextrin added are much better in this respect.
I have heard it said that some museum reference collections have had the stamps blast frozen so that the gum comes off through shattering. Of course they don't have to worry about the financial implications of unmounted mint stamps without gum!
"Original gum" on pre WW2 stamps is often anything but ( regumming was done in industrial quantities ), and given the destructive properties of early hingeless albums, I would be very wary of any non-hinged "mint" stamps in pristine condition from before say 1960 ( perhaps someone else can give a more accurate date ).
I only collect used, but if I collected unused, my approach would be that if the gum is in any way damaged already, I would be tempted to remove it totally (unless it was a really valuable stamp).
Malcolm,
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