Beginning Stamp Collecting - Today's Installment of A Tutorial on the Hobby for a Lifetime (continued)


Stamp Collecting Tips - How to Handle & Store Your Stamps:


1. Always use stamp tongs to pick up and handle your stamps. They look like household tweezers, but stamp tongs do not have sharp edges. Regular tweezers could easily harm your stamps. You may find it awkward to use tongs in the beginning, but stick with it, it will become second nature.

Do not pick up your stamps with your fingers or even lay them out on a bare table. The natural oils from your skin and the dust on the table will dirty the stamp over time. When looking at your stamps, place them on a clean piece of white paper or something similar, then use tongs to pick them up.

2. You can use clean, plain white envelopes to organize your collection when you start. Write the name of the type of stamps on the envelope to help you stay organized.

When you're starting a stamp collection it's best to keep it simple and just sort your stamps and label your envelopes by country, unless you've already decided you want to focus on just certain types of stamps.

3. When you're done working with your stamps for the day, it's good practice to put your stamps into a clean, sturdy container or box. Shoe boxes or empty desk drawers are an ideal place to store your envelopes.

4. After a while, buy a package of glassine envelopes for your stamps. These are inexpensive, semi-transparent envelopes made especially for stamp collecting. Stamps can stay fresh inside glassines for a fairly long period of time. Many types of paper have high levels of acidity or other properties that over time can harm the stamps inside. It's perfectly okay to temporarily store your stamps in these regular envelopes for a few weeks or even months depending upon the quality of the paper, but you shouldn't keep them there for much longer than that.

Beginning Stamp Collecting - Today's Installment of A Tutorial on the Hobby for a Lifetime (continued)


The condition of the stamps that are intended for your stamp collection is critically important. Ideally all of your stamps will be intact with no corners missing, no tears, no thins (discussed below), no pinholes, etc. Well-centered stamps - those that have essentially the same size margins (blank edges) on all four sides - are also ideal. But as we all know, what is ideal is often not what is reality. So here are some thoughts on different stamp flaws which detract from the condition and appearance of stamps, and some thoughts on how to remedy at least some of them.


USED Stamps:


1. Creases, folds and bends, and pin holes.

Even the smallest corner crease can detract from the condition and value of a stamp. Light folds and bends (which are a bit less serious than creases since they haven't damaged the integrity of the stamp paper) can sometimes be "washed out" by soaking, and then when nearly dry, pressing the stamp between sheets of paper with a heavy book or two on top. Pinholes, on the other hand, will be there forever, no matter what you try.

2. Dirty appearance of either the front or back of the stamp.

Some "dirty" marks can be removed by soaking in warm water with the addition of a drop or two of mild dishwashing liquid. A gentle massage between the fingers during the soak helps to dislodge dirt and grime. Then dry and press as in 1 above.

3. Rust marks and staining.

Rust is actually a fungal growth on the stamp and is almost impossible to remove. Such stamps should NOT be stored with clean stamps as the spores can be transmitted from stamp to stamp.

Ideally, stamps should be stored in low humidity, with a stable temperature and with regular airing. This will reduce the chances of rust. Dust can also carry these spores, so a dust-free environment is also good.

Staining is caused by the dyes used on colored envelopes (such as those bright red or green Christmas card envelopes) being transferred to the stamp during the soaking process. It is best to soak colored envelopes separately as even just one colored envelope may stain all of the stamps in a soaking batch. Staining caused by these dyes is almost impossible to completely remove.


4. Centering.

Centering refers to the position of the stamp design in relation to the overall stamp. A well centered stamp has equal margins on all four sides. An off-center stamp may be high, low, left, right or a combination of these.


5. Heavy or smudged postmarks.

6. Torn or cut stamps, and stamps with missing perforations (perfs).

Even one or two missing perforations can seriously detract from a stamp.

7. Thins.

Stamp thins are a condition where a thin portion of the back side of the stamp has been ripped away, either by pulling off a stamp hinge or not completely soaking the stamp before removing it from the envelope. When held up to the light the thinned area looks brighter because more light passes through.

8. Repairs

Repairs to tears or missing perfs are intended to make the stamp look better and more valuable. Compared to an un-repaired stamp that's in good condition, even a successful repair will still detract from the stamp.


All of the above condition factors also apply to MINT stamps, and with mint stamps, gum condition must also be considered.


FULL GUM - no disturbance to the original gum as issued.

PARTIAL GUM - some of the stamp's original gum has been removed by being hinged.

NO GUM- the original gum has been removed by soaking.
Sometimes this is necessary to arrest rust or to separate stamps that have "licked themselves together" over time.


That's all for today - more of this tutorial soon!

Beginning Stamp Collecting - A Tutorial on the Hobby for a Lifetime (continued)


As we alluded to in our first post on this topic, you may want to start your stamp collection with used stamps. They are easy to find for free (from your mail and that of your friends and relatives), and when you buy them they generally (although there are exceptions) are less expensive to buy than mint, unused stamps.

Collecting used stamps has one main factor to consider that does not apply if you are collecting mint stamps: the postmarks and cancellations that are on them.


For beginners collecting used stamps, here are our thoughts on cancellations and postmarks (for now, we're not taking into account the condition of the stamp, just the postmark). We'll discuss the condition of stamps a bit later.

1. Your first preference would probably be a neat, well struck cancel which does not detract from the design on the stamp. You might like it best if it only impinges on a small portion of the stamp, since you can see the design on the stamp better that way. No smudging. Showing some or all of the town's name is a bonus.

2. Second preference - A CDS (circular date stamp cancellation) that is neat and not over-inked or smudged. This type of postmark will allow you to see where and when the stamp was mailed on its cover.

3. A third type of postmark is the pictorial cancellation. These graphic designs used to cancel stamps illustrate some event or concept.

4. Slogan cancellations also convey some concept - such as "Vote Early" or "Win the War."

5. Your last preference might be a machine cancel that covers only a small portion of the stamp. Generally there isn't much postal history information to be gained from a postmark of this type.

In many countries a circular datestamp SOTN (socked on the nose) cancel is the preferred cancel. These show all details of the town name, date of sending and country/state details.

Collecting postmarks and cancellations can be a fascinating specialty stamp collection. Because your collection will grow and evolve over time, always look to upgrade a cancel or stamp when a better one appears. You can always remove the poorer cancel from your collection and replace it with the better.

Stamp condition, also comes into play with your final decision. A good condition stamp with a lesser cancel is often far better than a damaged stamp with a good cancel, but there are many exceptions to this generalization. Some postmarks add value to even a damaged stamp but this is more for the advanced collector. If you're unsure about which of two stamps might be better, keep both, and ask questions.

If you have any extremely good circular cancels or pictorial cancels, often it is better NOT to soak them off the paper but save them as a piece to show the whole stamp and postmark. Even better, keep the ENTIRE (the whole envelope together with its stamp) intact.

Where there are multiple cancels- whether touching the stamp or not - it is best to save these as an entire or at least a large piece. Often these postal markings show the journey the letter has taken and other special handling details.


More installments of this tutorial will follow.

Beginning Stamp Collecting - A Tutorial on the Hobby for a Lifetime (part 1 of several parts)


There are many different ways to begin collecting stamps, but here are some of our thoughts on how to get started.

1. Collect stamps before you BUY any stamps.

Save every stamp that comes to you on mail. Ask your friends and relatives for their stamps. Get stamps from your office or by any other means that you don't have to pay for. Accept every stamp that's given to you, no matter how rough-looking.

This will let you get a taste of the hobby without having to spend any money. You can learn the basics of stamp collecting by using these free stamps.

2. Learn the basics about stamp collecting.

The basics include how to soak stamps off paper (read other entries in this blog for some tips on this) and how to identify your stamps. You'll need a stamp catalog of some type to identify them. Borrow one from the library (most libraries carry stamp catalogs), borrow one from a friend or relative, or ask for a catalog as a gift. An older stamp catalog is just fine to get started with - there's no need to buy the most recent specialized version yet.

You should also learn how to safely store your stamps. For now, a stock book or a box with a lid is fine. Keep your stamps dry and away from high humidity - and the dog, if you have one.

You can also learn some basics by talking about your stamps with stamp collectors that you know. They can give you some tips and tricks that are based on their experiences. If you don't know anyone who collects stamps, post on this blog - we'll answer your questions quickly.



The single most important thing to remember is that collecting stamps is fun, not a "job."

And secondly, if you have children, by all means share your hobby with them. They'll thank you for it, it's great quality time together and educational for everyone.



This is only the first installment of this tutorial, so if you're a new stamp collector or thinking about collecting stamps, stay tuned.