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STAMP
COLLECTING TIPS
Now that you’ve decided what type of stamps you want to collect,
here are some tips on the best way to keep these stamps in good
condition. You may end up with one that is worth a lot of money
someday and you’ll want it to be in the best possible condition.
When looking for a stamp album, look for one that has blank,
acid-free pages. Don’t go for anything that has flimsy pages for
these will not be sturdy enough to house your stamps safely. Make
sure you have stamp hinges or mounts that are designed for housing
stamps. Using glue or tape will damage your stamps.
Do not try to tear or peel a stamp off of an envelope. Cut them
carefully from the envelope without touching the perforated edges,
this damages the stamp. Once the stamp has been cut off, float it
in a small bowl filled with cool water. This dissolves the glue to
a point where the paper from the envelope will come off easily.
(Be careful with those stamps that have been heavily inked with
cancellation stamps or strange looking ink that could potentially
damage other stamps.) Rinse the remaining glue with fresh water
and spread out to dry. If necessary place them in a book after
drying to straighten them out. Always handle them with tongs.
Think about your collection theme and sort the stamps according to
your theme. Whether it’s by a topical or country theme or stamp
types, it’s good to have some kind of order to them. Remove any
damaged stamps as the value is most likely not that great. The
only time you want to hang on to something that’s damaged would be
if you had something that was extremely rare or valuable. If you
have duplicates then display the best one you have of the set and
use the other for trading with other stamp collectors. Sorting is
an ongoing process as you pick up more and more stamps.
Another extremely important thing to think about is having tongs.
Seems like such a simple thing, doesn’t it. People think they can
handle just as well with their fingers but they don’t think about
how much oil we have on our skin. These oils transfer to the
stamps and can damage them in the long run. Tongs are the best way
to handle stamps. One may need to practice handling tongs before
attempting to pick up stamps with them as some of them, if not
handled correctly, could tear or poke holes through the stamps.
Once you’ve made the decision to collect stamps and you’ve gotten
all the essential tools for collecting, you’ll probably find
getting more and more curious about the history behind some of
these stamps. There are thousands of books, literature and papers
written on the subject. Many of them explain how and why some of
these stamps became so valuable or interesting over the years.
Most stamp collectors become so for a lifetime. There are so many
different types of stamp collections that one could collect for
years and never find themselves getting bored.
Original Article Source:
http://www.RareStamp.com |
