What we collect!

 

Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps



What we collect!
What we collect!


General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : Stuck Stamps

 

Author
Postings
Kaz

07 Nov 2010
12:14:20pm
G'Day all:

I inherited a small collection from my mother and am in the process of integrating into my collection. Some of the mint Canada stamps were stored in glassine envelopes but must have been exposed to a damp environment. Some are stuck together, and if I work them very delicately I can separate a few but end up with some ink adhesion. Has anyone experienced this before and does anyone have any ideas on how I can salvage them other than soaking them apart?

Cheers
Like
Login to Like
this post
Bobstamp
Members Picture


07 Nov 2010
12:31:24pm
re: Stuck Stamps

Remember Startrek's Borg? Repeat over and over, in a monotone voice, "Un-sticking stuck stamps is fu-tile."

boB

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasures.net
Bobstamp
Members Picture


07 Nov 2010
12:56:52pm
re: Stuck Stamps

More seriously, there really is nothing you can do except soak them, in which case they become unused and useful only as fillers or postage. The only exceptions would be classic stamps or stamps with high catalogue value, which retain some value even without gum. Some collectors recommend soaking some early rarities to prevent the paper from being damaged by cracking gum.

Bob

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasures.net
Cdj1122
Members Picture


Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

30 Nov 2010
05:00:15pm
re: Stuck Stamps

" ... they become unused and useful only as fillers or postage. ..."
This is only true to those stampers who obsess over the gum on the reverse of the stamps.
There are many, many collectors who are interested in postally used, simply used and even some who care not one wit for the presence or absence of the glutinous mix that in some cases eventually damages the stamp's paper itself.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Stampaholic
Members Picture


30 Nov 2010
07:22:00pm

Auctions - Approvals
re: Stuck Stamps

I personally would as soon as have an MNG as one that's been regummed. My best customer buys MNG's all time. He actually prefers them. However, as to Cv. of them I have to agree with the others.

Like
Login to Like
this post

" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
Cdj1122
Members Picture


Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

01 Dec 2010
08:04:58am
re: Stuck Stamps

Absolutely.
I often point out to collectors, especially newbies who are feeling pulled a bit by one or another segment of the hobby, that there is one abiding rule to remember; "Collect what you want, the way you enjoy collecting."
A comment that was attributed to Herman Hurst, of recent memory, was that "Those who collect for profit are usually disappointed, while those who collect for the pleasure their collection provides often are surprised and rewarded." (Or words to that effect.)
.
My decision to collect postally used stamps was made almost fifty years ago and has not been regretted and it came with a companion decision. I plan to die before my collection comes up for sale and let someone else worry about what it is worth. I have left informational instruction sheets explaining how the stamp market works and what I have accumulated in the hope that one of my children or grandchildren will be able to do more than hold a garage sale on a rainy Saturday morning.
I have had the pleasure of ownership. I have had the excitement of the chase and the thrill of success as some interesting addition completes a page, or even better, a series of pages. I have long benefited from the knowledge of other cultures, of the details of printing and production that even the most oblivious accumulator is exposed to in his collecting habits.
Then there is the vicarious enjoyment of visiting faraway lands that I will never actually see, or of mentally returning to places that I have visited in my youth when I travelled extensively. And last but by no means least. I have found friendship and sometimes, companionship in the numerous friends whom I have met or corresponded with from all corners of this world. These things can neither be quantified nor taken away easily. They also cannot be sold in a box or an album to another person. But to me that is the true value of stamping.

Some years ago there was an article in the then current Life Magazine that told the story of several more or less wealthy (Translation: Filthy rich) stamp collectors and illustrated some of the gems in their possession. One very well known collector, in explaining why he travelled around the United States and sometimes the world, purchasing rare and unusual stamps for his voluminous collections, upon being interviewed in 1954, said in response to a question as to why he was so motivated; "You do not know what stamps can do to a man."
Many times, especially after I resumed the hobby, I thought about the meaning of those words and their inherent truth. Most people do not understand why these little pieces of paper create such interest and in truth, I cannot think of why, or how, they manage to mesmerize men and women so completely. But I know that they do so.

For some stampers financial gain is as important as the less quantifiable benefits I mentioned.
I understand that. I suppose all of us have a secret hope that something that we collect will eventually have some value above and beyond what we paid for it or the value of the effort we spent looking for it.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Malcolm197

01 Dec 2010
08:32:31am
re: Stuck Stamps

To add to the previous post, there is also the intellectual stimulation,educational benefit,and curiosity satisfaction rating.

To those of an inquiring mind, which as collectors we are almost by definition, there is no better hobby.

My wife, no doubt along with many others, sees my interest in stamps as a narrow-minded obsession. Nothing can be further from the truth my knowledge of "all world" history,geography and politics is both wider and deeper than many who do not collect. I have made a conscious effort to limit the pure philately aspect of stamps (though I am still deeply interested) in favour of a broader approach which takes due notice of collaterally interesting information.In a sense my stamp ( and postmark ) collection is used as a vehicle in the pursuit of knowledge for it's own sake.

It is not fashionable these days to look at stamp collecting as an educational pursuit, but in my opinion there is no more fun way to life long learning.

End of soap-box session.

Malcolm

Like
Login to Like
this post
Stampaholic
Members Picture


01 Dec 2010
01:53:51pm

Auctions - Approvals
re: Stuck Stamps

Malcolm: very well said. Stamp collecting is truly the world's greatest and best hobby. I personally owe my college degree to my stamp collection. I couldn't afford textbooks so I majored in geography. Also best way in the world to prevent Alzheimer's.

Like
Login to Like
this post

" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
        

 

Author/Postings
Kaz

07 Nov 2010
12:14:20pm

G'Day all:

I inherited a small collection from my mother and am in the process of integrating into my collection. Some of the mint Canada stamps were stored in glassine envelopes but must have been exposed to a damp environment. Some are stuck together, and if I work them very delicately I can separate a few but end up with some ink adhesion. Has anyone experienced this before and does anyone have any ideas on how I can salvage them other than soaking them apart?

Cheers

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
Bobstamp

07 Nov 2010
12:31:24pm

re: Stuck Stamps

Remember Startrek's Borg? Repeat over and over, in a monotone voice, "Un-sticking stuck stamps is fu-tile."

boB

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasur ...
Members Picture
Bobstamp

07 Nov 2010
12:56:52pm

re: Stuck Stamps

More seriously, there really is nothing you can do except soak them, in which case they become unused and useful only as fillers or postage. The only exceptions would be classic stamps or stamps with high catalogue value, which retain some value even without gum. Some collectors recommend soaking some early rarities to prevent the paper from being damaged by cracking gum.

Bob

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasur ...

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
30 Nov 2010
05:00:15pm

re: Stuck Stamps

" ... they become unused and useful only as fillers or postage. ..."
This is only true to those stampers who obsess over the gum on the reverse of the stamps.
There are many, many collectors who are interested in postally used, simply used and even some who care not one wit for the presence or absence of the glutinous mix that in some cases eventually damages the stamp's paper itself.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Members Picture
Stampaholic

30 Nov 2010
07:22:00pm

Auctions - Approvals

re: Stuck Stamps

I personally would as soon as have an MNG as one that's been regummed. My best customer buys MNG's all time. He actually prefers them. However, as to Cv. of them I have to agree with the others.

Like
Login to Like
this post

" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Dec 2010
08:04:58am

re: Stuck Stamps

Absolutely.
I often point out to collectors, especially newbies who are feeling pulled a bit by one or another segment of the hobby, that there is one abiding rule to remember; "Collect what you want, the way you enjoy collecting."
A comment that was attributed to Herman Hurst, of recent memory, was that "Those who collect for profit are usually disappointed, while those who collect for the pleasure their collection provides often are surprised and rewarded." (Or words to that effect.)
.
My decision to collect postally used stamps was made almost fifty years ago and has not been regretted and it came with a companion decision. I plan to die before my collection comes up for sale and let someone else worry about what it is worth. I have left informational instruction sheets explaining how the stamp market works and what I have accumulated in the hope that one of my children or grandchildren will be able to do more than hold a garage sale on a rainy Saturday morning.
I have had the pleasure of ownership. I have had the excitement of the chase and the thrill of success as some interesting addition completes a page, or even better, a series of pages. I have long benefited from the knowledge of other cultures, of the details of printing and production that even the most oblivious accumulator is exposed to in his collecting habits.
Then there is the vicarious enjoyment of visiting faraway lands that I will never actually see, or of mentally returning to places that I have visited in my youth when I travelled extensively. And last but by no means least. I have found friendship and sometimes, companionship in the numerous friends whom I have met or corresponded with from all corners of this world. These things can neither be quantified nor taken away easily. They also cannot be sold in a box or an album to another person. But to me that is the true value of stamping.

Some years ago there was an article in the then current Life Magazine that told the story of several more or less wealthy (Translation: Filthy rich) stamp collectors and illustrated some of the gems in their possession. One very well known collector, in explaining why he travelled around the United States and sometimes the world, purchasing rare and unusual stamps for his voluminous collections, upon being interviewed in 1954, said in response to a question as to why he was so motivated; "You do not know what stamps can do to a man."
Many times, especially after I resumed the hobby, I thought about the meaning of those words and their inherent truth. Most people do not understand why these little pieces of paper create such interest and in truth, I cannot think of why, or how, they manage to mesmerize men and women so completely. But I know that they do so.

For some stampers financial gain is as important as the less quantifiable benefits I mentioned.
I understand that. I suppose all of us have a secret hope that something that we collect will eventually have some value above and beyond what we paid for it or the value of the effort we spent looking for it.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Malcolm197

01 Dec 2010
08:32:31am

re: Stuck Stamps

To add to the previous post, there is also the intellectual stimulation,educational benefit,and curiosity satisfaction rating.

To those of an inquiring mind, which as collectors we are almost by definition, there is no better hobby.

My wife, no doubt along with many others, sees my interest in stamps as a narrow-minded obsession. Nothing can be further from the truth my knowledge of "all world" history,geography and politics is both wider and deeper than many who do not collect. I have made a conscious effort to limit the pure philately aspect of stamps (though I am still deeply interested) in favour of a broader approach which takes due notice of collaterally interesting information.In a sense my stamp ( and postmark ) collection is used as a vehicle in the pursuit of knowledge for it's own sake.

It is not fashionable these days to look at stamp collecting as an educational pursuit, but in my opinion there is no more fun way to life long learning.

End of soap-box session.

Malcolm

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
Stampaholic

01 Dec 2010
01:53:51pm

Auctions - Approvals

re: Stuck Stamps

Malcolm: very well said. Stamp collecting is truly the world's greatest and best hobby. I personally owe my college degree to my stamp collection. I couldn't afford textbooks so I majored in geography. Also best way in the world to prevent Alzheimer's.

Like
Login to Like
this post

" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
        

Contact Webmaster | Visitors Online | Unsubscribe Emails | Facebook


User Agreement

Copyright © 2024 Stamporama.com