I just bought a bunch of Mint stamps that are hinged to a page. I tried to gently remove one with my tongs but I ended up damaging the stamp. Any tips on how to remove them without damaging them? Thanks in advance.
A thin artist's brush and a cup of lukewarm water. Put the stamp face down on the table and apply water sparingly to the back of the hinge. Repeat until a gentle tug lifts the hinge off.
In a similar manner, if the gum of the stamp itself is stuck, I use a cotton swab and the "Super Safe Stamp Lift Fluid". I turn the page to the side opposite the stamp and apply the fluid to soak through the paper everywhere the stamp is stuck. Than patiently wait and slowly lift the stamp as the adhesive bonds break down enough to lift the stamp carefully.The stamp itself barely even gets wetted, but you have to set the stamp upside down for a few minutes to ensure it dries thoroughly.
Sometimes the "freezer" method will work. Place an album page inside a sealable plastic bag, seal it, and put it in a freezer for hours, or overnight. Take the bag with page out, and see if any of the stamps will pop off the page with very gentle pressure from a pair of tongs, or gently run the page over a table or desk edge bending the page as you run it over the edge. Try all of the above with cheap stamps first. Sometimes it works and sometimes nothing other that TNT is going to get a stuck down stamp off a page.
For my personal collection I usually just soak the page, but I have no problem collecting no gum stamps - they look the same to me. For resale it makes more economic sense to me to soak the page as well. Here is why:
I sell mint hinged stamps at an average of 40 per cent of catalog. Even if the stamps aren't stuck you always have a few damaged by the wet tongue technique resulting in a bulge - I don't sell stamps with a visible bulge.When you soak and press everything ends up no gum which I sell a lot of at 15 to 20 per cent of catalog. If you remove the light hinge, no bulge, unstuck stamps and soak the rest you really maximize your investment and avoid the endless "decision making" time. The bulges almost always disappear with soaking and pressing.
Just my two cents - and I know many will disagree.
Comments
I sell mint hinged stamps at an average of 40 per cent of catalog. Even if the stamps aren't stuck you always have a few damaged by the wet tongue technique resulting in a bulge - I don't sell stamps with a visible bulge.When you soak and press everything ends up no gum which I sell a lot of at 15 to 20 per cent of catalog. If you remove the light hinge, no bulge, unstuck stamps and soak the rest you really maximize your investment and avoid the endless "decision making" time. The bulges almost always disappear with soaking and pressing.
Just my two cents - and I know many will disagree.