THE
BASIC OF STAMP COLLECTING
FLOATING STAMPS
If
you have special or valuable
stamps in your collection,
you can go ahead and used
the method of floating. This
process takes a lot longer.
1. Lay your stamps carefully
on the water surface so they
float
2, Leave the stamps floating
for 20 to 30 minutes. The
stamps stays dry but the paper
underneath soaks up water
and dampens the glue.
3. Lift the stamps out of
the water one at a time. Place
a stamp picture-side-down
on your hand and carefully
peel off the backing paper
4. Place the stamps picture-side-down
on a clean, dry dish towel
or a piece of thick paper
towel to dry.
Getting organized and being
prepared are very important
part of stamp collecting.
It helps you to know what
you have, what you need to
get and how you are going
to work with them. As a beginner,
you need to accumulate stamps
from family, friends, joining
stamp clubs, stamp trading
and you might need to check
the stamp auctions. I am saying
this with the impression that
you are not going to invest
so much money to buy and collect
new mint stamps, and this
is going to be one of your
options.
When
you have all the stamps, begin
by making a preliminary sorting.
It is fun to sort, you will
be able to see different drawings
and designs of stamps that
you might not seen them in
your collecting years. Separate
the stamps on paper from the
ones off paper. Then we will
concentrate on working with
the stamps on paper.
SOAKING
STAMPS
1.
Remove any stamps, which are
attached to brightly colored
paper. Such papers tend to
run that could cause a stain
to your other stamps and diminish
their value to a collector.
2. Prepare two small bowl
- one for warm and one for
cold water, a pair of tongs
and washcloth.
3. Place a dozen or two stamps
facing down in the bowl of
warm water. Please do not
use hot water since some stamps
are printed in soluble ink
and hot water could cause
them to fade. After a few
minutes, the stamps will begin
to separate from the paper.
The stamps will sink to the
bottom of the bowl and the
paper will float. Use the
tongs to remove the stamps
and transfer them to the cold
water while discarding the
paper. These will remove the
extra glue that left on the
stamps. Use the tongs again
to pick up the stamps and
place them down on the washcloth.
For stamps that are still
sticking on the paper, give
them more time to soak by
also moving them around in
the water. Please never try
to peel a stamp from the paper,
as it will cause thinning.
Rinse the gum thoroughly from
the back of the stamps since
it will cause the stamps to
curl when drying. After all
the stamps are taken out,
you can start the same process
with the rest of the stamps.
Just to make sure that you
are changing the water when
it turns yellow.
4. In drying, you can go ahead
and leave the stamps to dry
overnight. All the dried stamps
should be pressed down in
between the pages of a heavy
book until they lie flat.
In about a day, the stamps
should be ready for more sorting
and putting them away in your
album or stock book of your
choice.
More sorting are to be done
when you have all the stamps
off paper. First, sort them
by country and work on the
country that you prefer to
collect first. Example, separate
the US stamps and set aside
all the foreign issues to
work on later. Remove the
damaged stamps or you can
keep them and keep note of
replacing them, as they will
only cheapen your collection
if they are retained in your
album.
Some
albums like Scott have pictures
of the stamps where you can
follow in putting your stamps
away. If you are making your
own album like 3 ring binders
or using the Free Album Pages
that I have on this link,
it would be helpful to sort
the stamps by separating the
Airmail, special delivery
and postage due on different
pile. Then you have the commemorative
and definitive to work on
first.
TYPES
OF STAMPS
Part
of the fun of collecting is
getting acquainted with the
different types of stamps.
1. Definitive stamps - are
stamps that can be used for
regular mail or any other
service. They are usually
small and printed on a large
quantities.
2. Commemoratives - it commemorates
people, places and special
events. They are usually bigger
and printed on small quantities.
3. Airmail stamps - the design
of airmail stamps usually
has wings or an airplane and
some other sysmbol of flying.
This stamps are identified
for airpost service to speed
the dispatching of mail to
the airport.
4. Special delivery - these
stamps show payment of the
fee for the special service
of having the letter taken
from the receiving post office
staright to its destination
by a postal messenger ahead
of the regular delivering
postman.
5. Postage due - they are
used for collecting money
from the addressee on unpaid
or underpaid mail. They are
also used to collect customs
duties on mail sent from abroad.
6. Postal stationary - these
include postcards, aerogrammes,
and envelopes with stamps
printed on them and often
has a pictorial designs that
commemorate a special event
or feature the country of
issue.
Take
the commemorative and separate
them by face value. They are
easy to spot as they are usually
larger and fancier than the
definitive issues. Put all
the five together, all of
the fours, all of the threes,
and so on. The lowest values
should be placed in the pile
starting at the left since
they probably are the oldest
stamps. And do the same thing
with the definitive issues.
If there are duplicates stamps,
just put them all together
until you are taking one of
the nicest stamp to be placed
in your album. The rest of
the duplicates can be stored
in the stock book or you can
make you own filing system
by using a shoebox and file
them by Scott catalog number
on every year of issues. Do
the same thing with the rest
of the airmail, special delivery
and postage due.
ACCESSORIES
Tweezers
- stamps are fragile and can
easily be damaged if you pick
them up with your fingers.
And also since our skin is
slightly acidic, prolonged
contact may cause the paper
to deteriorate. The tiny perforations
around the edge of the stamp
bend easily. Tweezers will
allow the stamp collectors
to handle the stamps without
fear of damage.
Magnifying glass - allows
you to examine the fine detail
of a stamp's design, detect
errors and varieties, and
sometimes identify methods
of printing.
Hinges - these are small,
gummed pieces of transparent
paper made for mounting the
stamps on the album pages.
Protective mounts - are used
for displaying mint stamps,
whose value might be reduced
by hinging them. The stamp
is slipped between two pieces
of plastic that have been
welded together on one or
two sides.
Color Guide - is made up of
a number of cards of different
color shades, attached at
one end so that they open
out like a fan. Lay the color
guide over or near the stamp,
matching the different colors
until you find the right one.
Perforation Gauge - this is
used to measure the number
of perforation on every 2
cm of stamp edge.
Stockbooks - these come in
many sizes and have strips
on each page. The stamps are
held safely behind the strips
until they are needed. They
are also a good place to store
your duplicates and swaps.
Albums - you can make your
own album pages like the 3
ring binder or there are so
many albums available of your
choices through a stamp store
or on-line store.. You can
also print these FREE album
pages. For a mint sheet, I
advise to use the 3 ring sheet
plastic holder to preserve
the beauty of the stamps.
Catalogs - this gives details
on why and when stamps were
issued. In US, we are using
the Scott catalog. It shows
you what other stamps you
need for your collection and
gives you an indication of
what they will cost. Different
country used different stamps
catalogs. In US - Scott, Great
Britain - Stanley Gibbons,
Germany - Michel, and France
- Yvert et Tellier. Thematic
subjects such as birds, railroads,
and ships also have their
own catalogs and are published
at regular intervals, and
some have supplements to keep
the listings up to date.
You
will also come across many
unfamiliar terms in stamp
books, magazines and catalogues.
Next page, please click here
for the STAMP TERMS.
There
are still many more accessories
but for beginners, we don't
need to buy all of them.
Now
you are ready to put away
your stamps. You can design
your own page, or get an album
and make decisions whether
you are going to collect by
country or by topic. And if
you decide to collect by topics,
they are called topical collection
or thematic collection. The
popular ones are birds, animals,
ships, flowers, disneys, and
etc. You can also visit my
Disney World of Stamps, Aquarium
of Stamps, Garden of stamps,
Birds, Flowers, Zoo of stamps,
Dogs, Cats, Toyland of stamps
and see different kinds of
stamps in my collection. This
is it for now, till then.
Good
luck! And happy collecting..............
