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Hi I have a moderately valuable swiss stamp that I was given on paper. I was wondering if the acidity in the brown paper envelope swatch will migrate to the stamp and discolor and damage the stamp. If so how long would it take to migrate? Also could the stamp possibly be worth more on paper. Here is the stamp and here is a close up on some of the perfs that appear slightly discolored, possibly from the paper? I apologize for the image quality as I have not yet purchased a scanner. Thanks everyone, Owen.

That is foxing.

Wash it off ASAP in a bowl of HOT water from a kettle.

Doing so will neutralise it for years.

Not doing so and it will spread ..... it is a living growing organism, hence the hot water needed. It will not harm this stamp.

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Thanks so much for the advice admin. How long should I wash it off in hot water? And how hot? Boiling or just warm? Will the stamp fall of the paper when it is introduced to water? Does the paper add any value? Also should I place it in my desert drying book afterward? Thanks and sorry for all the questions.

The paper in this case does not add any value . the postmark ( which would be the only reason to keep the paper ) is not complete and the paper has a tear on the right side.

Contact with water will certainly float the stamp off the paper . no great loss I'd say .

allow the gum to dissolve so that it does not stick to your drying book!

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whatever it is -------it's better than a poke in eye with a wet umbrella !

OwenC,

Read this thread and it should answer your questions about washing stamps.

Washing Stamps, how, why, is it safe?

OwenC,

I agree wholeheartedly with all the comments about giving this stamp a good soak.

However, like many Swiss stamps of this era, they are much more valuable used than mint, and used within the period of use - this one was issued in 1923, so a 1929 cancel is quite reasonable. This also means that there are a lot of fake cancels around. So when you soak it, keep the piece of paper as well.

Of course it doesn't 100% prove that it isn't a fake cancel, but I guess there is an extra level of reassurance if you can show that it came from a envelope fragment of the same vintage.

You can hinge it back on to the piece or just always keep the stamp and the envelope fragment together in your album.

In my old (2003) Michel Swiss catalogue, the price for hinged is €13 and genuine used is €55. I'm sure the price has probably changed in 9 years. In reality hinged stamps are near worthless for an item like this, and used very desirable, hence the motivation to apply a fake cancel.


Scott

Since this stamp was isolated in a heco approval card holder, the mold couldn't have spread right? I don't see any visible foxing on any other stamps in my collection. Also how long do I boil it to kill the mold? After I boil the stamp do I put it in a drying book like I'm soaking a stamp. Thanks

Hi I boiled it for about four minutes and after I pressed it in my drying book, I saw no visual difference with the foxing. Does this mean the foxing was there for a long time. At least I killed the live spores right.

OwenC,

You won't get rid of the brown. Pretty much anything you could do to get rid of the staining would ruin the stamp in the process The staining is only on the tips, so doesn't really detract.

The boiling water will have killed and washed away the spores, so the brown won't spread.

So now you've not only got a stamp that will last until we are all long gone, it won't pass on this infection to any other stamps as well


Scott

One other thing.

You said above that it was in an approval card pocket. It would be best to throw it out, as it would likely still contain traces of the mold and that would contaminate anything else you put in it. It doesn't sound like the approval pocket was anything expensive anyway


Scott

That's what I thought starling I did that as soon as I found out it was foxed. Thanks so much everyone.