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Hi,

I am originally from Mumbai (Bombay), India, but have been residing in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, since 1977. During the past 15-20 years I have accumulated a large collection of stamps, all of which are in MNH condition. I assume that around 20% of my collection is pre-1940s and the rest are the later modern issues right upto 2011. These are housed in hingeless albums (Lighthouse, Davo, Lindner and Schaubek) and every once in a while I ensure that the stamps are exposed to light and air. Moreover, because of the air-conditioning, the collection is “living” in a relatively cool and stable environment.

My concern is that within the next 2-3 years I would need to return to my home town and am worried that taking my collection to Mumbai would be detrimental to the stamps due to the prevalent hot/dry/humid/wet/damp weather conditions, and the fact that I would not be able to afford the luxury of maintaining the collection in an air-conditioned environment (electricity charges are relatively high to run a a/c unit continuously).

I have, on many occasions, purchased stamps from India and have noted that most of the issues (prior to 1970) are ‘yellowed’, have rust spots on them and have gum disturbance. Is this normal, or am I being phobic? I understand there are thousands of stamp collectors in India, and they would definitely be maintaining large collections, hopefully without experiencing any of the problems mentioned above.

If conditions in India seem unsuitable or difficult, then I have thought about sending the collection to my son who is residing in Toronto, Canada. The unfortunate part is that he is not interested in philately, therefore I would need to instruct him to dispose-off the collection (As regards the selling part, I will take Stampboards members’ advice on this issue at a later date). Also, the heart-breaking part for me is to relinquish this collection that I so lovingly built up over so many years having spent so much time, money and effort.

I would appreciate your feedback/guidance on the above issue as I need to decide on the future of my collection.

Thank you and warm regards,
Roland

Hello Roland

Do not take this personal, please, after all we are talking about stamps not people!

As I understand it, there is a heavy local collectors' demand for mint Indian stamps issued from 1990 and newer. In fact I am told that the local cash price is 1-3 times the face value.

So perhaps it is time to let go when you arrive in India?

Also if there is a demand in India for mint stamps, collector quality, there must be a way to store the stamps? Suggest you contact a stamp club!

Hope this will help you find the right solution, but once you are back in Mumbai you are stuck. You can no longer trade stamps abroad unless by registered mail which may be cheap in India but it costs a prohibitive fortune up here.

I would agree that Mumbai climatic conditions can create major havoc on your stamps.

Around Delhi, a simple solution we use is Jacketed Hagners. That means the Hagner sheets are themselves enclosed within polythene ziploc/ adhesive top bags.

Thanks and regards.

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http://princelystatecoins.wordpress.com
http://oldindiacoins.wordpress.com

Interesting solution. I guess these Hagners are expensive? Who produces them? Here in Denmark we do not have a major problem with humidity, but then again for expensive stamps better safe than sorry.

I think Glen would have a stock of the best quality hagners and albums.

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http://princelystatecoins.wordpress.com
http://oldindiacoins.wordpress.com

I am very much interested in buying or trading MNH Abu Dhabi stamps no UAE.
My email abuaman(at)gmail.com.

Rolcora,

I just moved to Indonesia from Spain, and decided to leave virtually all my mint stamps in Europe, for the reasons you describe, despite living in an air conditioned environment 24/7 here.

The reality is that these humid climates are bad for stamps, particularly mint stamps, and it's even worse with higher temperatures at the same time.

Even with the Hagner/Ziploc solution, your stamps will suffer in Mumbai. You can only prevent that by keeping them in a climate controlled environment, ideally around 45-50% humidity and 18-22 degrees Celsius (18 being better than 22, but maybe more difficult to operate in).

Clearly, these are ideal conditions. You can deviate a bit from that and still be safe, but normal tropical conditions will wreak havoc on your stamps without the slightest doubt.

I've decided to leave these stamps in a bank safe in Belgium, and I enjoy the scans, as well as some used stamps I brought along to play with. The risks are not worth it, and when mint stamps are damaged, there is no way back.

Sorry I can't bring you good news.

Rolcora,

I am from Kolkata. I have been battling with the issues you posted and I will be able to help you. It took me a lot of time to figure out to store the stamps properly in our climate.

#1 You need hagners ( I use Prinz), binders with slipcases. I threw away all stockbooks without slipcases (Thanks Glen!)

#2 You need a camera lens storage cabinet. I will tell you where you one get in Bombay. It controls the humidity. Its expensive but it is a life saver. Will keep the RH between 30 to 40%.

#3 Try to keep as much in a dust free environment and regularly air the collection with the AC on.

#4 Finally, try to separate/eliminate rusted/foxed items from your collection.

You do not need to dispose off your collection. It will take a bit to maintain, but it can be maintained.

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Hi Indieguy,

Thank you for the tips. I do hope that they would help me in maintaining my collection without any damage due to the adverse weather conditions. The only problems I visualize are (a) how many such cabinets would I need to accommodate about 150 albums and (b) where would I find the space in my house to store them. Well, let's cross that hurdle when I come to it.

Warm regards,

Great suggestions here. I also encounter the same problems, though not as much as those in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or Kolkata as I reside in Bangalore which has less humidity and except for 3-4 months the climate is moderate. But the global warming is changing all that in the last 2-3 years with temperatures soaring here too and touching record new-highs in the Summers.

Camera lens storage cabinet seems to be a great idea, haven't heard of it before, how do I get one for myself?

_________________
to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

Safi,

Google for "Digi Cabi".

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Hey thanks for the Digi Cabi idea. These dehumidifying cabinets seem to be very useful and they also look very attractive with a glass door in the front.

I see that the 100 litres size costs around Rs 20,000, so I'm sure one could get a 40-litre cabinet for anything between 5k to 8k INR? Also, I see that other brands offer even a 20-litre cabinet that could be gotten for below $100.

I shall talk with the Staples stationary depot in my town and see if they could arrange this for me.

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to reflect on God's creation is very fruitful meditation, and to reflect on Man's beauty of a creation - stamps - is no less either!

Atleast you can keep one of the enemies under control!

_________________
Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

I too live in Mumbai. However given the space constraints we all have in a city like Mumbai (real estate prices are the highest in India and one of the highest in the world) we may all not have space to keep these dehumidifying cabinets. Silica gel is a cheaper and space-saving alternative but will not be as effective. This is a dilemma we face.

Meanwhile take a look at this website - http://www.stampsrart.com/temperature-h ... elics.html

It confirms that "low temperature and high humidity will cause less damage to your philatelic stamps than high temperature and low humidity."

Unfortunately in cities like Kolkota, Chennai and Mumbai, we have both high temperature and high humidity. Chennai is probably the worst (I was raised in Chennai).

Regards
Abhishek

P.S. Other articles in the said website are also very interesting.

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A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring - Alexander Pope

India and States especially Lithos/British Period. Philatelic Literature.

very interesting Discussion ...

but what about customs ... when you return home with this BIG collection ...
won't they tax you or anything

me too live in Qatar & expect that someday will return back to Cairo ... my hometown, weather is not an issue ... yet customs is ( 30% on stamps ) to be valued by some committie !!!

it only happened to me once ... since then , whenever I go back for a vacation .... I try to "smuggle" back part of my collection ...
maybe I am paranoid ... but going back with so many Albums in one go ... will certainly get the attention of custom employees

Going through this topic gave me a lot of insight in how to keep my babies (stamps) in good shape.

In fact when I started in 2011, I could not get anything in Delhi - tweezers, albums, etc but some good collectors helped me out.

Storage was always a concern. And because of the conversion rates everything becomes costly. But then I realized buying good storage material is always good.

Now some collection I keep in Prinz slipcase albums, Blocks in BOPP, sheetlets and sheets in BOPP.

Can anyone suggest a goodway of keeping my Blocks of 4 (in Delhi, India...without being very expensive)?

Use Lighthouse Vario Sanjay. I am using Varios to store my blocks and strips.

If you need Vario, contact me I will be able to help you out.

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Thanks indieguy,

But the question is how do I contact you?

Sanjay

Indieguy can contact you by email.

Cheers

_________________
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring - Alexander Pope

India and States especially Lithos/British Period. Philatelic Literature.

Where can I get certified and tested oil free sheets in India?

Sanjay

What sheets are you talking about?

_________________
A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring - Alexander Pope

India and States especially Lithos/British Period. Philatelic Literature.

Dear abbh,

What I need is Good BOPP or similar pouches/sheets to keep my Blocks of 4 till I get all of them and then put nicely into albums.

The only good pouches are mylar pouches available here:

http://www.atlanticprotectivepouches.com/mylar.htm

Avoid BOPP (Bi-axially Oriented Polypropylene) if you can.

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Sanjay you can use these also if you get them in New Delhi.



These are 4 pockets and will house blocks horizontally. Atleast 16 blocks per sheet and 24 blocks if kept slightly overlapped for short term storage.

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Always looking for Mint Definitive Sets, UPU 1949 stuffs and Socked on Nose cancellations

Rajjesh, who is also a member here on stampboards, has very good quality philatelic accessories (top brands) in New Delhi. He is reliable and quite nice to talk to (unlike the Stanley Gibbons representative in Bangalore whassisname..). You can send him a mail.

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http://princelystatecoins.wordpress.com
http://oldindiacoins.wordpress.com

Thanks birder for telling me aout Rajjesh!