Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

I am currently storing all my stamps in plastic baseball card sleeves. Is this ok for the stamps?

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Adam Howard - http://www.volkswagenstamps.com

if the sleeves are say "Ultra Pro" or another well known brand ,,it should be ok for short term storage.
But you will always have a slight problem with possible perf damage, getting the stamps in and out of the sleeves,
Much better to use an Album/Stockbook.the stamps are better displayed that way.

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

Can you recommend a good place online to get stockbooks?

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Adam Howard - http://www.volkswagenstamps.com

My current "Stamp News" article is headed STAMP STORAGE .. please take a look! Much useful advice. Especially if you live in humid TEXAS.

http://www.glenstephens.com/snmarch09.html

I have no idea how to store baseball cards but I sure as hell would not store STAMPS in what you use for them!

You need these:

Just as an interesting addition, I started collecting A.A.T. for a casual sort of sideline to my main serious collections (Philippines; India Feudatory States), and purchased many items from various Australian sellers on Ebay.

Without exception, almost all of the stamps arrived curled. The only time they weren't was in the Post Office pack you sold me.

Wow I love those!! How much are they in US dollars and where can I get one?

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Adam Howard - http://www.volkswagenstamps.com

Eric .. odd .. but a week in the stockbook above and they'll be FLAT!

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Click HERE to see superb, RARE and unusual stamps, at FIXED low nett prices, high rez photos, and NO buyer fees etc!

putnum .. the ones on photo are real LEATHER covers and I sell them for $A75 a set as shown .... that is about $US50.

But non leather of course are one third that price:

www.glenstephens.com/lighthouse.html

Thanks for the link. Also how do you go about mounting them? I would rather not use hinges, but the picture looks like you don't have to. I'm sorry I am new to all of this.

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Adam Howard - http://www.volkswagenstamps.com

There is a thin, clear strip which runs across the page, and the stamps tuck into it. There are usually about 8 to 10 rows per page. Of course the pages are double-sided. I have one of these books and they are great.

putnum ... stockbooks come in white or black pages.

I sell mostly black as the stamps look nicer on black most collectors think!

Here is a close up of a page of stamps on WHITE .. as you can see you can house larger blocks etc very readily.

Buy good quality stockbooks with slipcases and WHITE pages.

Yes, black pages look a little better. However if you live in a humid climate and use black pages you can get ugly black marks on the back of your stamps, or worse still, black adhesion. I would recommend white.

Out of curiousity Glen, is it possible to get slipcases for the cheaper version (as per what you sell by the carton)? And if so, what's the price for a set of 10 (2 of each colour)

mgb .. yes the slipcases shown below in black or red are always in stock at $A22 each. As outlined here!

http://www.glenstephens.com/snmarch09.html

They are in boxes of 10 if anyone wants a box they are $A200. They will fit all main brands of 32 or 64 page stockbooks.

They come in black or burgundy:

Another alternative that has not been mentioned, is the use of "Hagner" sheets
.These are much the same as the Stock books that Glen is talking about,,,but are much more versitle,as they come in many different sizes of strips,and are single sheets which can be added to a 3-4 hole binder with ease..You can add sheets one at a time..depending on the size required,also cheaper than buying stockbooks,
You can have single size sheets ideal for large blocks and mini sheets,right the way down to 8 strips.
these are designed for Stamps and covers,and are suitable for long term storage.
But only come in Black..there are some clear ones I have seen but would not recommend them
Ron.

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Nunawading Stamp Fair
Last Sunday of Every Month - Jaycees Hall Silver Grove - Nunawading.

Forgive my ignorance, but would 64 page stockbooks be a lot thicker than a 32 page? though not necessarily double. Or do the slipcases have spare room, as opposed to being a snug fit?

wow thanks everybody for their great input. I will buy a stockbook real soon!!!

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Adam Howard - http://www.volkswagenstamps.com

Yes, to work effectively, the slipcase needs to be a snug fit.

As the new article clearly outlines - www.glenstephens.com/snmarch09.html- the "Lighthouse" slipcases for the far thicker 64 page stockbooks cost $2 more.

Heh don't mind me, I was just misunderstanding you.

My collection of MNH material was started in Dallas, Texas (2002), and kept in air conditioning. After moving to central Ohio (2005), one dealer indicated some of my material was (uniformly) toned. At the time, I didn't know about toning.

I didn't know if the material was toned when purchased or because of my storage habits. When I went to replace the material from European dealers, some of it looked fresher but some looked pretty much the same as what was allegedly toned.

The collection has now been moved to north Florida (2010), where again it is air conditioned, but I want to be sure to take any precautions necessary in case humidity is what caused the toning the one dealer observed.

Be sure to place them in a dark, cool, dry area, such as a cupboard. Silica gel packets (found in shoeboxes) will reduce moisture, as well.

That's what I thought. I was thinking of setting them up in a closet with an Eva Dry system.

>Vadme, Is it possible your stamps suffered from moisture buildup when your airconditioner was off and/or exposed to a heat source?.

It must be global warming/El nino effect or something. Its been raining where I am - Sabah/Malaysia - everyday since April. I think I understand moisture problem
I do not have an airconditioner in my stamp room so they are mostly stored into plastic containers with silica sachets. No peeking at my stamps in this weather.

I managed to source silica gel sachets of approximately 1gm each from a blood test laboratory. I have also tried the the loose gels but they were a nuisance to use.

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Stick with stamps

No, believe me, the air conditioner was used generously in warm weather.

Frankly I think some of the material that was allegedly uniformly toned really wasn't. As I said, when I went to replace it from Europe while some items looked better, many if not most looked the same. Whatever uniform toning there was on what I had could well have occurred before I acquired it.

I think the dealer is having you on.
Toning is not a "uniform" discolouring of the paper unless it is aging which cannot be stopped.

We usually mean, when we say "toning", that it is the "spots" that appear on your stamps, (caused by either a fungus or chemical reaction), which is caused ONLY by a combination of high humidity AND high temperature over a period of time. It can take years depending on location.

If you only have one condition, (heat or humidity) not both, you will not get toning.

I think your eyes were good enough to call the dealers bluff, or he doesn't recognise normall gum aging, paper aging etc.

Older paper can look "cream or brown" due to not having modern chemical brightners in them. When looked at under fluro light they will look aged while a fresh sheet of photocopy paper will be very bright, (actually a glowing light blue).

If your stamps are in an air-conditioned environment and not exposed to light you are quite safe.
Even if your Aircon breaks down for a few days, your still going to be OK.

Ummm, you havent mentioned how and in what they are stored though???

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

They have always been stored in slipcased hingeless albums and slipcased stockbooks.

Thing is, some of the sets I replaced did look better, so I imagine they were stored under better environmental conditions than the ones I was told were toned.

I have never once seen spots or what I would call rust/foxing on anything. The most has been a uniform tone.

Stamps also get into the oxidizing process when "properly" protected — that is, wrapped in plastic. Yes, PVC.

Imagine the wealthy stamp collector who in the 1970s grabbed clear plastic sheet protecting pockets at his corporate workplace to save a few bucks... I have been getting my fingers "PVC greasy" so many times at auction showrooms over the years from these PVC suckers that I know millions or trillions of $$$ to have gone down the drain this way.

Worse, perhaps, is the less observant stamp dealer who purchases these lots and splits them up for retail

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Mail a kid a hobby -- use stamps!

Hello everyone,

I purchased a stamp collection in an album fairly recently and it smells musty, not unlike old books. I was wondering if this meant it is moldy or foxing will start to occur.

I noticed a few stamps in the whole album have toning.

It seems such a shame to take the stamps out of the mounts and isolate them. All that work someone did and I am just breaking it up.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Get the stamps out of that old thing NOW - and buy yourself a decent album to put the stamps in. Any foxing, rust, mould etc will infect the stamps and you will lose the LOT.

Soak any of the stamps with any hint of toning in boiling water or isolate them from the others, otherwise the good stamps will get infected.

Darrin.

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Visit my Website - http://WWW.DJMSTAMPS.COM for Australia & World Stamps, Collections and Accessories

If it has that 'old book smell' then just let it air a bit. Most older papers end up with that 'library' smell. But long term it will be best to rehouse the whole lot, especially any decent stamps you find. Old pages just weren't made with preserving the stamps in mind.

If it is mold, you'd smell and see the difference.

If some stamps are toned (not foxed) that will be the reaction to the ageing of the paper and often the interaction with the old pages.

If it's true foxing on some stamps, then you'll see the tell tale 'spots'.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

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Click HERE to see superb, RARE and unusual stamps, at FIXED low nett prices, high rez photos, and NO buyer fees etc!

Great thread. Thanks all.

These three have been isolated from my collection.



Can somebody confirm they are all foxed?

If so, what to do?

1. Wash them? What with?
2. Bin them?
3. Give them away?
4. Sell them on E-bay?

My inclination is option 2.

All advice is appreciated.

The next question is: what do I do with the page that they were on, in my Lighthouse stockbook?

If foxing is contagious as has been suggested above, is there an antidote to the spores that, presumably, now infect that page?

Thanks in advance.

KGVI

KGVI - if they are only worth a dollar or two in good condition, I would bin them -- If worth more than that, throw into a tub of HOT water for a few mins to clear any gunk and neutralize toning.

Good job removing the toned blocks from a collection of non toned material.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Tassie_Stamps.

It does. It confirms my view that they probably need to be destroyed.

Does throwing them in a tub of hot water kill the spores, is the question? I've researched this a bit and the cautious view seems to be that this fungus is a survivor. Somebody even suggested Oxywash and another, straight H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide). That probably removes the marks (along with the rest of the ink!) but others say those stubborn spores just keep on keeping on.

I also read that sunlight (presumably the Ultraviolet) sorts the problem out, while others disagree.

Wouldn't you think that this problem would be the subject of some academic research. There must be $millions in art work and rare and valuable books that are subject to the destructive power of this little weed.

Maybe I could donate my infected blocks to research?

Now, what do I do about the pages that these stamps were on? Destroy them too? Dust them with Derris dust?

Thanks again

KGVI

I would bin the pages for sure.

A member here was researching toning/rusting/foxing and experimenting with rusty stamps -- I've forgotten WHO but I think it was Allanswood.

He will probably have some info to contribute here.

"I also read that sunlight (presumably the Ultraviolet) sorts the problem out, while others disagree."

Sunlight is not your friend.



Donated to a young collector for refenence,
Left on a display sheet in a window for too long.

patg

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"I don't have a lot - But I like what I got"

Where are the spelling police when you need them

Donated to a young collector for refenence,

Unless you were wondering how much refenence would cost

anonymous

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"I don't have a lot - But I like what I got"

Actually there is a process for cleaning paper using UV from the sun, but it also involves water.

It does not involve leaving the stamps in the sun for 6 months to ruin them like the above images.
Those stamps have had the paper toned but somehow not really faded, so it may not be the UV exposure that has caused the discolouration, except for 'fast aging' the paper by indirect exposure.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

Allanswood: would you be prepared to outline your "sunlight and water" formula so that I can give that a try. (I have used a soak in the sun approach previously without success; other than learning that some stamps (Aus States in this case) have ink that runsssssss).

Just to square the circle, I posted a couple of articles on another thread:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30458&p=2853033#p2853033

In particular I thought this was an interesting paper:

http://www.bashanfoundation.org/publications/foxing.pdf

There are a number of Gamma irradiation treatment providers in Australia. Maybe one would like to do a "mass treatment" of foxed mint stamps!

KGVI

I don't use the water and sunlight method. I first read about it in a Japanese paper conservators report.

My first clean would just be boiling hot water, that often removes enough stain and neutralizes any activity. Expect a 50-60% reduction in depth of discolouration.

I have also tried warm white vinegar in a water mix to good effect. I estimate a 70% reduction.

Probably the last thing I would try is a bleaching agent - and only very weak and watching it like a hawk. I don't think I've ever seen a stamp cleaned this way not show some fading of the ink even though 90-95% of the discolouration has gone.

The proviso is that you don't attempt it on any fugitive ink (water soluble) stamps, however a sweat box might prove useful with these - you need to experiment. I haven't had the time to try that yet.

With many treatments though, is it truly worth the time to do it? Much depends on the value of the stamp.

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Greg - Looking for Goulburn Australia Cancels and Grangemouth Scotland Cancels and Covers
Member of the S.T.A.M.P Club for Slightly Twisted And Mad Philatelists - Motto: "Bring back the lick!"

1. True. However, I'm happy use the cheapies to experiment to find out what works and what doesn't.

The alternative is to bin them - and then I'll never know.

2. But didn't you say:


and I'm struggling to align that with your more recent comment:


What is the method that involves "using UV from the sun"?

3. They'd be kettle drums?

KGVI