Storing and handling stamps: tongs, albums, hinges and soaking

A stamp is small, thin and made to be stuck on an envelope. That is exactly what makes it so vulnerable. A perforation tooth that folds over, a greasy fingerprint on the gum or a hinge on a mint stamp: it doesn’t seem like much, but to a collector it makes a big difference. With a few simple habits, you can keep your stamps in the condition you received them in.

Always use stamp tongs

The most important rule: never pick up a stamp with your fingers. Your skin carries oils and moisture. They soak into the paper and the gum and later cause small spots or a shiny patch on the back. On top of that, fingers easily bend a perforation tooth.

So use stamp tongs. These are tweezers with flat, rounded tips and no ridges. They grip the stamp gently without damaging the paper. Ideally, hold the stamp by the edge or a corner, not in the middle of the design.

• Choose tongs with smooth, flat tips. Sharp, pointed or serrated tweezers leave dents and holes.
• Work on a clean, flat surface and not over an open album, so a dropped stamp doesn’t vanish between the pages.
• Don’t breathe or talk over open stamps. Tiny droplets of moisture leave spots on the gum.

You can read more about tongs, loupes and other handy tools in Tools for collectors.

Mint never hinged, unused or used

For the value, it is important to know what condition a stamp is in. There are three main groups:

Condition	What it means
Mint never hinged	Unused, with the original gum undisturbed. No hinge, no trace of a hinge.
Unused (hinged)	Never used for post, but a hinge has been attached to the back. You often still see a remnant or a mark in the gum.
Used/cancelled	Used for post and bearing a postmark.

For modern stamps, mint never hinged is usually the norm and so the most sought after. For old, rare stamps, a used copy can also be worth a lot, especially with a fine, clear postmark. You will also sometimes come across stamps without gum: unused, but the gum has gone, for example through soaking.

Gum, perforations and watermarks

You will keep coming across three terms when you assess stamps.

Gum

The gum is the layer of adhesive on the back. For mint never hinged stamps, the state of the gum counts heavily. Fingerprints, damp marks, a hinge mark or gum that has started to crack all lower the value.

Perforations

The perforations are the row of holes or teeth along the edge, used to tear stamps from the sheet. Missing or short teeth and folded corners count as faults. Some issues exist in varieties with different perforations. You measure these with a perforation gauge, which tells you how many teeth there are per 2 centimetres.

Watermark

Many older stamps are printed on paper with a watermark. Sometimes the watermark is the only difference between a common and a rare variety. You can often see it simply by placing the stamp face down on a dark surface. There are also special watermark detectors.

Stockbook or album with mounts

There are two common ways to store stamps.

A stockbook has pages with clear strips that you slide the stamps behind. It is flexible: you can easily move and rearrange stamps. For a collection that is still growing, or for stamps you have yet to sort, it is ideal.

An album with mounts has pre-printed pages by country or period. Each stamp gets its own mount: a small clear plastic pocket with a black or clear back, which you stick onto the page. The stamp itself never touches the adhesive. That way your mint never hinged stamps stay mint never hinged, and your collection looks tidy.

With both, pay attention to the material. Choose strips made of polyester or polypropylene and acid-free paper. Avoid soft PVC: it releases plasticisers that can attack the gum and the ink. An old album from the loft with limp, slightly greasy strips is best replaced.

Tip: Record in AgAurium whether each stamp is mint never hinged, unused (hinged) or used, with a photo of the back. Later you will see straight away whether the gum was still undisturbed when you bought it. Try AgAurium for free →

Hinges: why they cost value

Stamps used to be fixed into albums with small hinges. A hinge is a small piece of gummed paper that you fold in half: one half on the stamp, the other on the page. They are still sold, and for used stamps they are no disaster.

But on mint never hinged stamps, a hinge leaves a permanent mark in the original gum. From that moment on, the stamp is no longer mint never hinged but “unused (hinged)”. That can cost a good part of its value. So for unused stamps, always use a stockbook or mounts.

Do you have stamps with old hinges? Don’t pull them off. You can easily tear away a thin layer of paper with them. Leave them in place, or ask someone experienced for advice.

Light, moisture and temperature

Paper, ink and gum are sensitive to their surroundings:

• Light fades colours. Keep albums closed and in a cupboard, not open in the sun.
• Moisture causes small brown spots (foxing), mould and gum that turns sticky. In a damp environment, mint stamps can even stick to the strip or to each other.
• Too dry or too warm makes gum brittle, so it cracks and pulls the paper with it.

Store albums upright in a cupboard in a living room or bedroom, not in the loft or the cellar. Standing them upright stops the pages sticking together under pressure. You can read more about choosing a good spot in The best place to store your collection.

Soaking: yes or no?

Many used stamps come on a piece of envelope. Whether you soak them off depends on the stamp.

• If in doubt, leave stamps on piece. A stamp on a fragment of envelope (on piece), or on a whole envelope, is sometimes more interesting that way, for example because of an unusual postmark. Many collectors deliberately keep such stamps like this.
• Old, ordinary stamps on paper can be soaked off in clean, lukewarm water. Lay the paper in the water with the stamp facing up and wait until the stamp comes away by itself. Don’t pull it. Then let it dry flat between sheets of blotting paper.
• Coloured paper and envelopes can run in the water. Soak them separately.
• Modern self-adhesive stamps behave differently. The adhesive often doesn’t release in water and the stamp can be damaged. Don’t soak them unless you know how that particular issue reacts. If in doubt, leave them on piece.
• Never soak unused stamps with gum. The gum disappears, and with it a large part of the value.

How AgAurium helps

A good album shows what you have, but not what you paid for it, where you bought it or what state the gum was in. In AgAurium you record the country, year, face value and condition of each stamp: mint never hinged, unused (hinged) or used/cancelled. With a photo of the front and back, you can see later whether the gum is still the same.

In the notes you can add details such as the perforations, the watermark or a postmark, and under storage location you might note “stockbook 3, page 12”. That way you can find a stamp again without leafing through every album, and you need to touch it less often too.

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