How To Care For Your Stamp Collection ?

To build a truly impressive stamp collection, you need a number of things: an array of contacts in the world of philately, a passion for the craft and also a fair bit of disposable income to spend chasing down these precious prints.

However, you can be the most skilled stamp collector in the world but if you’re no good at looking after your stamps then your collection won’t last very long. Indeed, the art of caring for precious stamps is just as important as having to pick them out in the first place.


Here’s how postal history dealers can care for a stamp collection:

Keep food away

It may be tasty, but stamps do not like food, drink and tobacco. Because they’re a haven for bacteria and allow for easy decomposing, putting your stamps near food will encourage the bacteria to break them down too. And no one wants that.

Stay away from sunlight and get the climate right

Sunlight is another natural thing that can really damage your stamps and cause glue to run and stick, so keep them away from direct light. What’s more, stamps need a decent climate in order to thrive – so if yo’re feeling comfortable in the room and it’s not too humid, then they probably are too.

Beware of insects
Creepy crawlies are a stamp’s greatest enemy, and the little critters can really damage them more than you’d think. That’s why it’s so important not to keep your stamps in a backhouse where they’re often out of your mind and perhaps more prone to infestation than one of your living areas.

Use special tongs

Every time you touch or handle the stamp, you could be damaging it. Therefore, be sure to only use special tongs, not regular tweezers, to make sure that your stamps aren’t being hurt whenever you need to move them.

Hinge your stamps and use mounts

If you use a peelable stamp hinge, which has a sticky adhesive backing, your stamps will stand a better chance of lasting a long time. What’s more, putting your stamps onto mounts with clear plastic sleeves will ensure that the rear of the stamps will be protected and preserved.

Only use one side

If you’re storing stamps on both sides of an album, then you may find your stamps starting to attack each other, so it’s vital to invest in a stamp album with pockets or to only put stamps on one side of the page.

Buy the best quality

You can carefully look after your stamps as best you can, but if you’re buying an old stamp that’s already pretty worn from years of neglect then it’s going to be tough to care for them and make sure that they’re going to last for the long term.

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/malias/153619684/in/photostream/