Stamp soup

[Darwin]

I've been taking a bit of a break from butchering paper and have introduced my new bride to stamp soup. One of the other things I do is collecting stamps. One of the tasks of that hobby is removing used stamps from the paper they are affixed to. When I started the hobby (when people had to lick the stamps to moisten the adhesive in order to put it on the envelope) that was easy....just put them in a bowl of water, wait a minute or two, then separate the stamps from the soggy paper. Now, the self-adhesive stamps have make the process much harder. Through trial and error, I've found that the best method is still soaking in water, but the water now must be near boiling with a bit of dish detergent added, and has a significant failure rate where the stamp turns into mush. In any event, it keeps me out of the bars at night, so the other half puts up with it. If anyone also has this particular affliction, I welcome PMs to set up trades or just chat about the hobby.

[ghshinn]

I collected stamps for many years, and did the same soaking thing you do. But eventually I got tired of it, so started collecting covers instead. After about thirty years I gave it up for paper modeling, and gave away all my collections (mainly first edition covers on caches), about nine hundred covers in all, and about two thousand mounted stamps.

It's a great hobby, but I found modeling more fulfilling.

Garland

[Swampfox]

I started in about 1960, just about the beginning of the Space Porgram and early on in my Stamp collecting. I realized 'it was actually my mom' that I was going to take over a large part of the house!! I had to slow down my accumulation of stamps and get organized!!
I decided that maybe I could collect space stamps since they were all the rage at that time. So I started collecting Space everything!! And it was amazing how many were being produced by so many countries.
To end this before it becomes a Novel.........Today I have a beautiful collection of Space and aviation 1st Day Covers, stamps and autographed space memorabilia.

Collecting stamps can be great fun, and is's also made of paper, to boot!!

Swampfox

[Wulf111]

Darwin, have you tried using a heat gun to soften the adhesive? I use them at work all the time to remove shipping labels from boxes.

[airdave]

old thread...but I am curious...
who here collects stamps and/or covers?
or stamp and postal items of any kind?
anything specific (as in types of items, or subject matter?)

just curious...since my late father was a BIG stamp related collector for decades.
The majority of his collection is Railway related, but he collected a lot of different stuff.

I collected stamps and covers when I very young, but it was a short lived hobby for me.
Mainly War/Military stuff and a lot of Aircraft FDCs.
(I still have my albums from that time).

[Kevin WS]

I used to collect First Day Covers and still have some, along with some sheets of stamps (as per what the Post Office had in their drawers).

Mainly African countries, where I lived, and as a result due to the strange political shenanigans and often poor printing, have some interesting errors and faults. Probably all pretty worthless though but interesting as curiosities though!

[airdave]

Originally Posted by Kevin WS

I used to collect First Day Covers and still have some, along with some sheets of stamps (as per what the Post Office had in their drawers).

Mainly African countries, where I lived, and as a result due to the strange political shenanigans and often poor printing, have some interesting errors and faults. Probably all pretty worthless though but interesting as curiosities though!

Just country/continent related Covers? or topical/subjects?
African Railway being a big thing with philatelists and Railway fans..

In the latter half of the Sixties, I started collecting Battle of Britain stuff.
There were many BoB stamps and Covers issued by the UK (and other countries) around that time.
I also got hooked on Aircraft and the RAF.
I have two Albums full of Military Aircraft FDCs with some great artwork!

[Kevin WS]

Dave - just country related covers.

They did not ever do a lot, so every one produced when I was there plus older ones I could find of planes and trains..

[ltboice]

My Dad, Brother and I collected US plate blocks, both regular and commemorative. We were complete on both series from 1934 to current date at that time (early 1980's). Working on completing the National Park series and the Washington Bicentennial series. We allowed a homeless couple we knew from his helping my Mother-in-law.
We were going on vacation and my Dad wanted to work on the albums, went to get them from their hiding place, all but the last commemorative album were gone. We notified the local police about who the prime suspect might be (they had moved out already). The police refused to bring him in for questioning. I submitted a claim to my homeowners insurance for 10k (lowest Scotts value for each block), they sent me a check for $500 their limit in philately and a letter saying if found the entire collection was theirs.
This is why I have little trust in authority.
Sorry for long read.

[WVA]

I have removed some of those self stick stamps by soaking the paper with stuff called "Goo Gone". I don't know the active ingredient but is pretty harmless (except to drink!) and the residue dries up fairly completely after awhile. Works on labels and stickers too.
Jim