My First Kiloware Purchase Arrived, I Got A Few Questions.

I bought my first kiloware purchase from Nordfrim and it arrived today. When I opened the box I was stunned by the amount of stamps I have to sort through, but that's not a problem as I will certainly have a good time sorting through them. I bought 1 kilogram which is 2.2 pounds on paper.

I have a few questions but first I want to list the steps that I will go through.

1. Turn on some good music to listen to, Amazon Music 70's Mello Gold :)
2. Start with a hand full at a time.
3. Trim the excess paper off. This gives me the opportunity to inspect the stamp: cut or torn, self adhesive or not, on colored paper to be separated out.
4. Fill a Tupperware bowl with room temperature water.
5. Place stamps in the bowl.
6. After 15-20 minutes check to see if they are off the paper.
7. Place stamps in a drying book.
8. When stamps are dry, sort them by country.
9. Place stamps in glassine envelope sorted by country.

Questions:

Does it matter if the stamps are placed in the bowl face up or down?

I have read somewhere that people put a drop or two of dish soap in the water. Is this advisable and if so why?

All advice is appreciated.
JoanneG

More info https://stampsmarter.org/learning/H...kStamps.html
Don

Joanne,

I think you've pretty much covered all the bases...

6.5 Transfer the stamps once off the paper to a small container of fresh water. Once you've done the whole batch, retrieve them all from the fresh water container.

7.5 Place a heavy book on top of the drying book to keep things flat.

Usually, when pushing the stamps on paper into the container of water, I push them down so that they are totally covered by water.

I do use the couple of drops of dishwashing liquid method - seems to help everything stay clean, i.e., the stamps seem to come out cleaner...

Have fun!

John

Using soap is not recommended. For example, it can result in a stamp lighting up under a UV light because some soaps contain optical brighteners (makes the dishes look cleaner). For modern stamps, this interferes with IDing tagged stamps. For older stamps, it could cause certification concerns if the stamp lights up under optical comparators like a VSC6000.
Don

Thanks, Don. I did not know that.
John

Good advice studebaker. I won't use any soap.
I like the idea to rinse in a clean wash though.
I will add a book to press my stamps in the dry book and add a clean wash.
JoanneG

JoanneG,

You have the procedure down.

Soaking stamps is not my favorite activity but once in a while it is relaxing.

If you get overwhelmed and find that soaking isn't your "thing", you might want to just soak the ones you will be putting into your collection and leave the rest for another time or to let someone else enjoy soaking.

If you like to soak stamps, go for the whole bunch!

Dan

Just a suggestion. I usually sort by envelope paper color first as some may bleed, particularly red.

Sometimes I presort so they are already in groups in the drying/blotter pages.

Opinion
I think you have 2 and 3 all wrong,
You are about to soak all of them, complete waste of time,
and, you may damage some important postmarks.

I would suggest you only soak the stamps you wish to save and mount in your albums.

Pass the rest on in swaps or sell.

I advocate cold water only. Segregate PSA Pressure sensitive, or self adhesive stamps.
Modern Brazil...unsoakable in anything I find. Bestine included.

Hello.
They have already told you. Separate fragments of colored envelopes that may fade.
Try to take them off 3 at a time or so and put a few drops of vinegar to secure the colors. A single piece of red can damage many stamps. Change the water many times
They need to be watched, the color is usually transferred to the back of the stamp.
Regards.

All excellent advice and I will take it in consideration. While sorting I have come across duplicates and I think I will leave them on the paper and only soak those I want.Good advice.

While sorting I came across a "selfie" stamp. Its one of those stamps you create with your own image. I don't know what they are called other than "selfie"
Anyway, the picture was a young pretty woman with a cancellation right on her face, what's funny is that the cancellation looks like a handlebar mustache. Verry funny to see. :P

JoanneG

That stamp is not a selfie, it is a personal stamp. They are being collected - a good one maybe to list on Ebay ?


Peter

Peter
Thank you for the correct word for personal stamps. I didn't know what they were called.

To all, I have been setting aside cancellations that are complete and readable. How do I know which ones have value? Maybe a link to a thread or website would be helpful.

I am learning so much from this hobby, fascinating.

JoanneG

Edit: I searched stamp community for cancellations and found interesting threads. It seems a single answer doesn't answer the question.

Joanne,

Search for "postmark" in this forum and you'll find even more.

If they are US postmarks, this site is a great resource: http://postmarks.org/

Dan

Joanne, the next time you feel like a coffee break google "jim forte". You will find a website full of covers with cancels from big and small towns all over this country - one cup is not enough to read it all. Also, you might check www.stampsmarter.org for cancellations


Peter

If all the stamps are fairly current, then there are likely no scarcity ratings established since in most cases there is not enough history about them. Swedish collectors do give a premium for perfectly socked-on-the-nose cancels on Swedish stamps.

Socked-on-the-nose/bullseye: please see this thread:
http://goscf.com/t/11866
Your contributions are invited.