Stamps are, after all, just a little paper, ink, and maybe glue. It's obvious how delicate they are, but we all have stamps over a century old. If you want to make sure they last another century, it just takes a little care, and the avoidance of a few pitfalls.
Like people, stamps enjoy a comfortable environment - not too hot, not too cold, not too humid, not too dry. Simply put, your stamps shouldn't be stored in an attic (too hot and dry) or a basement (too cold and wet). If they are for any length of time, they are very likely to be ruined. Ideally, you should keep all of your stamps in a ground floor room, and, if you're like me, you can stretch that to an upper floor room that is normally lived in. Generally, even the most delicate stamp prefers temperatures from 10-25 degrees Celsius (about 50-80 Fahrenheit), with relative humidity between 40-60 percent. Used stamps and covers are slightly more tolerant of heat and humidity changes, but mint stamps can easily be ruined by even short exposure to the wrong conditions. There is a story of a major international where the exhibit hall was so dry that mint blocks of stamps in the frames started to separate into singles!
To store your stamps, use paper, mounts, hinges and albums that are made especially for stamps. That paper you got at the office supply store may look bright, white and stiff enough to make good album pages, but it most likely contains material that can ruin your stamps over a few years time. Many commercial papers are high in acid content, but stamp pages are specially made to keep their acid content low. This gives them an "off-white" look, but that's appropriate. You can also use storage materials that are appropriate for other paper collectibles, such as acid-free board and archival quality mylar. Avoid those sticky photo albums like the plague - they will ruin your stamps instantly.
Ideally, your album or stock book should be stored like you store your good hardcover books - on their foot, not on their back. Stamps should appropriately be exposed to air and should not have any pressure on top of them. Mint stamps stored in piles can easily become stuck to each other, effectively ruining them as collectibles. The same can happen to mint stamps if albums are rested on their back and piled on top of each other. While it may seem to be a good idea to keep your stamps in a hermetically sealed container, that may actually accelerate their destruction. Some stamps, when they age, will give off by-products that are actually harmful to the stamps unless they are ventilated away.
I hope everyone reading this already knows this, but a stamp should NEVER EVER be attached permanently to an album page - use hinges or mounts. A stamp's number one enemy is sticky tape - avoid using it around stamps whenever possible. Glue is a close second. Both are nearly impossible to remove and will often immediately ruin a stamp. Solvents are another no-no, no matter how safe they seem (the obvious exceptions being fluids sold for use with stamps, such as watermark fluid or stamp lifting fluid).
Get yourself a good pair of stamp tongs, and get used to using them. Avoid touching stamps with your hands (although the use of your hands is inevitable, the oils and salt on your fingertips, no matter how clean, will accumulate on and eventually degrade a stamp). A never hinged stamp can easily take on a fingerprint. The more valuable the stamp, the more it should be kept away from fingers. Gold plating on tongs may look like a luxury, but it is very sweat resistant and will probably have a longer life.
Some stamps, mostly printed in the last 50 years, are actually self destructing. Either they were printed on a high-acid paper (which yellows and falls apart over time) or the gum used will degrade and discolour a stamp. The best thing to do in these situations is to remove the offending material, if possible, before it does any further damage.
BACK TO START PAGE