How to Get Stamps Off of an Envelope

While most collectors want that rare unused stamp, there are other great stamps to collect and when beginning stamp collecting it is best to start with regular stamps instead of rare, expensive, precious stamps while you are still learning. To begin with stamp collecting, ask neighbors, family and friends to save envelopes that have stamps on them. If you know someone that works in an office building and especially a mailroom, ask them to save those envelopes or at least rip the envelope off around the stamp and save it for you.

When you have the envelopes and envelope pieces with the stamps on them, it is time to remove the stamps. Collect all of the envelopes and bring them to where you will be working. Get a bowl and fill it halfway with warm water. Also be sure to have stamp tongs ready and waiting.

Get a heavy book or other heavy object because you will need it to rest on the stamp or you will need to put the stamp in the middle of it. Make sure that a roll of paper towels are waiting nearby.

Get a scissors and carefully cut an area on the envelope around the stamp and continue until you have little squares or circles of the envelope that contain the mailed stamps. Take the first stamp and place it in the bowl of water. Use the tongs and press the stamp so that it falls beneath the water. In less than a minute the stamp should separate from the envelope easily.

Once again use the tongs but this time, carefully grab and hold the stamp and move it to a piece of paper towel. Carefully pat the stamp dry and if you have a heavy book hand, place the stamp between two pieces of paper towel and place these paper towels in the middle of the book. If you do not have a book but do have another heavy object, place the object on top of the paper that is holding the stamp.

Repeat the actions to release all of the stamps from the envelopes. If you have no more room to put stamps that are released from the pieces of envelopes stop for now. Stamps need to have a heavy object around or on top of them because they will curl up as they dry. Leave the compressed stamps where they are over night. The next day carefully move the object and paper towel off of the stamp. Moving to quickly can tear or rip a stamp that has accidentally dried onto the piece of paper towel.

Once all of the stamps are free, flat and clean it is time to move on to the next batch of stamps that are waiting to be taken off of envelopes. Be careful with the water because some stamps can bleed into the water filled bowl and possibly stain any stamps that are put in after it. If the bowl of water seems to no longer be clear, empty the water, rinse the bowl and refill it with clean, clear water. Keep repeating the above process until all of the stamps are off of the envelopes and are straight, flat and dry.