How to Dry Stamps Correctly

Stamps received in mixtures or collected from mail will be attached to envelopes. Before displaying, stamps must be soaked off the backing paper and dried. Last time we talked about safely removing stamps from envelopes by soaking (see our August 22, 2007 post). We left you with a soggy bowl of rinsed stamps. Time to dry them out!

Basically, stamps are dried by layering the wet stamps between sheets of paper and adding weight on top to press them flat. Here's how to do it:

• To cut drying time, first lay the wet stamps on a layer of paper towels. The towels will absorb excess moisture before the stamps are laid on the drying medium. You can, of course, lay your stamps directly onto the drying medium; drying will simply take a bit longer.
• Always lay your stamps face down. Wet stamps tend to curl toward their face. Laying them face down will help prevent curling while you're arranging your stamps on the drying medium.
• Collectors use everything from old newspapers to last year's phone book to dry stamps. However, white blotters (the kind photographers use) work best because they don't cause smudging or offset from printing inks. You can also purchase stamp-drying books which are simply bound blotter sheets.
  Caution: Do not use patterned desk blotters as the pattern will be pressed into the stamp during drying, damaging the stamp's value.
• Carefully arrange the stamps on the drying medium (remember, face down) so that they do not touch and are 1/2 inch or so apart.
• If drying on loose blotter sheets, leave each layer separated and open to the air to promote additional drying before stacking and pressing. If using a book, start at the back of the book and work forward to keep stamps from sliding on the page as you add additional layers. (If using phone books or newspapers, you will need several pages between layers to absorb moisture.)
• Carefully and neatly stack layers on top of each other. Don't worry about stamps that are fairly dry. Even stamps that look a bit wrinkled will dry flat. Do make sure stamps are not curled, creased or bent. If they are, a second or two back in the water bowl will allow you to lay them flat.
• Don't stack too many layers together or they may warp or buckle even when weighted. Better to have several piles than risk damaging your stamps.
• Place a heavy weight on top of the layers to press the stamps flat. Large, heavy books work well. A smooth, flat object will ensure that stamps dry evenly and flat. Some collectors use bricks, glass blocks or cinder blocks.

Drying time will depend on temperature and humidity. Stamps may dry in a couple of hours on a sunny Santa Fe patio but take as long as a week in rainy Seattle.